I agree and disagree at the same time. I agree because things are not made the way they were back then. But u need to be very carefully with Athern trains and when u but them buy it your self don't ship it it will break
4) I genuinely DARE YOU to place an Athearn Genesis Southern Pacific MT-4 Mountain type 4-8-2 next to any steam locomotive produced by BLI, MTH, etc. Do that and bring a magnifier BUT really, be honest!
So, aside from Athearn's success at scale fidelity, you are complaining about running quality, brass engines at 3-4 times Athearn's price do not l and simply cannot look as good as Athearn molded tooling and also do not run as well. As already stated, maybe you should consider "O" Gauge 3 rail.
2) To keep scale appearance, a scale cross section of materials must be closely followed as is practicable. This requires photo-etched stainless steel parts and lost wax brass castings which are extremely expensive. The more of these on a model, the more expensive and delicate the model must necessarily be. Kato has only solid (NO see-through detail anywhere) irreparable plastic shells as they cannot be cemented if accidentally damaged.
I totally agree about Athearn's quality declining in the past ten years. There paint jobs and detail have gone up for the most part but there quality control is gone. When my local H shop gets Athearn products in they often have little problems, small details that need to be put and or glued back in place, loose parts, busted couplers. All things that can be fixed pretty easly, but when your charging the prices they are, they should be in perfect condition! Prices? I'll make another post.
While I am sorry to hear about your problems with athearn's quality which in some cases have experienced myself....but my beef with athearn is their outrageous price hikes in the last few updates...e.g. LPG 33.9 tank cars - $50.00!?!?!?!?!?! What the bull fucking hell is that??? What have the changed on it since the last run that made the price go up by $15.00 bucks...thats my rant
Now that your opinion and i think its shit I ave something like 16 Athearn locos and there god value for money there a niche detail and highly reliable there pull heavy loads no problems at all
@nintendofanboy45 try the NCE power cab its fairly popular there is the zephyr which can be pricey and other past models include the big boy which is long gone
I own several Gensis and Ready to Roll models and have never had a single problem with any of them. They all look great and run great and I'll continue to buy from Athearn for the forseeable future
hey jackass you get what you pay for. You want extreme supper quality go brass. Athearn has a decent product for the price. As far as prices going up, look at everything else around you and realized it is called inflation. I agree with criind that fixing it is better and understanding how to do so will save you a headache. If you are having a problem with customer service take it to the place you bought it and deal with them.
The big sticker on the side of the Athearn box that says "MADE IN CHINA" should of been a dead give away that Athearn was going to give you problems. I won't even by porn from china...
And good luck getting parts any more. I think they shot them selfs in the foot by getting away from the old blue box and the $40.00 locomotives. Everything is made in China any more. It BS what has happened to this hobby. Its a rich man hobby anymore.
Hey can't fault Athearn, there just jumping on the "American way bandwagon" More money for crap Mr. Athearn CEO needs this $20 million a year paycheck and his $10 million bonus check.
@scott4152 Except there's one problem with your statement and that is Irv Athearn has been dead since 1991. Horizon Hobbies now owns the Athearn line.
Attention Upheritage6, You asked where I got my HO scale sd70aces they were all bought at Cabbose Hobbies in South central Broadway, Denver,Col. Also got of few old, but new of course Sd90s and SD80macs as well and still run great, however those are Kato models, Really can't find these big units anymore, only on N scale not my kind of gauge. As of today they all do run GREAT of course I do not run all of them all the time, Just run three of them usually and the others are just for show. Thanks
After reading a lot of the comments here, I've realized something. With all the ready to run stuff out there now, no one knows how to fix there locomotives anymore. I grew up with Athearn Blue Box and Atlas when there made by Roco in Austria. The Blue Box engines I can tear down to the frame and put back together. This includes taking the motor apart and cleaning the commutator and armature.
If something breaks, fix it! Most of this stuff is not hard to do.
For all you Kato lovers... Atlas drives are simply a Chinese clone of the Kato drive. Remember, Kato used used to make the chassis for the HO Atlas locomotives. The new ones are the same drive simply made in China. Kato parts will fit the new Atlas chassis'.
For the Proto 2000 people... They are basically Athearn with a higher quality version of the same tan can motor that was in the newer Blue Box Athearns.
Another thing to note. Uploaded April 26, 2010. I'm sure that with over a year gone by, Athearn has improved their quality. I'm sure people have had complaints, and I'm sure Athearn has lost money but this was well over a year ago. Head down to your nearest hobby shop with Athearn RTR locomotives and take one out of the box and look it over. I hope I can guarantee you the fact that you will like what you'll see. My engines were from 2 weeks ago and are fantastic!!
@bnsf5624illinois Oh they will have to improve. One thing is they are not the best for spare parts to replace bad parts. One time I had a bad body shell on a C44-9W UP locomotive and athearn only had one left painted of all and I had to go with a different engine number. I will be getting the new kato HO engines this year.
I have no sympathy for complainers who buy ready-to-roll, no matter which brand it is. Yeah, Athearn engines often times need work to get them to run well BUT, with just a little bit of work they will run and look BETTER than anything else made, including Kato. I've custom-painted over 400 Athearns so I know what I'm talking about. Scrap the stupid plastic handrails and scrap the stupid PC boards. Learn how to solder, detail and paint and you can turn any Athearn into a superior locomotive.
@bnsf5624illinois Hello, sorry for how you feel. I am just stating my bad experiences with athearn trains products, which seem to be happening too often in the past. You can read my description about this situation. If athearn had done better job, I would have continued to purchase their items regularly. I even had someone from athearn help desk tell me that they have to send guys over to the factory in China to make sure quality and everything else is being kept up.
@dmncau Honestly, Athearn has better customer support than McDonalds and I'm only in eighth grade. They called me back very soon after I had reported my problem and he nearly fixed it without my engine having to leave the house. My train set is Athearn and my additional locomotive is Athearn. I strongly support byuing Athearn products and anyone who choses not to is really missing out. The rolling stock is very detailed to the point where print on labels is so small, I can't read it. Now what?
Just watch my video. I am purchasing all Athearn because everything else, except Kato and occasionally Walthers SUCKS BALLS!!!!!!!!!! I just got a train set for Christmas. My GP 38-2 wasn't running right and I called in and they responded and almost fixed it. WOW. Horrible quality? Just disgusting? Fail. My but you can kiss. He fixed it over the phone. He (not you) deserves a raise. Wow... and I'm an eighth grader... If paint is coming off its your fault not theirs.... >:(
@bnsf9842 thank you man, athearn finally decided to replace one defective locomotive body for me ! :) at long last they did something for me! great videos u have
I can understand your frustration. I'm just getting back into model railroading after not doing it since the 90's. I have an Athearn F7 Santa Fe engine and so far it hasn't failed me. It never derails at full power both forward and backwards (for testing purposes), unlike the Life Like Santa Fe engine I have which came in a several hundred dollar set which seems to derail one and a while just running at normal speed. I'll keep running the Athearn engine through the paces for testing.
I just purchased two SD70M's and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them. Runs great, at slow smooth speeds and very quiet. When you order online, that's a chance you take in not being able to inspect your product. As with anything you buy now these days, there are "lemons" in every manufacturer. I would suggest buying from your local shops. This way you can inspect your items and support your local economy at the same time.
