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Post by bigblow69 on May 5, 2015 11:21:01 GMT -8
If I had cash I would be getting some. Who needs cash anymore, just use plastic. I'm unemployed none for me.
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Post by kcjones on May 5, 2015 11:37:01 GMT -8
Saw the GP 60 yesterday. Didn't even take it out of the box, but you could see the difference between the side frames. The FV side frames seemed flat compared to the Athearn's. JL
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Post by milgentrains on May 5, 2015 11:47:42 GMT -8
If I had cash I would be getting some. Who needs cash anymore, just use plastic. I'm unemployed none for me. I'm disabled and in a wheelchair, it's trolling for blue-Box kits for me right now.
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Post by nightmare0331 on May 5, 2015 13:39:24 GMT -8
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Post by calzephyr on May 8, 2015 18:26:30 GMT -8
Who needs cash anymore, just use plastic. I'm unemployed none for me. I'm disabled and in a wheelchair, it's trolling for blue-Box kits for me right now. Steve Check your PM.
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Post by Brakie on May 9, 2015 2:34:16 GMT -8
If I had cash I would be getting some. I have the cash in my hobby budget but,why buy something I already have? The Athearn Geep 60Ms I already own works for me. I would feel kinda foolish buying 2 FVM GP60Ms even though there nice looking engines..
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Post by nebrzephyr on May 10, 2015 10:33:58 GMT -8
Here's a quick grab shot of the Fox Valley GP60M (left) and Athearn GP60M truck sideframes. Admittedly the FV have less depth than the Athearn. You can draw your own conclusion if they are really "Bachmann like". I think once weathered they will be OK, at least for me. There are also some other differences between the units, but I know how much time, effort, and many parts I added on the Athearn unit to get it close to the details on the FV. Also notice the Athearn unit sits a tad high, which I have also noticed when matched with other Athearn units. Bob
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Post by riogrande on May 10, 2015 11:36:15 GMT -8
Can you do a front on shot of each for side by side too.
I do note the Athearn has the anti glare paint on the nose, not sure how, or when that was applied but it's a nice touch on the Athearn.
As for the side frames, maybe what makes the FV side frames appear to be more shallow is the molding is more sharp on the edges where the Athearn are more rounded. Really the Athearn aren't that much deeper when seen side by side, not a huge difference. Weathering would certainly mute it too. Isn't Athearns GP60 from the old RPP tooling or did they do their own?
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Post by atsfan on May 10, 2015 18:06:48 GMT -8
I am pretty sure Athearns is old RPP tooling. I have an A and B unit. The first release I have has so so paint.
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Post by Judge Doom on May 10, 2015 20:13:13 GMT -8
The roller bearing Blomberg M sideframes Athearn has may in fact be Smokey Valley tooling, whether shared or otherwise. Their SD60 roller bearing HTC trucks are spot-on identical to the Smokey Valley tooling, including the round tooling holes in the back and slight mis-alignment with one of the axles vs sideframe.
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Post by Brakie on May 11, 2015 8:09:02 GMT -8
Here's a quick grab shot of the Fox Valley GP60M (left) and Athearn GP60M truck sideframes. Admittedly the FV have less depth than the Athearn. You can draw your own conclusion if they are really "Bachmann like". I think once weathered they will be OK, at least for me. There are also some other differences between the units, but I know how much time, effort, and many parts I added on the Athearn unit to get it close to the details on the FV. Also notice the Athearn unit sits a tad high, which I have also noticed when matched with other Athearn units. Bob You can see the height issue between the FVM and Athearn GP60s..Never notice that issue before since I run my 2 Athearn GP60Ms together. I can live with that..I'll continue to run the units together just like I run my BB wide bodies together.
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cklx
Full Member
Posts: 123
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Post by cklx on May 15, 2015 3:54:02 GMT -8
Got my Fox Valley GP60's today. Personally I think they look fantastic - much better than Athearn. Nice sharp castings and excellent printing. The trucks look OK to me. I'd say the quality is comparable to modern Atlas and other manufacturers engines. Cornelius Koelewijn.
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Post by nebrzephyr on May 15, 2015 5:12:26 GMT -8
I opened up a ATSF B unit in preparation for installing a DCC decoder. Couple things I found interesting. The light board is stamped with Bowser's name. Secondly, there is what I think and ingenious way they do the lights. The SMD LEDs are mounted in the base of the platform and the cast light pipes and affixed to the shell. Plus, the overall wiring, etc, is very neatly bundled. Bob
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Post by nightmare0331 on May 15, 2015 7:53:06 GMT -8
I opened up a ATSF B unit in preparation for installing a DCC decoder. Couple things I found interesting. The light board is stamped with Bowser's name. Secondly, there is what I think and ingenious way they do the lights. The SMD LEDs are mounted in the base of the platform and the cast light pipes and affixed to the shell. Plus, the overall wiring, etc, is very neatly bundled. Bob The GM of ESU used to work for Bowser and was probably aware of an existing design that was available off the shelf. Some of the speaker housings from ESU I was using in the past were marked Bowser. Why reinvent the wheel if you don't have to? Enjoy! Kelley.
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Post by Judge Doom on May 15, 2015 22:24:48 GMT -8
The GM of ESU used to work for Bowser and was probably aware of an existing design that was available off the shelf. Some of the speaker housings from ESU I was using in the past were marked Bowser. Why reinvent the wheel if you don't have to? Enjoy! Kelley. He mentioned he was taking it apart to install DCC, so it was likely a DC non-sound unit, thus ESU doesn't really fit into the picture on this unit. It's probably more of a case of the FV GP60 being made in the same factory as Bowser, Intermountain, and Atlas models are now. The gear tower clips, driveshafts, circuit board+motor mount setup and that DC circuit board with all the plugs look like the style Bowser uses in its recent models. The factory themselves might own some of the components and component designs, and just installs them into different manufacturers models to meet spec. Now the $1 mill. question...do you have a side shot showing the motor? One or two reports have mentioned these have the same gutless (but possibly improved by now) Mabuchi-clone motor recent Bowser/IMRC/Atlas models have had.
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Post by nebrzephyr on May 16, 2015 6:40:05 GMT -8
So, what's the verdict? Bob
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Post by carrman on May 16, 2015 7:00:45 GMT -8
That is the new motor Bowser is going to also. It's a good motor with torque, I have a pair of them in my BN C636's. First test shots of the GP60 had the original cheesy Mabuchi clone.
Dave
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Post by nebrzephyr on May 17, 2015 8:47:03 GMT -8
That is the new motor Bowser is going to also. It's a good motor with torque, I have a air of them in my BN C636's. First test shots of the GP0 had the original cheesy Mabuchi clone. Dave Yes, I did a quick test run on the one I rec'd with sound, pulled 10 accurate weight cars (metal wheels) up an appox. 3% grade with no sweat. I do see how folks like the horn sound on the ESU between that some other brands. Nice sound. Before I do much more I need to adjust the prime mover sound, way too loud. Which is funny, since the horn and bell volume is is almost perfect. Bob
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Post by emdgp10 on May 21, 2015 14:21:49 GMT -8
Just picked two up, both have issues with broken handrails...anyone else have that issue?
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Post by eh49 on May 21, 2015 15:55:27 GMT -8
I got a A-B-A Santa Fe set and the NS OLS unit. Not one handrail or anything was broken.
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