Very impressive and handsome gp9 model, I purchased an Athearn Genesis gp9 model myself back in 2014 but I ended up selling the locomotive at a model train show about 3 years ago. The next time that I purchase an Athearn Genesis gp7 or gp9 model it will be equipped with dcc & sound, these Athearn gp9 models are possibly the best gp9 models available in ho scale. The SP paint schemes available that are either the "black widow" paint scheme or the common gray/ red scheme are both attractive and the SP headlight display features are amazing detail applied to the locomotive model.
I agree that the Genesis GP9 is probably the best GP9 available. Because of the small space inside the model, getting one with DCC and sound factory installed makes it so much easier. Adding DCC and sound to a DC model can be a challenge. Gotta love the SP light package! Thanks for watching!
Regarding the low short hood units mentioned at 4:30, those would have been the Phase III GP-9's produced by EMD in the late 1950's. I believe they were all produced with the new cabs and hoods, as well as single 48 inch roof fans instead of pairs of 36 inch ones as EMD began to transition to the GP18 and GP20 models of the time where high short hoods became the exception rather than the rule.
Thanks for the info. I didn't know where the low short hood units fit into the production, but it makes sense that they would be at the point where production was switching to newer locomotives. I appreciate you watching!
I used to go over to the Glendale, California station in the early 90s to railfan and there were always a couple of SP GP9 engines idling on the siding there. I miss seeing them and they are one of my favorite locomotives. I never did see the gyralite used in all the years I saw these operate.
I noticed at minute 15 the mainline train with 2972 2nd out. I think you might enjoy knowing the history of that loco in real life. 2972 was one of 6 locos specially assigned to the brand new SP west Colton yard in 1973. The six units were 2971-2976. Each two of them were tripled with a full size slug numbered 1000-1002. So they had three hump sets with two sd48s and a slug. So a unique history.
Wow, that's cool! It must have been great seeing these near new SD38-2's with a slug in the yard. I bought 2972 during one of Scale Trains sales, but it has become one of my favorites. Seems like I always have it on the layout. Thanks for sharing the story and thanks for watching!
I picked up a DRGW GP9 off ebay a year or two back it has Tsunami sound which has the annoying always on if track power is on, and I will reprogram it (and my other genesis snd units) for start on command once the layout is wired!! EDIT I recently picked up an early P2K SP GP20 with the opening cab doors that I will fit a DCC chip into one day too...for its age its nicely detailed
I agree that the sound normally on is annoying. I will also change that to normally off. The Lifelike P2K models were nice back in the day. Unfortunately, Walthers hasn't updated them nearly enough since then. I have 4 LL P2K GP30's I put decoders and speakers in. I'd probably give them away if I found the right person. I can't sell them on Ebay because I don't have any packaging for them so they can't be shipped. I'm locked in on Scale Trains and Genesis now. Depending on how the Rapido GP40 and U25B look I might give one of those a try.
@@SPSteve yes Scaletrains is the top tier.....my 2 GP40 Rio Grande units shipped yesterday! my P2k GP20 is going to get a weathering job eventually and be very dirty. I had a MTH GP35 SP that I just sold for way less than I paid for it, but it was just not on the same level of detail as the Scaletrains and Genesis units.
@@Wolfe351 My Rio Grande GP40 has shipped as well. I'm eager to see how it looks! It'll be interesting to see how Rapido's GP40 looks when it starts shipping.
@@SPSteve mine turned up in 6 days!! from Scaletrains warehouse to South Oz in 6 days!! Beating the old record that my first order of SD40T2s set of 7 days a couple of years ago!! They are really nice!!
@@Wolfe351 Wow, that's great! I just got my GP40 yesterday and I preordered last February. I might start putting a video together for the GP40 today. I'm eager to see it on the layout.
They did a really nice job on the detailing of that loco. The rock on each side of the tunnel portals look incredible and that loco coming out of the tunnel looked very realistic. Great job and review. Did the literature say anything about them doing a GP7?
Thanks Derek! It was worth the effort installing a tunnel liner. I think the Genesis GP9 is the best available. I didn't read the literature. The tooling for the GP9 has been around for a while, you might want to do a search for Athearn Genesis GP7 and see what comes up.
