I recently acquired a new Athearn #91768 GP-35 Soo Line engine & was presently surprised with the fit, finish and quality for a $65 engine.(Retail 87.98). I’m ready to buy more! I am an Atlas , Kato and P2K fan, but these new athearns are very nice indeed. They are approx. $30 less than an equivalent Atlas. They are not equal to Atlas yet, but if I was looking for a particular road name I would not hesitate to purchase the Athearn. AND they also weathered the fan vents. A nice touch.
The only caveat I saw was they loaded it up a little too much with the grease. Not a problem, as I’ve got to take it apart anyway to add a decoder.
Athearn’s ready to roll products have gotten much better both for locomotives as well as rolling stock. I agree they aren’t quite at Atlas quality yet but they are improving. I’ve been impressed with the rolling stock improvements. I have no problems buying them. Used to be you’d buy a Blue Box, put it together and then spend a few days adding upgrades.
The only locos I’ve purchased in the past few years that DIDN’T have too much grease were my P2K S-1’s, my various Stewarts,and my PCM T-1. My P2K GP-7’s were over-lubed, and the absolute worst offender I have seen yet is my father in law’s Spectrum E-33 electric. It came ina fancy brass-like package, and the bottom under the trucks was SOAKED in grease. Even after openign it up and cleaning off the excess, the next time it was removed fromthe box, the packaging once againw as all greasy. Luckily none of it got on the finish of the loco.
As for Athearn RTR, I haven’t bought any yet, but plan to get at least two of the Reading RS-3’s. I expect them to be fine runners, although probably not as good as the old MDC kit one I have that has a P2K drive. However, it will have pretty much the correct detail and paint jib, both of which I am having to do myself on the MDC kit (and an Atlas undec I picked up as well).
I have several of the RTR units and to date all has been sweet runners from the box and far superior to the older BB locomotives as far as smoother running due to the new hex line drive,crisper paint and scale handrails.The BEST news is the later runs of the GP38-2,GP40-2 and the improve GP50 come with metal grabs.Sadly these units still have the “bonfire in the cab” headlight.
The former RPP shell RTR locomotives are also great locomotives.
To be honest I was a little skeptical about purchasing their rtr locos, I purchased two of their genesis models and was a little impressed. But after reading the comments on these I’ll take the plunge, besides the rtr’s have a few roadnames I’ve been looking for that atlas, kato, & p2k walthers have’nt done. Thanks !
I’ve bought a pair of CP GP35, a Soo SD60 and a CN SD40 in the last six months from the Athearn RTR line and I’ve been impressed with all of them. The SD60 was very over-lubed but the others weren’t. The only thing I’ve noticed is that the handrails aren’t as durable as those found on P2K and Atlas units, but that’s it. They’re also very good pullers, and work well in lashups with my other locomotives.
For about $60 a pop I wasn’t expecting a model fully detailed for their given road, but the detail modifications I’ve got to make are minimal on all except the CN SD40 (then again CN had some weird SD40.)
One had a gear missing (it was loose in the truck). Another had a grinding noise that would not go away so I swapped it. A third just was DOA it would not run period. That was swapped out too.
I have a Genesis F7B that makes a grinding noise when in runs “forward”. It seems to be getting better with time. It has been lubed, but I suspect it may be a break-in issue? Don’t know if it is the same issue, but I suspect it may be. I understand how irritating it is, though.
Otherwise I am very impressed with the look of the RTR stuff. The only RTR units I purchased (got rid of quickly) was two AB sets of Santa Fe Warbonnet F7s. The only improvement over the BB super weight F7s was a better paint job and some additional lettering (builders plate, etc). They just don’t even hold a candle to the Genesis F7s, but of course not much does.
Smitty, That “grinding” noise may be caused by motor torque. Try running with the shell off. Sometimes the clearance between the shell and motor is so close that the motor torque allows the motor to vibrate against the shell sounding like grinding. I’ve had several do that in one direction only. Cured it by slipping a thin piece of foam between the motor and shell. Ken
I received GP38 WSOR 3801 as a gift, and I am very pleased with it. It runs much quieter than some of my older Athearn locos, and the details are beautiful (if you can forgive them for not removing the middle fan on the long hood like the prototype unit - which I can - for now). The only thing I plan on changing out in the near future is the couplers (for a nice set of Kadees). I’ve run into problems with some of my stock running the McHenrys and EZMates where the knucle won’t close anymore allowing couplers to come apart on occasion
I’m throwing in my two cents because I feel it is important to report this. I have purchased several Athearn RTR units over the last two years. While Athearn has vastly improved the body shells, paint, and details, I am disappointed with the noisy motors Athearn uses. Some units are noisier than others, but none of them are as quiet as units from Atlas, Proto 1K or 2K or Kato.
Noise is not the only issue; motor current varies and Back EMF featured decoders (DCC) used in these units give various performance results.
I recently purchased two RS-3s and one is quieter than the other. I have installed DCC decoders in many of these units for other people and the results are the same; inconsistent motor noise from ALL of them. In fact, my noisier RS-3 started making a really loud squealing sound; I had to file down the commutator and use Lubriplate (lithium soap grease) on the motor bearings to quiet it down. I tried the usual lubricants and the noise would go away for only a short period of time. This is frustrating when I’ve only had the unit for less than a month. I spent more time working on the motor than operating the locomotive. I sent an email to Athearn explaing the issues and I’m waiting for a response.
I don’t understand why Athearn won’t replace this outdated motor design. If you desire to install DCC sound modules, operate with minimal need to constantly clean dirty electrical pickup bushings and bolster contacts, you are forced to replace the motor with one from a third party. I feel if we all politely contact Athearn/Horizon Hobby and explain our reasons for change and our experiences, they may listen to us and add the critical upgrade that would make the RTR locomotive line more desirable.
I purchased a R-T-R AMD-103 for Christmas. Ran great for one day, then crapped out. HAd the grinding/vibration that has been mentioned on this thread. Took it back to the dealer and after looking at it he declared that the armature was bad, and said that’s a common problem with this particular motor. To his credit, he quickly swapped the unit out for a new one.
The improvements that Athearn has made to their locomotives will recieve no argument from me. However, Everything Ready to Run does rob me of the “fun” of putting my layout together. You can go on to say that oh there is always buildings, there is always track, and just look at scenery. But on all the model railways that I am a part of. My “Official” title is “Superintendant of Motive Power (and rolling stock)” In many ways I just wish I could join a club so I can just focus on my love of locomotive building and let other people worry about the scenery, buildings, and other things.
At least on the Great Northern, THere isn’t very much offered in the Big Sky Blue scheme so I get to do alot of custom painting, which means I have to dissassemble a painted locomotive and thust have the fun of putting it back together. But Its just quite not the same.
I have three of the Athearn RTR RS-3s, and they run as good as the later version of the Roundhouse RS-3. One is in GN and the other two are in NP colours. I run the GN unit with a Life-Like GP9, and I run the two NP units nose to nose. The only thing I don’t like about the Athearn RS-3 is that the shell is tethered to the frame with the headlight wires.
