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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2012 16:25:44 GMT -8
Got my undecorated Genesis Centennial today. The model comes in TWO boxes. One with the base locomotive shell and drive and the second has all the add on parts! It is MASSIVE. It measures a little under 14 inches in length. The dual Soundtraxx Tsunami decoders and speakers sound awsome! This is going to be ONE FUN build! ;D It will go well with my Athearn RTR 116" nose SD40-2 which I'm doing in Fast Forty as built or early 70's and I'm reworking two of the OLD Athearn DD40's to scale width hood DD35A and DD35B.....more to come on those builds         |
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Post by rhpd42002 on Jul 30, 2012 16:53:01 GMT -8
Wow! Jim, that alone looks to be quite an ambitious build, let alone, narrowing a coule of BB units to boot!!  This is going to be something well worth following.  |
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Post by carrman on Jul 30, 2012 17:37:00 GMT -8
Lift the hood please!!!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2012 18:34:53 GMT -8
Looks pretty cool....  Wonder if the Genesis GP38-2's will have that kind of undecorated package? ;D |
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Post by onequiknova on Jul 30, 2012 19:05:20 GMT -8
Looks pretty cool.... Wonder if the Genesis GP38-2's will have that kind of undecorated package? ;D With all the detail and phase variations their doing, it would have to come in three boxes! I wonder how they'll handle that. |
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Post by nw611 on Jul 31, 2012 1:54:43 GMT -8
Tom and John, if you look at Athearn website, you'll see that Athearn did 4 different undecorated GP15-1s (plus an undecorated GP15T), but did not announce any undecorated models for the GP38-2 and the GP7/GP9. Fortunately, Shane Wilson, Atlas Brand Manager at Horizon, has just joined this forum. Maybe he could explain us which is Athearn's policy toward undecorated models. Ciao. Raffaele
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Post by kentuckysouthernrwy on Jul 31, 2012 5:25:41 GMT -8
Nice to see some positive sounding posting here. Have fun with that gem, Jim. I'm sure everyone is anxious to see your results.
"Shane Wilson, Atlas Brand Manager at Horizon" typo?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2012 6:36:04 GMT -8
Nice to see some positive sounding posting here. Have fun with that gem, Jim. I'm sure everyone is anxious to see your results. "Shane Wilson, Atlas Brand Manager at Horizon" typo? Shane is Athearn's brand manager Yes, its a typo |
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Post by nw611 on Jul 31, 2012 6:40:32 GMT -8
It's a typo. Should I apologize with Shane? In any case, I do apologize. Ciao. Raffaele
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Post by dti406 on Jul 31, 2012 7:19:19 GMT -8
How many axles are powered on this loco, only having four powered axles on the Turbines and U50's kept me from buying those units.
Rick J
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Post by snootie3257 on Jul 31, 2012 7:31:50 GMT -8
You're not selling it already are you?Or maybe you have another your selling?Just asking because someone from Wisconsin just listed one on e-bay and these same photos are being used.
Steve Draper
Living at milepost 86.5 on UP's Harvard subdivision
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Post by calzephyr on Jul 31, 2012 8:14:23 GMT -8
Got my undecorated Genesis Centennial today. The model comes in TWO boxes. One with the base locomotive shell and drive and the second has all the add on parts! It is MASSIVE. It measures a little under 14 inches in length. The dual Soundtraxx Tsunami decoders and speakers sound awsome! This is going to be ONE FUN build! ;D It will go well with my Athearn RTR 116" nose SD40-2 which I'm doing in Fast Forty as built or early 70's and I'm reworking two of the OLD Athearn DD40's to scale width hood DD35A and DD35B.....more to come on those builds Jim Those two boxes look like an impressive amount of parts. Let us know how long the assembly takes and show us pictures as you go if you have the time. Athearn has outdone themselves on this one! Thanks for posting the pictures of the undecorated model as I would never see one otherwise. Larry |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2012 15:33:49 GMT -8
How many axles are powered on this loco, only having four powered axles on the Turbines and U50's kept me from buying those units. Rick J Every axle is powered |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2012 15:40:37 GMT -8
Excuse the messy workbench. I pushed everything in a lump to make room for the Centennial. Overview of the entire chassis  Front motor. The front motor has two large flywheels  Rear motor. The rear motor has only one smaller flywheel and has shorter universals.  Front Tsunami. It appears to be a full function decoder with pads for lighting effects.  Rear Tsunami. It is a stripped down board with no pads for lighting effects and is much shorter physically than the front decoder.  |
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Post by calzephyr on Jul 31, 2012 17:24:03 GMT -8
Interesting! Dual flywheels on the front motor but not room for the rear one to have two flywheels. It probably is heavy, right? Otherwise, the two motors not being tied together could slip independant of each other.
