i’m trying to decide which to buy, the Proto 2000 or the Genesis.
EDIT:
The Genesis costs $70 more than the Proto.
Your opinions of these two locos would be appreciated as well as whether the Genesis is worth the extra cost.
Thanks
Bob
It would probably be helpful if you said what the locos are.
Maxman,
Thanks for your suggestion as it caused me to reread my post and I had the costs reversed. I edited the original post.
The Genesis is a GP 9 and the Proto is a GP 30
Bob
Bob,If I may… I just spent $25.00 replacing the burned out light bulbs in my Genesis DCC/Sound SCL GP9 with LEDs. These bulbs burnt out within a month.
Other then that she is a smooth runner and looks good but,looking at my older P2K SCL GP7/9s and GP38-2s I never had to replace a bulb and they run just as smooth IMHO…
I have a pair of Proto GP30s and I love them. Excellent runners and pullers, nicely detailed locos.
I do not own that specific Genesis model, but I do own other Genesis diesels.
I would pick Proto over Genesis.
Rich
Superbe,
I assume you are comparing current production Proto GP30 to the Genesis GP9 If you are looking at old GP30s, prior to Walthers buy out, keep in mind you will probably have to replace the axle gears. Even units that sat on a shops shelves for years can have the problem. Repair is no big deal, about $6 for the gears and less than 1/2 hour to replace. Also a good time to clean out the dried factory grease and relube. If you do, be sure to check the assemblies with an NMRA gauge. Every old P2K geep I buy, I automatically change out the gears. In fact I built a small fixture to speed the process.
The consensus is that the Genesis has light problems and I seem to remember reading this in older threads. There is no way I can make loco repairs so I’m going with the Proto which has good reviews.
After the new loco arrives I’ll post it’s picture.
Thanks for the help
Bob
I hate to play the age card but I’m 87 and still a newbie in a lot of modeling aspects. Consequently I buy mostly RTR stuff but this loco turned out not to be track ready.
The G 30 came with disassembled coupler boxes. Never having worked on these before I laid out the parts. There are two brass pieces that appear to be bent out of shape and I can’t see anything that would act as a centering spring for the knuckles.
Also there is an envelope with various parts to be added but no mentioned as to where or how.
Fo now I need to get the couplers attached and working.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Bob
Looks like standard Kadee stuff to me, they have instructions on their web site.
The larger part of the coupler box will have a little lip to it.
That part will faceup when placed into the pilot/frame area.
The bent brass looking piece are what centers the coupler in its pocket(they go on top per instructions)
A better and larger picture can be seen here which is a Kadee #5 instruction sheet:http://www.kadee.com/html/standardcouplersins.pdf
I do the coupler installs like your with the engine flipped upside down in a foam cradle to make things easier, so if you do this, remember you are upside down so you have the correct orientation.
Would also recommend reading any and all instructions that came with the engine. KISS is long since dead it seems[:)]
If its the Proto 2000 GP30 you bought, they pull like a freight train literally.
With the engine upside down, from outside - inward, the screw, the flat rectangle with the hole, the coupler, the brass thingy as it is shown in your pic with the open side facing the coupler knuckle, the other part of the coupler box, the cylinder with the hole holds the brass spring and the coupler. Do not bend the brass arms on the spring. It is the way it is supposed be.
I assume this will screw into the subframe of the engine. Sometimes on freight cars, if you are changing over to Kadee couplers, the coupler box needs to be glued to the subframe.
After reading the posts I tried to assemble the coupler boxes. I had trouble getting the “flat spring” to fit in the coupler box. After doing so the knuckle didn’t spring from side to side as it should.
I decided to call Kadee and it was pointed out that what I was was working with were ProtoMax knuckle couplers and if I wanted an assembeled coupler box it was suggested I try Kadee #3 Assembled #148 Whisker® Metal Couplers.
Hopefully this will solve the problem. Will let you know.
Thanks,
Bob
My personal opinion is you should be very happy with the assembled Kadee #148 whisker coupler. Their performance is outstanding and it should be an easy drop in replacement. Maybe it costs a little more for them to assemble it versus having to fuss with it yourself, but if you are relatively new to this is a great solution.
(I’m someone who replaces everything with Kadee).
John
Regarding the lights burn out, I have an Athearn Genesis GP7 lettered for ATSF in the Zebra Paint Scheme. I have noticed the lights are really dim, but since I run on a club layout, it’s barely ntouchable.
Much to my surprise the Kadee drop in coupler boxes made their way from OR to VA in just three days. It took less than 5 minutes to install them and the GP 30 is ready to run.
Pictured is the piece of plastic that was attached to both ends of the loco for shipping. Too bad they didn’t shape it like a snow plow.
Here is the loco with the whisker coupler attached.
Alls well that ends well and thanks for the suggestions.
Bob