The Tsunami 2 can be set to start and stop the prime mover with a Function button(5&6) or by turning on the throttle.They are nice and loud,but are easily easily turned down.
OK good. I'll have to go into Decoder Pro and set the default sound to off. A lot of these locomotives are way too loud for my taste, it gets annoying quickly. I like to turn the sound down. I appreciate you watching!
Nice review, and yes, Scale Trains does some things much better than Athearn Genesis. However, one thing Scale Trains does not do is make things like this GP9E that modelers of the 1970's can use as branchline power, they tend towards mainline power that I can not use no matter how nice I think they are. I mean a SD40T-2 and an SD45X would seem out of place on my little railroad, but I have several Athearn Genesis GP9's and they are perfect for that purpose. I do have one of the LL P2K GP9's, it arrived DOA, just swapping out axle gears with the Athearn parts fixed the issue. My LL is in Black Widow with light packages at both ends, the one I modeled lasted up til 1972 this way, well mostly. Oh, and I really LOVE that RS3 of yours, Alco's are my favorites; I have a SP RS32 squirreled away for whenever the day comes and I can detail it enough so I'll be happy with it. BTW, thanks for putting a crummy on the freight train, I needed that. When Rapido drops the C-40-3 caboose, you should get at least one for your switchers, they are making several versions, one for each of your eras. Honestly, it's a wonderful time to be a model railroader; peace.
Thanks John! I fully agree, this is the best time ever to be a modeler! No question. I also agree that Scale Trains mostly ignores branch line power. I'm sure there's a reason, certainly some of their models are unique. Maybe they're trying own a segment of the market and not fight for market share. I don't know? The Athearn Genesis GP9 still holds up pretty well although it is no longer leading edge. I think it is the best choice for a GP9. My RS3 is definitely a favorite. I really like the RS3 and needed one in SP paint. Now I can split screen time also having the GP9. I don't want to bore people by using the same locomotives every video. I'll have to check out the Rapido's C-40 when they're available. I have a few Rapido SP box cars but otherwise I don't have much experience with their models. I appreciate the comment and thanks for watching!
@@SPSteve Just found your channel yesterday and subscribed, a friend told me about this video as my 3777 just arrived. As a bit of a SP caboose junkie, and considering the time periods you enjoy, if possible, I'd suggest this Rapido car; SP C-40-3 Steel Caboose: SP - Gothic Large w/ roofwalk: #1091 SKU 162013. The way it is painted, lettered, and with those marker lights, it would be okay from the late 1950's until the caboose became history in the 1980's. And I mean no windows blanked out and with the running boards intact.
@SPSteve One exception, sometime in the mid 70's SP got away from the one red and one green Frog Eye roof top markers and switched to both lights being red. Probably had to do with fewer light bulb changes would be needed, knowing the SP. We did see green covers after that, but they were never lit that I saw.
@@4449John Thanks for the sub! I try to put up new content regularly, primarily focused around building my layout and what equipment I buy. I currently have 4 SP cabooses, 1 Walther's Proto C-30, 1 Centralia C-50 and 2 Athearn Genesis LED light C-50's.
@@4449John I went and looked at the Rapido C-40's. I'd be interested in the late version of the gothic lettered C-40. I always liked the frog eyes so that would be a cool feature.
I purchased some Walthers D&RGW GP9's and am pretty happy with them. What didn't you like about the SP version from Walthers? Anyway, I grew up in Davis California in the 1970's and early 80's. There was a Southern Pacific GP9 that switched the tank cars at the Hunt Wesson tomato processing plant on the line heading north toward Woodland CA - what I later learned was called the west valley line. I don't recall the GP9 having plows - to me that was not the norm from what I recall. The example you show must be from the mid-1980's just guessing since the rear light packages appears to be blanked out. I"m using a TCS UWT-100 for a throttle and love it! (along with the CS-105 command station) Looks like a bunch of Moloco boxcars following the SD's in the running part. I've got a bunch of Moloco - very nice boxcars, along with Rapido's latest SP/SSW boxcars.
