I wrote an e-mail yesterday to Tony’s Train Exchange expressing my interest in an Athearn RTR RSC-3 NYC loco with premium sound added. Here is part of the reply I got from a sales rep:
"Have you heard any of the RTR Athearns? We can’t be held
responsible for the loco’s noise.
Please call me if you want me to elaborate."
What’s this all about? Does anyone know what he’s talking about? I found this reply rather dumbfounding to say the least. I have not had the chance to call him back yet as I just got the e-mail tonite.
I am interested in getting a quote for the Athearn RS-3 NYC #8304 (94102 NYC) with DCC and Sound (premium if available). I also wondered if you can change the road # from 8304 to 8324. Include it in the quote if you can do it.
Thank you.
Mike Lanza
Seems clear to me or am I missing something? It HAS been a long day.
coborn - but he says ‘noise’ not ‘sound’. Do Athearn RTR locos make alot of noise? I’m confused. I suppose I’ll haver to wait till tomorrow to clear it up.
I think this what he ment…(The fellow responding from Tony’s)
As far as I know, the RSC in the RTR does NOT come with “Sound” Only the Genisis line has sound. And at the moment, that is only in the MP15 switcher and the F7, with a SD45 in the offering. I am pretty sure no “RTR” line has sound offfered.
What he is refering to, I believe, when he mentions “have you heard them?” is that the latest batch of Athearn locomotives (POst Horizon take over) have had a really bad rap as being pretty noisey. Some people say they are worse than the old BB’s. It all depends on which unit you get. From the GP 38 to the AC4400, they all can be pretty bad. There have been quite a few posts from folks here talking about the noise. My guess is the fellow from Tony’s is covering his butt because so many are bad, he is getting tired of dealing with another company’s problem. (And I cant blame him).
What makes the noise problem even worse, is that it is hit and miss. One unit will be fine. That person buys another one, and growls like its jammed. AThearn, it seems, is haveing some serious quality control issues.
Thanks Big John, I had a feeling that’s what he was saying but I found it hard to believe. The RTR Athearn RS-3 comes with a basic DCC decoder but no sound. I missed the posts on the noisy Athearns. I am going to call Tony’s tomorrow to find out what the deal is. I understand they are a reputable firm and will tell me what’s up with the Athearns.
Yesterday I responded to a topic in which a rail was seeking info on how to get a dummy (locomotive, of course) when dummies (locomotives, of course) are not available from the manufacturer.
My advice was to stick around; all dummies eventually show up in the forum.
The RTR RS3’s are DCC Ready but do NOT come with a decoder. It’s an easy install though. I have one sample that is a noisy runner. After 5 Proto 2000’s, and 6 news Atlas Units, I find this RTR Athearn to be GREAT in DETAIL but lacking in the mechanical area. After having to add a decoder and including the original purchase price, I feel it is un-accepatable for this Unit to run as noisy as it does. Many people have complained, and there are work arounds to fix them, but why should we.
I have had many talks with the folks at Tony’s and they are good folks. They know their stuff, and if they think they are a noisy runner, then you can bet that they have run em and agree with many here.
Thanks Chris. I thought the RS-3 came with a basic decoder but obviously I’ll take your word since you have one I am disappointed to hear about the noisy Athearn. It was a perfect fit for my upcoming layout and I only needed to change one digit in the roadnumber to make it prototypical for my road. Oh well.
The Point I was trying to make is why should the modeller have to do what the factory should have done to make this right in the first place? I WANTED this RS3 bad! I had read the reviews and saw the pics in the magazines and decided it would be worth it to purchase one at the price my LHS had on it. I took it apart, lubed it as I would any of my new purchases and then broke it in on my set of rollers with approximately 6 hours of run time. I then proceeded to install a DCC decoder from NCE into this unit to make it as good as I could. In total, I have over $100 into this engine and it still sounds like something that’s headed for the shops for an overhaul.
On the flip side at the same LHS I bought an Conrail SD35 Atlas Silver WITH the DCC Decoder for $59 bucks. This engine needed nothing other than the decoder programmed for the Loco Number.
Since I bought this SD I have had little use for the RS3. Thank goodness it at least LOOKS good on the layout!
Chris,Have you test ran the RS3? Have you seen one in person or are you only going by hear say?
The RS3 has been getting favorable comments on the other forums I am on.
I have several Athearn RTR units and all was smooth and quiet from the box.I have even test ran the RS3 last week…It was smooth and quiet…
I just got off the phone with Ken from Tony’s Train Exchange. Here’s the deal: Athearn RTR has basically the same mechanicals as the old Athearn Blue Box series. While the details have been drastically improved, the engine and lack of weight can cause them to run very noisy compared to say Genesis. Therefore they are somewhat wary of having customers pour money into this engine and then be unhappy with the results.
I was very impressed with Ken’s candor and customer concern. Tony’s is a real top notch place in my opinion.
I am disappointed to hear about the noisy Athearn. It was a perfect fit for my upcoming layout and I only needed to change one digit in the roadnumber to make it prototypical for my road. Oh well.