Athearn Genesis--Value and Performance Ratings

[Anonymous]

I currently have the Santa Fe Super Chief on order and am eyeing the Challenger 4-6-6-4.

Before I spend all my money, I'd like to hear any comments anyone might have on where you would rate Genesis engines (in terms of value and performance) as compared to other HO manufacturers (Atlas, Kato, etc), and which manufacturers are the top ones.

Thanks

[:)]

[joecool1212]

In my opinion Kato is the best followed closly by Atlas and Athern Genesis. I have 2 Kato's both flawless in looks and operation. I have 6 Atlas and 1 is noisy at full speed with no load Maybe just a fluke. I have 2 Athern Genisis and both are smooth and quiet but not like the Kato. So one not so perfect Atlas and 2 almost perfect Genesis. If I found a road name I needed I would buy any of the three. Hope it helps you make a decision. Joe

[Anonymous]

I'm not an Athearn man. There's just too many questions about their product.

I think the Atlas master line is the best followed up by Kato.

Kato renigned on their problematic SD-2 so that has left a bad feeling among those owners.

Stewart & Lifelike P2K have good reputations.

[cacole]

I have two Athearn Genesis SD-70s, and putting a DCC decoder into them turned out to be a major project because the ditch light, headlight, and rear light bulbs all had to be changed. Athearn uses 1.5 volt bulbs which require either a resistor wired into their circuit or bulb replacement when operated on DCC. I don't know if it was Athearn providing the wrong rating for their bulbs or the decoder manufacturer's calculations that were wrong for the value of the resistor, but all of the bulbs burned out very quickly and had to be replaced. Finding 12 to 14 volt bulbs that are physically small enough to replace the Athearn builbs was difficult. Athearn uses a very weird wiring strategy for these bulbs, too -- two bulbs wired in series for the head and rear end lights, raising the overall voltage drain to 3 volts. The ditch lights are wired singly, so they remain rated at 1.5 volts. Anyway, the entire cab must be disassembled to get to the bulbs. I have no complaints at all about the running qualities of the Athearn Genesis locomotives. They seem to run just as smoothly as a Kato or Atlas.

[dave9999]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainmanZ3

I currently have the Santa Fe Super Chief on order and am eyeing the Challenger 4-6-6-4.

Before I spend all my money, I'd like to hear any comments anyone might have on where you would rate Genesis engines (in terms of value and performance) as compared to other HO manufacturers (Atlas, Kato, etc), and which manufacturers are the top ones.

Thanks

[:)]

I can't comment on the two models that you mention, but I own a 2-8-2 . The only complaint I have (and it's a big one), is the lack of weight. Extreme wheel slippage on grades. I don't know for sure, but I would assume that this has been addressed on the Challenger. Dave

[AntonioFP45]

Cacole,

[8D]Thanks for you valuable input.[:D]

I own regular Athearns but not Genesis units. I'm going the DCC route. One would think that if he or she is shelling out $100 or more for a new locomotive, DCC conversion features; especially lights, would be a reasonably moderate process, NOT A NERVE FRYER! I'm going to look towards Kato, Atlas, Stewart and Proto for future diesel purchases.

It's not that I'm lazy, but since my modeling times are limited, [B)] I can't stand going through "hassle full" changes on a BRAND NEW locomotive!

[Anonymous]

[

[:)]

[Anonymous]

I only have an Athearn Genesis tender for the 2-8-2 or 4-6-2. I am currently converting an MDC ten wheeler to an N.P. S-4 and needed this type of tender. I found this tender is not designed to pick-up power from the track. Converting to power meant changing trucks and providing power routing from the new trucks to the decoder. I also think the darn thing is WAY OVER DESIGNED! It's so over designed for the simple job it needs to perform that it has become poorly designed! I have several Athearn older style kit built diesels. They have been super detailed and I soldered wires to the trucks instead of the spring steel contacts. They are somewhat noisy, but I feel perfectly good enough. I have a couple LL P2K GP-7s which I love. I know Stewart, Atlas and Kato are good runners and would not be afraid to purchase anyone of them. I have no experiance with any other Genesis equipment. Honestly, I like to build my locos and any RTR stuff I get, gets kitbashed into something differant than the manufacturer intended. I like the Genesis USRA Mike and Pacific and would probably have a Pacific, if they were available.

[cacole]

Lack of traction is going to be a problem with any steam locomotive because there is no room to put adequate weight inside the boiler, especially when the motor and drive train are also there. Believe it or not, my Athearn Genesis 2-8-2 Mike pulls better than a Lionel HO-scale Challenger, which has a cast metal boiler! Lionel's tender, too, is cast metal and weighs almost as much as the locomotive itself, and that places quite a drag on the engine. The Lionel Challenger's drive wheels are a very slick, shiny metal, something akin to chrome, and they slip more easily than other brands. This coating may wear off with age and improve the traction, but right out of the box I can pull fewer than 10 P2K tank cars up a 2 percent grade without wheel slippage, and P2K products roll the easiest of any brand made.

I forgot to mention in my previous post, too, that the Athearn Genesis SD-70s required a special decoder (North Coast Engineering DASR or equivalent), similar to the ones required for Kato or Atlas, which replaces the constant lighting board. This decoder leaves little room for the required resistors, so changing the bulbs was the simpler task.

[wp8thsub]

I don't own any Genesis locos myself, but I operate on a couple of layouts where they run. From what I've seen, Genesis locos look great but are suspect when it comes to running qualities. One layout has an A-B-B-A set of F units that are not great runners; they get dirty wheels quickly and required a lot of tune-up to stop being derailment prone. The other guy has three or four A-B-B-A sets and they run fine overall. Maybe the earliest production examples were more finicky.

From my experience, Atlas, Kato, Stewart and P2K are for the most part equal in quality and value. As mentioned in another post, Kato's SD40-2 in HO had power pick-up/derailment problems, but those are easily solved with a few minutes of modifications. I have modified three of these units and they run just as well as any other Kato product.