I have 3 of these locomotives. I think they are great. They have some details on them, grab irons, mu hoses, paint job is great, sounds are limited to long horn, short horn ,bell and engine and they run great at all speeds. I think it's a good deal for a price from $140.00 to $160.00.
I've had two non-Genesis, non-sound RS3s and both ran poorly so I'm not too keen on Athearn. I was given a Genesis F3 that does run nicely though. I'm glad you're pleased with your units.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I experienced a number of issues with Athearn diesels in the past, and was particularly not happy at all with the sound, lights, etc.
The lack of adequate QA/QC of Athearn diesels and also most other plastic manufacturers was one contributing factor in my decision to become very nearly all steam on my railroad. I do have more modern freight cars, but pretend that steam lasted longer than in real life.
However, I do like the Genesis steam power very much, but I prefer to buy, or pre-order, the non-sound versions. Imo the Genesis steam power is much better than the diesels where QA/QC is concerned. At least the Genesis steamers have metal handrails and separately applied stanchions or boiler standoffs.
Though the steam has many more detail parts on it, if handled reasonably respectfully, I think the steamers hold up better than the diesels which have poor celcon handrails. There is nothing more frustrating than finding a brand new diesel in a store, and thinking, wow, I might like to own this one, then to see the handrails are already broken and nobody has even opened the packaging yet.
John