Atlas, Blue Line, or Genesis??

Hi all,
At some point in the future I'd like to replace my relatively new Athearn RTR GP40s for my Norfolk Southern coal train.
I've recently been spoiled with smooth running Atlas BN U33C locos I bought used. The noisy Geeps just won't cut it anymore. I would use the U33s on the coal train but they are too old for the train I'm modeling and have the wrong road name.

I find it hard to spend $100 for single loco, but it seems you get what you pay for!

What would be better Genesis Sd70s/SD60Ms, Blue line SD40-2s, or Atlas Dash8 locos? I might be doing an intermodal at some point too that would require nice modern CSX power! (my RR is basic DC...with no sound)

Thanks for any input!
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
Hi all,
At some point in the future I'd like to replace my relatively new Athearn RTR GP40s for my Norfolk Southern coal train.
I've recently been spoiled with smooth running Atlas BN U33C locos I bought used. The noisy Geeps just won't cut it anymore. I would use the U33s on the coal train but they are too old for the train I'm modeling and have the wrong road name.

I find it hard to spend $100 for single loco, but it seems you get what you pay for!

What would be better Genesis Sd70s/SD60Ms, Blue line SD40-2s, or Atlas Dash8 locos? I might be doing an intermodal at some point too that would require nice modern CSX power! (my RR is basic DC...with no sound)

Thanks for any input!

I cant be too much of a help here, because i think that all of the 3 you mentioned are GREAT :thumb: :thumb:
 

csiguy

Member
within the last 6 months i bought all the locomotives you mentioned with the exception of the blueline ad 40. instead i bought a bluline ac6000 in csx. all of them in csx scheme. my own opinion that on a nice long coal train like 20 some cars, the genesis csx sd70 and atlas dash 8's look really awsome. all of mine ran great and had no problems pulling a long coal train. again just my opinion
 
Haha that's great to hear guys!

csiguy,
How is the sound on the blue line loco? Can it be turned off?...I've never been a huge fan of sound haha.
I'm liking the new dark blue/yellow CSX paint scheme! I can't wait to come up with some doublestacks to justify them! But for now, I've got a nice string of 30 NS 100T hoppers just waiting for some modern NS thoroughbreds!

Can a Genesis Sd-60M andan Atlas Dash 8C be run together?
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
Haha that's great to hear guys!

csiguy,
How is the sound on the blue line loco? Can it be turned off?...I've never been a huge fan of sound haha.
I'm liking the new dark blue/yellow CSX paint scheme! I can't wait to come up with some doublestacks to justify them! But for now, I've got a nice string of 30 NS 100T hoppers just waiting for some modern NS thoroughbreds!

Can a Genesis Sd-60M andan Atlas Dash 8C be run together?

Now you really got my attention :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Doubletsacks are my FAVORITE type of rolling stock :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

And you can run any engine with any other engine, you just have to have separate decoders programed for each of them
 

csiguy

Member
the sound in the blueline loco i have is great, sounds exactly like the real thing. im not sure if you can turn if off though. i have ran atlas and genesis locomotives together before and they ran pretty good together. on my coal trains i run bowser 100 ton hoppers. they seem to run the best for me.
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
You migth want to look at this link if I get the url correct.

http://members.aol.com/JFuhrtrain/tuneup.htm

That page explains most of the reasons for electrical problems with Athearn blue box locomotives.

If you click on the link for the "five wire system" you will get instructions on how to eliminate bad electrical contacts. The club now runs dcc so he has updated his "five wire system" to work with dcc. For dc the motor can be hooked up directly to the positive and negative sides of the trucks. It only needs to be isolated for dc. his may not make you totally happy with the Athearn units, but might make them acceptable until you can purchase the more expensive models you are wanting.
 
Russ,
Thanks for the link, I'll keep it handy in case I have trouble! So far my Athearn units are ok electrically. I like the detail level on the RTR units such as the GP35s and 38s with wire grab irons etc...The GP35s also have microlamps which are awesome! My only complaint...noisy motors. "Athearn Growl"


