Athearn Engines New to the forum


f1_indy2000 said:
I agree here. The older Athearns I have which is a lot of them were and still are very resonably priced. They work great, however, I have a couple of Stewart Hobbies, Atlas, and Katos and them(old Athearn engines) don't even come close to par. It seems like the contacts get dirty really fast or they lack the needed weight that the heavier priced engine cost. I'm sure there are other things that they lack. I have notice or it seems like Athearn has three different levels of engine prices, Quality$$ Genesis-midrange and just plain Athearn resonable, but less quality. Oh well, I will stick with what I have.
Click to expand...


I will put my RTR Athearn up against any brand as far as smooth running..
The best thing these newer RTR Athearn can be found on line for $49.95-64.99 depending on locomotive type.
 
Thanks Brakie, someone comes to my rescue! Thats exactly why I wish Athearn would push a bit more on those engines.
 
RCH said:
I have a C30-7, U23B, 2 B40-8s, a U33C and a GP38 - all new release Atlas - and I didn't pay more than $70 for any one of them. Sure, you might be able to pick up Athearn's newer release models for ten, fifteen bucks apiece less, if that, but is it worth it? I don't have a problem paying $100 per locomotive or more, but that might be because I only buy one every year or two. It's definitely a case of quality over quantity here.
Click to expand...

Ryan,Over this weekends 3 day open house I had 1 motive power failure..Was it a Athearn? No..One of my Atlas Chessie (C&O) GP7s went down..I have not looked at the unit yet to locate the problem.
So,the question *might* boil down to dependability.

Sadly this isn't the first Atlas locomotive failure.This makes number 4.The first three was 3 GP38s..I am not sure how it happen or why but,all three of these units had their duel mode DCC/light board to fail at the same time.
My best guess is some type of a power spike due to a short..
 
As a update on the GP7.When I pulled the shell early this morning I found a truck pickup wire came loose..:( Such will happen for any or all reasons..No biggie other then the embarrassment it caused yours truely..:eek:
 
Brakie said:
As a update on the GP7.When I pulled the shell early this morning I found a truck pickup wire came loose..:( Such will happen for any or all reasons..No biggie other then the embarrassment it caused yours truely..:eek:
Click to expand...

I don't know much about the atlas engines, but what I have done with my athearns was to sodder the the pickups, that way nothing comes loose.
 
I have a variety of brands. For awhile I was afraid of the BB Athearns, they seemed old and junky compared to my Atlas and Katos. Then I started fooling around with them and found it to be quite fun upgrading them- details, wheels, gears, dcc, lighting effects. I have a SD40-2 BN #8003 that I custom painted, and decaled, detail parts, NS wheels, operating rotary beacon, seperate number board lighting, DCC etc, etc

http://www.modelrailroadphotos.com/photos/showgallery.php?ppuser=2937&cat=500

It was a fun project. It looks better in real life, the large picture shows the defects in the paint too much.

As far as the RTR Athearns, they are really nice, but seem a bit light. A P2K will pull twice as many cars up my helix. I usually double head everything so its not that big of a deal.

I have 4 of the older red box Atlas C30-7's. These hefty monsters are the best pullers on the layout.
 
Speent
I really like that pic of the coal cars crossing the bridge. Very good shot, I would rate it a 10.9999999999999 too :D
 
f1_indy2000 said:
Speent
I really like that pic of the coal cars crossing the bridge. Very good shot, I would rate it a 10.9999999999999 too :D
Click to expand...

Well thank you very much. Thats at the Washington State History Museum. We were allowed to bring our own trains during trainfest 06.
 
This was the GP60 I was asking about, I have recently painted the GP40 PC and it fits. Thanks all. Also, just in case if OSHA is watching, I will say I have recently painted this and its waiting to go into weather mode and that's why the stantions are missing
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top