Athearn RTR Gp38-2


C

conrail92

Member
It's been awhile since my last locomotive purchase and I have been browsing lately. I was thinking about getting an athearn Gp38-2 perhaps (http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH80183) It was not mentioned on the site but are there Gp38-2's DCC ready? The last locomotive I bought from them a Dash 9 came with a DCC ready wiring harness installed, is there Gp38-2's the same?

Also overall for those who own this locomotive how would you rate it? I noticed its not a very expensive one and I found a few places that sell it for under $50 but does the low price match the quality?

Also how does the atlas trainman gp38-2 compare?
 
The Athearn GP38-2 is still the most accurate measurement-wise. I'm not sure if this, or the most recent (still on pre-order) run still come with cab fryer headlights, however the previous run did. If its DCC plus equipped, Athearn's site usually would say so.
 
I've got an Athearn RTR GP38-2 and it is an updated BB version. It has the normal Athearn brass contact strip running across the top of the motor and the crew frying headlight. There's no DCC plug or any of that fancy stuff but it's a nicely proportioned locomotive with the newer handrails and dimples to show you where to drill if you want to add details like grab irons.

I got mine for $35 on e-bay and it's a good runner. I spent probably $5 on wire for grabs and some lift rings. It took about two hours to upgrade the detailing. If you can solder, it's not hard to install a decoder and LED headlights. I did that with mine and the cost of the Digitraxx decoder and two LED's was about another $25. For a total of about $65, I've got what I think is about the equal in detail and running quality of an Atlas Silver Line locomotive. If you like detailing and have the skills, I think it's a good deal. If you don't like detailing or just don't have the time or skills, an Atlas Silver Line would be a better deal for you. I have several Blueline engines and I have not impressed with the quality control. They are quite noisy for higher-end locomotives, I've had a lot of problems programming the DCC decoders, and the sound is nowhere near as good as something like QSI or Locsound. You can give the Blueline SD-40 a try and see if you like it since the price is pretty good. The folks at modeltrainstuff (MB Klein) are really good to deal with and they'll take a return or exchange if you decide you don't like the product.

I'm attaching a pic of my GP-38 after detailing so you can get an idea of how it would look with a little work.
 
Jim, the run AFTER yours, came WITH installed grab irons. Go figure they didn't upgrade "one thing" this time, wish they could have at least added new lighting.
 
This is something I keep running into -- as I buy newer deisels with better details, the older ones start looking less realistic...
 
My wife has a GP38-2 which has DCC onboard but it's a Bachmann, however it's a very, very nice looking model, a great runner and highly recommended. It's also cheaper than an Athearn!
 
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Josh, I noticed the later run had the grabs installed but it was also about $35 higher. I still like to install my own details sometimes just so I don't loose my touch completely. :)

RO, you can bring many of those older models up to newer standards. Just takes a drill, some wire, and patience. But, you're right. Put one of the new Athearn Genesis F units next a BB F unit and the BB unit looks pretty sad.

George, that Bachmann DCC equipped GP38-2 is about the best value around for detail, running quality, and not having to buy another decoder. Their GP-30 is also nice unit.
 
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