Who do you think makes the best Ready to Roll product in rolling stock today?..Atlas or Athearn… A question I am sure we all ask ourselves from time to time. I would be interested in taking a bit of a poll here. Your responses would prove most interesting I am sure…Thanks in advance.
The problem is they don’t make the same cars, so you are comparing apples to oranges. If you need a certain car, you have to buy the brand that makes that car.
A lot of the current Athearn rolling stock seems very applicable to the ‘transition’ era in railroading, while Atlas cars are often geared toward the more modern era. I’ve purchased some Atlas 1950’s cement hoppers that I like a lot, and also some of the Athearn ‘transitional’ freight cars that I like just as well. jsoderq is right–it’s really like comparing apples to oranges. If anything, the Athearn couplers need to be replaced with Kadees, but that’s something I do automatically, no matter which brand of RTR freight car I buy.
Tom
Completely correct on that, Athearn has awesome bethgon coalporters that i own, and well atla doesn’t. Atlas does have alot of nice rolling stock that athearn doesn’t has, but i prferr athearn for rolling stock, i like both for locomotives.
Tjsingle
I dont restrict myself to one car provider or another. Atlas to me has good consistent track performance. Athearn RTR makes up a large percentage of my stock but all car manufacturs are part of the matrix.
Athearn and Atlas are sort of trying to compete, one can do grating better than the other. One can do metal wheels better than the other for example.
Good luck!
I like Athearns BB 34’ OS hoppers more than the same in Atlas. The RR Athearn hoppers I have found to be so so. On the other hand Atlas’s billboard reefers are second only to branchline and may have the edge in a couple of places. So call those 50/50. Athearn/MDC’s express Milk Reefers are also very nice. I have a couple of those as well. So all told, I think it’s about 50/50 and depends on the era.
I think it’s possible to compare Atlas and Athearn even if they don’t make models of exactly the same prototypes. For example, the crispness of the printing, or how free-rolling the wheelsets are.
With that in mind, here is my opinion (and it’s only my opinion) of their HO-scale offerings:
Atlas Trainman would be at the bottom of the list. Although generally well-made and well-running cars, by design they have the lowest level of detail. However, their low pricing makes them a great value for building up a well-running, decent looking fleet
Next up the list would be Athearn RTR. Still well-made and well-running, but with a higher level of detail than Trainman. Reasonably priced for what you get.
The regular Atlas line comes next. Solid, great-looking, and great-running cars with lots of detail. A little more expensive but arguably worth it.
Athearn Genesis would be at the top of the list. Running qualities are generally on par with Atlas and the detail is maybe a half-step better. Unfortunately, they’re priced a full step better, which when combined with their limited number of prototypes, pretty much makes them an “also-ran” in my book.
Again, just my opinion. YMMV
Steve
One factor would be that most Atlas cars are relatively newly created models, whereas many of the Athearn RTR line are cars originally offered as kits decades ago. As you would expect, the newer (Atlas) cars have better detailing, individual handrails etc., compared to the Athearn cars…although as Stevert points out, the newer Athearn Genesis cars have excellent detailing.
Painting was long a weak point for Athearn, but in recent years their decorated cars have been very well done, as are the Atlas cars. In the case of the Athearn reefers for example, painting the molded-on handrails and ladders black in contrast to the reefer’s orange or yellow sides does a lot to improve the appearance IMHO…to the extent that I went back and painted the handrails etc. on many of my old ‘bluebox’ reefers to match.
My biggest complaint about Athearn rolling stock in general is the coupler pockets don’t readily accept Kadee couplers. The center post in the coupler pocket is too skinny, allowing a lot of slop in the coupler movement. I always cut off a thin slice of a drinking straw to shim it and reduce the slop. Also, the Kadee coupler and bronze centering spring are a pretty tight fit into the Athearn coupler boxes that have the metal clip cover. Might have better luck with the whisker couplers because they don’t need the bronze centering spring.
Whoever makes the car I need. They seem pretty comparable in detail and performance to me.
Athearn Genesis, they are so detailed, you can see the trucks roller bearings (If its what I’m thinking of) turn, instead of being molded into the trucks. There pre weatherd sets are pretty nice, if you have a couple hundred bucks laying around, I’d pick up about 20 of those. My [2c]
Mike
UNFORTUNATRLY Athearn buys their trucks, so they are different - including some with N.E.M. wheelsets.
