01.28.12 2012 Amherst Train Show Pt.1 Athearns Engine Announcement (Weak)

[adfgfds]

Would have loved to have asked Athearn if they're ever going to make an SDP45.

[adfgfds]

Thats Athearn for ya. They produce the same shit every year.

[damianbradley]

And even if they released some SD90MAC-H2s in the EMLX patch scheme would have been nice

[damianbradley]

Although I'd like to get the CN GP38-2W, i'd love to see Athearn announce KCS and KCSM Versions of the ES44AC or the new KCS S Belle SD70MACs something other than the norm for them which is Western roads

[TheRealZUIKAKU]

We need some N scale steam. GIVE US AN EM-1 TOO BACHMANN

[OmegaDeus8467]

The SD70M-2 UP with the flared radiators would have been perfect addition to Athearn roster, but for some reason they felt the GP38-2 was better... I personally wanted someone besides Overland Models to product the SD70M-2 (do not want to pay for brass.) My Uncle notice that when you asked about the SD70M-2 the guy looked a bit perplex almost to say that he just realized the error that was made in show casing the GP38.

[OmegaDeus8467]

I was at the show on Saturday and my uncle and I totally forgot about Athearn so called "announcement" until we realized it on our way home. But after seeing Big Al's video I'm glad we did miss it. Ok the models are nice and well detailed but I and a lot of people was expecting something much bigger and exciting, like the DDA40X in its finished product stage. Plus demonstrate the dual decoder features and running the engine. That announcement would have made better sense. Good video dawg.

[BNSF1985]

nice job big al

[AIRSOFTTANK1]

Athearn needs B&P engines beside their sd45 MORE VARIETY!!!

[estrohmeyer]

I have to agrre with Big Al, kinda a boring announcement from athearn who has allready released the 38-2 in many forms, not to mention models fro

m other manufacturers as well, While I think it is a great concept I would like to have seen something that has not been modeled as often as the 38-2.

[containershipfan]

I cant understand producers that release the same item again. Make new locomotives !!!, SDP40, SDP45, SDP40F, and many more. Meanwhile im very happy with my two Proto 2000 GP38-2 (NS & UP). I think that Proto 2000 is far better that Athearn.

[MrSuperclos]

just tired of shitty plastic hand rails...........

[julienjjj]

Gevo, that would have been a nice announcement. It is very common to see superdetailled GP38 already.

[amp8852089]

To everyone here you all should all switch to something inexspenceive beacause atheran will NEVER care about what you want or listen to your concerns like i said it is all about MONEY!!!!!

[amp8852089]

no offence to anyone but Athearn is shit there made in fucken china who dont give a damn with it comes to qulity and neither does the company all they care about is taking your money thats why i go with atlas and broadway limited imp.

[jlvr6racer]

@amp8852089 That's funny. Not saying Athearn is the best. But I believe Atlas is made in China as well. So your China comment makes no sense. And I would say alot of engines this day in age are made in China. Soooo... theres no point. I have Athearn RTR, Athearn Genesis, Proto 1000, Proto 2000, Atlas, Bowser, Stewart (Old) and really I don't see much difference in the way they are built. I have the new C630 assembled in China and its beautifully detailed.

[aocruiser]

Great video Al! I agree that is wack!

[jmarksbery]

That was my call profklyzir, I have been in the hobby for 55+ years, I know what I want. If you want to pay top price for little return of a lesser product that's your choice. Seems your always on an agressive side!!

[qtrain1]

Fair enough comments Al and I suppose at the end of the day commercial reality will determine if the models are a success

[Chessie1977]

Although I am glad that they are making a pretty sweet GP38-2, and hope they come out with different versions and maybe roll it into a GP38. But all the hype for a GP38-2 was a bit extreme. Having something that the market hasn't seen, or hasn't ever seen a decent version of would of been worth the hype. As far as pricing goes, not unexpected and I can tolerate for now. They have to keep the budget rtr and Atlas trainman for the budget modelers though.

