My old goat finaly growled its last yesterday. I am still thinking about what I would like. I either want a GP38/40 or an MP15DC/AC. It has to come in UP livery and I don’t care if it has DCC and/or sound. Who makes the most smooth runnin’ sweet lookin’ switcher these days? I do like the Athearn’s, but with the 6-axle loco’s warped truck issues I am a bit more wary of a once reputable company and would at least like to check to make sure there are no current issues with their 4-axle locos.
As far as I know, the warped trucks are restricted to the Genesis HTCR trucks, so only the SD70 series has that problem. The 4-axle units should all be fine. The only problem I’ve had is the quality control, which can be a little spotty (loose coupler screws, broken motor mount, missing detail part, etc.). Nothing a couple screwdrivers or an e-mail to Athearn can’t fix.
Atlas Trainman GP38-2 runs well. The body has a few dimensional issues, but not too terrible. You would need to add grab irons, lift rings, and other such detail, if desired.
Athearn MP15AC looks great, kinda fragile, doesn’t pull all that much. Best solution is to get 2, pair them up. I think the most of the UP versions don’t have the SP light package anymore, excepting the ex-MKT and MILW units which didn’t have such light packages.
Depending on the area you model, GP60s are in local and switching work as well. P2K made a good one, and are getting re-tooled with the new trucks, should run even better.
Call me old fashioned but I would never consider a GP38/40 a yard goat. To me a Yard Goat is the MP15, or “older” GPs that have been relegated to the yard. A couple years ago there were two GP15’s working the downtown Denver yard. But I guess these days a GP40 is an older GP. Once again here in Denver three GP40s are assinged to the SW Denver local.
My Atlas S-1/S-2 is a great engine. It is geared lower and feels like a brick on wheels. It pulls very well, runs smooth and quiet and has good detail.
The Bachmann 44 tonner is a small switcher that runs a bit rough, loud and has ok detail. It is the single motor version and is good for moving 3 or 4 cars at a time.
The Bachmann 70 tonner is like above a switcher that runs a bit rough, loud and has ok detail. It pulls better then the 44 tonner but not by much.
The P2K SW9/1200 is a smooth quiet switcher that is a bit light footed for its size. The detail is quite good and it runs a bit slower then the regular road diesels.
The last switcher I have is a pair of MP15DC from Atlas. They pull quite well, are quiet and smooth operating engines. They are geared the same as GP’s from Atlas and the Kato GP35 and six axle locomotives. This comes in handy to help move heavy trains out of storage on my layout.
In my opinion go for the Atlas or P2K/Walthers products. The P2K switcher require some additional weight to make them move a respectable quantity of cars but are also great engines.
My vote is for the Atlas MP15’s. I have a couple of them and they are superb runners, easily crawl at 1 scale mile per hour and are heavy enough to handle any yard work I have. I have an Athearn SW 1, not the Genesis line, which may be the same mechanically as their other yard switchers. It was DC but I installed a decoder in it. It is a so so runner, nothing like the Atlas’.
I would give hearty consideration to a Genesis GP15-1 which Athearn is currently offering in Onion Specific colors. UP acquired their units from both MP and C&NW. UP is currently using these as yard goats throughout the midwest. These current offerings from Athearn are ex-C&NW units.
To summarize the preceeding, may I say “there are yard goats, and then again there are YARD GOATS”!
Being 67 and modeling the postwar era in the central US, the term yard goat brings to mind an 0-6-0 or an 0-8-0 steamer - the later of which I got quite close and personal with during visits to southern Illinois many years ago.
In the '50s (and earlier) when steam went away, the yard goat was often the NW or SW 4 axles switchers, of which many, many models are available today. I’ve got a handful of locos of this type/era - BLI, P2K, Stewart - all of which are terrific (BLI has sound) and when they pull a string of coal hoppers, you know they are working.
Of course in the '70s pretty much anything with the right gearing was available for switching purposes, and today, while that still is the case, there are a lot of modern specialty locos for this chore.
So I guess you have to ask yourself… What is my layout’s timeframe, how big an area and how many cars will the loco be moving, and is my RR flush with bucks for the latest and greatest, or are they hurting for money and taking whatever exhausted road loco is available for the task at hand.
Sounds like you are modeling more of a modern era, I have an Atlas NRE 3gs21b and it is a great yard switcher and if I could find another CSX one I would buy it.