@Officerfrasch Oh yes mate. My problem is that they are not many local hobby store close to me so that requires a bus trip and many of the stores do not order enough merchandise or certain things they will only bring on special order only!
@Officerfrasch I agree. People should really buy locally to guarantee they are getting what they are looking for. Is there anyway of proving that it is not some cheapskate rip-off company using Athearn's name to make money over in China or something? For the best Athearn customer support call Dave: 310-763-7140 EXT:123 That man deserves a raise!!
I bought an athearn santa fe fp40 dcc w/ sound 5 YEARS AGO AND ITS still runing same as my grandpa's up denver service unit so shut up and athearn rules.
You know everyone has a right to their opinion, I to went to purchase 3 ho Athearn-gensis locomotives all (SD70aces) earlier in 2011 in Denver,Co. I had the sales associate opened up and test run them, before I bought them, then we noticed on both trucks either the center axels where off the rail, just barely,if not that, other locomotives the closest wheels to the fuel tank where off the rail as well, finally after 11 units I was able to get good workn units, Later got 4 more and stillrun good!
what I have seen of Athearn they run ok once you work on the shity motor. DCC makes them even better, now they started useing better motors because no one was buying them proto and kato are good too
the older athearn blueboxes had WAY better quality than genesis and newer products. but i gotta admit some athearn ready-to-run models are decently made
PROTO 2000 E8/9 CHASSIS WERE MADE OUT OF POT METAL AND BROKE IN HALF.THAT`S WHAT I CALL JUNK.YEAH,PLASTIC RAILS SUCK. SELL ME YOUR ATHEARNS AND WILL FIX THEM.
ok for u to come out against Athearn like this isn't right ive been a fan of there's since the Blue Box Era...it doesn't matter who u buy from there are problems remember these things are produced in china travel here in a tightly packed container box then bounced across miles of our lovely interstates then unloaded and when sold shipped via UPS or USPS an d we all know how nice they treat stuff.so don't blame Athearns for everything they are plastic after all and cant handle being abused
Good thing you were able to return the locos. I have an Atlas SD-50 and on of the wheels axels won't connect to the drive gear, which causes allot of problems. I'm wondering if I can send it back to atlas. Anyways, i'll be sure not to get an athearn engine.
I can understand what you mean by parts breaking off randomly. I had an atlas SD-50 and I was able to run it for about a month and one of the wheels axles would connect to the drive gear in the locomotive. I'm still deciding if I should send it back or open up the loco and see if there is anything I can do. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Atlas but every company has it's occasional mistakes. Not occasional from athearn by what your saying though. Glad you were able to return the locos.
You've had bad luck. That's Chinese quality. I don't care which manufacture you buy, you have to upgrade it in one way or another. Even my Kato engines I have had to work on. Protos had broken axle gears in the past. All of them lack good quality.
hey look im not some crazy guy but if you dont like athearn just give'em to me cause all i want is the trains not the details well kinda but still just gimme the athearn you want just to me plz ill tell you where to ship them if you respond
I am not too sure about Athearn yet. I might give them a chance though. Perhaps bad luck for you. I so far have collected Bachmann, having an EMD GP40, Prairie 2-6-2, Stock Car, Box Car, Open Quad Hopper, Single Dome Tanker, and Off Centre Caboose. I quite like their products.
I had the same problem with p2k geep 7 & 9 . I got rid of all my p2k. I have had no problems with athearn. I bought a used bigboy off ebay. it was missing a window on the front of the cab. I emailed athearn and they sent me a new one free.
The brand that I have have had the most problems with and now refuse to buy is Proto 2000. Almost ever one that I have has had the cracked gear problem and Walthers won't replace them! Life Like would send you them for free!
From your list of problems I would say that it's not so much that Athearn is junk, as it is that the engines you have bought have had some very rough handling. Either in shipment or at the hobby shop before you purchased them. I have a number of Athearn engines and have never had any problems other than the the Ready to Roll engines have cheap headlight bulbs that burn out quickly.
Hey. im not amused with the athearn RTR or the genisis units. the old blue box had a better quality. i bought some rtr when they first came out. i was really disappointed. but i will keep collecting the Blue Box kits. im sad to say my bachmann gp 30 is alot better than the new RTR units
@jgehbrr i have bought a couple spectrums.. the gp 30 and the Nscale 2 6 6 2. both were very nice in quality. but the scale of the Nscale engine was way to small. the only complaint i have with the spectrum is the sound of the motor noise. the sd40 is a big piece of crap as the gp40. very unrealistic.. the main issue i have with bachmanns is that the old crap is really shit.
I'm so glad that I had chose kato for ALL my engines, but due to lack of verity I might soon purchase several atlas gp60 b units...how is atlases quality?
@MrSkywaka alot better than athearn LOL seriously atlas does make a good engine. I have had few problems with their locomotives and I have well over 20 atlas Dash 8 40 series locomotives alone. :) good brand and they have better replacement parts stock
I've noticed the same shoddy quality turning up all over the place. The axles on my Proto 2000 FA1/FB1 set split; my Auscision N class had one drive half-shaft of the incorrect length so it slipped out of the gear tower; my Austrains NR's driveshaft repeatedly slips out; several locos of various manufacturers have had bad wiring, either bad solder joints or mis-wired DCC sockets. The list goes on. Coincidentally, most issues have happened since Sanda Kan merged with Kader.
I agree. Walk into a hobby shop and 7/10 of the diesel models I saw had wonky handrails. Even look at all the new models they put up on their website... broken and bent bits and pieces - amazing incompetence. But look who owns Athearn though. Other legendary brands under that umbrella have been compromised too. If Athearn improved their QC and attention to detail I'd buy them, as I love the detail bits.
ALL THE NEWER TRAINS FROM EVERYONE , ARE TROUBLESOME. LOOKS LIKE A CRAP SHOOT ON IF IT`S A GOOD LOCO OR NOT.I WILL NO LONGER BUY BROADWAY LIMITED. HAPPY RAILROADING FELLA`S.
I Could not agree more with you! I own approx. 50 Athearn RTR/Genesis locomotives and all but 10 of them are currently sitting on a shelf with various issues and the 10 running are on their last legs... I have also decided to stop purchasing Athearn locomotives as well. I haven't had too many issues with their rolling stock quite yet other then it being just a bit too pricy! I have absolutely no trouble paying good money for a good model so price really isn't much of a sticking point for me.
@jI have had two locomotives with issues made by Athearn Genesis. I sent Athearn a very professional letter expressing my disappointment with the fact that i spent well over 3000.00 in Genesis motors in the last couple of years, Athearn in turn contacted me and asked me what they could do to correct the situation. I explained to them that I had a brand new SD70I that will not run scale speed. They sent me a brand new motor, I also told them I have a unit with warped trucks, they sent new ones.
I STRONGLY AGREE WITH YOU!! I bought a athearn genesis SD70ACe (union pacific) and as soon as I put it on the track one of the lightbulbs went out, they don't see that every one else is upgrading to LED's. Let alone the the sound problem the sd70s have. If they didn't improve on this new DDA40x then they just need to stop making models.
athearn growing up with them in the 80s was like a old reliable chevy pickup.. kind simple, but rugged.. bare bones , standard EMD feel and all.. I still have my GP38-2s and others. (all narrow hood of course) and they do good.. the basic athearn MOTOR and chassis are good.. the shells are still good, good styrene quality and all the colors and such have improved.. BUT I see alot of WAY too delicate parts such as photo etch and see through steps, I HATE the celon handrails!!! -- prices forget it
This is why the hobby has gotten so expensive. Too many people demand museum quality detail and precision performance, Too few people have too little skill and too much money. I long for the days of the Athearn "blue box" and a handful of detail parts.
