That was the nice thing that always seem so right about the Athearn BB units, They take a licking and still keep on ticking! And it still stands today for them. Dispite the wide cabs and lack of details, they still seem to be a favorite for allot of people.
As you stated about easy to work on and dependable, you cannot beat them. I have some newer Atlas, P2K’s, Spectrum, BLI, and others, but the old BB are still a good runner and make up about half of my collection of over 120 loco’s. Some of them even have the old centered bronze bearing that is pressed in the metal side trucks, these even have the old dog steel flywheels, and they run good.
I think the BB loco’s are going to be around for awhile, they are affordable, and made well.
I hung on to all my Athearn blue box road engines, but I got rid of all my blue box switchers. After I got my first Life-Like GM switcher I decided that all my Athearn SW7s had to go.
I don’t think Blue Boxes will ever disappear. Like everybody has said, they are so dependable and easy to service or upgrade. Unless I’m mistaken, they innovated the centrally mounted, double-ended motor driving both trucks that every other manufacturer has adopted. Life-Like copied them verbatim in the early years, Stewart made shells for their drives, and I know there were others that used their drive components. Even Mehano copied the BB drive shafts for their cheap AHM version of the FP45.
One of my fondest memories is the sound of my old BB F45 roaring around the layout. I used to lash it up with another 6-axle BB unit pulling a huge string of cars. Man, would those sintered wheels polish the rail heads smooth.
One thing I like about the Athearn BB locos are the metal hand rails! Most of my engines have been modified with wide cabs etc and I would much rather reshape the older metal handrails then have newer plastic style ones that don’t match the prototype!
The Athearn blue box kits both locomotivesa and rolling stock are very well done in my opinion. I have around 175 Athearn Blue box locomotives. I prefer them as they are durable and if tuned up run very well. Some of my locomotives are over 30 years old and other than an occasional cleaning, lube job and motor brushes run as good now as they did when I bought them.
Iv’e gone into the handrail issue before, Give me the wire ones in the Blue box kits anytime over the worthless rubber ones now in vogue.
Larry, my comments were not meant as a put-down and I agree with you and the"diesel gurus", that the Athearn/Horizon RTR version of the RS3 is the best one out there today, (I don’t like that Athearn has posed them backwards on their website - most of them ran long hood forward).
I’m a D&H modeler, (D&H had 130 RS3s, although some of them started life as RS2s) and as a custom builder of over 25 years and having built/chopped/painted more the 150 RS3s and variations in that time, (I have 2 of the new RTRs getting their noses chopped on my workbench right now), I have used every RS3 model produced to date including some old brass models.
Here are some other ways to make a bb athearn run smoother, first is to take bushings out ofthe motor, then use 500 grit sandpaper along whith a light oil on the contacts, cutting the paper to size of course. rotate untill it is smooth and shiny, then work up to700 grit doingthe same thing.make sure that you clean off any remaining oil. then whith something like a dentil pick go between the slits on the contacts. iforgot ,take the motor apart first!! you can also polish the sinterd metal wheels whith sandpaper.the best way i found is to remove and put them on a drill chuck you can use slow med. or fast speed try slow first until you are used to it,try differnt grits but nothing real course.or you can just buy nickle silver wheels,and they are much better!!i do hope this helps somone out!! BBs forever!!!
Well, I’m sure they serve a purpose for many people. I’ve just about sold off all of my BB Athearn loco’s. I think all I have left are 2 GP40-2’s (one in pieces because it ran horribly, and never got put back together - probably missing parts by now) and the other is a dummy SD40T-2 I may do some detailing on and run with the new very nice RTR SD40T-2’s with the see through radiator grills and roof fans etc.
I think its mostly nostalgia driving this blue box feel good thread. Many had wide non-scale bodies and those never worked for me. The detail on many of the bodies really showed their age unless they were tooled in the 1980’s and even those - like the SD40T-2 with no roof fan detail etc. At least for me, they served their purpose and are now one by one being relegated to the dust bin of history. Even nostalgia couldn’t make me keep my BB F7’s with the horrible ugly windshield openings.
That being said, some of the relatively recently tooled BB diesels have good shells and the mechnisms are hardy so they can be detailed and made to run a long time.
Rio,Visit either HO club I am a member of and you will see 70% Athearn locomotives.At the Bucyrus club during one of our open houses we was 100% Athearn.This just not a “nostalgia feel good thread” as you think…Its a thread about a very formidable locomotive that will last a life time…heck let’s face the facts.Those old BB locomotives are like a Timex…They will take a beating and keep right on ticking and unlike P2K locomotives and LL’s “gear ratio of the month” Athearn uses a 14-1 gear ratio so mu’ing (say) a 20 year old BB SD40-2 with another locomotive(including the newer RTR ones) can be easily done.
Not exactly a feel good thread, the cab light was removed, trucks twisted back into shape, offending wires moved into safe areas away from the drive shaft and the power pickup strips rebent back into line.
