Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

I just ordered this today.
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/68511-SD ... -68511.htm

Even at $135 that's still a rip off...

Details

How's this?
http://www.internethobbies.com/athg68511.html

Still too much. Athearn's RTR locomotives are about on par detail wise with the Genesis units, and even the RTR units are too much. The only reason I can figure the Genisis units being so much is the cost of buying a brand name. $60 to $80 is about the upper limit I am willing to spend on a unit that isn't brass. When the blue box kits disappeared so too did my willingness to buy from Athearn. I wouldn't mind paying so much if the stuff was still made in the US, but it's not. They claim they were trying to make a better product, but all they really did was limit their product line. Another issue I have is that they charge the same for an undecorated unit as they do for a decorated one. It doesn't matter that they saved a ton on already cheap Chinese labor, and since the units aren't decorated they didn't have to pay license fees to UP and/or BNSF. It costs them less to make an undecorated unit than a decorated one, but they don't pass the savings on to you. The only reason Athearn got rid of the blue box kits was to improve their bottom line. Model trains has become a rich persons hobby now, with kits rapidly disappearing in favor of run it straight out of the box stuff that isn't unique to only your layout. Athearn isn't the only company doing it, they all are. Me, I'll stick to building my own units with blue box units and detail parts I get from ebay and swap meets. For me, the fun of the hobby isn't in running the trains but building them. If other people are willing to pay for what I feel are overpriced units just to be able take it out of a box and put it on the tracks,well that's fine, it's just not what I'm willing to do.

It came in today and here it is.

Mafarnz wrote:Still too much. Athearn's RTR locomotives are about on par detail wise with the Genesis units, and even the RTR units are too much. The only reason I can figure the Genisis units being so much is the cost of buying a brand name. $60 to $80 is about the upper limit I am willing to spend on a unit that isn't brass. When the blue box kits disappeared so too did my willingness to buy from Athearn. I wouldn't mind paying so much if the stuff was still made in the US, but it's not. They claim they were trying to make a better product, but all they really did was limit their product line. Another issue I have is that they charge the same for an undecorated unit as they do for a decorated one. It doesn't matter that they saved a ton on already cheap Chinese labor, and since the units aren't decorated they didn't have to pay license fees to UP and/or BNSF. It costs them less to make an undecorated unit than a decorated one, but they don't pass the savings on to you. The only reason Athearn got rid of the blue box kits was to improve their bottom line. Model trains has become a rich persons hobby now, with kits rapidly disappearing in favor of run it straight out of the box stuff that isn't unique to only your layout. Athearn isn't the only company doing it, they all are. Me, I'll stick to building my own units with blue box units and detail parts I get from ebay and swap meets. For me, the fun of the hobby isn't in running the trains but building them. If other people are willing to pay for what I feel are overpriced units just to be able take it out of a box and put it on the tracks,well that's fine, it's just not what I'm willing to do.

I know a hobby shop in Bald Knob,AR that has blue box kits.I'll post the info.

Mafarnz wrote:Even at $135 that's still a rip off...

Here's the store info.
http://www.yellowbook.com/profile/arkan ... 87913.html
Call them up and ask for blue box kits.

Got MTH UP 1988 from the Plano,TX train show Sat.Here are UP 1988,1982 & MP 6003 on a friend's layout.

Hey legs... your engine (the real one) showed up in Florida for the first time!

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=352508

It traveled cross country... it was just in California on the 16th!