@dcg1976 Well athearn is getting to be pricey. I never thought I would see the day when some athearn models cost more than KATO or Atlas HO models. Tehir basic RTR SD50's used to be $89.99 then to $99.99 and then $149.99 for the new release next yr.
@dcg1976 Well athearn is getting to be pricey. I never thought I would see the day when some athearn models would cost more than KATO or Atlas HO models. Their basic RTR SD50's used to be $89.99 then to $99.99 and then $149.99 for the new release next yr. Ask conrailSD40guy he too will say that athearn has gone downhill in quality.
@dcg1976 I like you, that is the problem with folks and the ass that made this video. For what you pay for a Athearn locomotive, its a great deal. MTH are crap, they use junk circuit boards, canon cheap ass can motors. If you want museum quality, them spend the damn money on a Broadway Limited or a Overland Brass. I have 12 Genesis lcomotives, only two had issues, I contacted Athearn and they sent me new parts to repair what I have. This ass has got the mechanical aptitude of a freaking monkey.
Sorry for your luck. I have purchased 26 Athearn products and one was defective(trinity covered hopper; hand break/chain fell off during shipment). All 6 locos were perfect. Seems good since my record with Walthers is 6 defective on 15 purchased. (4 coil cars. lids fell apart first day on all of them; proto1000 GP15-1s drives were extremely jumpy) Atlas was 1/9 (73' centerbeam; bulkheads separating after a week). Kato 2 bought both fine. proto 2000 1 bought runs great. No MTH. Too much for me.
I go with Proto 2000. BTW I have never had a problem with Athearn and even though they are cheap china shit, the ones I have gotten were pretty well built, though nearly everything is cheap china shit anymore. I will keep buying Athearn because they are an American company FORCED to make there merchandise in China through government regulation. Thanks for your video, but its your opinion and not mine.
Agree! The GP15-1s (CNW) I have bought had to be return for drive train problems; the 2nd one I bought - the detail parts were all messed up! Too much CA applied, put on crooket. They run okay; but no where the quality of my P2K's or my Atlas swithers!
@UPfan4life You MUST have read my long comment so as I said this guy was just saying what HE THOUGHT about Athearn! He didn't tell you to agree or disagree with him! (Obviously YOU disagree. You SURE have shown that) Any btw NOBODY GIVES A F**K WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT HIS OPINION! YOU HAVE REPLIED TO ALMOST EVERY SINGL:E COMMENT AGREEING WITH HIM!!! Your sitting there whining because he said he didn't like Athearn and you're calling HIM the crybaby?!?!?!?!
It seems to me that you are probably buying used Athearns that haven't been taken care of or maintained including lubrication. You cannot blame that on Athearn at all. It isn't their fault that you are too cheap to buy NEW Athearns so you wanna continue buying used crap and then complain about it. I am a faithful Athearn buyer and I have NEVER had ANY problems with their products or customer service, EVER. Athearns are some of the most accurate and dependable engines out there for the price!!
Athearn has ALWAYS had great products and great customer servive in my opinion. How are gonna complain for $75- $85 for a detailed locomotive that runs great. MTH, are you serious? You wanna spend $200 or over for a locomotive, you can buy 2 or even 3 Athearn engines for one MTH. Atlas and Kato are decent, however, you still have to install some of the smaller details on them and still spend over $100. Athearn on the other hand are completely put together and are great prices and still run good.
@UPfan4life Just think, my piece of shit Kato unit ended up being almost three hundred fucking dollars after all was said and done. that is total fucking bullshit. Fuck Kato, they suck ass.
@88junor I agree with you dude, I really don't like Kato a whole lot. I prefer Athearn over anything. I have had just ok Kato but never great Kato. Same with Atlas, they are ok but again, I prefer Athearn over anything. Athearn is what I have always bought and I will always buy them in the future. I have NEVER had ANY problems with Athearn at all. They are some of the best products out there, in my opinion.
I have NEVER, EVER had ANY problems with Athearn at all. I have owned the old Athearn and the new Athearn and in my opinion they are some of the nicest locomotives out there for the price. Atlas and Kato are nice too, however. I completely stand by Athearn, they have actually come a long way since the blue box stuff. It is RTR and not in a kit which is great. Atlas and Kato yet nice models, you still have to install some of the smaller details which I can't stand. ATHEARN ALL THE WAY!!!!
Athearn started going downhill when they got rid of the rolling stock kits. Cheaper than RTR stuff and you could have a couple new cars put together in 15-20.
@BTCRAIL101FILMS Well that depends on what locomotive you talking about. Looking at your videos they mostly taken in Maryland funny I am going to Baltimore soon to visit a relative! LOL
my god people. This guy just made a video speaking his opinions on Athearn's products and you guys gave started bitchin' about it. He didn't ask you to agree or disagree with him. I for one agree with him. Athearn Genesis may be good but some of their RTR models *gag*. Sir I would personally go with the Bachmann Spectrum line. They have high quality models and have EXCELLENT packaging. Their models arrive in a felt wraparound of the locomotive with a felt/foam cover. I would go with Bachmann
@TrackMaster555 Not being ignorant or anything but honestly, Bachmann sucks compared to Athearn. I have owned Athearns and Bachmann and Bachmann are more toylike and run like crap compared to Athearn. Athearn are more detailed and accurate even more so than the Spectrum line, of course that's my opinion. You couldn't pay me enough to own ANYTHING from Bachmann, anything they make is COMPLETE JUNK!! ATHEARN ALL THE WAY!!! Atlas and Kato are nice too, but Bachmann is JUNK!
@UPfan4life Everyone thinks Bachman is for children. At least everyone with sense!!
My first DCC locomotives were Kato but they kept running into trouble and we had to keep repairing them. I am starting fresh with Athearn and am not complaining ONE BIT!!!!!!!!!!
@bnsf5624illinois Yeah some Kato is just OK, but Athearn in my opinion has them beat by far. I have never complained about Athearn and I won't either. ATHEARN ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!
@SouthDakota58 I agree with you there! I do the same thing myself depending on the item! I went to my hobby store to look at the new Santa Fe SD45s and these days athearn cannot do a clean line paint job from where the blue and yellow colors meet on the locomotive.
@DontTryProductions: LOL, I appreciate what you're saying however, I believe you totally misunderstood what I was saying here? I didn't run the locomotive 30 hours all at once, lol. Who would do that? That's 30 hours total in just under a month of usage. I run my trains almost daily for an hour or two and this particular locomotive started making horrible noises after roughly just 30 hours of operation! Thanks for the response though, it's appreciated.
I bought a Athearn Sd40-2 RTR last year, installed a digitrax decoder in it and after messing with the CV's and tryng my best to get it to run smooth, i havn't had the best of luck.. But this doesn't mean I hate it.. I'm sure being a newby with DCC, I need to correct my cvs and play some more. I do have to say, I HATE the hand rails, you just breath on them and they break. But i do like it. Just wish it was easier to install ditch lights in the top mounted ditch light models.