***Update***
Soon to acquire 2 Genesis CSX (ex conrail) Sd70Macs!
Great deal on ebay! Can't wait to put them to work!
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Jim also addresses the most likely causes of noise in that link I posted. If you have the old style "gummy bear" motor mounts, the most likely problem is that the mounts have let the motor come loose. The Athearn gear boxes can also have flash on the gears that can cause noise or the gears will sometimes just be a bit noisy. I take my Athearn gear boxes apart and inspect the gears for flash, and clean them up if needed. Then I put the locomotive back together and run it in both directions for about 2 or 3 minutes with toothpaste in the gear box to lap the gears together. Toothpaste is about the finest abrasive that I know of. After that I take the gear boxes apart and clean all of the toothpaste out completely,reassemble the trucks, and lube the gears. I use a tooth pick to put a very small amount of oil on the wheel bearings, and at the motor bearings. Also don't forget the bearings on each end of the worm gear as well. I use a little LaBelle grease in the gear boxes and the plastic compatible LaBelle oil in the bearings. I've found this quiets the Athearn blue box locomotives very well. If you have the old style soft plastic motor mounts, Athearn has the new style hard plastic motor mounts that are held in with screws available to replace the old style mounts if you want. Finally, if you want to improve the performance even more, the aftermarket "can motor industry" seems as if it was started solely to upgrade Athearn drives. A new can motor can be mounted to the Athearn chassis with foam double sided tape.
 
Hi all,
I just received over the past week 2 Genesis SD70MACs. These are truly awesome looking engines, I can't get over how much larger they are than my other diesels (4 axle and 6 axle alike). The engines run nice and smooth and have plenty of pulling power. I love the lights!!!! The only problems I've experienced are derailments and a minor short circuit. One engine derailed on a turnout and cooked the internal circuit board. While the board still functions perfectly, it did produce a VERY bad smell! Hopefully the board will hold up, but if I have to rewire... it won't hurt my feelings. I would by another Genesis or 3.

I also received 2 Atlas Dash 8-32BWH Amtrak PHV locomotives. These are the ultimate! What nice models...super detailed, super smooth running! No problems at all. I can't wait to buy Atals Dash 8-40CWs next time!
 
All Three

Howdy, thedowneaster, I too have all three you mentioned, but personally I favor the BlueLine Sound, Power, and just overall performance, in fact my blueline BigBoy will pull 28 Loaded Oar Cars up my 2% helix grade both as slow as it will run, or as fast, without any problems, and comes equipt with sound for DC, but is DCC ready with just a simple inexpensive plug in decoder, that you just have to pull the load cap from the tender and plug it in. Hope this helps

Duane:thumb:
 

diburning

Member
Blue Line is best for sound engines. Second for sound is Atlas with QSI sound.

Genesis is a better version of athearn's regular line. the regular line is growly, but life-like and bachmann is worse!

atlas is all around best for details unless you want to do Kato. Kato is the best for details AND their super smooth and quiet drive.
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Blue Line is best for sound engines. Second for sound is Atlas with QSI sound.

Genesis is a better version of athearn's regular line. the regular line is growly, but life-like and bachmann is worse!

atlas is all around best for details unless you want to do Kato. Kato is the best for details AND their super smooth and quiet drive.

Kato quality depends on what railroad you model. I have never seen a Kato in the Santa Fe blue & yellow warbonnet scheme with the correct yellow color. I have also never seen two different Kato models of the Santa Fe with the blue & yellow warbonnet scheme with the same color of yellow on both models. I'm talking about different part numbers like a Gp 35 and a Gp40-2 for instance, not different models from the same production run. I think I've seen the same sort of color variations in their U.P. armour yellow as well, but since I don't model U.P. I haven't paid as much attention. If you are buying undecorated and painting them yourself, Kato's problem with getting color correct doesn't apply.
 
Kato quality depends on what railroad you model. I have never seen a Kato in the Santa Fe blue & yellow warbonnet scheme with the correct yellow color. I have also never seen two different Kato models of the Santa Fe with the blue & yellow warbonnet scheme with the same color of yellow on both models. I'm talking about different part numbers like a Gp 35 and a Gp40-2 for instance, not different models from the same production run. I think I've seen the same sort of color variations in their U.P. armour yellow as well, but since I don't model U.P. I haven't paid as much attention. If you are buying undecorated and painting them yourself, Kato's problem with getting color correct doesn't apply.


I had this trouble with recent Athearn RTR-series Guilford locomotives...the GP35 and GP40 have the same gray and orange, but the GP40 came with unpainted black trucks. The newer GP38-2 has a mucher darker gray but the same orange and gray trucks. (All made within the last couple years)

Atlas and Stewart versions use the darker gray and use a completely different orange! Yet they match each other almost perfectly. The Altas and Stewart products wil stay...the Athearn mix-matches must go.
 
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