These are said to come with ESU sound from the factory. I have had no luck at all with factory installed decoders from Atlas with motion only decoders. Are these more reliable? Inquiring minds are curious before I buy one........
Atlas hasn't done much lately that interested me (era, model, railroad, ect.) but I have some RSD4/5s on preorder, so I'm interested too. Atlas made so many changes to the new models that comparing them to older versions is like comparing apples to oranges..........split frames are gone, trucks are now wired, decoders are now wired thru a plug, ect. I'm hoping for the best, since ESU is the new go-to for Atlas, and no other decoders will fit without a major rewire.
I am very happy with the ESU equipped models I've gotten from Atlas. These have primarily been the S2 and the S4. I love these, they have become probably my favorite units. I have only purchased one GP39-2 that was ESU equipped (and I actually put that under a GP38-2 shell) and it runs great too. I also just recently got a GP7 & GP9, and again, am very happy. Atlas has modified these new units to use wired trucks. A quick search on the web and you will find all manner of opinion on this. I don't really have an opinion on this. I guess long term will tell the tale. I can tell you that they run better than the NCE equipped models and I have no doubt that the superior electronics from ESU is the primary (maybe the only!) reason for this. I have had better luck than you with the NCE equipped units - generally these have been decent for me although the NCE decoders need a good bit of programming to get things running better - for some reason units with NCE decoders seem to need a LOT of starting voltage to get things moving. And I have also noticed that more recent runs with NCE decoders seem to be worse runners - they are prone to the jackrabbit start and just seem less reliable. The recent RS2 is a good example - it looks nice in Southern tuxedo, but I gave up just last night, the thing is stalling even on straight track! I am continuing to buy Atlas locos with ESU as they release things I want. They've been smooth runners and fit the bill for the time period and loco type I am looking for. I am really hoping for eventually more GP7 & GP9, and already have my eye out for the GP38s, H16-44s, and SD35s (all in Southern and B&O also for the SD35s), and I'll likely grab some more of the S2s when the next batch comes out - C&O and Santa Fe (zebra stripe finally!).
I have a gold ALP-45. Decoder works great. Unit has some issues with the drive train that I haven't been able to get full resolved. The design of the trucks makes them very difficult to dissasemble. Not sure if that is on all of their newer engines or just this one.
Yeah, I have hoped for these for quite a while. There is an HO layout built by Keith Jordan that is Santa Fe themed, based on the Los Angeles "Patch" switching area. I have loved this layout since I first saw it. Such a great idea, and so well done! https://www.patchrailroad.net/The_Patch/Patch_Home.html From that I knew I needed to eventually get some zebra striped ATSF switchers. I have honed in on B&O and Southern as my primary focus now, with a little bit of other eastern roads thrown in (WM, C&O, N&W), but those Santa Fe units will be a must when Atlas releases them.
The new locos with the esu decoders are FAR SUPERIOR to their previous offerings. I have about 10 of them, in various models, and they run great. The older Atlas locos (pre-2016) retrofitted to use the new ESU decoders are not reliable (IMHO) and I quit converting them. I don't know if the motors are different and/or because of the new hard wired trucks but they don't run as well and aren't reliable so not for me.
I have four of the new SD9's, two silver two gold. One silver unit has a random clunk in one truck assembly that at times jambs the assembly to the point only the outermost axle is on the rail, but not rolling. One gold unit is dead. First no motor control then no sound. I do like the idea of the design with hard wired axle wipers and motors, plus plug in decoders. The frame also seems beefier so may be better pullers than the split frame design. I plan to make a warranty claim, but will run the other two a spell to see if they hold up so I can do it all at once if needed. I have an older Atlas SD7 and the detail is not much different than the new units. I removed all Atlas from my wish lists and do not plan to buy anymore until I see and hear of better results and/or a fix for the ailments. Model Railroading sure is more fun when my purchases work out as they should.
Well I just decided to try one of the new Atlas Gold locomotives, went with a preorder of a Southern Green baby TrainMaster.
I think the sound on the new Atlas gold units is great. I reduce it to about 45% and am happy. I plan to change it up a bit soon making the horns loud and everything else a bit subdued.
The clunk issue sounds like a grain of schmutz in the truck gears, either right from the factory or picked up from the layout during break-in. It happens! Ask me how I know . For the dead Gold unit, every manufacturer makes some duds but in my experience ESUs are some of the more reliable sound decoders out there. Sometimes their complex programming makes changing an innocuous CV end in needing a factory reset. But unless you count the time I touched the speaker wires to the tracks, every ESU decoder problem I've encountered has been fixable with a reset. Which is more than I can say about BLI, Soundtraxx, etc.
