ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.
Several weeks ago, we ordered a couple of new engines to add to the stable. The first is a Kato Mid SD40-2 and the second is an Athearn AC4400CW. Both in in the BNSF livery, which look very good on each. We ran them for a few minutes over the weekend and my overall impression of each was good. As they get broken in, I'll add a short review of each. At least for the time being, they'll be ran as DC units, but we do have plans to upgrade both to DCC later this year.
Great looking engines, although I really like the 1 st engine. Perhaps it is just the picture but it looks more detailed. Just a small observation though: you mentioned that the 1 st engine was the Kato and the 2nd was the Aethern, I am assuming the labeled pictures are correct though
You're right Tony, the Athearn is the first picture and the Kato is at the bottom. As good as I heard Kato engines were supposed to be, the Athearn runs very smoothly, at least out of the box.
I personally like the Athearn trains for no particular reason by the way. I have one of their Genesis PG38-2's that I am looking forward to trying out. I also have a DCC Genesis GP15-1 (I think it says) that I also like. The biggest attraction for me is the weight of their loco's, they feel strong and feel as though they could with stand anything. The beauty of knowing virtually nothing about specific engines, I don't worry about if the detail is perfect or deficient in some way cos I would know
I was able to find the Kato on the web at a pretty reasonable price ($100 off MSRP). The Athearn was purchased through a local hobby store as a gift for my son, who's helping me with a layout project. I've been very impressed with both engines so far, but the Athearn is a little better runner for me with just a few minutes of run time in each. Both are hefty and stout engines, but my initial nod would go to the AC4400CW, and that wasn't what I was expecting.
If they run as good as they look, they are great! For me, the only problem is they are 65 years in the future for my layout, and the C-C trucks don't track that well on my 18-20" radius curves. But that's my problem, not yours! That BNSF paint scheme is very beautiful...far better than that green-black-white of its predecessor BN. BNSF takes in aspects of its parent roads, C.B.& Q., NP, GN and AT&SF. Let us all know how they do.
That BNSF paint scheme is very beautiful...far better than that green-black-white of its predecessor BN. BNSF takes in aspects of its parent roads, C.B.& Q., NP, GN and AT&SF. Let us all know how they do.
