I picked up a couple of Athearn Genesis RTR 50 ft Reefers. I must say the detail is very nice and the price wasn't to bad. I must admit though, I get more pleasure out of putting the kits together. Anyway, I have a question in which I couldn't find an answer for on the Genesis box. Are the wheels on these sets metal? At first, I though they were hard plastic, and I replaced them with Kadee 33 inch wheels. But after I took them off and examined them, they appear to be metal. Does anybody else care to share their opinion or what they know about these wheels?
You sure what you have is a Genesis product? Athearn hasn't done a reefer in their Genesis line, only 60' smooth side and x-post hi-cube boxcars, and a 50' SIECO x-post box. If it's a Genesis, it would have semi-scale (.088" tread)metal wheelsets with spinning bearing caps. In the Ready-to-Roll line, some, but not all, of the cars or cabooses come with metal wheels.
I've only bought one Ready-to-roll line car (PS4740 covered hopper) so far and the metal wheels fitted have been fine, no problems to report. I also think you must have a RTR car not a Genesis one, I don't think you would have been able to swap the wheels in a genesis one so easily because of the rotating bearings feature... HTH
My bad, you guys are right it is the ready to roll line. They are nice looking models, though. Thanks for the info about the metal wheels. I do believe these wheels are metal. However, the quality of the wheel is not as good as the Kadee wheels. [ 12. September 2002, 15:56: Message edited by: ajy6b ]
I'll go ahead and chime in on the subject of Athearn Genesis... I purchased two of the 60' boxcars a few months ago and they get the highest praise. They are in the same leauge as Atlas, Intermountain and P2K cars, though they are superior to these other brands. The paint and lettering is excellent, the cars are assembled well, and the detailing is securely applied yet delicate in appearance. The only downside to the new generation of cars from Atlas, Athearn Genesis, Proto 2000, and Intermountain is the vast difference in appearance between these and Athearn Bluebox, Athearn Ready to Roll (although they are nicely decorated), Accurail, MDCRoundhouse and Walthers. The older (and less expensive, let's face it!) cars need more work with each new release of these superdetailed cars. Don't get me wrong, though. It's still a hobby and a labor of love for me to get those older cars into the Genesis league, but it becomes more expensive and time consuming every day! RC Harris
Interesting comment, RC (and, welcome to Trainboard!) I've bought the "blue box" kits for years, and most likely were I to still be full-tilt busy in HO, I'd continue to buy "blue-box" kits. It's a money issue, and I don't have a whole lot to spend in the hobby. Now, I do have some of the Atlas RTR kits, and I have bought some of the Intermountain and P2K hopper kits, and so far none of the RTR and Genesis stuff Athearn has come out with. Will I? Perhaps, but with Genesis cars going as high as 35 bucks for the covered hoppers, not any time soon.
All I can say is 'shop around.' You should NEVER have to pay retail! I got my Genesis boxcars at 30% off by looking around everywhere I could until I found them mis-labeled! ebay is a great resource, but once in a while so is trainworld, manhattan train & hobby, and even the LHS. RC (typing quietly so I won't wake up my daughter...)
When you are in doubt about wheels being plastic or metal, touch one wire to one side of the wheel, and another to some where around the same wheel, and see if it will carry current. Then check the opposit wheel, (one may be metal and the other plastic for two-rail insulation.) Cheap engines and lighted cars are like this. That plastic wheel will eventually give you trouble. When shopping in person, I carry a testor in my pocket, especially at shows. I soldered wires to a bulb and two AA batteries, (1-1/2volt). I have caught several "honest" fellow hobbists by "accident" after they were telling me and others around that the cost of his car was higher because the wheels were metal. It doesn't sit well, when I pull out my little tester and the bulb wont light on his "metal" wheels, but will light when I touch both wires together! It has saved me being mad when I get home with plastic wheels after paying for metal wheels. Now if he wont let me test them there, I simply don't buy. [ 15. September 2002, 07:54: Message edited by: watash ]
Trust me, my friend.....I follow the advice of the Diva of Discount off of WBAP-AM, where she says the number 1 rule is "thou shalt NOT pay retail"! Getting it at a deep discount would be the ONLY way I'd ever buy a Genesis covered hopper! I've had better luck finding those discounts from the mail-order hobby shops.