The photo I lead the video with is from 1976 in Portland OR and it shows 3777 with the plows, the rear light package plated over and the large air filter box on the long hood. So, the Athearn Model is accurate. I bought a Digitrax DT602D wireless throttle a few months ago. I absolutely love it. Consisting is really easy. Yep, I have 9 Moloco cars presently. Excellent cars. I have 4 of the Rapido SP box cars and they're really nice. Probably the same cars you have. I bought 2 Walther's GP9's, both were dead on arrival and I had to send them back for repair. The colors were way off and the molding has soft definition. The intake grills looked like they were unchanged from the old LL Proto 2000 models. I have a video of the models in my Model Railroad playlist if you want to look at them. I don't remember everything about them, but I remember having a bad case of buyer's regret. I still have a Walther's Proto Black Widow SD9 and the only reason I haven't sold it is because I lost some of the packaging and can't ship it. I'll never buy another Walther's locomotive.
@@SPSteve Athearn Genesis usually are pretty faithful to the prototypes they represent so the version you bought makes sense that it's a good match. Yours looks very nice - I am tempted to buy one of the non-snowplow versions since I enjoyed watching the SP GP9 as a teen in town. For DCC I bought a Digitrax Chief system about 25 years ago but found consisting to be less than straight forward, even on the DT402D throttle I bought later. I have seen Digitrax now has the 600 series throttles but I was hesitant to spend more money on Digitrax so I sold the DT402D throttle purchased the new TCS system based on their CS-105 command station and wifi UWT-100 throttles. Super easy to learn to use and I can see why everyone is raving about them. If you have a Digitrax LNWI wifi adaptor, the UWT throttles would work with the Digitrax DCC system. I've always heard good things about the Walthers helical gear drives being very smooth and reliable so I wasn't worried about purchasing Walthers Proto diesels. The drives have always gotten favorable comments on the forums I participate on. Sounds like you got a a couple of lemons. How did they run after repair? The two DCC/Sound D&RGW GP9's I've set up and run so far have been very good performers - I haven't noticed the any lack of definition - but being black Rio Grande maybe it's harder to notice. I've read reports that the Genesis GP9 had had power pickup issues but maybe the later runs have mitigated that. Reportedly the GP9 shells are based on the old Front Range GP9 tooling, either the same molds or scans of them; some have questioned the curve radius of the roof corners and placement of upper rear hood elements being a hold over from the old Front Range tooling. I haven't researched that any further. I have 2 Genesis D&RGW GP9's but I still need to install deconders in them, and I bought a Genesis GP7 of more recent production that is DC/Sound. Generally I do prefer Genesis of Walthers where there is a choice - I've got a number of the Genesis bloody nose SP FP7's with the ice breakers - and have avoided the Walthers version. Same with F units - I have a bunch of Genesis D&RGW F7's and of course the Rio Grande Zephyr F9ABB set.
@@riogrande5761 Once I got the Walthers GP9's back from repair they ran fine. The headlight still didn't work on one of the models but at that time I had already decided I didn't want them. I had a Walther's Proto GP20 that had a bad frame. It just crumbled apart. I have a Walther's Black Widow SD9 with the large Mars light at the end of each hood. The Mars lights no longer oscillate (flash). In my opinion the Walther's models are outdated and overpriced, I'll never buy another one. Currently I only buy locomotives from Scale Trains or Genesis. That's a safe buy and I know what I'm getting. I have 2 Bowser locomotives, and they're fine for what they are. I'll keep the Bowser locomotives I have but I don't see myself buying any more from Bowser. I had a Bowser SP U25B but I sold that since the level of detail wasn't what I was looking for. I might try a Rapido locomotive in the future. I'll see how their Cotton Belt GP40 and SP U25B look once they ship. I'll watch some reviews and see what guys say about them before laying down $300 for one. The Digitrax DT60D is really nice, I like it much better than the DT402. But a guy needs to use what he likes. If you like the TCS hardware, more power to you. In the end, if it does what it is supposed to do, that's what is important.
