Your opinion of Athearn Genesis

[chrismay]

What is you opinion of the Athearn Genesis line? Any major problems? Please comment as well.

[twhite]

I've got two of the steamers, the Rio Grande 4-6-6-4 and the Light Mikado. They're good locos, but the Mike isn't much of a puller (I use it pretty much for helper service or yard work). The Challenger is a real beauty, though--good pulling power, smooth running and the sound is not bad at all. Only thing is that on DC the hand-held radio control is a little tricky, and I don't seem to be able to use the loco with JUST the power-pack. You set the power pack, then you either use the radio control thingy, or the loco just sits there and simmers. Other than that, they're pretty good locos.
Tom

[Glen1]

I can't comment on anything except the SD70MACs. I had a friend pick up a BNSF unit for me while he was away on business and it's lousy. Broken parts, sloppy assembly and it runs very rough. Then, a few weeks leter, I picked up a CSX unit that's just great. The dealer told me that it depends on where they're assembled. He told me that, in general, the units made in China are fine but the ones assembled in the US are very inconsistent in their quality.

Regardless of where they're assembled, I belive that as "Close to Real as it Gets" should include the installation of windshield wipers and air hoses.

[Anonymous]

I have three SD70MACs. Detail cant be beat unless you go brass. Pretty good pullers, a little on the light side but not bad at all. If you drill out the middle wheel bearing on all the trucks nothing can derail them.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JPM335

I have three SD70MACs. Detail cant be beat unless you go brass. Pretty good pullers, a little on the light side but not bad at all. If you drill out the middle wheel bearing on all the trucks nothing can derail them.

I am glad you offered the comment on the trucks, as the SD70M's have this problem also.

The Genesis line in general is good, but Athearn does not offer any detail on the MU lines or cutbars for some reason.

[Don Gibson]

Good concept; Nice detail; Gorgeous paint. - BUT....

Indifferent Q.C. (Some run well, some don't).
F- 7's: 2 motor's went bad (3 amps) - replaced.
SD 75's - warped trucks - derails on turnout's.

Their RTR have simlar QC problems.

"Say something good" department:
My CF-7's are flawless. (What went wrong?)

[Anonymous]

My HO Scale (Athearn)BNSF SD75M? No Problem at all. As for the (Athearn)BNSF SD70MAC? I just sent it back to First hobby.com because the car body came loose from the frame of the Locomotive.........Oh boy was I very mad too. Hopefully the'll exchange it for an SD75M. BNSFrailfan.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Don Gibson

Good concept; Nice detail; Gorgeous paint. - BUT....

Indifferent Q.C. (Some run well, some don't).
F- 7's: 2 motor's went bad (3 amps) - replaced.
SD 75's - warped trucks - derails on turnout's.

Their RTR have simlar QC problems.

"Say something good" department:
My CF-7's are flawless. (What went wrong?)

Don, I have a question about the warped trucks. Are they repairable or did you mean you replaced them. Did Athearn replace them or did you buy the new ones? I talked to Athearn about the early F unit trucks binding up and they wanted me to send them back to them for repair. I ended up installing Kato wheel sets to fix the problem, not sending them back to the same poor quality control people that made the units.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bangert1

QUOTE: Originally posted by Don Gibson

Good concept; Nice detail; Gorgeous paint. - BUT....

Indifferent Q.C. (Some run well, some don't).
F- 7's: 2 motor's went bad (3 amps) - replaced.
SD 75's - warped trucks - derails on turnout's.

Their RTR have simlar QC problems.

"Say something good" department:
My CF-7's are flawless. (What went wrong?)

Don, I have a question about the warped trucks. Are they repairable or did you mean you replaced them. Did Athearn replace them or did you buy the new ones? I talked to Athearn about the early F unit trucks binding up and they wanted me to send them back to them for repair. I ended up installing Kato wheel sets to fix the problem, not sending them back to the same poor quality control people that made the units.

It is fixable. Like I was saying drill out the center bearing. Don't know about the B trucks though....

[Anonymous]

I personally absolutely love Athearn genesis. I have about 9 SD70Ms and They are my favorite engines. They look great. I do not care so much about the smallest detail stuff. Adding Mus is easy and no bi deal and adding the wipers is do-able. I do not like to the windshield wipers all that much though. Overall I Rank the Genesis the #1 engine for me and close behind that is #2 Kato engines. To be honest if Kato made SD70Ms I would purchase many of those too.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JPM335

I have three SD70MACs. Detail cant be beat unless you go brass. Pretty good pullers, a little on the light side but not bad at all. If you drill out the middle wheel bearing on all the trucks nothing can derail them.

Joe, I also have a derailment problems. Because english isn't my native language, can you describe in more plain trems what you mean by "drill out the middle wheel bearing"

Thanks !

