I guess I never realized how many units this included. Back in November of 2010 I bought a brand new Athearn Genesis SD70ACe from a reputable dealer at the World's Greatest Hobby on Tour. I didn't operate it right away but as soon as I started to operate it there was nothing but issues with derailments. I'd later find out through online research that numerous units in the initial batch were prone to this. My dealer was nice enough to do an even swap for one that did not have this issue. Well today I did a test on the unit and noticed that I could easily slide a sheet of copy paper under the 2nd and 3rd axle of this replacement unit meaning that the trucks were still bent just not as bad or noticeable as the original unit I had replaced. I only double checked for this after I noticed it semi-frequently wanted to derail while running in reverse. Not a huge deal for me as when I consist this unit or run it in DPU I will run it forward. It does not seem to derail when running forward even at open throttle (full throttle for test purpose only). I'm a fan of the detail and great sound of this unit and think it's too bad the quality control of these units were overlooked to the extent they seem to have been.
Then a couple of days ago I purchased a brand new Athearn SD70MAC from an area dealer. This particular unit was announced in 2009 and released in early 2010. I really like this unit and already have a sound decoder waiting to go into it. What could possibly be wrong? You've guessed it more warped trucks. This unit won't even move more than a foot or two without going off the track. I can easily slide a paper under multiple axles on this unit and can't seem to successfully run it in forward or reverse in either direction on either main line on my layout. I've already contacted Athearn directly about this latest incident but this is simply unacceptable. For the price we pay for these units I find it stunning that quality control standards are either not enforced or not in place to prevent this sort of phenomena from occurring. While I'm utterly impressed with the detail of these units I don't know that I will ever buy an Athearn Genesis unit again--at least not a 6 axle unit.
Now I'm not out to throw Athearn completely under the bus here. I have other Genesis 4 axle units that run very well. I've also got numerous RTR units and many pieces of rolling stock. I'm also going to give them a fair amount of time to send me an e-mail response to my initial inquiry on this issue and hope they can provide me the assistance I need to get this issue resolved.
My question to others is this, how many of you here have been affected by this problem and what did you do about it? Any successful resolve and if so how? I've done some research and found that some people have at least tried to take the truck off and bend them to the proper shape but this is something I think might be beyond my current skill level.
Thanks for the discussion.
John F.Perham, MNRailfan Photography | Modeling HO Scale Trains & O Gauge Trains
Too bad Athearn still has issues w/ their trucks. Way back even on BB locos, I used to check for this when adding NWS wheelsets and checking and deburring the case. I was actually able to place the truck on test track and twist the truck halves. If thi didn't solve the trouble, I would even file the notch for the bronze bearing to square the truck. This also helped w/ traction as all wheels would make even pressure for pulling. A warped truck will only be ridind on 2 wheels (B) and 2+ (C) trucks.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Apparently nobody else has had this issue?
And I'm still waiting for my response from Athearn.
The SD-70 series is known to have truck warpage problems in the Genesis line. In some cases, Athearn willingly provided replacement trucks. I don't know that any other Genesis engines have had such widespread issues with warped trucks, but I have two different issues of the SD-75M, essentially the same model, and neither has warped trucks.
However, even though the trucks checked out okay sitting on a shiny counter-top, I still had derailments on curves. When I softened my ballast and carefully lifted the outside rails on the affected curve near 1/32" segments, and let the ballast harden once again, my problems with both engines went away. So, my outside rails on those bad curves were too low, having dipped a fraction of an inch over a few inches, just enough that the rear of the frame kept the locomotive level, but the outside wheels were lifted up enough to clear the rail tops and slip sideways.
Crandell
How did you raise the rails? Sounds like quite a project.
I'm in the process of building my first table layout so things are very new to me. I'm not new to the hobby but new to building a layout. Long story short I thought that these units were having issues with how I first layed down the curve on the out side main. I originally had 22" Atlas sectional curved track. In the process of trying to fit the track where I needed it I may have had some bad joints and some odd binding issues and so forth. Overall I wasn't happy with how things were running even though nothing I've ran seemed to derail except for the Athearn Genesis units I described in my original post. Well I recenlty re-worked those curves using flex track and other units have no issues at all but these units still do. As I stated in my original post I did a paper test which leads me to believe that I have some defective trucks and they are warped.
As I said, I'm still patiently waiting to hear back from Athearn on this issue after they told me to send an e-mail to them when I inquired on Facebook about this particular issue.
Until I hear back I'm on boycott from purchasing anything Athearn.
jrf Apparently nobody else has had this issue?
Guy at the club bought a whole case of SD70MACs (don't ask me why). Every one of them had the same issue. The center axle on each truck rode lower than the first and third axle. Caused the truck to flop fore and aft. I don't think he ever got them working properly.
Four of the original Genesis SD70 models I purchased all had warped front trucks that had to be replaced. This was shortly after Irv Athearn's death when some of the employees were trying to run the company. They adamantly denied there was any problem and refused to provide free replacements.
After they had received several hundred complaints about the SD70 models they finally admitted they had a problem, but by then I had bought replacement trucks so their offer of free replacements was too late for me.
I wouldn't touch any other Athearn product for a couple of years because of their attitude problem. It wasn't until Horizon Hobby purchased them that their reputation for backing up their products improved.