Looks great on your railroad. I hope these Athearn GP 9s are more reliable than the one I bought 8 years ago. Gave me issues over switches at slow speeds, even after ‘repair’ at the factory…
Between Atlas, Athearn Bachmann, and various other manufacturers who have made (& remade, and remade, and remade, and remade, and remade, and remade, and remade, and remade and remade again) still have not just gone all the way and just fully applied every single light that these geeps utilized (class lights, walkway lights gauge lights on control stand, stairway lights). They might as well go all the way with all of the lighting effects and places where the lights were applied!
The Scale Trains Museum Quality offerings do what you suggest, unfortunately they're expensive and there are only 3 offerings. I think the manufacturers will keep producing older models until no one buys them. I'm no longer willing to spend money on lower quality locomotives and rolling stock and I'm being selective with what I buy.
The stone retaining wall was made from a Bragdon Enterprises mold. I cast the stone retaining wall sections in hydrocal plaster. The retaining wall on the peninsula I made using my own mold. It was also laid up with hydrocal plaster. I hope that answers your question. Thanks for watching!
I noticed you had buyers remorse with the Walthers Proto GP9; that they were DOA upon unboxing just added fuel to the fire. I like the plows, grills, large air filter box, SP lettering on the nose, and darker gray of the Genesis model. I can see how those more pronounced features can tip the preference to the Genesis.
Absolutely. All the things you mentioned were factors in selling the Walther's GP9's and buying the Genesis GP9. I am much happier with this model! It's a better model. Thanks for watching!
Very impressive and handsome gp9 model, I purchased an Athearn Genesis gp9 model myself back in 2014 but I ended up selling the locomotive at a model train show about 3 years ago. The next time that I purchase an Athearn Genesis gp7 or gp9 model it will be equipped with dcc & sound, these Athearn gp9 models are possibly the best gp9 models available in ho scale. The SP paint schemes available that are either the "black widow" paint scheme or the common gray/ red scheme are both attractive and the SP headlight display features are amazing detail applied to the locomotive model.
I agree that the Genesis GP9 is probably the best GP9 available. Because of the small space inside the model, getting one with DCC and sound factory installed makes it so much easier. Adding DCC and sound to a DC model can be a challenge. Gotta love the SP light package! Thanks for watching!
Your Rockwork is gorgeous! Nevermind the locomotives ;)
The dry creekbed scene - WOW!!!
Thanks James! I hope to eventually have several signature scenes on my layout. I appreciate you watching!
Regarding the low short hood units mentioned at 4:30, those would have been the Phase III GP-9's produced by EMD in the late 1950's. I believe they were all produced with the new cabs and hoods, as well as single 48 inch roof fans instead of pairs of 36 inch ones as EMD began to transition to the GP18 and GP20 models of the time where high short hoods became the exception rather than the rule.
Thanks for the info. I didn't know where the low short hood units fit into the production, but it makes sense that they would be at the point where production was switching to newer locomotives. I appreciate you watching!
I used to go over to the Glendale, California station in the early 90s to railfan and there were always a couple of SP GP9 engines idling on the siding there. I miss seeing them and they are one of my favorite locomotives.
I never did see the gyralite used in all the years I saw these operate.
They were still great for local switching even in the 90's. One of my favorites as well. Thanks for watching!
Luv the plows on both ends, makes it look fierce.
It's a snow fighting beast! 🙂 I agree the plows look cool. I like the mods SP did during its rebuild. Thanks for watching!
Great loco Steve, even if the tooling is older it looks really nice. Thanks for sharing.
Regards Paul
Thanks Paul! I like it, the phase II rebuild seems like the sweet spot for the SP GP9. It's a nice addition to my roster. Thanks for watching!
Excellent runners 💪😎👍❤️
@@johnfloyd838 It'll be a great switcher for my layout! :)
Beautiful rendition!
It's a nice one. The Athearn Genesis is best GP9 you can buy in my opinion. Thanks for watching!
nice locomotive i love it
It's a good one!
I noticed at minute 15 the mainline train with 2972 2nd out.
I think you might enjoy knowing the history of that loco in real life.
2972 was one of 6 locos specially assigned to the brand new SP west Colton yard in 1973.
The six units were 2971-2976.
Each two of them were tripled with a full size slug numbered 1000-1002.
So they had three hump sets with two sd48s and a slug.
So a unique history.