[Don Gibson]

QUOTE: "Don, I have a question about the warped trucks. Are they repairable or did you mean you replaced them. Did Athearn replace them or did you buy the new ones? I talked to Athearn about the early F unit trucks binding up and they wanted me to send them back to them for repair. I ended up installing Kato wheel sets to fix the problem, not sending them back to the same poor quality control people that made the units"

Smart move

Mine are 3 units - 2 SD-75 1 SD-70. When run as a trio on the club's #10's all 3 kept derailing. At home (on #6's) problem seemed to point to the SD-70 unit.. Athearn said to "Set on a mirror" and look for warpage" Couldn't see a problem - and YES- they are in guage. (NO problems with KATO SD -45's and 70MAC's - all 6 wheeled trucks).

When you "drill out the center bearing) are you 'enlarging' the journal from the inside, or drilling clear through leaving a hole?

Athearn has suggested sending back,. I think all their serviice department will do is swap truck's, and ship it back - working or not.. I want correct the problem. All 3 are just sitting in their boxes.

[Anonymous]

More trouble than they are worth.

Lots of little problems with my SD70M - from derailments, to headlight burnout after 2 laps of the layout. Other problems with my "Mike" - can't pull, derails.

I will avoid Genesis in the future and go with P2K, Kato and Atlas for TRUE qualilty locomotives.

[dave9999]

My only experience with the Genesis line is with the Light Mike. This was the first steamer I had
ever purchased. I was disappointed to say the least. The pulling power was just not there. And
the pickups were also poorly thought out. It stalls on every unpowered frog at slow speed. Pickups
on the tender axles and more weight on the drivers would improve this locomotive. And I bought it
when it when it first came out... so, of course I paid full price.

Try and make sense of this... After all of that, I went and installed Soundtraxx sound in this loco! Now
I have a poor pulling, stalling loco that sounds great. Good luck, Dave

[Anonymous]

I have a E7A&B unit. Both powered. They run smooth and quiet. They are really good and reliable. I live fairly close to the Athearn plant and I was haviong a problem with one of my blue box E3's. I took it in and ended up getting a tour of the plant. The lady that fixed my loco has worked there 23 years. If anyone has a problem call them up and if they say send it in, do so. They know how to fix things.
Bill

[Don Gibson]

2Torge1

QUOTE: "I have a E7A&B unit. Both powered. They run smooth and quiet. They are really good and reliable ".

Are you intimating these are Athearn's?

[mikebonellisr]

I have a mike and a pacific,both with soundtraxx installed.They seem to run fine.no trouble with the pick-ups or stalling on crossovers(i have live frog turnouts)As for pulling power,I haven't really tested them with more than 8 or 10 cars.I'm a little worried about the reports of driver gears(?) cracking....I'ts like waiting for that second "gotcha".
Well,it gives me something to look foward to.

[Anonymous]

Can beat them great details and paint jobs. The lack of pilot details is fine with me DW and DA make great parts for that and is not hard to add them. Lights are not that hard to replace and the trucks are not that hard to fix if your not afraid to take it apart.

[Anonymous]

JPM335 Myself and I am sure others are still waiting to here on the details about drilling out the middle wheel bearing for the cure of derailments. Please respond to this and give us the details we can understand to do this if need to. Thanks

[Anonymous]

sorry I hadnt logged on in awhile:

Anyway here is how it goes....after you take the shell off follow these steps

1. Disconnect the wires to the truck from the light board
2. pop off the worm cover and the truck should pretty much fall out. if the wires get stuck in the tape just gently pull them out
3. Take the bottom cover off of the truck. THIS IS IMPORTANT. if you have never taken the trucks off the engine before keep in mind it IS NOT like a normal athearn. Looking down on the truck with it sitting on the table wheels down you should see 4 very small square shaped clips. Use a small pocket knife blade to gently pry them free. I find a screwdriver cant get under them, thats why I use a pocket knife, so dont get the idea you have to cut them.
4. you can now pull the bottom cover off of the truck. Only after this is off will the sideframes pull loose so dont try and get them off before the bottom cover.
5. The sideframes should pull out easily. lay the sideframes detail-down on the table and select a drill bit slightly larger than the "hole" (cant think of a better word) that the center axle goes into.
6. And this is the tricky part, drill slowly throught the brass pickup, you have to drill far enough to give you the movement needed in the axle but dont drill through the sideframe! The engine would still run if you did but it sure wouldnt look good.
7. Put the axle in one of the end "holes" and see how much it moves up and down. Then try it in the middle "hole" you just drilled larger. The middle one should allow more movement of the axle.
8. reassemble the truck. sideframes on first, then snap the bottom cover on. Be sure to snap it on tightly.
9. Run the engine! see if it still derails. If it does drill the "hole" one size bigger until you get a good-running engine.