Most of my engines are athearn and I've NEVER had a problem with them, they run well as long as you take good care of them. I will admit I wish the DCC decoder access panels on the GP60Ms were attached a little better, they kinda fall off sometimes if you're holding the engine on an angle but 90% of the time the locomotive is upright so it doesn't really matter. Other that that athearn trains are fairly good for their price.
I have been using Athearn products for 30 years. Only recently on 2 Genesis models have I had a problem, the trucks appear to be warped. Ive sent Athearn a letter and am expecting a reply. I think for how much they sell and the amount of volume they rpoduce, somethings might get past them. I do agree that thier QC needs an overhaul. I will stay with Athearn as far as some of thier older engines, they are good. If they dont sent me a reply, I will aslo boycott them.
And How do you get a dent in your train after running it? I think its opperator error. I mean yea once in a while they have A defect. They have always had great trains. And i expect them to for a while. Great customer service for me. Maybe they Sensed you were more of a I dont wanna get my hands dirty kind of guy.
You say "CN SD40-2 - handrail paint coming off" The handrails should NOT be painted. The only Painted ones were OLD style engines and that was by the modeler. So that to me means your getting used trains. (cant put that on Athearn) Also Athearn goes for like $25-$50 for an engine, How can you cry about that. I dont know how you engines magically turn to shit after you play with it and blame the company. Your supposed to OIL the trains (not the out side, you dont seem like you would know that..)
TELL ME ABOUT IT!! I Also purchased the SD70 mac UP and it's shell came ALL THE WAY FLIPPIN OFF!!! VERY DISSAPOINTED.
TheTrainzLover 1 day ago
athearn improved their stuff in 2012
GordonFreemanD40 2 days ago
I agree and disagree at the same time. I agree because things are not made the way they were back then. But u need to be very carefully with Athern trains and when u but them buy it your self don't ship it it will break
aossler1 6 days ago
Athearn have come a long way since the blue box days, hardly junk
HHenkelmann 1 week ago
Bachmann is junk too!!!!
trainboy360 1 week ago
This has been flagged as spam show
4) I genuinely DARE YOU to place an Athearn Genesis Southern Pacific MT-4 Mountain type 4-8-2 next to any steam locomotive produced by BLI, MTH, etc. Do that and bring a magnifier BUT really, be honest!
So, aside from Athearn's success at scale fidelity, you are complaining about running quality, brass engines at 3-4 times Athearn's price do not l and simply cannot look as good as Athearn molded tooling and also do not run as well. As already stated, maybe you should consider "O" Gauge 3 rail.
paullubliner 1 week ago
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paullubliner 1 week ago
2) To keep scale appearance, a scale cross section of materials must be closely followed as is practicable. This requires photo-etched stainless steel parts and lost wax brass castings which are extremely expensive. The more of these on a model, the more expensive and delicate the model must necessarily be. Kato has only solid (NO see-through detail anywhere) irreparable plastic shells as they cannot be cemented if accidentally damaged.
paullubliner 1 week ago
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paullubliner 1 week ago
Dude;I,have bought Athearn for the past 20 years,good price,no problems.
vietvet68100 2 weeks ago
I totally agree about Athearn's quality declining in the past ten years. There paint jobs and detail have gone up for the most part but there quality control is gone. When my local H shop gets Athearn products in they often have little problems, small details that need to be put and or glued back in place, loose parts, busted couplers. All things that can be fixed pretty easly, but when your charging the prices they are, they should be in perfect condition! Prices? I'll make another post.
hammszilla 2 weeks ago
While I am sorry to hear about your problems with athearn's quality which in some cases have experienced myself....but my beef with athearn is their outrageous price hikes in the last few updates...e.g. LPG 33.9 tank cars - $50.00!?!?!?!?!?! What the bull fucking hell is that??? What have the changed on it since the last run that made the price go up by $15.00 bucks...thats my rant
nawrock 2 weeks ago 3
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paullubliner 1 week ago
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paullubliner 1 week ago
@nawrock Yes, their prices go up faster than the rate of inflation.
dmncau 1 week ago
@dmncau for sure...what a piss off
nawrock 1 week ago
Now that your opinion and i think its shit I ave something like 16 Athearn locos and there god value for money there a niche detail and highly reliable there pull heavy loads no problems at all
MyLocomotiv 2 weeks ago
Hey remember me? :) what dcc system would you recomend thats around $150?
nintendofanboy45 3 weeks ago
@nintendofanboy45 try the NCE power cab its fairly popular there is the zephyr which can be pricey and other past models include the big boy which is long gone
dmncau 3 weeks ago
I own several Gensis and Ready to Roll models and have never had a single problem with any of them. They all look great and run great and I'll continue to buy from Athearn for the forseeable future
redraider5600 3 weeks ago
hey jackass you get what you pay for. You want extreme supper quality go brass. Athearn has a decent product for the price. As far as prices going up, look at everything else around you and realized it is called inflation. I agree with criind that fixing it is better and understanding how to do so will save you a headache. If you are having a problem with customer service take it to the place you bought it and deal with them.
jasquarles 3 weeks ago
I got a huge number of athern trains and number of problems upart from 1 sd45 loco. now i dont buy athern i buy atlas
trainfanatic123 1 month ago
you want to bash ob athern u need to go too hell it not atherns fallet it probly the costmers falt in sted so go to hell
txcowboyzach 1 month ago
ive never had a bad running atheran product...it must be owner idiocy being the problem
boats752 1 month ago
I kinda like the Kato C44-9W and AC4400CW better then Athearn's AC4400 and C44-9W
AmtrakTitan455 1 month ago
The big sticker on the side of the Athearn box that says "MADE IN CHINA" should of been a dead give away that Athearn was going to give you problems. I won't even by porn from china...
turbojetta100 1 month ago
And good luck getting parts any more. I think they shot them selfs in the foot by getting away from the old blue box and the $40.00 locomotives. Everything is made in China any more. It BS what has happened to this hobby. Its a rich man hobby anymore.
foxrivermotorman 1 month ago
Athearn must like screwing you over inparticular, because I've never had any problems. Their units are always good runners.
PunkyBear36 1 month ago
hey dmncau do you have a gp40-2 sorry I ment gp40-2.
JakesGP35 1 month ago
@JakesGP35 I have a few not very many because its not a locomotive I normally go after. I know I have a CN GP40-2 an older athearn model.
dmncau 1 month ago
hey dmncau do you have a gp40-s
JakesGP35 1 month ago
Hey can't fault Athearn, there just jumping on the "American way bandwagon" More money for crap Mr. Athearn CEO needs this $20 million a year paycheck and his $10 million bonus check.
scott4152 1 month ago
@scott4152 Except there's one problem with your statement and that is Irv Athearn has been dead since 1991. Horizon Hobbies now owns the Athearn line.
RobynWatts 3 days ago
The hobby is going to hell....look at the recent price "increases" and I know what you mean about quality.
seankolker 1 month ago
@seankolker I cannot agree with you enough on that statement. The customer does have the right to reject the product and they will lose volume/sales.
dmncau 1 month ago
Oh i know what you mean, i got a UP locomotive a few years back now and its crap. The guardrails were coming off everywhere!
miniproductions19 1 month ago in playlist More videos from dmncau
Have you watched my comeback? Made espicially for you...