Wow, that's cool! It must have been great seeing these near new SD38-2's with a slug in the yard. I bought 2972 during one of Scale Trains sales, but it has become one of my favorites. Seems like I always have it on the layout. Thanks for sharing the story and thanks for watching!
That Looks Gorgeous!!!! 😍
I can't think of a better GP9 on the market. This tooling has been around for a while but it still looks great. Thanks for watching!
I picked up a DRGW GP9 off ebay a year or two back it has Tsunami sound which has the annoying always on if track power is on, and I will reprogram it (and my other genesis snd units) for start on command once the layout is wired!! EDIT I recently picked up an early P2K SP GP20 with the opening cab doors that I will fit a DCC chip into one day too...for its age its nicely detailed
I agree that the sound normally on is annoying. I will also change that to normally off. The Lifelike P2K models were nice back in the day. Unfortunately, Walthers hasn't updated them nearly enough since then. I have 4 LL P2K GP30's I put decoders and speakers in. I'd probably give them away if I found the right person. I can't sell them on Ebay because I don't have any packaging for them so they can't be shipped. I'm locked in on Scale Trains and Genesis now. Depending on how the Rapido GP40 and U25B look I might give one of those a try.
@@SPSteve yes Scaletrains is the top tier.....my 2 GP40 Rio Grande units shipped yesterday! my P2k GP20 is going to get a weathering job eventually and be very dirty. I had a MTH GP35 SP that I just sold for way less than I paid for it, but it was just not on the same level of detail as the Scaletrains and Genesis units.
@@Wolfe351 My Rio Grande GP40 has shipped as well. I'm eager to see how it looks! It'll be interesting to see how Rapido's GP40 looks when it starts shipping.
@@SPSteve mine turned up in 6 days!! from Scaletrains warehouse to South Oz in 6 days!! Beating the old record that my first order of SD40T2s set of 7 days a couple of years ago!! They are really nice!!
@@Wolfe351 Wow, that's great! I just got my GP40 yesterday and I preordered last February. I might start putting a video together for the GP40 today. I'm eager to see it on the layout.
They did a really nice job on the detailing of that loco. The rock on each side of the tunnel portals look incredible and that loco coming out of the tunnel looked very realistic. Great job and review. Did the literature say anything about them doing a GP7?
Thanks Derek! It was worth the effort installing a tunnel liner. I think the Genesis GP9 is the best available. I didn't read the literature. The tooling for the GP9 has been around for a while, you might want to do a search for Athearn Genesis GP7 and see what comes up.
I did a quick search and Athearn Genesis has made GP7's.
The Tsunami 2 can be set to start and stop the prime mover with a Function button(5&6) or by turning on the throttle.They are nice and loud,but are easily easily turned down.
OK good. I'll have to go into Decoder Pro and set the default sound to off. A lot of these locomotives are way too loud for my taste, it gets annoying quickly. I like to turn the sound down. I appreciate you watching!
Nice review, and yes, Scale Trains does some things much better than Athearn Genesis. However, one thing Scale Trains does not do is make things like this GP9E that modelers of the 1970's can use as branchline power, they tend towards mainline power that I can not use no matter how nice I think they are. I mean a SD40T-2 and an SD45X would seem out of place on my little railroad, but I have several Athearn Genesis GP9's and they are perfect for that purpose. I do have one of the LL P2K GP9's, it arrived DOA, just swapping out axle gears with the Athearn parts fixed the issue. My LL is in Black Widow with light packages at both ends, the one I modeled lasted up til 1972 this way, well mostly. Oh, and I really LOVE that RS3 of yours, Alco's are my favorites; I have a SP RS32 squirreled away for whenever the day comes and I can detail it enough so I'll be happy with it. BTW, thanks for putting a crummy on the freight train, I needed that. When Rapido drops the C-40-3 caboose, you should get at least one for your switchers, they are making several versions, one for each of your eras. Honestly, it's a wonderful time to be a model railroader; peace.
