Ed's review: The Athearn SD40 (with sound) (UP)
Jun 27, 2015 11:02:18 GMT -8
rockisland652 likes this
Post by edwardsutorik on Jun 27, 2015 11:02:18 GMT -8
Yesterday, I picked up my newly arrived Athearn UP SD40 (Athearn p/n 98820).
Visually:
The model looks neat and squared away. The side handrails are, too. Very nice. The only thing that causes me anxiety is that the mounting decks for the twin flashers are canted outwards. There aren't a lot of photos of these twin-flashers fellas available. The best one I found looks like the ones on the prototype MAY do the same. It seems likely they would have been level and flat, but maybe UP wanted drainage or clearance or whatever. I surely would prefer the real ones to be canted, as leveling the mounts would be pretty negatory. I thought about picking up a single-flasher, instead, but the shop hadn't ordered any. I guess I can view the possible repair as a MODELING CHALLENGE. As opposed to a PAIN IN THE BUTT. We'll see, I s'pose.
The model is sort of a kit. For those of you who miss kits. There's a plastic bag just FULL of little silvery bits. I'm pretty sure they're for detailing the fuel tank. Also missing are lift rings and windshield wipers. Adding the rings looks sorta like fun. The latter, less so.
The chosen lettering scheme for this run is the "We Can Handle It" with black edging on the letters. It was first used by UP in March of 1973. In October of 1975, the big 20" lettering scheme started. I figure the "We Can Handle It" scheme was pretty much gone by about 1980. Which means that this one is great for 1975, or so. These locos were delivered in the "Dependable Transportation" scheme, and "died out" in the 20" scheme--3 total schemes. Approximately. See the Utah Rails site.
Operation:
It ran just fine. That IS NOT faint praise. No complaint. No noticeable hitches in the git-along. I couldn't hear any mechanical noise over the sound. With the sound off, there was a bit of smooth whirring noise. Nothing nasty. But definitely not dead quiet, either.
I was especially interested in the sound on this one. It appears that no one has noticed that DCC/sound is "half price" on these models (and, now, the SD40-2). When powered up, the model has no "start up" feature. It is just running. Which might be a good thing, if your loco loses contact for a moment. I was curious if start-up is still stored in the electronics, so I looked for the DCC/sound booklet. None. In fact, the accompanying parts drawing was for DCC-ready, not sound-equipped. Athearn might have info on their site--haven't looked--don't care, a lot.
I especially wanted to hear if the sounds sounded OK. They did, in that they sounded to me pretty typical of sound equipped EMD models. The horn sounded like what I thought it would. I AM NOT a horn expert. It didn't go BLAAATT like a switcher. Anyway, I am happy enough with the sound (for $50) that I ordered it in my next SD40 (BN). Worst case, I guess, is that I can put in a different decoder as a drop-in. Which is VERY unlikely to happen.
The flashers are interesting. They only come on in forward (F5). Which would usually be fine. Unless you're running just one as a real road switcher. And you're doing a backing move. Also, they both flash in sync. I believe that these particular flashers are the old spinners, rather than electronic. And thus would not be in sync. Maybe someday I'll research and/or do something about it. And, in that case, most likely do some decoder replacement/augmentation. They do look VERY nice, though. And, being bulbs (see Bob's adjacent topic), DEFINITELY better looking than that attempt on my Walthers UP GP30.
And, let's not forget, the DCC/sound Walthers GP30 lists at $300, while this one lists for $185. Why buy the Walthers? Well, ya kinda NEED a GP30, don't ya,punk.
Anyway, and all in all, this is a very nice loco.
Ed
Visually:
The model looks neat and squared away. The side handrails are, too. Very nice. The only thing that causes me anxiety is that the mounting decks for the twin flashers are canted outwards. There aren't a lot of photos of these twin-flashers fellas available. The best one I found looks like the ones on the prototype MAY do the same. It seems likely they would have been level and flat, but maybe UP wanted drainage or clearance or whatever. I surely would prefer the real ones to be canted, as leveling the mounts would be pretty negatory. I thought about picking up a single-flasher, instead, but the shop hadn't ordered any. I guess I can view the possible repair as a MODELING CHALLENGE. As opposed to a PAIN IN THE BUTT. We'll see, I s'pose.
The model is sort of a kit. For those of you who miss kits. There's a plastic bag just FULL of little silvery bits. I'm pretty sure they're for detailing the fuel tank. Also missing are lift rings and windshield wipers. Adding the rings looks sorta like fun. The latter, less so.
The chosen lettering scheme for this run is the "We Can Handle It" with black edging on the letters. It was first used by UP in March of 1973. In October of 1975, the big 20" lettering scheme started. I figure the "We Can Handle It" scheme was pretty much gone by about 1980. Which means that this one is great for 1975, or so. These locos were delivered in the "Dependable Transportation" scheme, and "died out" in the 20" scheme--3 total schemes. Approximately. See the Utah Rails site.
Operation:
It ran just fine. That IS NOT faint praise. No complaint. No noticeable hitches in the git-along. I couldn't hear any mechanical noise over the sound. With the sound off, there was a bit of smooth whirring noise. Nothing nasty. But definitely not dead quiet, either.
I was especially interested in the sound on this one. It appears that no one has noticed that DCC/sound is "half price" on these models (and, now, the SD40-2). When powered up, the model has no "start up" feature. It is just running. Which might be a good thing, if your loco loses contact for a moment. I was curious if start-up is still stored in the electronics, so I looked for the DCC/sound booklet. None. In fact, the accompanying parts drawing was for DCC-ready, not sound-equipped. Athearn might have info on their site--haven't looked--don't care, a lot.
I especially wanted to hear if the sounds sounded OK. They did, in that they sounded to me pretty typical of sound equipped EMD models. The horn sounded like what I thought it would. I AM NOT a horn expert. It didn't go BLAAATT like a switcher. Anyway, I am happy enough with the sound (for $50) that I ordered it in my next SD40 (BN). Worst case, I guess, is that I can put in a different decoder as a drop-in. Which is VERY unlikely to happen.
The flashers are interesting. They only come on in forward (F5). Which would usually be fine. Unless you're running just one as a real road switcher. And you're doing a backing move. Also, they both flash in sync. I believe that these particular flashers are the old spinners, rather than electronic. And thus would not be in sync. Maybe someday I'll research and/or do something about it. And, in that case, most likely do some decoder replacement/augmentation. They do look VERY nice, though. And, being bulbs (see Bob's adjacent topic), DEFINITELY better looking than that attempt on my Walthers UP GP30.
And, let's not forget, the DCC/sound Walthers GP30 lists at $300, while this one lists for $185. Why buy the Walthers? Well, ya kinda NEED a GP30, don't ya,punk.
Anyway, and all in all, this is a very nice loco.
Ed