Find it from my channel. BACHMAN TRAINS ARE JUNK!!!!!!! and Athearn RULES!!!!!!!
bnsf5624illinois 1 month ago
Attention Upheritage6, You asked where I got my HO scale sd70aces they were all bought at Cabbose Hobbies in South central Broadway, Denver,Col. Also got of few old, but new of course Sd90s and SD80macs as well and still run great, however those are Kato models, Really can't find these big units anymore, only on N scale not my kind of gauge. As of today they all do run GREAT of course I do not run all of them all the time, Just run three of them usually and the others are just for show. Thanks
edsel30858 1 month ago
@edsel30858 Hello, just wanted to say KATO is redoing those SD9043MACs in HO scale and they will be out by March of 2012
dmncau 1 month ago
After reading a lot of the comments here, I've realized something. With all the ready to run stuff out there now, no one knows how to fix there locomotives anymore. I grew up with Athearn Blue Box and Atlas when there made by Roco in Austria. The Blue Box engines I can tear down to the frame and put back together. This includes taking the motor apart and cleaning the commutator and armature.
If something breaks, fix it! Most of this stuff is not hard to do.
criind 1 month ago 7
For all you Kato lovers... Atlas drives are simply a Chinese clone of the Kato drive. Remember, Kato used used to make the chassis for the HO Atlas locomotives. The new ones are the same drive simply made in China. Kato parts will fit the new Atlas chassis'.
For the Proto 2000 people... They are basically Athearn with a higher quality version of the same tan can motor that was in the newer Blue Box Athearns.
criind 1 month ago
Another thing to note. Uploaded April 26, 2010. I'm sure that with over a year gone by, Athearn has improved their quality. I'm sure people have had complaints, and I'm sure Athearn has lost money but this was well over a year ago. Head down to your nearest hobby shop with Athearn RTR locomotives and take one out of the box and look it over. I hope I can guarantee you the fact that you will like what you'll see. My engines were from 2 weeks ago and are fantastic!!
bnsf5624illinois 1 month ago
@bnsf5624illinois Oh they will have to improve. One thing is they are not the best for spare parts to replace bad parts. One time I had a bad body shell on a C44-9W UP locomotive and athearn only had one left painted of all and I had to go with a different engine number. I will be getting the new kato HO engines this year.
dmncau 1 month ago
@bnsf5624illinois AMEN!!! Athearn stuff is GREAT!!!!
UPfan4life 1 month ago
I have no sympathy for complainers who buy ready-to-roll, no matter which brand it is. Yeah, Athearn engines often times need work to get them to run well BUT, with just a little bit of work they will run and look BETTER than anything else made, including Kato. I've custom-painted over 400 Athearns so I know what I'm talking about. Scrap the stupid plastic handrails and scrap the stupid PC boards. Learn how to solder, detail and paint and you can turn any Athearn into a superior locomotive.
htc6600 1 month ago
Boycott watching your videos......
bnsf5624illinois 1 month ago
@bnsf5624illinois Hello, sorry for how you feel. I am just stating my bad experiences with athearn trains products, which seem to be happening too often in the past. You can read my description about this situation. If athearn had done better job, I would have continued to purchase their items regularly. I even had someone from athearn help desk tell me that they have to send guys over to the factory in China to make sure quality and everything else is being kept up.
dmncau 1 month ago
@dmncau Honestly, Athearn has better customer support than McDonalds and I'm only in eighth grade. They called me back very soon after I had reported my problem and he nearly fixed it without my engine having to leave the house. My train set is Athearn and my additional locomotive is Athearn. I strongly support byuing Athearn products and anyone who choses not to is really missing out. The rolling stock is very detailed to the point where print on labels is so small, I can't read it. Now what?
bnsf5624illinois 1 month ago
@bnsf5624illinois Hallelujah!!!!!!
UPfan4life 1 month ago
Just watch my video. I am purchasing all Athearn because everything else, except Kato and occasionally Walthers SUCKS BALLS!!!!!!!!!! I just got a train set for Christmas. My GP 38-2 wasn't running right and I called in and they responded and almost fixed it. WOW. Horrible quality? Just disgusting? Fail. My but you can kiss. He fixed it over the phone. He (not you) deserves a raise. Wow... and I'm an eighth grader... If paint is coming off its your fault not theirs.... >:(
bnsf5624illinois 1 month ago
MTH Trains is junk also, you need to buy their DCS Crap to have a lot of your features to work in HO.
big69show 1 month ago
man this guy has bad luck :(
bnsf9842 1 month ago
@bnsf9842 thank you man, athearn finally decided to replace one defective locomotive body for me ! :) at long last they did something for me! great videos u have
dmncau 1 month ago
@dmncau thnx you to i to have had problems with Athearn but hey its models are we supposed to work on them and fix them
bnsf9842 1 month ago
DANG!
Rtchugg 1 month ago
I can understand your frustration. I'm just getting back into model railroading after not doing it since the 90's. I have an Athearn F7 Santa Fe engine and so far it hasn't failed me. It never derails at full power both forward and backwards (for testing purposes), unlike the Life Like Santa Fe engine I have which came in a several hundred dollar set which seems to derail one and a while just running at normal speed. I'll keep running the Athearn engine through the paces for testing.
pokerguy17 1 month ago
I just purchased two SD70M's and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them. Runs great, at slow smooth speeds and very quiet. When you order online, that's a chance you take in not being able to inspect your product. As with anything you buy now these days, there are "lemons" in every manufacturer. I would suggest buying from your local shops. This way you can inspect your items and support your local economy at the same time.
Officerfrasch 1 month ago
@Officerfrasch Oh yes mate. My problem is that they are not many local hobby store close to me so that requires a bus trip and many of the stores do not order enough merchandise or certain things they will only bring on special order only!
dmncau 1 month ago
@Officerfrasch count yourself lucky I wish I got that outcome :)
dmncau 1 month ago
@Officerfrasch I agree. People should really buy locally to guarantee they are getting what they are looking for. Is there anyway of proving that it is not some cheapskate rip-off company using Athearn's name to make money over in China or something? For the best Athearn customer support call Dave: 310-763-7140 EXT:123 That man deserves a raise!!
bnsf5624illinois 1 month ago
what about atlas and walthers? they have good qualities
dijonvenableiscool 1 month ago
I bought an athearn santa fe fp40 dcc w/ sound 5 YEARS AGO AND ITS still runing same as my grandpa's up denver service unit so shut up and athearn rules.
upheritage6 1 month ago
edsel30858 where in in denver did you get them?
upheritage6 1 month ago
You know everyone has a right to their opinion, I to went to purchase 3 ho Athearn-gensis locomotives all (SD70aces) earlier in 2011 in Denver,Co. I had the sales associate opened up and test run them, before I bought them, then we noticed on both trucks either the center axels where off the rail, just barely,if not that, other locomotives the closest wheels to the fuel tank where off the rail as well, finally after 11 units I was able to get good workn units, Later got 4 more and stillrun good!
edsel30858 1 month ago
Because of this dreadfully boring video, I am inspired to buy another Athearn locomotive. Mine work just fine.