Thanks John! I fully agree, this is the best time ever to be a modeler! No question. I also agree that Scale Trains mostly ignores branch line power. I'm sure there's a reason, certainly some of their models are unique. Maybe they're trying own a segment of the market and not fight for market share. I don't know? The Athearn Genesis GP9 still holds up pretty well although it is no longer leading edge. I think it is the best choice for a GP9. My RS3 is definitely a favorite. I really like the RS3 and needed one in SP paint. Now I can split screen time also having the GP9. I don't want to bore people by using the same locomotives every video. I'll have to check out the Rapido's C-40 when they're available. I have a few Rapido SP box cars but otherwise I don't have much experience with their models. I appreciate the comment and thanks for watching!
@@SPSteve Just found your channel yesterday and subscribed, a friend told me about this video as my 3777 just arrived. As a bit of a SP caboose junkie, and considering the time periods you enjoy, if possible, I'd suggest this Rapido car; SP C-40-3 Steel Caboose: SP - Gothic Large w/ roofwalk: #1091 SKU 162013. The way it is painted, lettered, and with those marker lights, it would be okay from the late 1950's until the caboose became history in the 1980's. And I mean no windows blanked out and with the running boards intact.
@SPSteve One exception, sometime in the mid 70's SP got away from the one red and one green Frog Eye roof top markers and switched to both lights being red. Probably had to do with fewer light bulb changes would be needed, knowing the SP. We did see green covers after that, but they were never lit that I saw.
@@4449John Thanks for the sub! I try to put up new content regularly, primarily focused around building my layout and what equipment I buy. I currently have 4 SP cabooses, 1 Walther's Proto C-30, 1 Centralia C-50 and 2 Athearn Genesis LED light C-50's.
@@4449John I went and looked at the Rapido C-40's. I'd be interested in the late version of the gothic lettered C-40. I always liked the frog eyes so that would be a cool feature.
I purchased some Walthers D&RGW GP9's and am pretty happy with them. What didn't you like about the SP version from Walthers? Anyway, I grew up in Davis California in the 1970's and early 80's. There was a Southern Pacific GP9 that switched the tank cars at the Hunt Wesson tomato processing plant on the line heading north toward Woodland CA - what I later learned was called the west valley line. I don't recall the GP9 having plows - to me that was not the norm from what I recall. The example you show must be from the mid-1980's just guessing since the rear light packages appears to be blanked out. I"m using a TCS UWT-100 for a throttle and love it! (along with the CS-105 command station) Looks like a bunch of Moloco boxcars following the SD's in the running part. I've got a bunch of Moloco - very nice boxcars, along with Rapido's latest SP/SSW boxcars.
The photo I lead the video with is from 1976 in Portland OR and it shows 3777 with the plows, the rear light package plated over and the large air filter box on the long hood. So, the Athearn Model is accurate.
I bought a Digitrax DT602D wireless throttle a few months ago. I absolutely love it. Consisting is really easy.
Yep, I have 9 Moloco cars presently. Excellent cars. I have 4 of the Rapido SP box cars and they're really nice. Probably the same cars you have.
I bought 2 Walther's GP9's, both were dead on arrival and I had to send them back for repair. The colors were way off and the molding has soft definition. The intake grills looked like they were unchanged from the old LL Proto 2000 models. I have a video of the models in my Model Railroad playlist if you want to look at them. I don't remember everything about them, but I remember having a bad case of buyer's regret. I still have a Walther's Proto Black Widow SD9 and the only reason I haven't sold it is because I lost some of the packaging and can't ship it. I'll never buy another Walther's locomotive.
@@SPSteve Athearn Genesis usually are pretty faithful to the prototypes they represent so the version you bought makes sense that it's a good match. Yours looks very nice - I am tempted to buy one of the non-snowplow versions since I enjoyed watching the SP GP9 as a teen in town. For DCC I bought a Digitrax Chief system about 25 years ago but found consisting to be less than straight forward, even on the DT402D throttle I bought later. I have seen Digitrax now has the 600 series throttles but I was hesitant to spend more money on Digitrax so I sold the DT402D throttle purchased the new TCS system based on their CS-105 command station and wifi UWT-100 throttles. Super easy to learn to use and I can see why everyone is raving about them. If you have a Digitrax LNWI wifi adaptor, the UWT throttles would work with the Digitrax DCC system.
