I need you opinions please! If you were buying a SD-70M would you choose Kato or Athearn? I don't own any Athearn engines so I have no experience with their performance.
As long as you're asking for opinions, I would go with Kato. Their tooling is crisper and their performance is excellent. I only have 1 Athearn and it fine, but I like my Katos better. That being said, Athearn offers a wider variety of road names and body styles (e.g. the flared radiator w/ standard cab - a UP staple) which Kato inexplicably shuns. Just my 2 cents, Gary
KATO!!! I don't own any Athearn engines so I have no experience with their performance the kato sd70 might me off a little on the detail but it is a kato and that means smoooooooth running.
I have both Kato and Athearn and prefer the Kato's. Kato's are smoother running and the detail is a bit crisper. Like Gary said Athearn offers the 2 UP versions which is what hooked me into buying some. Rob
The Kato's run better, the Athearn was offered in many more roads. I have a couple of Athearn (Susquhenna units) that Kato would never, ever consider doing. The Athearns a little more noisy but they seem to pull better. They are heavier than the Kato's.
Go with Kato. The Athearn is nice but no ditch lights and also performs very poor in corners. The locos I had U.P. and CSX where slowing down in all the corners and making a low grinding noise so I switched over to Kato I'm not sorry one bit.
I like my four Athearns, but DIDN'T like that I had to add the ditchlights - although I LOVE the brightness of those LEDS...they run well, but I'd buy Kato just for the Ditchlights. Here's a shot of one leading a recent Oakville train:
I've have a few (LOL!) Kato C-44's and AC-4400's. I guess I should stay with what I know best, the KATO. They have served me well for many years. I'm getting the bug for a little more modern equipment.
I really wanted to get one of the Athearns but when I placed one side-by-side with a Kato at the LHS, the Athearn did not look nearly as good (paint too thick, panel lines too big, etc). I did not buy the Athearn and haven't ever had a problem with my large fleet of Katos. Jamie
I have both and have no complaints about either... However given the choice, I would buy the Kato units. They run smoother and the ditch lights are a major plus. Athearn has more choices, etc. - but visually, I prefer the Kato units.
I don't own any Athearns trains, but I do have the Kato SD70M. I put a MRC sound board in it and it runs and sounds great.
I suppose for me it would be the one that offers the road name I need.Of course I avoid a hodgepodge of road names because its a given brand name. Athearn,Atlas Kato makes no difference when it comes to buying the proper road name but,if 2 manufacturers makes the same road name then its a matter of the better discount price if both models are about equal..
I have both, and like the Katos better, but if it's a roadname they don't offer, I haven't hesitated to get the Athearn.
I have 3 Athearn models and 3 Kato. The Kato's are smoother and quieter. If you can get the Kato's at a good price you will not be disappointed. Mark
The SD70M showed up today. I finally broke down and picked up the Kato version. The original light board cast a yellowish/white hue like the Atlas B40 Dash 8s. That was OK. I dropped in a TCS decoder and now the lights are yellow. Obviously there must be some tinting in the light tubes to change the hue that much. I would prefer bright white lights. Anybody got any suggestions?
It appears that Kato switched over to amber tinted light pipes about a year ago with the SD70ACe. The new runs of the Dash-9s and SD70Ms have them as well. Does anyone prefer this to the old clear pipes? I sent Kato a suggestion (via their web site) to switch back. If you feel the same way, please do the same. It's possible that clear pipes are still available as parts from older runs of the Dash-9s and '70Ms, but as far as I know, we're stuck with the ACe pipes. -Gary