MrKLUKE 1 month ago
what I have seen of Athearn they run ok once you work on the shity motor. DCC makes them even better, now they started useing better motors because no one was buying them proto and kato are good too
BNSFfan2373 1 month ago
Can anyone comment as to the quality and reliability of Bachmann's "Spectrum" line?
jgehbrr 1 month ago
the older athearn blueboxes had WAY better quality than genesis and newer products. but i gotta admit some athearn ready-to-run models are decently made
lotsoftrains123 2 months ago
@lotsoftrains123 I will agree with you there on the blueboxes from back in the day. Athearn needs to have consistent quality with their products.
dmncau 2 months ago
PROTO 2000 E8/9 CHASSIS WERE MADE OUT OF POT METAL AND BROKE IN HALF.THAT`S WHAT I CALL JUNK.YEAH,PLASTIC RAILS SUCK. SELL ME YOUR ATHEARNS AND WILL FIX THEM.
poplock1963 2 months ago
ok for u to come out against Athearn like this isn't right ive been a fan of there's since the Blue Box Era...it doesn't matter who u buy from there are problems remember these things are produced in china travel here in a tightly packed container box then bounced across miles of our lovely interstates then unloaded and when sold shipped via UPS or USPS an d we all know how nice they treat stuff.so don't blame Athearns for everything they are plastic after all and cant handle being abused
drag0nfire01 2 months ago
Good thing you were able to return the locos. I have an Atlas SD-50 and on of the wheels axels won't connect to the drive gear, which causes allot of problems. I'm wondering if I can send it back to atlas. Anyways, i'll be sure not to get an athearn engine.
AllTrains 2 months ago
I can understand what you mean by parts breaking off randomly. I had an atlas SD-50 and I was able to run it for about a month and one of the wheels axles would connect to the drive gear in the locomotive. I'm still deciding if I should send it back or open up the loco and see if there is anything I can do. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Atlas but every company has it's occasional mistakes. Not occasional from athearn by what your saying though. Glad you were able to return the locos.
AllTrains 2 months ago
I have a MP15 From Monster railroad and all of the lights are blown. (I dont have any others) i will be getting a KATO BN SD70
UP5140SD70M 2 months ago
@JakesGP35 I argree with what what you say. I have a Challanger from them it's runs great and the sound is great and he's very wrong.
number1trainfan 2 months ago
Will you be getting rid of your athrean locomotives
TheBrianbnsf 2 months ago
i used to respect athearn but then i took an arrow to the knee :D
BNSFrails9853 2 months ago
@BNSFrails9853 More like I used to respect Athearn but then I took a stick up the ass.
Anyways, on a more serious note, Athearn is more like a beginner company according to my local train store. It may also be who you're buying from.
cookiekiller6 2 months ago
@cookiekiller6 i dont understand what do you mean Who im buying from?
BNSFrails9853 2 months ago
KATO ALL-THE-WAY track engines and most rolling stock :D
BNSFrails9853 2 months ago
There is something wrong with your head. I bought a used Athearn Gp38-2 Blue Box and it runs like a champ.
Supdude180 2 months ago
You've had bad luck. That's Chinese quality. I don't care which manufacture you buy, you have to upgrade it in one way or another. Even my Kato engines I have had to work on. Protos had broken axle gears in the past. All of them lack good quality.
cnwtrain 2 months ago
@JakesGP35 you shut up it does suck you wanna settle it lighty paws huh huh?! >:(
MrSantafe307 2 months ago
hey look im not some crazy guy but if you dont like athearn just give'em to me cause all i want is the trains not the details well kinda but still just gimme the athearn you want just to me plz ill tell you where to ship them if you respond
MrSantafe307 2 months ago
I am not too sure about Athearn yet. I might give them a chance though. Perhaps bad luck for you. I so far have collected Bachmann, having an EMD GP40, Prairie 2-6-2, Stock Car, Box Car, Open Quad Hopper, Single Dome Tanker, and Off Centre Caboose. I quite like their products.
ToaCelon549 2 months ago
Athearn Locomotives are same quality as to kato or atlas
g5212 2 months ago
I had the same problem with p2k geep 7 & 9 . I got rid of all my p2k. I have had no problems with athearn. I bought a used bigboy off ebay. it was missing a window on the front of the cab. I emailed athearn and they sent me a new one free.
santafecheif 2 months ago
The brand that I have have had the most problems with and now refuse to buy is Proto 2000. Almost ever one that I have has had the cracked gear problem and Walthers won't replace them! Life Like would send you them for free!
criind 2 months ago
@criind I used gears out of an old blue box gp 50 to regear my p2k gp7 the last time before I got rid of it
santafecheif 2 months ago
From your list of problems I would say that it's not so much that Athearn is junk, as it is that the engines you have bought have had some very rough handling. Either in shipment or at the hobby shop before you purchased them. I have a number of Athearn engines and have never had any problems other than the the Ready to Roll engines have cheap headlight bulbs that burn out quickly.
criind 2 months ago
Hey. im not amused with the athearn RTR or the genisis units. the old blue box had a better quality. i bought some rtr when they first came out. i was really disappointed. but i will keep collecting the Blue Box kits. im sad to say my bachmann gp 30 is alot better than the new RTR units
hottrodmike 2 months ago
@hottrodmike - what is your opinion on the quality of Bachmann - specifically, their "Spectrum" series? Thanks for responding!
jgehbrr 1 month ago
@jgehbrr i have bought a couple spectrums.. the gp 30 and the Nscale 2 6 6 2. both were very nice in quality. but the scale of the Nscale engine was way to small. the only complaint i have with the spectrum is the sound of the motor noise. the sd40 is a big piece of crap as the gp40. very unrealistic.. the main issue i have with bachmanns is that the old crap is really shit.
hottrodmike 1 month ago
I'm so glad that I had chose kato for ALL my engines, but due to lack of verity I might soon purchase several atlas gp60 b units...how is atlases quality?
MrSkywaka 2 months ago
@MrSkywaka alot better than athearn LOL seriously atlas does make a good engine. I have had few problems with their locomotives and I have well over 20 atlas Dash 8 40 series locomotives alone. :) good brand and they have better replacement parts stock
dmncau 2 months ago
@MrSkywaka I run N scale, and Atlas has some really nice smooth runners out of the box...and decoders are easy to install on the N GP engines
vettelover2009 2 months ago
I've noticed the same shoddy quality turning up all over the place. The axles on my Proto 2000 FA1/FB1 set split; my Auscision N class had one drive half-shaft of the incorrect length so it slipped out of the gear tower; my Austrains NR's driveshaft repeatedly slips out; several locos of various manufacturers have had bad wiring, either bad solder joints or mis-wired DCC sockets. The list goes on. Coincidentally, most issues have happened since Sanda Kan merged with Kader.
avlisk 2 months ago
I agree. Walk into a hobby shop and 7/10 of the diesel models I saw had wonky handrails. Even look at all the new models they put up on their website... broken and bent bits and pieces - amazing incompetence. But look who owns Athearn though. Other legendary brands under that umbrella have been compromised too. If Athearn improved their QC and attention to detail I'd buy them, as I love the detail bits.