If you program the unit, does one have to isolated or do both decoders accept the change at the same time?
Thanks for posting great detailed pictures. I will probably purchase the 6936 when they produce it as the excursion model.
Larrly
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Post by Judge Doom on Jul 31, 2012 18:07:00 GMT -8
Athearn has created one impressive model! Now, who will be the first to do a side-by-side comparison with a Bachmann DDA40X Hmm, won't the extra and larger flywheels cause the front drive to want to "coast" more than the rear when the unit is stopped? I know some of my units with larger flywheels exhibit this when run with those with skinnier ones. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2012 4:17:33 GMT -8
Interesting! Dual flywheels on the front motor but not room for the rear one to have two flywheels. It probably is heavy, right? Otherwise, the two motors not being tied together could slip independant of each other. If you program the unit, does one have to isolated or do both decoders accept the change at the same time? Thanks for posting great detailed pictures. I will probably purchase the 6936 when they produce it as the excursion model. Larrly The chassis is very beefy. It doesn't look real heavy in photos but its got some weight. Athearn supplies a twenty page booklet with the model. It has a little history and photos of the Centennials in action and listing of the preserved units. The book also has many line drawings of where all the parts go to on the model and four or six pages on programming of the model's decoders. Athearn pulled out all the stops on this model or darn close to it. |
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Post by calzephyr on Aug 1, 2012 8:23:13 GMT -8
Athearn has created one impressive model! Now, who will be the first to do a side-by-side comparison with a Bachmann DDA40X Hmm, won't the extra and larger flywheels cause the front drive to want to "coast" more than the rear when the unit is stopped? I know some of my units with larger flywheels exhibit this when run with those with skinnier ones. There probably is some minor difference in the amount of energy the two flywheels store compared to the single one, but they are mounted on one frame. I would think that only in a panic stop would the two motors continue to run at a different rate and time since most stops would be slowing up to the point the flywheels make only a slight aid right before the unit stops. Larry |
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Post by Hergy on Aug 1, 2012 15:02:55 GMT -8
Jim, get busy on those DD35's because Murphy's law dictates that about the time you finish, Athearn will come out with their version of DD35's. It would be a shame not to use those beautiful trucks again, even though the DD35 truck did not display the brake cylinders like on the DD40. My DD40 will be arriving tomorrow.
Dick
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Post by theengineshed on Aug 1, 2012 16:27:12 GMT -8
I sure wish BLI had used a dual motor all wheels powered chassis like this for the Centipede. Water under the bridge now...
These DDA40Xs are really a fantastic value!
