RS-3's and GP-7 / 9

[jim81147]

I am looking for these locos , DCC and sound , and it seems that the only ones available are Bachmann's or Athearn Genesis . I have one Bachmann and although it is not a bad model , I would prefer to get something a bit better . I have an Atlas S-2 that is way quieter , smoother and better looking . I really like the Atlas loco's and they say they are set to release some of what I am looking for , but they have been saying that for over a year now . I have never seen , in person , an Athearn so I cant really comment on them one way or the other but if memory serves me correctly I have seen lots of posts of people saying that they had broken gear trouble with these models. Can anyone comment on these brands , one way or the other , or suggest a good alternative?

 

[bnsf971]

Atlas certainly makes an RS3 with DCC and sound. I currently have one, it has a Loksound decoder. It runs and sounds great.
Walthers also markets a GP7/9/18/20/30 with DCC and sound. You do have to be careful which version you get, as some of them had some not-so-good-sounding sound.

 

[jim81147]

Terry , where did you find your Atlas RS-3 ? I am looking for some decorated in DRG colors . As I said , I really like the Atlas locos , all I have had worked and looked great.

 

[bnsf971]

Terry , where did you find your Atlas RS-3 ? I am looking for some decorated in DRG colors . As I said , I really like the Atlas locos , all I have had worked and looked great.

I found mine at my LHS.

 

[NIKO_SUAV3]

So I can only speak to the Athearn Genesis GP9. I have two Santa Fe Units and I have to say that I am pretty happy with them, though mine don't have a lot of scale miles on them. I bought both of them in the DC version for less than $70 and ended up putting Tsunami decoders in them. I find that the detailing and at least initial quality is extremely good and I haven't had any bad luck with Athearn over the years.