DCCSound 2 months ago
ALL THE NEWER TRAINS FROM EVERYONE , ARE TROUBLESOME. LOOKS LIKE A CRAP SHOOT ON IF IT`S A GOOD LOCO OR NOT.I WILL NO LONGER BUY BROADWAY LIMITED. HAPPY RAILROADING FELLA`S.
poplock1963 2 months ago
I Could not agree more with you! I own approx. 50 Athearn RTR/Genesis locomotives and all but 10 of them are currently sitting on a shelf with various issues and the 10 running are on their last legs... I have also decided to stop purchasing Athearn locomotives as well. I haven't had too many issues with their rolling stock quite yet other then it being just a bit too pricy! I have absolutely no trouble paying good money for a good model so price really isn't much of a sticking point for me.
jmanz 2 months ago
@jI have had two locomotives with issues made by Athearn Genesis. I sent Athearn a very professional letter expressing my disappointment with the fact that i spent well over 3000.00 in Genesis motors in the last couple of years, Athearn in turn contacted me and asked me what they could do to correct the situation. I explained to them that I had a brand new SD70I that will not run scale speed. They sent me a brand new motor, I also told them I have a unit with warped trucks, they sent new ones.
donsgotmoney 2 months ago
I STRONGLY AGREE WITH YOU!! I bought a athearn genesis SD70ACe (union pacific) and as soon as I put it on the track one of the lightbulbs went out, they don't see that every one else is upgrading to LED's. Let alone the the sound problem the sd70s have. If they didn't improve on this new DDA40x then they just need to stop making models.
madbeastification 2 months ago
some years ago I bought SD40-2 from Kato and they were shit
needmoretime38 2 months ago
athearn growing up with them in the 80s was like a old reliable chevy pickup.. kind simple, but rugged.. bare bones , standard EMD feel and all.. I still have my GP38-2s and others. (all narrow hood of course) and they do good.. the basic athearn MOTOR and chassis are good.. the shells are still good, good styrene quality and all the colors and such have improved.. BUT I see alot of WAY too delicate parts such as photo etch and see through steps, I HATE the celon handrails!!! -- prices forget it
mxferro 2 months ago
@JakesGP35 okay lets not go in the direction of childish name calling
dmncau 2 months ago
This is why the hobby has gotten so expensive. Too many people demand museum quality detail and precision performance, Too few people have too little skill and too much money. I long for the days of the Athearn "blue box" and a handful of detail parts.
dcg1976 2 months ago
@dcg1976 *"too may people have too little skill." Writing is not one of my skills.
dcg1976 2 months ago
@dcg1976 Well athearn is getting to be pricey. I never thought I would see the day when some athearn models cost more than KATO or Atlas HO models. Tehir basic RTR SD50's used to be $89.99 then to $99.99 and then $149.99 for the new release next yr.
dmncau 2 months ago
@dcg1976 Well athearn is getting to be pricey. I never thought I would see the day when some athearn models would cost more than KATO or Atlas HO models. Their basic RTR SD50's used to be $89.99 then to $99.99 and then $149.99 for the new release next yr. Ask conrailSD40guy he too will say that athearn has gone downhill in quality.
dmncau 2 months ago
@dcg1976 I like you, that is the problem with folks and the ass that made this video. For what you pay for a Athearn locomotive, its a great deal. MTH are crap, they use junk circuit boards, canon cheap ass can motors. If you want museum quality, them spend the damn money on a Broadway Limited or a Overland Brass. I have 12 Genesis lcomotives, only two had issues, I contacted Athearn and they sent me new parts to repair what I have. This ass has got the mechanical aptitude of a freaking monkey.
donsgotmoney 2 months ago
@dcg1976 amen to that one brother!!!
hobbeekid 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
you are right
JakesGP35 2 months ago
hey any way try poto 1000
JakesGP35 2 months ago
@JakesGP35 yes, thats a good idea I have a few P2K models myself. :) I like them alot.
dmncau 2 months ago
@dmncau I thought some of the athearn locos were also P2K...and vice versa...I'm an Atlas man myself...never had an issue and parts are plentiful
vettelover2009 2 months ago
I am sorry men . it that I love athearn.ssssssssssooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy man.
JakesGP35 2 months ago
Comment removed
Sinistar24 2 months ago
Real locomotives can be lemons to ,,nothing like a 3 million dollar hanger queen
stormrider620331 2 months ago
athearns are awesome. I have run a heavily weighted 37-car consist UPHILL with 2 stock, rtr athearn engines
TheLegoair 3 months ago
Sorry for your luck. I have purchased 26 Athearn products and one was defective(trinity covered hopper; hand break/chain fell off during shipment). All 6 locos were perfect. Seems good since my record with Walthers is 6 defective on 15 purchased. (4 coil cars. lids fell apart first day on all of them; proto1000 GP15-1s drives were extremely jumpy) Atlas was 1/9 (73' centerbeam; bulkheads separating after a week). Kato 2 bought both fine. proto 2000 1 bought runs great. No MTH. Too much for me.
eunitskates 3 months ago
@katouser Fuck Kato, they are a heap of shit.
88junor 3 months ago
@88junor Again, I do agree, I buy Athearn over anything.
UPfan4life 3 months ago
@UPfan4life Hallelujah!!
bnsf5624illinois 1 month ago
I go with Proto 2000. BTW I have never had a problem with Athearn and even though they are cheap china shit, the ones I have gotten were pretty well built, though nearly everything is cheap china shit anymore. I will keep buying Athearn because they are an American company FORCED to make there merchandise in China through government regulation. Thanks for your video, but its your opinion and not mine.
88junor 3 months ago
@88junor Yeah, Proto 2000 are very nice too. Never had any problems with those either.
UPfan4life 3 months ago
Agree! The GP15-1s (CNW) I have bought had to be return for drive train problems; the 2nd one I bought - the detail parts were all messed up! Too much CA applied, put on crooket. They run okay; but no where the quality of my P2K's or my Atlas swithers!
RRSalvageMan 3 months ago
This video is pretty much a year old and people are still whining about it. ESPECIALLY UPfan4life!
TrackMaster555 3 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@TrackMaster555 Shut the FUCK UP!!! If you have such a problem with me don't bother responding to me, you moronic crybaby!!!!!!
UPfan4life 3 months ago
Comment removed
UPfan4life 3 months ago
@UPfan4life If you disagree with him then STOP COMMENTING!! WE GET IT!!! YOU LIKE ATHEARN AND DON"T AGREE WITH HIM!!! MY GOD!!!!
TrackMaster555 3 months ago
@TrackMaster555 You're an idiot.
UPfan4life 3 months ago
@UPfan4life You MUST have read my long comment so as I said this guy was just saying what HE THOUGHT about Athearn! He didn't tell you to agree or disagree with him! (Obviously YOU disagree. You SURE have shown that) Any btw NOBODY GIVES A F**K WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT HIS OPINION! YOU HAVE REPLIED TO ALMOST EVERY SINGL:E COMMENT AGREEING WITH HIM!!! Your sitting there whining because he said he didn't like Athearn and you're calling HIM the crybaby?!?!?!?!
TrackMaster555 3 months ago
@TrackMaster555 Douchebag
UPfan4life 3 months ago
You simply need to have the engine tested before you buy it. All dealers can do this. cheers!
apples2095 3 months ago
Try their quality now , idiot. I don't care if I was a millionaire, I would still buy Athearn over MTH anyday.
UPfan4life 3 months ago
It seems to me that you are probably buying used Athearns that haven't been taken care of or maintained including lubrication. You cannot blame that on Athearn at all. It isn't their fault that you are too cheap to buy NEW Athearns so you wanna continue buying used crap and then complain about it. I am a faithful Athearn buyer and I have NEVER had ANY problems with their products or customer service, EVER. Athearns are some of the most accurate and dependable engines out there for the price!!
