Now that these have been out for awhile can anyone tell me what they think of these loco's?
How do they run and how is the detail compared to the Atlas counteparts. I'm thinking of getting a New York Central next time I spot one. Thanks
Bruce
Well, I had one...Don't get me wrong, it looks very nice and it is a well made model. My problem was that it was very noisy. It had a fair growl going forward that was 2x time worse going backwards. Also, it doesn't have a lot of room for sound, etc. so that was a minus for me.
But, as I said, detail was very good, and it ran well but was too loud for me.
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
I would probably be running one on a switching layout at very low speeds, would the noise be down to a tolerable level? Thanks
Noise doesn't bother me so long as the loco doesn't move in a jerking sort of way. I've got a few Atlas Alco S-2 and S-3 switchers that are so noisy they sound like the real thing!
I have both Atlas and Athearn RTR RS-3s. The Atlas units run a little smoother but the Athearn shells look a lot nicer.
Why not Jeff?
Mine not only has DCC, but a Soundtraxx DSD and speaker!
And here is a tip for anyone with an old MDC RS unit with the super fragile handrails. The Athearn handrails WILL fit!
i would just recomend getting an atlas one
i got mine for about $70
and looking around real quick, it looks like athearn's are going for about the same
i love my Atlas one it's a D&H, very nice loco, one of my favorites,decoder instilation was extremely easy, and their is still plenty of room for when i put sound in
prr67 wrote: i would just recomend getting an atlas onei got mine for about $70and looking around real quick, it looks like athearn's are going for about the samei love my Atlas one it's a D&H, very nice loco, one of my favorites,decoder instilation was extremely easy, and their is still plenty of room for when i put sound in
Given a choice, I would have prefered Atlas to Athearn. I've always thought Atlas ran a bit smoother than Athearn, even though they have always been in a comparable price range. At the time, the Atlas RS-3 did not come DCC ready so I went with Athearn. I'm going to expand my RS-3 fleet and will likely fill out the roster with Atlas. Not that I am unhappy with the Athearns. Like I said, Atlas is just a notch above them in my book.
The Atlas/Kato drives are likely a bit smoother, but the MDC/Athearn shell is more accurate that Atlas's. I have one of each, my MDC one is from prior to the Atheran buyout and actuall has a P2K mechanism in it. The old MDC kits sometimes came with an Athearn Blue Box-type drive or the P2K.
Neither was offered factory painted for Reading,but the new Athearn ones do - so I will probably acquire a few of those as well.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
jeffrey,Why do you say that you won't be converting the Athearn RS-3's to DCC? They have a 9-pin plug and a "decoder well" that fits a Digitrax DH123-size decoder with ease.
As for noisy, I would recommend the same old Athearn tuning as modelers have done for years. But please note that while these will always be louder then Atlas models, they are way ahead of both the original MDC drive and Athearn Blue Box drives of yore.
Atlas has the better drive and has more power. But the Athearn is the better and more accurate model of an RS-3. So if silky smooth operation is more important, then go Atlas. If prototypical accuracy is more important, go Athearn.
Paul A. Cutler III************Weather Or No Go New Haven************
Paul3 wrote: jeffrey,Why do you say that you won't be converting the Athearn RS-3's to DCC? They have a 9-pin plug and a "decoder well" that fits a Digitrax DH123-size decoder with ease.As for noisy, I would recommend the same old Athearn tuning as modelers have done for years. But please note that while these will always be louder then Atlas models, they are way ahead of both the original MDC drive and Athearn Blue Box drives of yore.
Not mine! Mine are two of the old ones. There's no plug of ANY kind and as for the motor and drive, it's almost a twin of the Athearn BB system. The top of the motor almost touches the shell. The only thing different is the bearings. Athearn's are square pieces of bronze and MDC's are round pieces of plastic.
jeffrey-wimberly wrote: Paul3 wrote: jeffrey,Why do you say that you won't be converting the Athearn RS-3's to DCC? They have a 9-pin plug and a "decoder well" that fits a Digitrax DH123-size decoder with ease.As for noisy, I would recommend the same old Athearn tuning as modelers have done for years. But please note that while these will always be louder then Atlas models, they are way ahead of both the original MDC drive and Athearn Blue Box drives of yore.Not mine! Mine are two of the old ones. There's no plug of ANY kind and as for the motor and drive, it's almost a twin of the Athearn BB system. The top of the motor almost touches the shell. The only thing different is the bearings. Athearn's are square pieces of bronze and MDC's are round pieces of plastic.