[COOLEOK18]

I know what you mean by it will drive the young guys away, I'm only 15 and I have somewhat of a layout and I have been having to reuse all my items even the incredibly damaged ones like the roadbed that I cut or the ballast that I glued down because of the crazy high price of everything that goes into this hobby.

[railworksdabest]

@COOLEOK18 im 15 aswell but i'm saving what little money i have to spend so i can buy fast track templates so i could posibly make and sell custom track to earn more money.

[railworksdabest]

i would buy some of athearns products but lately their prices have gone sky high. $170 for a set of 5 bethgon coalporters. thats too expensive. thats why model train hobbists had decreased alot.

[LaochWins]

This is right up my alley. I got into the hobby late in the game and I missed out on older locos. However I have no need for 38's. I'm still waiting for some SD40t-2 and SD45t-2's to rerelease.

[cnwbelvideresub]

if i was to get one it would be the cn. just cuz its the coolest. and al those were two solid questions! but there aint noway in hell im payin 300$ for one

[STEELHORSE1975]

its our american right to say our opinion or to ask a retailer about a product or say hey why not . So good job AL

[MonsterRailroad]

@STEELHORSE1975  EXACTLY!! Thanks man, I just had to give my honest opinion. It's neither right or wrong. Some people

1. strongly agree

2. somewhat agree

3. neither agree or disagree

4. somewhat disagree and some

5. Strongly disagree.

There I covered EVERYONE'S feeling on my opinion of that announcement

[tommie022481]

I agree 100%

[railbubba1]

Id still like to see a P42 in Genesis line!

[nawrock]

Being the hardcore CN modeler I am...all the GP38-2ws I will be ordering. Thanks for the heads up AL!!!!!!! WHOOT WHOOT

[MrKLUKE]

There are so many crybabies and spoiled people in the model railroad community! Whether it's youtube or train forums...all people do is bitch and moan about how dumb the manufacturers are. The funny thing is 99.9% of the people crying would have NO idea how to start a business like this, do the research, design the tooling, market the product, come up with initial investments, deal with legal issues, ETC..Unbelievable how smart people THINK they are! Go ahead people, put something out yourself!

[profklyzlr]

@MrKLUKE Amen Kluke... 

[profklyzlr]

@MrKLUKE Agreed

[MonsterRailroad]

@MrKLUKE True, but people also just have opinions and speak them too. For example I COMPLETELY understand that people are happy with this release. I say congratulations to them too. Just because I do not like it or I am NOT impressed by this HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT that does not mean I am right, it just means I am not impressed. All this hype for a model already on the market is just not impressive to me. Do I really care though? NOPE. I do not NEED or have to HAVE any new model really.

[MonsterRailroad]

@MrKLUKE - Spoiled? some of us are A LOT but I am a little bit because I have personally GROWN in this hobby to the point where I actually like to detail, kitbashed and create things by myself.

When it comes to new announcements For Example:

If I said I have a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT in my next video then in the video I said I bought a UP SD70M. No one would be really impressed or excited because I have some now and so what. That is how I felt about Athearns Announcement yesterday.

[NSfutureconductor]

Sd70 any thing is what I like aswell.. But... It's nice to see some common gp38s in genessis detail.. I like'em but It's not something I would'a made a big deal out of like athearn did... it was kinda a let down... keep up the good work Al...

[elr2141979]

@profklyzlr they should make es44 gevos not this junk.

[JDEngine2]

Yuck! All my athearn locos are dummy locs....got sick of poor performance so I gutted them

[profklyzlr]

@JDEngine2 Take another look, the newer (Horizon era) Ath's aren't anything like the Blue Boxes of old... and even a BB loco can be a sweet runner if mech-checked properly... ;-)

[UPfan001]

Nice to see yeah there! I got stuck near the back, came back later when not many people were there. I likt the wide cab CN model. Not many manufactures have made a correct wide cab unit.

[MonsterRailroad]

@UPfan001 You'll LOVE the Bowser announcement of CANADIAN models coming too!

[Modelrailroad10]

I have Athern loco's and they seem to fall aprt very easily. Will not be purchasing anymore.



