Athearn Equivalent


cncproadwarrior

cncproadwarrior

North of the 49th
I'm just getting back into model railroading after almost 20 years.

Back then, I bought Athearn diesels because they were good value for the money. And they were the best I could afford. I have installed DCC decoders in 2 of them and they run great. I have 5 diesels but we all know that's not enough and will be looking for more.:D

Most of my 20+ pieces of rolling stock are also Athearn. My question is this: is Athearn still good value for money today and what other makers are equivalent in cost and quality?

Thanks.

Bernie
 
I think so. For rolling stock, I grew up on the Blue Box kits and an occasional ready to run car from AHM or Bachmann, and prefer my Athearn to the others for ease of updating (with metal wheelsets and couplers). The detail on the Athearns has increased dramatically as well.

I also like Atlas, Walthers, Intermountain as well. I don't have any Accurail, but will get a couple since they have roadnames I like.

For locos, I get Athearn, Atlas (the Trainmans run well, but with less detail), and Proto2000. I haven't tried anything else like Kato, Broadway Limited, or the others, simply because of price.
 
Bernie, if your talking about the Athearn Blue Box kits, yes in my humble opinion they are still a good value. You can find lots of them for sale pretty cheap these days. The newer RTR lits are even better, but the prices are higher too. It all depends on your budget.
 
The newer Athearn RTR and Genesis line of engines continues the tradition of Athearn toughness and reliablility with much better detail and running qualities. As Jerome said, old Athearns never die, so you can still find good deals on BB's on e-bay. If you like to detail your own engines, these can be a very good detail. If you want the detail already in place, the newer Athearn engines would be more up your alley.

One brand that wasn't mentioned is the Bachmann Spectrum line. These are probably the closest to the older Athearn line in terms of inflation adjusted cost. They have generally better details than the Athearn RTR line but nit as good as the Genesis line. I have several that came DCC equipped and set me back less than $50 so they are a good deal for the money.
 
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