Just a few tips: Do one truck at a time because the driveshafts are not equal length and can easily be confused. and dont start with a big bit. Start only a little larger than the "hole". If it still derails you can always drill it bigger. And frequently stop drilling and pick out all the brass shavings that get caught in the "hole" or they can make a real mess of things if they build up.

Sorry for my excessive use of "hole". couldnt think of the real word for it. Hope this helps

[:D]

[Anonymous]

The good thing is Firsthobby is gona give me the SD75M and not exchange for another SD70MAC. I will never buy another SD70MAC from athearn again. BNSFrailfan.

[mustanggt]

I hav'nt had any experience with them. I was going to buy an SD70 but was turned away by having to install ditchlights. And the Kato ones you have to install dozens of details. somebody please tell me the holes are predrilled[:(]

[Anonymous]

You dont have to install ditch lights. They come already in. In fact with a little wiring you can make them flash alternately just like the real thing. looks pretty neat.

[Anonymous]

Give me the older Athearn's F7s any day

[okiechoochoo]

are there problems with the Genesis F7s? I would like to know what they are? I am mainly concerned with operational problems. I am not too worried about the detail stuff. Can the problems be fixed
Thanks

[Martin4]

I have a SD75M in SantaFe colors and a SD75i in Canadian National colors. Both are a perfect match with the pictures of the real engines; that can't be said of my Kato engines that either don't have the right cabs (2-piece windshield instead of 3, or straitht windshield instead of angled one) nor the right paint details like an orange side sill stripe on a CN Dash9-44C).
The Genesis engines run as good as Kato or Atlas as long as they run on curves broader than 18"; my son's layout has such curves with tight turnouts and we get occasional derailments on these turnouts (I might try Joe's cure to handle that). But on my layout with nothing under 22", everything is perfect. I have an eye on more of these SD70 and SD75s.

Martin
Québec City

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JPM335

You dont have to install ditch lights. They come already in. In fact with a little wiring you can make them flash alternately just like the real thing. looks pretty neat.

Wrong.

With the first SD70Ms (non-RTR), you DID (DO if you buy off the shelf or e-Bay) have to install the ditch lights, which were/are a BIG PAIN !!!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SILVERCHAMPION

Give me the older Athearn's F7s any day

My F7s are Stewarts ... which beat the Athearn BBs for running, paint and detail.

[GN-Rick]

I own several different F unit models, including Stewart FTs, F3s and F7s, and
one set of Genesis F3s and also several Kitbashes of different Fs using
Highliners shells and different drives. The Stewart-Kato drives are still un-
matched. I have several that are over 12 years old and still run like new.
That being said, I am quite pleased with my Genesis F3 A/B set. They
run very well and the body detail using the Highliner shells is superior to
the Stewart shells. My only personal complaint with them is the infamous
"as delivered" detailing. I am able to get a more accurate unit by using
the undecorated Highliner shells and putting them on other drives. I have
used Proto 1000 drives on two so far and for the price they are excellent.
Another excellent drive is the Intermountain drives which they sell without
shells. These run beautifully and have good lights and details-i.e. class
lights, speed recorder cable and brake lines all installed. But, back to the point.
I am basically quite happy with my Genesis set, but since I prefer to build
my own Fs, I probably won't purchase too many. (The ones I have came from
a swap meet.)

[bogp40]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DSPA77

JPM335 Myself and I am sure others are still waiting to here on the details about drilling out the middle wheel bearing for the cure of derailments. Please respond to this and give us the details we can understand to do this if need to. Thanks

This sounds to me that the SD "C" trucks are having trouble following the rails with even pressure on the wheels. Drilling out the center bearing to allow some slop makes the truck act more like a 2 axle unit- would track better of coarse. My only problem with doing this is now you will loose the driving power of 4 wheels not to mention that after many hours of running what is to become of the axles/bearings themselves. Just because the center wheels are turning doesn't mean they have any wheel/track pressure.
I had a similar problem years ago with the early runs of P2K SD7s and 9s. After many teardowns and checking for problems I called Lifelike and talked to Larry Grubb. The problem was determined that the trucks were too tight and did not have any side play/ wobble at the bolster. Light sanding of the retainer/ fingers on the worm cover allowed the trucks to have a bit of "suspension" to allow all wheels to maintain better rail contact where track is uneven or at frogs etc. You must be careful how much side play you make as the engine would end up with body wobble or torque rocking when changing direction. I treated this as you do with rolling stock trucks by allowing only one of the trucks to wobble/ have more side ply. I found this to solve the problem with all of the units, and shortly after contacting Lifelike , I recieved new worm covers from them that were to remedy the problem to boot.
I don't know is the trouble with the Genesis is the same as that on the P2K but I would check it out before doing anthing drastic to the truck bearings.
Hope this could help.
Bob K.