[bigB6flyer]

Al, I heard you on the MRH video in the background...too funny. My $ is safe from Athearn, with questionable QC and the cheap bulbs. They need to put LEDs in their models and improve their quality&reliability for those prices.

[MonsterRailroad]

@bigB6flyer Yeah that was me in the background.  LOL

[nolsknows1]

they say the offical price?

[shadowknight227]

It's cool because there is a train show going on in SA this weekend!

[ironwolfusa]

I'll just keep looking on eBay. Some good deals and some bad but I can't afford to pay that much for motive power. The rise in prices are running many hobbyists off.

Sad...

[csxns]

I want big power also,like to have a Quality CSX AC4400CW,NS D9-40CW,GEVO's yes like to have a few of them also CSX and NS style.Big Al,keep up the great work.

[UnionPacificBNSF]

Proto 2000 may not have all the details but is more reliable.

[profklyzlr]

@UnionPacificBNSF Ahem - Cough - Cracked axle gears - Cough - replace with Ath to repair - Cough....

[jonnyspeed]

Sorry man. I totally disagree with you. I am sick of all the modern stuff. I am glad to see these with specific road details. The CN with Canadian cab is tight IMHO

[MonsterRailroad]

@jonnyspeed Well then I offer a congratulations to guys such as yourself happy to hear this announcement. :) Bowser had a new announcement for your ROAD. Canadian railroaders will LOVE Bowsers new announcement coming soon to video by your boy Big Al!

[apples2095]

All in all we are forced in with rising prices. $40. for starters. That is really too much of a jump!

[dmncau]

Thank you AL for posting this video!! Athearn will never listen nor improve they just wanna keep upping the prices so the top people can get more bonus and I have not seen much improvement in their quality. Their prices are not realistics especially in today's competitive market place. Many kids can just get video games instead of model trains to entertain themselves. I wish we could get together and do a boycott of athearn!! Let them learn for once!!

[MonsterRailroad]

@dmncau Well the FACT of the matter is all the manufactures prices are going to PUSH OUT the younger model railroaders because most just can't afford the extra $230 per engine. I have a HARD job trying to convince some 18 year old kid to spend $225 for an engine rather than their "In Style" clothes and girlfriend. As the prices go up, we will lose younger guys, that is a fact! And as the older guys with cash die off the hobby will slowly cripple itself.

[dmncau]

@MonsterRailroad so true AL your the best man!! They are taking their own customers for a ride in my opinion! Intermountain is making some SD40-2s that will give athearn a run for their money and Atlas can always make more Silver and Gold line GP38s and GP40s. Athearn is trying to be this high end company that they are not. Pushing their prices up and up and still made in China not made in the USA! I wish we just could all get together and boycott them!!

[damianbradley]

@dmncau The price increase is the normal for any company now days do why just jump on athearn. The Quality has improved alot for athearn shows you havent bought any as of late

[soxlosenow]

Give me Gevo's.. They've got the molds for them..

IAIS plz

[RockstarDriver]

its nice, but i would have wanted somwthing that isnt alreadt out there. there are already a ton of gp-38-2s out there

[yorktown1000]

WHy do you not like it. Is there stuff wrong with them. I like the southern unit so if there is something wring please tell me because im thing about getting the southern.

[jkuz47]

Al thanks for keeping it real. Love watching your videos.

[MonsterRailroad]

@jkuz47  Always, always! Thanks for watching the videos man! There is many many more to come from the train show.

[jkuz47]

I have to agree that all the build up to the "BIG" announcement was a waste. One thing that is a positive about this announcement is that Athearn now has the capability to make modular tooling which makes it easier and more cost effective to produce prototype specific details from the same basic plastic molds. This is the BIG Evolution Athearn is referencing. This will hopefully lead to more variations in future releases of modern equipment. I believe Intermountain is already using modular

[duhrailed]

boring to some but not all

i'm looking forward to getting this GP38-2w in CN

finally something more accurate

will fit perfectly into my layout

anything larger than an SD40 won't work for me

[MonsterRailroad]