UPfan4life 3 months ago
Athearn has ALWAYS had great products and great customer servive in my opinion. How are gonna complain for $75- $85 for a detailed locomotive that runs great. MTH, are you serious? You wanna spend $200 or over for a locomotive, you can buy 2 or even 3 Athearn engines for one MTH. Atlas and Kato are decent, however, you still have to install some of the smaller details on them and still spend over $100. Athearn on the other hand are completely put together and are great prices and still run good.
UPfan4life 3 months ago
@UPfan4life Just think, my piece of shit Kato unit ended up being almost three hundred fucking dollars after all was said and done. that is total fucking bullshit. Fuck Kato, they suck ass.
88junor 3 months ago
@88junor I agree with you dude, I really don't like Kato a whole lot. I prefer Athearn over anything. I have had just ok Kato but never great Kato. Same with Atlas, they are ok but again, I prefer Athearn over anything. Athearn is what I have always bought and I will always buy them in the future. I have NEVER had ANY problems with Athearn at all. They are some of the best products out there, in my opinion.
UPfan4life 3 months ago
I have NEVER, EVER had ANY problems with Athearn at all. I have owned the old Athearn and the new Athearn and in my opinion they are some of the nicest locomotives out there for the price. Atlas and Kato are nice too, however. I completely stand by Athearn, they have actually come a long way since the blue box stuff. It is RTR and not in a kit which is great. Atlas and Kato yet nice models, you still have to install some of the smaller details which I can't stand. ATHEARN ALL THE WAY!!!!
UPfan4life 3 months ago
Comment removed
LoneSniperSG 3 months ago
Whatta putz.
meriachee 3 months ago
@meriachee I agree with you, completely.
UPfan4life 3 months ago
One thing the internet really exposes the Narcissistic side of some individuals.
webmoov 3 months ago
Athearn started going downhill when they got rid of the rolling stock kits. Cheaper than RTR stuff and you could have a couple new cars put together in 15-20.
LoneSniperSG 3 months ago
@LoneSniperSG It would be nice if the kits were a little more detailed if they were still in kit form today.
88junor 3 months ago
My Bachmann models are bigger then my atheran grandpa's!
BTCRAIL101FILMS 3 months ago
@BTCRAIL101FILMS Well that depends on what locomotive you talking about. Looking at your videos they mostly taken in Maryland funny I am going to Baltimore soon to visit a relative! LOL
dmncau 3 months ago
@dmncau Cool! Thanks for watching my videos!! :]
BTCRAIL101FILMS 3 months ago
my god people. This guy just made a video speaking his opinions on Athearn's products and you guys gave started bitchin' about it. He didn't ask you to agree or disagree with him. I for one agree with him. Athearn Genesis may be good but some of their RTR models *gag*. Sir I would personally go with the Bachmann Spectrum line. They have high quality models and have EXCELLENT packaging. Their models arrive in a felt wraparound of the locomotive with a felt/foam cover. I would go with Bachmann
TrackMaster555 3 months ago
@TrackMaster555 Not being ignorant or anything but honestly, Bachmann sucks compared to Athearn. I have owned Athearns and Bachmann and Bachmann are more toylike and run like crap compared to Athearn. Athearn are more detailed and accurate even more so than the Spectrum line, of course that's my opinion. You couldn't pay me enough to own ANYTHING from Bachmann, anything they make is COMPLETE JUNK!! ATHEARN ALL THE WAY!!! Atlas and Kato are nice too, but Bachmann is JUNK!
UPfan4life 3 months ago
@UPfan4life Everyone thinks Bachman is for children. At least everyone with sense!!
My first DCC locomotives were Kato but they kept running into trouble and we had to keep repairing them. I am starting fresh with Athearn and am not complaining ONE BIT!!!!!!!!!!
bnsf5624illinois 1 month ago
@bnsf5624illinois Yeah some Kato is just OK, but Athearn in my opinion has them beat by far. I have never complained about Athearn and I won't either. ATHEARN ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!
UPfan4life 1 month ago
Sadly athearns products have gone downhill, i only by older runs at train shows, but the new ones are just crap.
SouthDakota58 3 months ago
@SouthDakota58 I agree with you there! I do the same thing myself depending on the item! I went to my hobby store to look at the new Santa Fe SD45s and these days athearn cannot do a clean line paint job from where the blue and yellow colors meet on the locomotive.
dmncau 3 months ago
@DontTryProductions: LOL, I appreciate what you're saying however, I believe you totally misunderstood what I was saying here? I didn't run the locomotive 30 hours all at once, lol. Who would do that? That's 30 hours total in just under a month of usage. I run my trains almost daily for an hour or two and this particular locomotive started making horrible noises after roughly just 30 hours of operation! Thanks for the response though, it's appreciated.
walkerbelle 4 months ago
THATS BECAUSE HORIZON OWNS ATHEARN HORIZON sucks
AIRSOFTTANK1 4 months ago 2
@AIRSOFTTANK1 An employee owned company that does not really care. Speaking of Horizon. There gold rule policy does not seem to be enforced much.
dmncau 3 months ago
Thats why you dont buy the old atheran stuff
jbrailphotography 4 months ago
@jbrailphotography I do not buy their new stuff.
dmncau 3 months ago
I bought a Athearn Sd40-2 RTR last year, installed a digitrax decoder in it and after messing with the CV's and tryng my best to get it to run smooth, i havn't had the best of luck.. But this doesn't mean I hate it.. I'm sure being a newby with DCC, I need to correct my cvs and play some more. I do have to say, I HATE the hand rails, you just breath on them and they break. But i do like it. Just wish it was easier to install ditch lights in the top mounted ditch light models.
midrange18 4 months ago
@midrange18 Stupid question, but have you set the speed setting to 128 from the default 28? that usually helps a little.
88junor 3 months ago
Most of my engines are athearn and I've NEVER had a problem with them, they run well as long as you take good care of them. I will admit I wish the DCC decoder access panels on the GP60Ms were attached a little better, they kinda fall off sometimes if you're holding the engine on an angle but 90% of the time the locomotive is upright so it doesn't really matter. Other that that athearn trains are fairly good for their price.
kyleG772 4 months ago 2
I have been using Athearn products for 30 years. Only recently on 2 Genesis models have I had a problem, the trucks appear to be warped. Ive sent Athearn a letter and am expecting a reply. I think for how much they sell and the amount of volume they rpoduce, somethings might get past them. I do agree that thier QC needs an overhaul. I will stay with Athearn as far as some of thier older engines, they are good. If they dont sent me a reply, I will aslo boycott them.
donsgotmoney 4 months ago
And How do you get a dent in your train after running it? I think its opperator error. I mean yea once in a while they have A defect. They have always had great trains. And i expect them to for a while. Great customer service for me. Maybe they Sensed you were more of a I dont wanna get my hands dirty kind of guy.
ramseyramsey 4 months ago
You say "CN SD40-2 - handrail paint coming off" The handrails should NOT be painted. The only Painted ones were OLD style engines and that was by the modeler. So that to me means your getting used trains. (cant put that on Athearn) Also Athearn goes for like $25-$50 for an engine, How can you cry about that. I dont know how you engines magically turn to shit after you play with it and blame the company. Your supposed to OIL the trains (not the out side, you dont seem like you would know that..)
ramseyramsey 4 months ago
At point 0:48 you say do-do. Lol.
ramseyramsey 4 months ago
I have all athearn and they are suck wothless pieces of crap tooooooo
Drake31mavs 4 months ago