Just more chinese crap. Athearn has lost their touch. I gave up on them a couple of years ago after picking up an SD60i. Handling it is like handling an egg shell. Time for them to lower their margins a little and put some quality back into their product. I place bachmann spectrum products firmly in front of Athearn at this point.
Springfield PA
jrf How did you raise the rails? Sounds like quite a project. ....
....
I found where the derailments took place, then wet the ballast, waited for five minutes, used a dentist's curved pick to gently pry up the outer rail just a couple of hairs, and jammed a bit of paper or wood under it if it wouldn't stay lifted, or I tamped the ballast so that it did stay lifted. Then, when the ballast dried after about an hour, I ran both diesels through the curves and they were fine. Again, though, the shiny counter-top test showed all the wheels making contact with the surface...no warped trucks. A series of trucks with the center axle low would be impossible to fix.
I had a damaged genisis sd60m , which had shipped in with the handrails broken front to back. Also the front truck was literaly hanging on by the wires . I called athearn , and i was told to just reattache the trucks back on and to just use a little glue on the handrails. I will not be doing business with them no time soon, what a dissapointment. To further the story , i had also sent them an email. I was told to take pictures of the damaged unit and email them in . Did'nt waste anybodies time other there at ol horizon hobbies, So i fixed it myself, I reattached the truck , at first i did'nt assemble it correctly. Because it was binding, so i took it back apart, and got it right on the second try ! I'm now looking on ebay for replacement handrails. END OF STORY !
So from what I've read: if you are looking for a 6-axle loco(like me)-there are better manufacturers than Athearn.
Disappointing, I never thought I would see such a great company fall victim to simple problems. Oh well...that's what happens when the chinese run your layout
Acela
The timbers beneath the rails are not the only ties that bind on the railroad. --Robert S. McGonigal
Don't have any Genesis or other brands newer than an SD40-2 becauseof my cutoff era, 1989. I have not had any problems with Genesis in the older models at any time. Must be a new Chinese factory assembling the later diesels.
Bob
Has anyone bought one recently? I would like one (, November) and would like to know if the bad ones have been "worked out" of teh system.
I don't know that any other Genesis engines have had such widespread issues with warped trucks, but I have two different issues of the SD-75M, essentially the same model, and neither has warped trucks.
What other issues do you have with the Genesys SD75? I have had power pickup issues with mine. I'll check the truck alignment when I get a chance. I thought maybe my track was dirty. If all wheels are not touching the track, that might be my problem.
I'm curous if the OP ever received a response on their inquiry to Athearn. I've had a couple of issues on Athearn equipment which I've purchased in the past and always found them to be very responsive with very quick turnaround when I've had to send in stuff for repair.
My SD70 had that problem. It turned out to be the brass strip that the wheel axles fit into for electrical pickup. They were bent and I straightend them out and the problem went away.
Left Coast Rail I'm curous if the OP ever received a response on their inquiry to Athearn. I've had a couple of issues on Athearn equipment which I've purchased in the past and always found them to be very responsive with very quick turnaround when I've had to send in stuff for repair.
Never did receive a response from Athearn. I have since returned the defective unit back to the dealer I purchased it from for a full refund. It will be difficult for me to ever buy another Athearn Genesis locomotive again. On April 8th I sent an e-mail to "help@athearn.com" and never received a response. I inquired about this issue on Athearn's official Facebook page and was messaged by an individual on Athearn's corporate team and I forwarded the original e-mail to this individual that I had sent to the Athearn help address. I sent it to this individual on April 16. I have never heard back from either. I've also concluded that my Athearn SD70ACe which has been replaced once already can only be used/run in forward position otherwise it will delete since the trucks aren't perfect either.
jrfIt will be difficult for me to ever buy another Athearn Genesis locomotive again.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Acela026 Has anyone bought one recently? I would like one (, November) and would like to know if the bad ones have been "worked out" of teh system. Acela
I have a UP SD70Ace that I go as an early Christmas gift and it has ran fine. The two issues I had was 1) it burned out a ditchlight and 2) it found a couple less than perfect spots in my layout that was easily fixed. All the axles sit on the ground so I might have gotten lucky with the warp truck issue
I've been considering an MT-4 Steamer from Genesis. Has anyone here had issues with that particular model? Especially the sound equipped (w/ Tsunami) versions? (Or are they still "vapor-ware"?)
Thanks. I've been holding back on any more Athearn locos due to my displeasure regarding the older MRC decoders.
Thanks.
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
That is not typical of the service I've received. I can't speak for them but I do know they were in the process of moving into their new building back in early April.
An alternative for the SD70Ace is MTH. They now have a DCC ready version. I have 2 of the originals that now have Tsunami's and they are great runners. They have Canon motors, metal handrails, and LED lighting. Lately it was announced that they would begin supporting more DCC CV's.
The price is also pretty much the same.
Here I was ready to buy one again! Simon 1966 came over today and brought 2 Mack's over. Neither one have truck problems.
Man the UP Heritage engine is pretty! Guess I was talked out of one again! Have not bough a new engine going on 2 years now.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
I have the MTH unit w/ sound. It's runs & looks great.
As far as price goes, I have a friend that can get them NIB, and other train stuff, very cheap. Well, cheap is relative because it's clearly not cheap, but cheap when compared to typical sources.
-Ed
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." -Aristotle