Got that much waited for phone call yesterday from Papa Ben’s LHS and the Atlas MP 15 DC switch engines in SP paint were in that i ordered last June…I went down there and picked them up after work …(my love affair with trains must be really strong because i went against my better judgement down U.S. 59 thru Houston at the peak of rush hour to pick them up…the freeway from H E double hockey sticks)…I got them out of the box and the accessories glued and the Kadee coupler’s on them by 9 last night and then ran them on the layout…they look and run fantastic so far…these are my first atlas locomotives…they are strong pullers but was really suprised about how noisy they were…about the same as an Athearn BB locomotive…anyway…i’ll try to get some pics of them and post them on weekend photo fun this weekend sometime…by the way…Merry Christmas Everybody!..chuck
I got mine last week in Southern colors. I went ahead and ran it a bit to break it in, but I haven’t had time to add the accessories. Regardless, I agree that the appearance and performance is fantastic.
I owned a Atlas S2 loco many many years ago and it was dead silent. So I’m a little surprised to hear that the MP 15 DC sounded like a BB.
drewsdaddy:
How do your loco sound?
I didn’t notice a great deal of sound, but I put mine on a loop and left it running for a while, then I reversed it and let it run a little longer. I didn’t stand and watch it the whole time. Also, like cwclark, this is my first new Atlas loco and I thought it ran better than any Athearn or Bachmann I’ve got. The best thing I have to compare it to would be a P2K GP7, and I didn’t really notice a difference sound wise. I’ll run it later and report back.
Gratz to Chuck! I’ve done the long drive to a LHS, or is it a NSLHS (Not So Local Hobby Shop)! I feel your pain…but I also share your joy in receiving your new loco’s. I just got my New custom painted Altas RS-3, after an 8 month wait. The level of instant gratification is not there, but the satisfaction level is all the more for it.
As a side note, my Atlas loco’s run super strong and ultra quite. My GP7 whined a little at one point, sounding very much like my Athearn BB’s, but a good lubricating of the gears restored everything to the level I expect from Atlas.
Merry Christmas to All,
Trevor
sounds good i moght have to get one.
I plan on ordering both of the sound/DCC units Atlas produces in CSX’s paint scheme. I am also anticipating the arrival of the Genesis MP15AC’s. Two units from that line should bring me to the grand total of six…plus the two other SW’s I plan on hunting down…eight switchers?
Perhaps I’ll buy one each…
[D)][swg]
Ahh yes, ain’t she a beaut’?
Thats good but I cant get one.
ICMR
Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]
uspscsx…i’ve owned 3 of the Athearn SW1500’s…they are really bad locomotives…they’re just too small to handle more than 10 cars and they didn’t stay on the track very well when pushing cars in a curve…I’d be rich if i had a nickel for all the times i spent trying to get the 1500’s into a reliable locomotive…they really never were and i put them on the bad order track that’s headed for the scrap yard…chuck
Well, that’s odd. All of the Athearn SW’s I’ve had haven’t given me a problem. The two I own are non-powered, but I’ve had 3 or 4 powered in the past. They’re a bit noisy. I agree, they’re not very powerful, but when I hook two together, I can pull quite a few cars, which is fine for a small yard operation.
My good fortune…???
Matt
I just ran my loco, and then I ran some others for comparison, and the Atlas is by far the quietest on my layout. I am really pleased with this purchase. Now I’m going to have to start saving for some more Atlas engines!
By the way, I got mine through my LHS. I did not reserve one in advance, because I’ve always bought something off the shelf or ordered what I wanted. Anyway, I decided to splurge and get the MP15DC with sound. When the LHS called his supplier, all of the Gold Series locos were reserved in advance, so I settled for the Silver Series loco. I suppose I could have tracked one down, but I like to give the LHS the business and as I said I’m really pleased with what I got.
Merry Christmas All!
i’ve just received the atlas mp15 in n scale. it is very quiet and beautifuly painted. but it will only pull or push about 6 cars through switches or around curves. it’s good for a yard switcher or short local ops. i have two athern .sw1500’s in ho and they are a bit noisy but they operate well.