Andre-this looks and sounds awesome! The thumbnails fooled me for actual photographs for a few moments. I'll send you an email at the link you posted to get more information. As far as joining a club to operate on, the only one I know of in my area is located in Warrenton in a shopping plaza on the I-70 south outer road (the old Train Haus store). $10.00 a month, which is pretty reasonable, I guess. But I have such a weird work schedule that I doubt I would be able to attend very many meetings. Maybe another door will open in the near future. For what it's worth, I don't believe anything that was stated in this thread constituted "bashing" as it was described, including the original title. It seems that now whenever there is any critique of Athearn whatsoever, the phrases "bashing" and "negative tone" inevitably come up. Most every criticism of Athearn that I have read on this forum has been constructive. All of the manufacturers seem to have trouble getting the paint right the first time around, including Bowser, Atlas Trainman, and of course, the old Walthers Trainline GP15-1, which I absolutely loved for it's performance. If I had the opportunity, I would buy another one of those in a heartbeat, even though it almost glowed in the dark. I never walk past Athearn engines on the shelf of my local hobby store without stopping for a look, despite the minor (and I mean MINOR) troubles that I've had with a few of them in the past. I've have always considered them to be the most "bang for the buck", but that may not be the case anymore. Athearn needs to consider that they may lose some customers with these price increases simply because they're not as affordable anymore. Or maybe they could introduce a new line of products with the same basic working parts, but less detail, comparable to the Altas Trainman and Walthers Trainline products, maybe even somewhere in between. I would definitely be interested if they did. Pat Moreland, Union Mo.
Good idea. In a way they have that with the RTR and Genesis line. And also they have 3 models (that I know of) that almost are like what you describe. The F7, GP38-2 and GP40-2. They still haven't upgraded them yet (to my surprise, maybe not so much on the F7 though) to the DCC ready with directional lighting, they still run on BB drives and don't have nearly as much detail as the other RTR's. The price of the last run of GP38-2's was $80 a unit, and that was when the other units where $110, $120. Ethan
Ethan, I didn't know that Athearn had released a GP38-2 lately. Or were you speaking of the Atlas Trainman model from two or three years ago? The last Athearn GP38-2 that I remember was the blue box road no. 699 from the late 1990's or early 2000's. I guess I should clarify that I do have a dual income household, thankfully. My wife is the hardest working person I know of, and if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't get by. Even so, with all of the bills, there just isn't much left over to put into the hobby and any price increase is a set back. The rate of raises and bonuses aren't keeping pace with inflation. Pat Moreland, Union Mo.
Re: Warning about future Athearn products Howdy Pat, No bashing seen. BTW, we believe in complete freedom of speech here, but do try to keep the titles accurate. Certain topics are off limits like politics and religion. Now, if you supposed bashing was about my Frisco religion, there might be an issue, tsk, tsk. Best, mike
Pat, I was speaking of the run that last came out on the GP38-2 line, and no the Frisco was not in it. Ethan
Hello Again Pat: Sounds fine. I'll be watching for your email. SteveM: Well... ain't nothing wrong with having another interest within your hobby of railroading. One of the neat things about V scale: Point/Click... different era, theme, locale, etc. (I have routes installed that go anywhere from the Western Pacific's Keddie Wye area circa late 1960's, or Colorado narrow gauge circa 1880's or 1930's... and so on! East, west, north, south... doesn't matter as long as someone's made a route and equipment for it: Point/click.)
Re: Warning about future Athearn products You know, after taking a second look at this thread it appears that the real root of the issue is not so much Athearn rising their prices as it is the dollar slipping in buying power. In today's economy the dollar is so devalued that when compared to a 1960 dollar today's dollar is only worth 8-10 cents. So when you consider that on average a new HO engine in 1960 was around $10 a $100 engine in today's market is about the same price as it was in 1960 when adjusted for inflation. FriscoGeorge
Very true. I also know that we modelers of 2011 have such a vast increase in available, accurate trains, structures, scenic details and materials and electronics as compared to what could be bought (at any price) back in 1960. I will go so far as to say we're spoiled. I'll spend my coins on what I really want and scratchbuild the rest.