@duhrailed Yes, I understand that to some this is exactly what they wanted, just not for me and most of us simply are not impressed or even slightly moved by this "HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT"

[duhrailed]

@MonsterRailroad i'm open to all forms of the hobby

i have alot of respect for the work everyone does

i don't comment often but i see all your upload vids

lol

some of those you have done, i wish i wish i had

my layout is nearly complete,working on it every day

have you ever converted a bachmann spectrum dash 8 to tsunami dcc?

i have 2 just sitting

[tjmfishing]

"Needed in the hobby" I think they're wrong. Yeah, I'd love to have a GP38-2W in CN but for the $220 is isn't worth it at all. I don't mind the RTR cars but I bought a CN F7A/B set and I would never buy Athearn RTR again.  Us canucks now have the GP40-2W, the SD40-2W now the GP38-2. I actually cancelled my preorder with Intermountain as I was less than pleased with going to have to add a $30 cab. If they want to tackle the Canadian market follow Bowser and start making MLW's.

[dmncau]

@tjmfishing Thank you mate from another Canadian.

[ARandall70]

Im glad someone is finally doing a correct GP38-2, the RTR is just a blue box with some grab irons and paint. The features offered on these are great, and since it is modular there are many more GP's that can be done. Many people get upset because its not big and flashy like the DDA40X, the U50, or the ACe/M-2, but this model has been needed for a long time. For an NS modeler, having the high hood available with all of the spotting features that SOU had is great news, I can't wait for NS units!

[jlwii2000]

Dude you had my ass crackin up with the banners that said wack and boring....you're right though..WACK! They have improved quality on the latest aces and sd70m-2's but still, the announcement was boring and a waste to even make a huge deal about with an unveiling.

[stationmaster12]

WOW...crap! We want modern power!!!! not this junk!!!! No it wasn't needed in the hobby..Atlas already does it well. I'm not liking Athearn lately. Just my opinion..

[profklyzlr]

@stationmaster12 Um, _who_ wants modern power? Many modellers simply do not have the _room_ to give a SD-Whatever-2MAC the track to stretch it's legs, let alone with a train behind that does it justice. A "pickup-truck" GP38 might be just what the Dr ordered for a smaller layout...

[stationmaster12]

@profklyzlr True, but modern does not mean big. How about some Gensets, MOW equipment, modern detail parts for layouts.. stuff like that and affordable modern structures like fast food restaurants, drive thru banks, convenient stores so on-so forth. That's what I mean. And if someone (like me) who have but only a 4X8 layout want a SD70 whatever as you say has the option to buy it take to a club or park it on a siding. All in all it's a hobby not a competition. I know what I like gave my opinion

[MonsterRailroad]

@profklyzlr And in your case you are right. Smaller layout = smaller motive power. I understand man, trust me. However, there already is two or three other GP38 Manufatcures out there so why more? No need. I LIKE my Athearn RTR GP38-2 in my Youtube background. It cost me just $69 not $230

[CanadianRailRoader]

oh wow, like we haven't had these locos made like a million times already.....lame, but i will get the CN one though........

[SplitHairz]

I wonder if thse train manufacturers ever ask the customers what they want. Notice the presenter said, "WE felt this was needed in the hobby." If I were a dealer I would not be loading up on this one. May have to discount them heavily to move them.

[dmncau]

@SplitHairz true buddy so true!! They never listen.

[jfrydom]

@dmncau Sometimes what people want and what is practical are 2 separate things.

[MonsterRailroad]

@SplitHairz NO, Athearn does NOT listen to the customers. Never have and I am sure they never will. They release what THEY feel is good for the market. Well good for them, I am just not a fan of this model.

[avlisk]

Hi, Al. In the Australian market, the typical diesel is now over $300. Since the whole Sanda Kan/Kader thing went down, I've noticed quality control has taken a dive. Parts falling off, broken or poorly soldered wires, wrong drive-train parts installed, and so forth. 3 or 4 years ago, everything coming out of China for the Aussie market was top notch. I think they are having re-organizational issues that, hopefully, will sort themselves out and things will get better again in the near future.

