Some Superliner Questions

[jonathan]

Jake,

The P42 is quiet and a smooth runner.  It also pulls well.  Remember, the  AC4400 is a RTR engine and has the basic Athearn Drive Train.  I have the Dash 9 RTR which is also a little noisy.  If you happen to get a look at the inside of the new RTR engines, they are no different than the inside of any Athearn equipment going back for years.  They are dependable and good running engines, but nothing fancy under the hood.  You can insulate the motors and deaden the noise a bit, which I have done on my GP40s.  At present, the RTR Athearns tend to be DCC ready, and a decoder will help.

You get what you pay for in this case.  Not to worry, the P42 is worth the expense.  It's just like a Genesis engine.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Michigan Railfan]

Well, my P42 came yesterday. So far, I am pretty displeased. Have you tried to take off the shell? I did. In the process, all 4 ladders came off, a truck sideframe came off, and all 4 lights came out of their sockets, causing one back light to not work. So, here goes the "story". I was test running my P42, and I was very pleased with how good it ran. When I finished, I picked the train up off the tracks, and something fell out of the bottom. Not sure if it would eventually mess with the train running good in the future, I decided to take off the shell. Before I did, I looked at the exploded parts diagram, and seen that it was a gear box clip. I still wasn't sure if this would effect the train, I decided to take off the shell. So, first, it seemed impossible to take off the couplers, because the screws were so close to the chassis. When I finally got them off, I looked at the diagram, and noticed that I didn't even need to take off the couplers to take off the shell. So, I finally got around to taking off the shell. Trying to take off the shell, I noticed that there was plenty of resistance. I looked around the engine, and noticed that one of the ladders was ripped up. I noticed that there was a little lip right where the ladders are. I was pretty shocked at how stupid the design is for that area. Do they not want you to take off the shell or something? So, I tried to lightly spread the ladders away from the shell, and that didn't turn out well. That seemed like the only way to take the shell off, at the moment, the shell snapped off, taking all 4 ladders with it, and all 4 lights. One of the back lights' wires had came out of the bulb, so that one doesn't work. In that process, my thumb fell onto the truck sideframe, because of the shell snapping off. So, the truck sideframe is now off, and so are all 4 ladders. I spent an hour and a half trying to get the back lights back into their sockets, and I was very frustrated. I'm hoping I can glue the ladders back on, and the truck sideframe. So far, I'm pretty displeased with the design on this engine. Not the paint job, but how they made it so its pretty much impossible to take the shell off.

[ABC]

It seems that you are displeased with any quality, well detailed model. Maybe, you can try sticking to less detailed models that have less parts to lose and break -just a thought. I still question if you have used enough care when handling your locos. Perhaps you can have a worker at your local hobby shop help you with your more delicate models, he'd likely be willing to help.

[jonathan]

Oh Jake,

These are small, delicate devices, that need slow and gentle movements when handling.  My heart bleeds for that engine.  If you look very closely at the shell, you will see the steps are separately applied pieces.  In fact, they are probably press fit on not glued.  There is a chance the manufacturer carries the steps as replacement parts you can purchase.  Also, the shell can only be lifted a few inches from the frame as the lights are mounted to the shell.  The truck side frames are also press fit, but can be broken if handled too roughly.

The only reason to open that loco is to add a decoder.  There's plenty of lubrication to last for many, many hours of running.  The only change I made was to replace the plastic couplers with metal, no disassembly required.

I wish you luck with your efforts.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

1. Does the Empire Builder include baggage cars and Auto cars?

I took the "Builder" from Chicago to Seattle last August. There was one full baggage car in the consist.

If by "Auto cars" you mean like the Auto Train, from Virginia to Florida, then that answer is no.

[Michigan Railfan]

Thanks, Johnson Bar Jeff.
Jonathan,
I realize these are delicate, but I think it wasnt the smartest design to put something that holds the shell on right behind the ladders. I'm pretty sure Athearn does carry the steps, and hopefully they'll be easy to press in, if I get some. The truck sideframe on mine came off really easy, maybe a manufacturing defect or something. The reason I took off the shell was because something fell out of it, a gear box clip. I was'nt sure if it would eventually affect how the train runs, so I decided to take off the shell.
Jake