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Post by bnsf971 on Aug 1, 2012 16:51:07 GMT -8
I sure wish BLI had used a dual motor all wheels powered chassis like this for the Centipede. Water under the bridge now... I would have been happy if all drivers had been powered. BLI took what should have been a moose, and turned it into a slug. Anyway, I found a Youtube video of the new DDA40X under power. The runbys are at the end of the video, if you want to skip to it: |
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Post by el3637 on Aug 2, 2012 12:52:51 GMT -8
Hmm, won't the extra and larger flywheels cause the front drive to want to "coast" more than the rear when the unit is stopped? I know some of my units with larger flywheels exhibit this when run with those with skinnier ones. That was the first thing that jumped out at me looking at the chassis. Between inconsistencies in the motors and the different flywheel configuration, Athearn perhaps has created the ultimate 21st Century electronic masterpiece: a locomotive that won't even m.u. with itself!  When LL Canada was working on the 5-axle C-liner, I theorized that they might put 12:1 gearing in the front truck and 18:1 in the rear truck - which would have been LL's off-the-shelf components at the time. That would have been fun to watch  Seriously... it is an interesting setup to not connect the motors. Allows the walkway to be wide open. Not quite the power penalty that you have with a tunnel motor and the rear truck disconnected to be full see-thru. I guess I should ask - are all 8 axles powered? They should be, since the trucks are one piece. No articulation issues like with the U50 and turbines. I didn't A/R one of these. Don't need one, but then again, didn't need the U50 and turbines and I got them. I just don't have money right now to buy stuff I don't need even if its cool. But maybe I'll get an up close and personal look at one this weekend. Andy |
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Post by el3637 on Aug 2, 2012 12:56:31 GMT -8
There probably is some minor difference in the amount of energy the two flywheels store compared to the single one, but they are mounted on one frame. I would think that only in a panic stop would the two motors continue to run at a different rate and time since most stops would be slowing up to the point the flywheels make only a slight aid right before the unit stops. Based on my experience with recent run Genesis motors, there's probably more difference in the motors than anything that could be caused by the flywheels. I'd be almost willing to bet that if you slowly bump up the speed, one truck will start turning before the other one does. It is more likely to be an issue at track speed though. The DDA40X was geared to run at what, 80 mph? If one motor will do it and one won't, attempting to run at prototype top speeds would be.... interesting. The sound of wheels scooting along the track is a familiar one. Andy |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2012 13:04:12 GMT -8
I guess I should ask - are all 8 axles powered? Andy All axles are powered. |
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Post by roadkill on Aug 4, 2012 18:02:38 GMT -8
When LL Canada was working on the 5-axle C-liner, I theorized that they might put 12:1 gearing in the front truck and 18:1 in the rear truck - which would have been LL's off-the-shelf components at the time. That would have been fun to watch. Andy Gotta admit tho... it would have kept your track nice and clean  |
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Post by calzephyr on Aug 5, 2012 13:17:06 GMT -8
Terry
Thanks for the review! It is a great looking locomotive and I got to see the real ones running many times.
Larry
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Post by diburning on Aug 10, 2012 5:12:01 GMT -8
Is it just me, or do those sideframes on the trucks look 2-3 times thicker than they should be?
I also wonder what gear ratio the trucks are. If they reused the blue box trucks (Athearn seems to like to reuse blue box era truck tooling to cut costs... for example, the SD45-2 and the GP15 both use blue box tooled trucks) then the engine will have a 12:1 gear ratio.
The Genesis motors have gotten better although you will get an odd one every now and then. It LOOKS like they could have fit a second flywheel to the rear motor, but probably omitted it to cut costs. The flywheel on the rear motor also appears to be non-standard.
The thing is.... the Genesis motors differ a bit in the forward vs reverse directions. The front and rear motors appear to be oriented oppositely.
The windows also appear to be a bit off. The prototype doesn't have such a large lip separating the windshields from the nose.
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Post by roadkill on Aug 10, 2012 20:11:51 GMT -8
Is it just me, or do those sideframes on the trucks look 2-3 times thicker than they should be? I also wonder what gear ratio the trucks are. If they reused the blue box trucks (Athearn seems to like to reuse blue box era truck tooling to cut costs... for example, the SD45-2 and the GP15 both use blue box tooled trucks) then the engine will have a 12:1 gear ratio. The Genesis motors have gotten better although you will get an odd one every now and then. It LOOKS like they could have fit a second flywheel to the rear motor, but probably omitted it to cut costs. The flywheel on the rear motor also appears to be non-standard. The thing is.... the Genesis motors differ a bit in the forward vs reverse directions. The front and rear motors appear to be oriented oppositely. The windows also appear to be a bit off. The prototype doesn't have such a large lip separating the windshields from the nose. Seems to me that the "D" trucks used on EMDs looked very heavy. I've perused many pics of DD35's and DDA40x's and the truck frames seem to be quite thick, much thicker than, say, an HTC truck. |
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Post by calzephyr on Aug 13, 2012 12:55:02 GMT -8
The DDA40X in action These belong to a friend and the trailer train is a hot train pulled by the 3 units.
Larry
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Post by calzephyr on Aug 13, 2012 13:05:02 GMT -8
And speaking of large power, this youtube is interesting also.
Larry
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