TO UPGRADE, I go to Kato or EB (ex Lindberg) trucks from Greenway. Nothing rolls better (Metal wheels/ Delrin sideframes). Scroll down to EB. Free-rolling trucks mean pulling more cars.
http://www.greenwayproducts.com/a_brass_not_trucks.shtml
WARNING: EB trucks will find non-level spots in your layout and roll.
Surely you jest…I have 49 of these cars and never had that problem…
And Don you need to get with the times…Athearn uses RP25 just like everybody and has for years and probably has the smoothest rolling trucks made…There is absolutely no need to upgrade…
I recently bought some Athearn Genesis covered grain hoppers at a LHS “fire sale”, and I’m really astounded by the quality and detail of them. They’re wicked cool. Of course, I can’t let my kids handle them or all that detail will get crushed real quick. They’re for “dad’s trains”.
I also have gotten some Atlas chlorine tank cars, also a lot of cool detail. Again, not cars that the kids will handle regularly.
From what I have seen in LHS aisles, the regular Athearn RTR are not as detailed as Atlas, and are more on a par with Atlas Trainman. I have a couple of new Trainman items, however, especially the Railbox cars, and they’re very nice. But then again, this coming from a guy who really like Walthers RTR cars - they look fine to me. And the kids can set them out and roll with them. My kids are not grab-iron friendly, which is a great reason for me not to struggle with putting grab irons on perfectly acceptable as-is models!
Seems to me it often depends on the car type, which ones look more realistic and molded well vs. which don’t look good next to a Genesis, for example.
I have an atlas and Athearn RTR model of the same thing.
A wide-vision caboose, both BN. Both have free-rolling metal wheels and the right trucks, but the atlas has more detail (see-through roofwalk, an seperately applied wire grabs). The athearn is underweight (it spread to HO trains too?) and isn’t as wel detailed. But the athearn MSRPs for a little over half of the atlas. (Luckily I got 2 of the atlas ones for 30 bucks, the lone athearn cost me 17)
Same here I basically look at it as whatever company makes the freight cars I need. Though I think Athearn is much better on prices than Atlas so I usually buy Athearn instead.
Larry:
Apparently you haven’t been reading complaints on this forum from modelers(?) re: NMRA aftermarket wheelsets not fitting their Athearn cars.
I talked with Jim Bennet (JB) and he mentioned some offshore houses were supplying NEM trucks, and he has made Wheelsets with NEM (shorter) axles to fit.
Reaming the journals out with the ‘Tool’ not the best answer. It’s the axles.
Athearn’s trucks may be OK for you, but EB and Kato set a higher rolling standard, followed by InterMountain. Too many of my Athearn’s had to be re-gauged.
I AGREE with Tom, Athearn appears to be designing coupler pockets to make KD substitution difficult. My Genesis SD70/75’s + 'F’s had a coupler holder that tightens down on the shank - limiting movement, and my 3 RTR CF7’s have the screw mount off enough to bind the #5 spring. Intentional design, or bad QC?
I had to enlarge th hole in the spring, and use #23’s (and #33’s between F units) to correct. I have NOT bought any more Athearn since .
Don,Suffice it to say if I believed every complaint on this and other forums I fear I would not have any of the newer locomotives or cars from Athearn,Atlas,Kato,Walthers,or any other brand as they all been scrutinized by forum “experts”,habitual complainers,the misinformed,the “me tos”,the misinformers,the expert wannabes,the bashers,the trashers etc…Thankfully I can still judge for myself and I never was one to fix something that isn’t broke just because “Bozo the expert” says so on some forum, in MR or RMC.Nor am I one to follow every wind of change I read in MR or RMC just because the author says its the “best” way.
As for the question of Atlas versus Athearn RTR Rolling Stock there really isn’t that much difference between the two other then Atlas follows correct road names and Athearn does a lot of “foobie” road names which is good in a way because it gives us a wider selection of road names.
Never had a problem replacing the couplers with Kadee couplers.
Most of the cars I weather are Athearn RTR cars. I have done a few Atlas but mainly RTR. I like the look of Intermountain, but thats another subject.