[dmncau]

@avlisk I would orfer from modeltrainstuff com to save money and they ship to anywhere $300 is a ripp off and I do also believe athearn quality has gone downhill and prises keep going up!

[profklyzlr]

@avlisk Yep, for every US modeller kicking the manufacturers in the teeth for not releasing _exactly_ the model they personally want, there's an Aussie Modeller saying "you don't know how good you've got it..."

[railworksdabest]

there are only models that i want athearn to make in the genesis line

1. sd70m-2 flared radiator

2. ac6000cw

3. c41-8w

4. sd90MAC-H2 late style

5. es44ac

and the salt lake sd70macs 2001 and 2002

[MonsterRailroad]

@railworksdabest Nahh I actually would RATHER see MTH or even BLI make the

1. SD70M Phase II with flared radiators

2. AC4400CW

3. SD90MAC-H2 Late style.

[railworksdabest]

@MonsterRailroad that's a better idea since the quility of athearns products has declined over the years gone by

[deadman07ut]

I am the 100 person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!

[waynegv]

You are right Al,dropped the ball big time. I would also like to see SD-70m flared radiator. A genesis Ac4400. If only Kato would step up.

[LaochWins]

One day, maybe they will make some Genesis 40t-2 and 45t-2's.

[MetraCNW71794]

Obviously there is a market for them or else Athearn wouldn't have bothered. If you dont want them, dont buy it. Who are you to call it boring? IMO, you interrupting his presentation was incredibly rude. Just because your not happy doesn't mean other people aren't.

[MonsterRailroad]

@MetraCNW71794 Sorry man, BUT, That was the end and then I nicely asked a question. Not rude at all. I simply asked WHY? And if a SD70M Phase II with flared radiators would be produced. It is OK to ask questions, not rude.

[jfrydom]

@MonsterRailroad Out of curiosity, if your layout is "finished" and you already have enough locos to run your layout, why buy RTR?

[MonsterRailroad]

@jfrydom That is JUST IT man. I am PERSONALLY at the stage of buying engines and DETAILING them or kit bashing them. For example I am working on another SD70M Phase II with flared radiators. Why? I like to detail and modify the stuff. IN FACT, that is what I did with the UP GP38-2. I made it just a little bit more unique. Truthfully, I have more than enough locos and I do not need one more. I am not in NEED of anything man, just my family and a roof over my head. That is true too dawg.

[elr2141979]

@MetraCNW71794 GP38s are boring.

[profklyzlr]

@elr2141979 GP38s are the "pickup truck" of most US RRs up to current... if you're modelling anything other than "strictly mainline" there's a place for 38s in the roster...

[Tcostello105]

I like that CN loco at 1:39, i don't disagree a lot, but i love the GP38-2s infact the GP38s & GP40s for CSX go right past my house every night, i just bought a NS GP38-3 at that train show today. But for a large company like Athearn, it was kind of depressing watching them reveal such a common loco.

[tothefuckingmoss]

Maybe they should re-release some of there older stuff that sold out fast like the gray union pacific ac4400!

[wmg33]

Can't wait to see part2. Maybe somebody actually introduced something interesting. GP38s, what a waste! 100% whack. I don't even like the SD70ACe they did. Handrails are too fragile, the removable roof never sits suqare, headlights aren't always mounted flush, bad trucks, and I hate the frosted side windows which are a lame attempt at window tint. I only own 12 locomotives but 0 Athearn. They do make nice rolling stock and containers. Leave the engines to Overland.

[chevelle396guy]

Boring is right. Athearn dropped the ball on this one. Just what the hobby needs. Another GP38 model.

[Intransitman]

CN 4769, is nice though the real one has gone by house!

[STEELHORSE1975]

i wish they would put out a gp-30 again instead of gp38's AGAIN Laim

[jmarksbery]

give them hell Al, they should produce what we want at a reasonable price!

[profklyzlr]

@jmarksbery What _who_ wants? (I wouldn't dare to presume that I could speak for the entire Model RR community worldwide, that's a huge call to make...).