The newer engines have sat in thier boxes until show time and only require a drop of lube once a year and run flawlessly. Never had that with the BB’s
Then again I enjoy older cars because a standard US Measure toolkit augmented by a metric set keeps those in operation along with a box of points, carb cleaner, fluids etc.
I don’t see BB locomotives going away either. My F7 has hit the floor at least once, and other than some minor damage (bent grabs, glass and motor knocked out) it came through relatively unscathed. The same cannot be said for the workshop floor–there’s a dent in it! But seriously, BB is great for those just starting out. Easy to work on, many shared parts, and simply common. The only thing that grates is that metal top strap! Yank that off and replace it with wire. Oh, and the RDC gumband (rubber band, for you not in Pittsburgh, hehe) sometimes slips a bit. The only BB drive I’ve had trouble with, is that blankety-blank Baldwin S12. That thing never ran right, even after some serious fiddling. As for the sintered wheels on BBs, as long as they’re kept clean, they work fine.
It’s not nostalgia for me either. Part of the reason I got into this hobby was model building, and the BB kits were and are great starting points. If it weren’t for those BB kits we probably wound’t have Detail Associates, Details West and a host of other detail companies around, which is great for those of us who like to do a bit detailing and kitbashing, all the RTR stuff has taken a bit of the fun out of this part of the modeling for me. I’ve always been a tinkerer, so model building is still I get most of my enjoyment.
I resurrected my Hustler with some of those hair bands I bought at Wallyworld a few weeks back, but after reading this thread I stopped by the LHS today and picked up the Ernst regearing kit for it. [:D]
I realize that. And for certain purposes, they serve. Clubs tend to be a haven for the old bb because people don’t mind leaving them there and they can take more abuse as you never know who might be operating or manhandling your loco! I’d probably be the same way. No one can deny the are tanks on flanged wheels!
For the purposes of modeling the Rio Grande between 1965 and 1990, there aren’t very many bb that will work for me. GP40-2 of course and the newer RTR cousins, including the SD45 coming soon, and the SD40T-2. Would those qualify? From what I understand the mechansims are more or less updated versions of the tanks y’all love so I can fit into this love fest some how. Rio Grande was pretty much all EMD so I’m forced to pick from most of the major brands to represent my fav RR. As it is, I only have a little lingering notstalgia. I expect clubs are populated with them for reasons I mentioned, people don’t mind leaving them on the layouts and won’t cry if one is badly damaged.
Jim (you know me from Atlas Larry, I’m no stranger :-P)
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Part of the reason I got into this hobby was model building, and the BB kits were and are great starting points.
I have not been in model trains as long as many on here, so my first experiences were with Atlas and Bachmann(I know…I know). In fact, I just bought my first BB loco a week ago which was a CSX SD40-2 as I was tired of waiting for it in the RTR run. I really don’t even buy RTR either, but they put out locos that I can’t find elsewhere, so I have to deal with it I guess. I have to admit, it is quite easy to work on and with the Digitrax DH163AT DCC decoder with the Athearn specific harness, converting one to DCC is really plug and play. The price was pretty low and it was a descent loco considering. It may have been the last run BB’s as it has Bachmann EZ Mates, plastic handrails and the motor that comes in the RTR series(I heard that they were different than the older ones).
It is my only BB loco and with some motor work, it is tolerable as compared to Atlas. I would buy more only if the price is right as I still have to upgrade it to DCC,rewire it for lights in the front and rear and swap out the wheels. The detailing is what it is and I can detail it rather than complain about it. I would recomend it to anyone on a budget over anything else in the price range.
I can say this. After working on the loco for a few days to get it running like I prefer, I do feel a great sense of accomplishment as I also bought another SD40-2 with sound and that one barely sees the track.
When I got back into this hobby 5 or 6 years ago, a ABBA set of Athearn F7s in Santa Fe livery was almost my first purchase. I added some details like grab irons, windows and better lights, but they are essentially stock. They look good to my untrained eye.
There are 16 or so, BB locos on the BRVRR. PA/Bs, the afore mentioned F7s, several other AB and ABA F7 sets in NYC liveries, a couple of SD40-2s and a GP-40. The latter just converted to NYC livery from CSX.
Some of the F7s run better and more quietly than the PK2 locos on the layout. And a couple run just as quietly as my new Atlas GP-40. Honest.
All of my BB locos have been converted to DCC. Most have had the fire put out in the cab and extra details applied. I’m no expert, nor a rivet counter but they all look good to me.
I’m looking for some GP-30s in NYC livery and I’ll take BB locos if I can find them.
The BB loco adds up to more bang for the buck, and that’s a good thing in a hobby that is becoming more expensive by the minute.
Well, I do have to say that Quality Control has always been a hallmark of Athearn. That includes the blue box line. Some run very smooth, others are coffee grinders or worse. The good news is that people who like to tinker can usually tame the bad beasts. Those who are not tinkerers (I fall somewhere in the middles) can get frustrated.
