The July Athearn e-mail update caught me a little offguard. I'm assuming the "Athearn Roundhouse" F7 diesels are the old Athearn 'blue box' ones, now marketed under Roundhouse name?
Thats the only logical explanation - just re-branding.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I just looked through Athearn's website, and it looks like Roundhouse is now the brand used for old tooling. From what I can see, all of the old Blue Box and Roundhouse products still in production are being branded "Athearn Roundhouse".
As long as they're using the name for older tooling, maybe they should start selling some of the old Roundhouse steam ready to run (besides the "Old Timers"), or as KITS? I know the Shay was a disaster when they tried RTR, but the other steam engines (especially the ones with a plastic body) took very little effort to assemble and ran well. Other "inexpensive" steam engines now are far more complex than most of the MDC/Roundhouse kits, so why not make them ready to run?
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It's odd for those who have been around for a long time and remember the Round House/Model Die Casting company and the products that were sold under that brand until a few years back when they were absorbed by Athearn/Horizon.
It may have been less confusing if Athearn would have come up with a different naming scheme like Athearn basic RTR and Athearn deluxe RTR or some other naming scheme that would indicate that the models came with less or more detailing etc. and it would have been reflected in the price.
Looking at the site, ot looks like a rebranding of the RTR line. The styles of locomotives and cars listed are in similar format as the RTR pages, but not all models are showing up. Many items are listed for 2016 release dates.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
riogrande5761It may have been less confusing if Athearn would have come up with a different naming scheme like Athearn basic RTR and Athearn deluxe RTR or some other naming scheme that would indicate that the models came with less or more detailing etc. and it would have been reflected in the price.
Jim,IMHO just Athearn RTR or Athearn/Geneses would work but,marketing folks has to employ new names and ideas so,the boss will think they're doing something creative.
Another case of its not broken but,let's fix it anyway.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
One would like to think that an F7 from the old Globe/Athearn tooling -- from the Eisenhower if not late Truman Administration era! -- would have pricing so different from the Athearn F units from the Highliner tooling that it probably makes sense to use the Roundhouse name.
I was more intrigued by the little blurb in June Model Railroader page 13 for a "Club offering" -- an Athearn Louisville & Nashville tank car custom decorated KIT from Athearn. Kit! So Athearn is still willing to run off kits if the price is right (the MCR/NMRA is charging $14.99 for this one)? Or did the MCR guys run into a crate full of old blue boxes?
Dave Nelson
I have not had any time look closely at which other products are getting this re-branding - BUT, it may be an attenpt to seperate the lesser detailed items in the Ready To Roll line from the better detailed items.
Roundhouse - GOOD, Ready to Roll - BETTER, Genesis - BEST
If so you will likely see stuff like the 50' flats with vans moved to the Roundhouse line, since there has been little upgrade to them.
Sheldon
I always hoped someone would cut a new F7 mold to match the LL F3.
As for tha old Athearn (Globe) F7, weren't the molds cut BEFORE sputnik? Time for some new ones...
LensCapOn I always hoped someone would cut a new F7 mold to match the LL F3. As for tha old Athearn (Globe) F7, weren't the molds cut BEFORE sputnik? Time for some new ones...
Maybe, but it is still one of the better of the budget priced F7's out there.
With grab irons and such added, they look pretty good. They were designed without molded grab irons to allow them to be correctly added. The grills are really the only weak aspect of their detailing.
dknelson I was more intrigued by the little blurb in June Model Railroader page 13 for a "Club offering" -- an Athearn Louisville & Nashville tank car custom decorated KIT from Athearn. Kit! So Athearn is still willing to run off kits if the price is right (the MCR/NMRA is charging $14.99 for this one)? Or did the MCR guys run into a crate full of old blue boxes? Dave Nelson
Probably some old tank cars that Con-Cor had in stock for this reason. Con-Cor is usually the source for historical society or NMRA Division cars. They buy the kits from Athearn and custom decorate them, I have a lot of Athearn Kits with a Con-Cor label on them.
Rick J
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
LensCapOnAs for tha old Athearn (Globe) F7, weren't the molds cut BEFORE sputnik? Time for some new ones...
I'm 67 and I can't remember when it wasn't around so,it must out date me.Same for the BB GP7.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL LensCapOn I always hoped someone would cut a new F7 mold to match the LL F3. As for tha old Athearn (Globe) F7, weren't the molds cut BEFORE sputnik? Time for some new ones... Maybe, but it is still one of the better of the budget priced F7's out there. With grab irons and such added, they look pretty good. They were designed without molded grab irons to allow them to be correctly added. The grills are really the only weak aspect of their detailing. Sheldon
LensCapOn ATLANTIC CENTRAL LensCapOn I always hoped someone would cut a new F7 mold to match the LL F3. As for tha old Athearn (Globe) F7, weren't the molds cut BEFORE sputnik? Time for some new ones... Maybe, but it is still one of the better of the budget priced F7's out there. With grab irons and such added, they look pretty good. They were designed without molded grab irons to allow them to be correctly added. The grills are really the only weak aspect of their detailing. Sheldon Roof Slope is wrong. Nose is a bit off. Grill and fans aren't that bad, but new ones are better. Look at Bachman N scale F7 (not F9) as an example of a decent cheap model.
Roof Slope is wrong. Nose is a bit off. Grill and fans aren't that bad, but new ones are better. Look at Bachman N scale F7 (not F9) as an example of a decent cheap model.
Sure it is hard to beat a Genesis/Highliner or Intermountain F unit for detail and accuracy - but price wise that is apples and oranges - especially here recently.
The newly retooled F unit form Bachmann might be the only "budget" F unit out there better than the Athearn/Globe shell - just my opinion.
Most of my fleet of F units are Genesis and Intermountain, but I still have one nice ABA set of Athearn BB I did the full detial treatment to years ago - GSB interiors and all.
Would be nice to see the AGEIR boxcab available again - with the body shell from the track cleaner version as the standard. The track cleaner shell has the front end that matches the majority of the prototypes, the normal shell is pretty much only good for CNJ 1000. But trying to get the track cleaner, even an unpowered one, is next to impossible, they sell for stupid high prices on ebay.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I saw a photo and it looks like the "Roundhouse" F7 seems to be the same basic Blue Box shell from the 1970s.
Although I appreciated the affordability as well as the "bullet proof" drive, the one feature that always turned me off about them was the pair of huge "Baldwin Babyface style" windshields. Big enough for a scale sized NFL linebacker to fly through the openings without touching the sides or top!
Yet, once detailed and weathered they were nice looking units. I held on to my BB's until Stewart produced their HO F-units sometime in the mid 80s (IIRC).
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
AntonioFP45I held on to my BB's until Stewart produced their HO F-units sometime in the mid 80s (IIRC).
Same with me. As soon as Stewart came out with their F units, I got rid of mine Athearn blue box F's despite a little bit of nostalgia. I never cared for the crudness of Athearn blue box F unit - I just don't have the warm fuzzy's that many others in this topic seem to have for it. The horrible windshield openings, crude air grills and number boxs on the nose, etc. The Stewart F look gorgeous in comparison and it was no looking back. For those on a budget, the Proto 1000 F unit was very economical btw.
The Athearn/Globe F7 IIRC was tooled in the 1950's and is really showing it's age badly. Yet still Athearn still cranks out the 60+ year old tooling.
riogrande5761 AntonioFP45 I held on to my BB's until Stewart produced their HO F-units sometime in the mid 80s (IIRC). Same with me. As soon as Stewart came out with their F units, I got rid of mine Athearn blue box F's despite a little bit of nostalgia. I never cared for the crudness of Athearn blue box F unit - I just don't have the warm fuzzy's that many others in this topic seem to have for it. The horrible windshield openings, crude air grills and number boxs on the nose, etc. The Stewart F look gorgeous in comparison and it was no looking back. For those on a budget, the Proto 1000 F unit was very economical btw. The Athearn/Globe F7 IIRC was tooled in the 1950's and is really showing it's age badly. Yet still Athearn still cranks out the 60+ year old tooling.
AntonioFP45 I held on to my BB's until Stewart produced their HO F-units sometime in the mid 80s (IIRC).
Again, it is a price point issue - comparing an Athearn F7 to a Stewart/Bowser is apples and oranges price wise.
And for the same money, I will take a Genesis or Intermountain over a Stewart any day - why you ask - OK, I was not in the market for F units when the Stewart first came out - I was too busy to do much in the hobby at that time and was happy with the stuff I had.
But for that kind of money - no handrails installed or even included with the model, I think that stinks, I don't care how good the drive is. And I have never cared for the idea of trying to add those details to an already decorated model - either sell me a kit or sell me RTR - not something half way in between.
And if I'm going to build a kit, I like the Highliner approach where I don't have to decide which version/phase/features I want the model to be in advance.
If I'm going to settle for F units without hand rails, lift rings or cut levers, I'll just settle for something a lot less expensive than a Stewart.
And of course the Proto1000 model was only offered in an F3.......
Just my opinion......
ATLANTIC CENTRAL The newly retooled F unit form Bachmann might be the only "budget" F unit out there better than the Athearn/Globe shell - just my opinion. Sheldon
LensCapOn ATLANTIC CENTRAL The newly retooled F unit form Bachmann might be the only "budget" F unit out there better than the Athearn/Globe shell - just my opinion. Sheldon Is B-manns HO F7 just their F9 rebranded? That would mean the roof slope is still wrong.
Is B-manns HO F7 just their F9 rebranded? That would mean the roof slope is still wrong.
From the looks of it, it has been completely retooled - much finer detail than their old F9.
I don't have any, just saw a few in a local shop. But the drive too have been completely redone on the same order as their newer GP7/9, Sharks and other recent upgraded regular line models.
.
16-567D3AI still run my athearn bluebox,as well as original Atlas/roco and AHM from the 70s.(yep,my almost 30 year old layout is old school block DC with MRC throttle packs from the 80s that work fine)I won't let my preteen grandkids run my Protos,Genesis,Stewert and Atlas siver locomotives.i have some basic undetailed BB F7s,GPs,Uboats and TrainMasters for them to run until they are older.I cut my teeth on BB,learning to detail them with the walthers F unit detail kits,
Last week during the fair I ran a locomotive consist of 2 BB GP35s and a BB GP7..
My point?
I still enjoy running those older Athearn BB locomotives just as much as I do my Atlas,Athearn RTR,my single Kato GP35, my 2 Bachmann and LL P2K engines.
Needless to say they ran flawlessly even though all three was over 25 years old..
The most immediately-visible problems, to me, on the BB F7s are the enormous, misshapen windshields.
Fortunately, American Model Builders makes inserts to reduce them to the right size, correct their shape and apply flush-mounted glazing, if one is willing to do the work.
Given that limited modeling time has been a bigger concern for me than cost, I switched over to having fewer F units, and going with Stewart or Genesis models that required less work.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
Clarification: Sheldon/Atlantic Central...did you read my post carefully?
My reference was going way back to the early-mid 1980s, when a lot of us that were around and modeling then owned Blue Box F-units. There was no STEWART-BOWSER. There was BOWSER, well known for Pennsy based steamers and there was Stewart, which was producing diesels. There was no INTERMOUNTAIN. There was no Life Like Proto 2000/1000 series. I'm not sure if the Hi Liner shell was yet in existence.
Point of my post was that "back then" the Stewart F7, which was RTR, was considered to be a very nice step up from the Athearn F-unit, appearance and performance wise. Of course it's not apples to apples. But our choices were quite limited then, don't you remember?