WBAP? Are you near Fort Worth, FriscoBob? If you weren't, it wouldn't surprise me. I've picked up WBAP in Medora, North Dakota and KRLD in Durango, Colorado. But if you are, we should go chase trains sometime! RC
I used to live up in Paris for 10 1/2 years, and I'd tune in to WBAP for my drive-home radio at 3:00 PM. Since I've moved up to Grand Junction, CO, I very seldom get WBAP on the car radio except at night (a little of Randy Galloway, and a little of Sam from Sales). I may be returning to Texas (most notably the Sherman-Denison area) in the near future, so prehaps when I get settled in, I may take you up on the train-chasing bit. I know Bobbye Hall's is long gone, but is Discount Trains still there in Addison? And what decent hobby shops exist over in Ft. Worth?
Grand Junction, huh? I just moved back to Texas (from here originally) from Durango two months ago, so I was just on the other side of Red Mountain Pass from you. Discount is still there, and if you remember going in the "back" of the hanger a few years ago, you'll be surprised how big it is now. Same location, though. As far as FTW is concerned, we've got the Hobby Maker in Bedford, but that's straight retail. If something ends up there that doesn't ordinarily show up elsewhere, I'll pick it up. Also, the ocassionally mis-marked cars turn up there, too. You've also got the Model Train Crossing in Hurst south of the NorthEast Mall. Buddy Spraggins runs that place and he's helped me out over the years. He doesn't tend to discount very much, but because of this, he's got stuff that's long gone elsewhere (NIB Atlas SD24s come to mind). Don't expect to find any new drive Athearn models there until they're outdated and are referred to as "old drive!" Still, good shop nonetheless. Other than that, I really can't think of any good train specific stores in FTW. If the Model Train Store drought up in GJ is as bad as in Durango (and surrounding 4 hours), you'll be glad to get back here! By the way, I don't know if you get out to the Springs or Denver very often, but I'm sure you're aware of Caboose. But have you ever been to Custom Railway Supply in the Springs? Smaller store, but better (in terms of having more of a focus on HO) and they can get whatever you want quickly. I spent a great deal of time working in the Springs living in hotels while my wife froze in Durango, so I scouted that area pretty good. Anyway, I hope you can come out this way sometime. RC
I'll do my best to look ya up when I get back! BTW, we have two train pushers here in GJ- one is Hobby Hut, which is an eclectic shop (trains, planes, automobiles, fantasy games, & boats) and Lobo Mountain Trains, which also sells brass locomotives & rolling stock from Nn3 to G scale. His prices are usually MSRP, but once in a while I can get discount, and he's a friendly good ol' boy (North Carolina). Aside from that' it's a 4-hour drive to either Salt Lake City or Denver (home of N Scale Supply and Caboose Hobbies). I'll miss Bobbye Hall's place (sweet ol' gal), and AFAIK there are no hobby shops in the Sherman-Denison area.
Hey friscobob, Silver Spike Hobbies is a discounter in Denton TX, a lot closer than Ft Worth is to Sherman-Dennison. It's a small one-man shop with a decent but limited selection, but Chuck can order anything if you can wait. If you're in a hurry, then Discount in Addison is the place to go.
Back to the subject of Genesis rolling stock..... I had the opportunity to look at a Genesis covered hopper today, and I must say I'm inpressed with the detail. All the brake lines, air hoses, metal roofwalks, etc. look sharp. It feels well-weighted, the ladders & grabs are scale (or as near as you can get), the wheels are metal- the only downer is the couplers, Kadee wannabe plastic jobs. A pair of number 58 couplers, and a small Phillips screwdriver, and voila- that problem is solved. ALso, the paint & lettering is all sharp and quite readable. This is NOT Uncle Irv's old Athearn! With a 30% discount from the mail-order houses, I may be tempted to get one or two. Still won't discard my older Athearns, but I'd be less inclined to throw rocks at the Genesis hopper (only at a discount could I get these beasts). Are they trying to cover the costs for all the detail work (and there's a bunch there, too)? Could be.......
You may be in for a surprise because there is no Kadee couplers that are a fit for the Athearn Trinity narrow coupler pocket. [ 17. October 2002, 20:58: Message edited by: jalajoie ]
