Athearn Genesis SD70ACes?


I have quite a few of Athearn Genesis SD60-70 variants, and I have had to work on the trucks on all of them to get them to run correctly (other than one SD60M, and one SD70MAC). I bought two ACe's and didnt have to do a thing to them. Guess I got lucky. Also they run pretty good on DC with the MTH ACe's.
 
New member

Hello: Wanted to say hi and get started in the locomotives forum sites. At the present time I'm interested in discussing Athearn "customer service ??".
 
Ive had good experiences with Athearn's customer service. Any time Ive had a problem with one of their locomotives or needed a part, an email always solved it. One time they replaced a light board free of charge and another they fixed the notorious SD70 series warped truck. Free of charge except for "to" shipping.

That being said, Athearn's quality control has gone down hill. Largely due to Chinese outsourcing and lack of logistical oversite, I would suspect. So its a good thing they, by my experience, do a good job supporting their customers.

BTW, I sold my pre-ordered Athearn SD70ACes. I just wasnt impressed by the engines. I just dont understand Athearn's insistence on using bulbs in their locomotives. LED's will most likely never burn out and have improved in appearance greatly over the years. I went with the MTH ACe, and the result has been a mixed bag. One loco was wired wrong and shorted out 2 decoders. It was sent off for repair and after 3 months was returned to me properly repaired. The other, was fine, but I was shocked that the newest version of the Soundtraxx Tsunami with the proper sounds would not fit under the shell. I did some custom work and its now a great looking and sounding engine. I am now a satisfied customer but I am a bit wary of MTH's dedication to HO products.

Both manufacturers have their issues, particularly with the SD70ACe. Personally, I am done with Athearn's engines after the next run of P42s as I am tired of replacing their bulbs with LEDs. Personally, I prefer Atlas, Kato, and IM.
 
I hate dragging up a months-old topic, but I'd like some info on the subject also. I know about the lights. Don't care. I don't really care about the sound either, that's just a bonus for me. What's the longevity like? How long could I expect a brand-new one to last?

I don't know much about MTH either except that they seem to be wickedly popular. Most YouTube video reviews of the Athearn SD70M's, Aces and SD75M's all whine and moan about the faults when compared only to MTH models. I'd like some unbiased information, seriously.
 
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KCSRailfan said:
Bad things have been said bout the MTH lol. Nobody likes to speak of it.
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I love the MTH SD70ACe, it beats the Athearn in virtually all respects in my opinion, so much that I traded it back in today for the MTH. The sound was horrid, it was noisy and running DCC, it couldn't even hold scale speeds with loads other engines handled fine.
 
I just sent my DCC Ready MTH SD70ACe off to be repaired for the 2nd time! The first time MTH supposedly replaced the motor. It worked ok for about 6 weeks before it started shorting out my DCC system every few feet. The.first time it malfunctioned, it smoked two decoders!:mad:

So how am I to know whether it was actually fixed when I get it back this time? When it breaks down 4 months from now and the warranty doesnt cover the repair? Awesome...just awesome. :rolleyes:
 
bigB said:
I just sent my DCC Ready MTH SD70ACe off to be repaired for the 2nd time! The first time MTH supposedly replaced the motor. It worked ok for about 6 weeks before it started shorting out my DCC system every few feet. The.first time it malfunctioned, it smoked two decoders!:mad:

So how am I to know whether it was actually fixed when I get it back this time? When it breaks down 4 months from now and the warranty doesnt cover the repair? Awesome...just awesome. :rolleyes:
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I know how you feel, I just had 4 Athearn engines come out of the box with bad bushings and then a Kato decided to puke on me within 15 minutes of taking it out of the box. Amazin ain't it?
 
BSVRR said:
I know how you feel, I just had 4 Athearn engines come out of the box with bad bushings and then a Kato decided to puke on me within 15 minutes of taking it out of the box. Amazin ain't it?
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I've had issues with other manufacturers, but not to this extent. A warped truck here on a Athearn Sd70mac, a blown speaker on a bli ac6000, a blown lightboard on an Athearn. Now this is a first to have to send the mth off twice for what sure seems like the same problem again.

Brad
 
I'd mark the suspect components to see if they're replaced when you get it back.
 
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