I saw some undecorated Athearn Genesis CPR detail specific HO scale ES44Acs avaible at a model railroad shop/dealer that I often order from. These are perfect for my CPR heritage unit project idea, but I have to ask.The exposed rollar bearing caps turn on Intermountain and Scaletrains versions of the Gevos in their HO lines. But do they turn on the Athearn genesis vesions, and the upcoming retrucked Gevos coming later this year?
No.
Russell
csxns No.
It matters greatly to those who appreciate small prototype details -- as evidenced by other manufacturers having gone to the (by no means trivial)effort to provide them. I also appreciate efforts to provide rotating scale caps on other rolling stock, being one who notices that sort of thing.
But for the 'rest' who don't care: it's a major job of engineering to make the special axles with pins at the ends, and change how gears and wheels are pressed on, and sideframes supplied and aligned, and little caps of the right color supplied and then likely replaced and replaced and replaced as they age or are 'mishandled'. All this is cost added to the price charged people who consider rotating caps a frill, and while of course you could try making a 'side frame detail kit' that in addition to Konis and 3D brake gear and the like has little glue-in cap provision, there's still added cost (and rather obvious wrongness if one or more caps isn't there).
So consider the audience expected to fill production demand ... or look into retrucking options or custom mods like drilling the axles for wire pivots if you absolutely, positively, want those caps to turn.
OvermodBut for the 'rest' who don't care: