I got several Athearn items for Christmas: an F7 loco, three 1920s passenger cars, and two freight cars. They all look good, but each seems to have some individual, and in my mind, unnecessary quirks.
The locomotive runs beauifully, but it came with just holes where the windows belong. I read on the Athearn website that this model dates back to the 1950s and never came with windows. But, they add, there are three companies who make after-market windows. Why doesn't a big company like Athearn just make some windows and be done with it? What I did was just cut some clear plastic from a flat blister package and glued it in place, and it looks pretty good now.
The passenger cars are beautiful and they roll smoothly. They came with windows, but at each end of the cars, there are just holes where the doors should be. Wierd. Then I bought the lighting kits for these cars, and the kits are junk. The bulb is supposed to sit in a hole in one weight, and the base is supposed to sit on the other weight just below it. In theory the weights convey the power to the bulb. But in practice the lower weight is about 1/8" too short to make good contact with the bulb's base, and the hole in the other weight is too big to make good contact with the sides of the bulb. The result is that the bulb goes on and off as train moves around. What's more, one bulb is totally insufficient to illuminate the whole car. Then there's the copper "wipers" that convey power from the wheels and axles to the car. They inhibit the free motion of the axles and slow everything down.
Finally one freight car has no problems whatsoever. But the other, a 50' box car, has couplers that are about 1/16" lower than every other car I own. They stay connected on flat track, but disconnect on hills. I've tried to realign them to no avail.
What is your experience with Athearn equipment?
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
Posted by Throttle_JCKY (Member # 354) on :
Well I personally have purchased many Athearn engines over the years.! It always seems when I buy them, get them home, there are always parts missing. My most current project a Dash 9 didn't have about half the parts for it. No windshield, numberboards, airtanks for the side. There are a few other things too.!
Over all, I like Kato better. Brass is still the king, OMI is the best in that field.
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
Well, I came up with a solution to one problem that I mentioned in my original post. The empty spaces where the doors should be at the ends of the passenger cars are now filled with a pretty good looking door.
I scanned a side door from the diner car into my computer, adjusted it in an image editing program so it looked about right, then printed it out. I cut out the hole for the window and then pasted the door on a small sheet of clear plastic. I then taped it to the inside of the car, and voila, instant door with a clear window!
As for the lighting inside the cars, I tried using foil to help hold the bulb into place, but it didn't work much better than before. What I really need is a small string of 2-3 lights run along the ceiling of each car. Any ideas where I might find something like that?
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
Posted by Throttle_JCKY (Member # 354) on :
Some years back I purchased a constant lighting unit from a local company. (They have since shut down, due to retirement) but it was really a nice set up. It had 4 lights in a string, and a metal strip that held the light in place. You then used CA to attach it to the top of the car, then it had the appr. electronic equipment supplied to hold the current and adjust the brightness. They also sold great metal wheel/truck set with hidden pickup shoes. I have 2 Chesapeake & Ohio Cars with this, they are great. To bad he is passed on now, he made great things for Model RR's. Just can't remember his name.! Or the company for that matter. They were out of Indianapolis.
Posted by Challenger (Member # 1298) on :
I have a large amount of Athearn rolling stock and have experienced all the problems you have mentioned from time to time. But I have found that these problems are not common to Athearn. Roundhouse, Walthers, and many other model firms have these problems as well. The only way to keep it all going smoothly is take your time, put it together, as per direction and go over and make modifications as need be.
Posted by Eric (Member # 674) on :
I purchased an Athearn Amtrak Genesis unit a little while ago. It came with the basic parts (which look realistic), and I semi-super detailed it, mostly with parts from Details West. I find them to be a good company for the small parts that make the models complete. Give 'em a try if you ever buy a model without all the parts.
detailswest.com
Posted by Chuck Walsh (Member # 677) on :
What you received is basic starter equipment A Athearn F7 unit goes for $24.00, while the Athearn Genisis F7 goes for $80.00. I have 15 of those passenger coaches and I gave up on the lighting. Here again,it's an in-expensive car,$10.00 to $11.00, versus the Walthers New Budd cars,$24.00 plus the light kit for $8.00. Quality, details, good COUPLERS, metal wheel sets etc all are factored into the price. You probably have the horn-hook couplers and eventually most modelers covert over to the Kadee knuckle coupler and up grade the wheel sets but those are separate issues. Athearn been in the business for 50 years plus, lots of variety, but if you want good operating performance etc, you have to step up to their genisis line or try another brand.
Posted by alkcnw (Member # 1293) on :
I have to agree with chuck. Its like the old saying, you get what you pay for, if you want super detail you either pay for it or add it on yourself. Andy Kramer-Wis.