Jeff,It sounds like you have the old MDC RS3 with the Athearn drive.ALL of the Athearn RS3 releases comes DCC ready with the new drive line.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
jeffery,You said you had "two Athearn/MDC RS3's". Since the only version that was made by Athearn was the new one with the DCC plug, you can perhaps understand my confusion.
As for room for a decoder, I have a old MDC RS-3 (original drive) sitting in front of me as I type this. As I take off the shell and hold it over the chassis, there looks to be plenty of room for an HO decoder at one end of the car body over the gear towers. What I would do is either secure the decoder to the underside of the body, or suspend the decoder over the gear tower.
BTW, talk about growlers...these old beasties are geared way down and sound like a rock crusher compared to Atlas or even the new Athearn version.
The old MDC RS-3 2350 series WAS Athearn drive.
As said, round bearings instead of square.
Only way they came, I think.
At least with Athearn, they're bulletproof, as my 45 and 50 year old "F" units can attest, and my Brother's 35 year old Geep.
As far as old Athearn steam, I've still got the remains of one chassis, and never again......
Here's a pic that illustrates the problem with space that I have with these units. The red X's indicate where there is some space, and it ain't much, maybe an inch. Any ideas about what decoder would fit? It would have to be hard-wired and cheap. The lower in price the better, and as few wires as possible. The tight fit between the top of the shell and the motor can make wiring a nightmare. Keep in mind that I am partially paralyzed and have limited use of my fingers.
Curmudgeon,The only thing that was "Athearn" about the original MDC RS-3 was the motor. The drive shafts, worm gears, universal joints, bearings, gear towers, trucks, and gear ratio were not Athearn.
The MDC RS-3's also, at a later date, got a Proto2000 drive very simular to a P2K FA-2...without the spinning fan. The flywheels, however, did have a v-notch for the fan drive.
jeffrey,There should be plenty of room at those red X's for a DH123D decoder. Or if you feel like there isn't, a DN123 should work, too. The trick is going to be keeping the decoder off the gear tower. You can tape the decoder to the shell, but that means you have to leave extra wire to get the shell off. Or you can try to get the decoder to "float" by sticking it over the gear tower and taping all the wires to the motor top...creating a cantilever support. This works even better with the smaller N-scale decoder.
At least there's no milling with a Dremel tool involved...
I have both an Athearn (MDC) RS-3, and an Atlas Classic Series RS-3, both in B&M schemes.
The Atlas is definately a better runner, espescially at slower speeds, but was not DCC ready so I had to wire in decoder. I used an MRC 1650 (let's not get started on that, a handful were given to me free when I first made the jump to DCC, when it dies, I'll replace it).
The Athearn came DCC ready with a JST connector, I removed the dummy plug and installed a Digitrax DH123. The only issue I had with the Athearn was removing the shell. It seemed to be more of a struggle than it should have, and the handrails are definately more delicate than those on some of my other models.
In the end, the Athearn was a good investment, I would get another, especially for the cost and the Athearn being DCC ready.
Modeling the fictional B&M Dowe, NH branch in the early 50's.
I have 2 of the new Athearn RTR RS-3's and 4 of the older Atlas "Classic" RS-3's, All in Boston & Maine.
Here is my 2 Cents on both of these models.
The New Athearn RTR looks nicer. It has the correct horns and steam stack next to the cab. Under the shell, it is DCC ready. I have installed DH123's in both. In DCC however, they do NOT run as well, or as quietly at the Atlas units.
The older Atlas "classic" RS-3's run better than the Athearn RTR versions. The drives are almost bullet proof. They are NOT however DCC ready. You have to remove the existing pc board and install your decoder. I've installed DH163AO's as well as golden white LED's. The shell is not up to par with the Athearn RTR version. The horns are in the wrong place and there is no steam smoke stack up next to the cab.
Michael