Now since those days the bar has been raised quite high and we have a wide variety of models that we can choose from.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL riogrande5761 AntonioFP45 I held on to my BB's until Stewart produced their HO F-units sometime in the mid 80s (IIRC). Same with me. As soon as Stewart came out with their F units, I got rid of mine Athearn blue box F's despite a little bit of nostalgia. I never cared for the crudness of Athearn blue box F unit - I just don't have the warm fuzzy's that many others in this topic seem to have for it. The horrible windshield openings, crude air grills and number boxs on the nose, etc. The Stewart F look gorgeous in comparison and it was no looking back. For those on a budget, the Proto 1000 F unit was very economical btw. The Athearn/Globe F7 IIRC was tooled in the 1950's and is really showing it's age badly. Yet still Athearn still cranks out the 60+ year old tooling. Again, it is a price point issue - comparing an Athearn F7 to a Stewart/Bowser is apples and oranges price wise. And for the same money, I will take a Genesis or Intermountain over a Stewart any day - why you ask - OK, I was not in the market for F units when the Stewart first came out - I was too busy to do much in the hobby at that time and was happy with the stuff I had. But for that kind of money - no handrails installed or even included with the model, I think that stinks, I don't care how good the drive is. And I have never cared for the idea of trying to add those details to an already decorated model - either sell me a kit or sell me RTR - not something half way in between. And if I'm going to build a kit, I like the Highliner approach where I don't have to decide which version/phase/features I want the model to be in advance. If I'm going to settle for F units without hand rails, lift rings or cut levers, I'll just settle for something a lot less expensive than a Stewart. And of course the Proto1000 model was only offered in an F3....... Just my opinion...... Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Again, it is a price point issue - comparing an Athearn F7 to a Stewart/Bowser is apples and oranges price wise.
If it is a price point issue strictly and you are a savvy buyer, then you can still get Stewart for a similar price give or take at train shows or on the secondary market.
OTOH, if you are a general consumer and you rely on train shops (if you have one) or online vendors and have to go with whatever is being made available on the market, then you may be stuck with what is on the store shelves, or virtual shelves - then price point unfortunately is salient. I still personally loath the Athearn/globe F7 shell but for children or modelers with non-descriminating tastes, they may be acceptable. Even as a teen I could see there was something there was something not right about the windshields.
Those old BlueBox Fs may be crude and outdated but they have their place,and were that first step up from toy train set quality equipment.
Trainset quality is the right category if there has to be one.
I had forgotten the Stewart/Bowser F7. Hugh improvement over the old "Globe" model (duh!). Think it is a one piece casting.
Maybe Athearn could cut a deal to use it since that tooling has to be 30 years old and starting to collect dust. (Hey Bowser, can you run us a couple thousand to use in our bluebox line? Whats the bulk unit price?)
AntonioFP45Point of my post was that "back then" the Stewart F7, which was RTR, was considered to be a very nice step up from the Athearn F-unit, appearance and performance wise. Of course it's not apples to apples. But our choices were quite limited then, don't you remember?
We can't overlook Atlas F7 that was three steps above the BB FP7..That was and remains a smooth running locomotive even though its not up to todays supposed "standards".
Hi Brakie. Yes absolutely. But it was an "FP-7" which is why I had not mentioned it. That was a sweetheart of a locomotive. Absolutely smooth running Roco powered unt and the price for several years remained at $25. A real bargain.
I still have my SCL unit and it runs just as smoothly as it did back then. It's on my "to do" list for detailing.
BRAKIE We can't overlook Atlas F7 that was three steps above the BB FP7..That was and remains a smooth running locomotive even though its not up to todays supposed "standards".
The Atlas FP7 tooling went to a Brazilian company a while back - it was another F unit which I didn't care for.
I debated buying one for a quite few years because I wanted an FP7A, particularly a Western Pacific version, but every time I looked at it, especially the awful number boards on the nose, I put my wallet back in my pocket.
And there were other things that detracted from the Roco Atlas FP7A shell like the too narrow windshields, the coupler pockets that you couldn't get proper close coupling without some major creative surgery, and the front coupler pocket looked funky/wrong and stuck out. The side air grills that weren't right - and those were just the obvious things that screamed at me besides the windshields and the number boards.
In the end I decided I didn't want to spend my hard earned money on it and waited until a higher fidelity, more accurate version was tooled, and eventually two were produced, from Athearn Genesis and Intermountain. The Genesis version IMO was the best with it's Highliner heritage.
Atlas may have had a smooth mechanism but you still have to be satisfied with the way the diesel looks and the Atlas FP7A never did satisfy me in that regard - just didn't look right in a number of important ways. Ever since I was a little kid I noticed small details and when they were/are off, it could really bother me and some models which weren't tooled very accurately could be that way.