I've always heard good things about the Walthers helical gear drives being very smooth and reliable so I wasn't worried about purchasing Walthers Proto diesels. The drives have always gotten favorable comments on the forums I participate on. Sounds like you got a a couple of lemons. How did they run after repair? The two DCC/Sound D&RGW GP9's I've set up and run so far have been very good performers - I haven't noticed the any lack of definition - but being black Rio Grande maybe it's harder to notice. I've read reports that the Genesis GP9 had had power pickup issues but maybe the later runs have mitigated that. Reportedly the GP9 shells are based on the old Front Range GP9 tooling, either the same molds or scans of them; some have questioned the curve radius of the roof corners and placement of upper rear hood elements being a hold over from the old Front Range tooling. I haven't researched that any further. I have 2 Genesis D&RGW GP9's but I still need to install deconders in them, and I bought a Genesis GP7 of more recent production that is DC/Sound.
Generally I do prefer Genesis of Walthers where there is a choice - I've got a number of the Genesis bloody nose SP FP7's with the ice breakers - and have avoided the Walthers version. Same with F units - I have a bunch of Genesis D&RGW F7's and of course the Rio Grande Zephyr F9ABB set.
@@riogrande5761 Once I got the Walthers GP9's back from repair they ran fine. The headlight still didn't work on one of the models but at that time I had already decided I didn't want them. I had a Walther's Proto GP20 that had a bad frame. It just crumbled apart. I have a Walther's Black Widow SD9 with the large Mars light at the end of each hood. The Mars lights no longer oscillate (flash). In my opinion the Walther's models are outdated and overpriced, I'll never buy another one.
Currently I only buy locomotives from Scale Trains or Genesis. That's a safe buy and I know what I'm getting. I have 2 Bowser locomotives, and they're fine for what they are. I'll keep the Bowser locomotives I have but I don't see myself buying any more from Bowser. I had a Bowser SP U25B but I sold that since the level of detail wasn't what I was looking for. I might try a Rapido locomotive in the future. I'll see how their Cotton Belt GP40 and SP U25B look once they ship. I'll watch some reviews and see what guys say about them before laying down $300 for one.
The Digitrax DT60D is really nice, I like it much better than the DT402. But a guy needs to use what he likes. If you like the TCS hardware, more power to you. In the end, if it does what it is supposed to do, that's what is important.
Looks great on your railroad. I hope these Athearn GP 9s are more reliable than the one I bought 8 years ago. Gave me issues over switches at slow speeds, even after ‘repair’ at the factory…
So far so good. I've run it over numerous switches and haven't had any trouble. All my turnouts have powered frogs though. Thanks for watching!
One thing that Scaletrains units have that Genesis units don’t have is some really thick paint.
Other than my 2 Bowser locos, all my locomotives are Scale Trains or Athearn Genesis. I like each brand.
Between Atlas, Athearn Bachmann, and various other manufacturers who have made (& remade, and remade, and remade, and remade, and remade, and remade, and remade, and remade and remade again) still have not just gone all the way and just fully applied every single light that these geeps utilized (class lights, walkway lights gauge lights on control stand, stairway lights).
They might as well go all the way with all of the lighting effects and places where the lights were applied!
The Scale Trains Museum Quality offerings do what you suggest, unfortunately they're expensive and there are only 3 offerings. I think the manufacturers will keep producing older models until no one buys them. I'm no longer willing to spend money on lower quality locomotives and rolling stock and I'm being selective with what I buy.
Where did you get that retaining wall in this video. Also a manufacturer if possible. Thank you.
The stone retaining wall was made from a Bragdon Enterprises mold. I cast the stone retaining wall sections in hydrocal plaster. The retaining wall on the peninsula I made using my own mold. It was also laid up with hydrocal plaster. I hope that answers your question. Thanks for watching!
I noticed you had buyers remorse with the Walthers Proto GP9; that they were DOA upon unboxing just added fuel to the fire. I like the plows, grills, large air filter box, SP lettering on the nose, and darker gray of the Genesis model. I can see how those more pronounced features can tip the preference to the Genesis.
Absolutely. All the things you mentioned were factors in selling the Walther's GP9's and buying the Genesis GP9. I am much happier with this model! It's a better model. Thanks for watching!