I posted this on the Railwire, sorry if you've seen it already. Well, after waiting since I started in N scale (1.5 years), I finally have a pair of LV Snowbirds (DCC), that's right folks, the ALCO C628 has hit the rails, and it is good! WWWOOOOOOOHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I can't provide a pic b/c my camera is out of town till Friday but rest assured they are very nice. I went down to woo woo woo woo woo woo around 330 and the Atlas box hadn't been opened yet but when it was I could barely contain myself. Nobody had come in to get theirs so I am the only dude in the area with them. Anybody wanna come run trains at my house? Anybody but Ed that is--he likes vandalism too much. Heehee Now for a preliminary report. I'll start with something crummy; the horns on both units were mangled. One was not too bad and I bent it back into shape but the other will need to be replaced. I hope this issue is just related to my batch. Atlas did something new with this locomotive by not attaching the front and rear hand rails. I haven't attached mine (these are gifts for my roomie) but they just pop into a few holes and that's it. The paint looks good as we've all come to expect from Atlas by now. The light looks to be a Golden White led that's more white than golden. It looks perfect for this era loco, but maybe a tad dim--it might just be me though. The numberboards aren't lit. At a couplaces on the loco there are tiny seams where light from the lightboard shines through the frame--that's annoying so I'll have to fix it. In terms of the motor, it's a nice slow speed deal, but the really awesome thing is that it's quiet and super smooth. It has the usual Atlas grumble but it's sorta muted this time around. It seems very close to Kato in terms of "smoothness", you throttle junkies know what I mean. I've not pulled anything with the units but I'm guessing they are going to be pretty decent haulers. This unit is so sweet and I'm really happy with it at the outset. I have 3 more to get this Saturday so I hope to have all sorts of pics of some weathered units soon. There's not much more I can think of adding at this point; I'll leave the more "in-depth" reviews for you experts out there. Oh yeah, the SD9 is in and it looks cool too. Cheers everybody!!
The new Alco's sound very nice, Jonathan. I stopped by a few hours earlier, and they were still boxed up. Guess I'll have to stop in later this week. Had a chance to see the new Life-like SW8 switchers, and they look good, too. Al.
Hmmmm... some assembly required again??? Not really a big deal as it just seems to be pop-on handrails... but reminisent of the VO-1000's. By any chance are these made in China, as Cory had reported, or are the made in Korea? I'm still waiting for my SP unit.. I only ordered one of them. I wanted to make sure that it was a good runner before getting more. So far though, from your report, it sounds like it's a good one.
I hope the handrails aren't an issue like I heard they were for some people on the VOs. I'm still waiting for the DCC versions so I've not had a chance to "play" with them. These units are made in China. Maybe Atlas didn'w want to take a chance on the quality?
Made in China is good... they've got their act together there. It's the Korean connection that has me concerned as we have seen many of the issues arise from the first run of Model Power Pacifics and the constant delays and quality control issues on the Atlas VO-1000'. The Athearn F59PH is apparently the only one that has had limited gripes other than the supersonic speed motor & gearing. I hope that Atlas is not making anything else with the Korean company... I'm wondering about the upcoming releases of the SD24 & Shay.
Looks like I can finally clean out my box at Wig Wags. Thanks for the tip on the release of these. I was watching ebay for them as theyussually have them up before anyones web site is updated.
I agree w/you Cannonball but if the Korean factories get their act together it might mean better prices for everyone. I just hope people aren't working in crapoy conditions for next to nothing just so I can have a model train at a lower price.
For anyone who get these locos, you may want to use a pin vice to enlarge the holes for the handrails. I've done 4 Centuries so far and it really made things easier. Just don't make the holes too big.
