Just got my P2K GP30 and SD60 yesterday. Nice looking stuff and great pulling power, but man are they SLOW! Not even half as fast as a regular Athearn or Genesis. I am real unhappy with that particularly with the GP30. Kinda runs herky jerky around the track at lower power. Track clean and everything else runs great! Appears a large amount of lubricant is on the wheels. After about 5 mins running time it goes fine. I really wish that someone could get the whole package right. The Kato has been a bust since it couldn't even run 10 mins without losing a circuit board. The Athearn's run pretty good, but the detail is low especially in the cab area. The Genesis line is great, but those ditch lights are ridiculous. The P2Ks are too slow and you can't run them with other stuff. Why can't someone get the whole package right? Super-detailing is great, but must we re-do everything to make it look acceptable? Just my ranting for today.
Hmm, on the contrary, those GP30s are incredible low speed pullers (as with the rest of the P2K line). I have a pair and recently hauled 50 overweight coal cars from one end of our layout to another. As for P2K units being slow, that actually is a lot more prototypical. I'd take those anyday. It just doesn't make for MUing with other brands very well, unless you have DCC. I have a pair of Genesis SD70Ms, the new UP wings, which I have yet to assemble, but so far I am very impressed. What's the problem with the ditchlights? And don't give up on a manufacturer because of a bad loco or two, they are bound to slip through. And why can't we add details? Athearn locos for $40 or $50 dollars? Don't expect much, but for $20 of detail parts, you're all set and have a decent looking model. I just did that with a Spectrum C40-8, and you can check out my work in the thread I'm gonna post in a few minutes.
Didn't mean to imply that super detailing was bad---I support and enjoy it, but for the money I am paying they could do better. At least get the big things right. I understand the prototypical speed thing, but as you say--can't mu them with any other brand. A little thought would have revealed that when they made them. To get prototypical speed on other manufacturers all you have to do is cut the power down a bit. They do pull hard, but my point is that you can't put these groups together, someone goes too slow, another has cheap details, and others come with inferior electronics eventhough we are paying $100 a pop! If P2K can give me great detail than so can Athearn---I pay about the same for each anyway (+/-$10). Or P2K can speed things up a bit so I can run them with other brands. It's really not that hard. My frustration with the genesis sd75d are the ditchlights are just too delicate for me. I have a strong background in model making, but those small bulbs kill me. Bend them one too many times and you need new ones. They are also a pain to wind through the cab and connect for me. If you find it easy than you are at a level higher than I in both ability and patience. However, I would certainly by another Genesis loco in the future. Thanks for your reply and comments!
The LifeLike SD60 was reviewed by MR Oct 2000 weighing in at 1 1/2 pounds with a draw pull of 6.7 ounces or 93 cars and as pointed out the maximum speed without trailing cars was just over 50MPH. Try sending/exchanging it back if within a recent purchase date.
I too read the review in MR and that is what convinced me to try it out. I checked the speed and found it to be right at 50-51 scale mph. It pulls like crazy and will go extremely slow with power, but it is sooooo slow under full power. For fun I lined up my Athearn C44-9 with cars just in front of it on the loop and sent them off down the track. Before it got all the way around I heard a bang---the Athearn slammed into the back of the train and knocked two cars off the track. That is a considerable speed difference in my mind. No way could I put them together in the same consist! That is what is soooo frustrating for me! I love how they look though---great detail work and options. I guess I will get a few coal hoppers and run them behind the P2K. Then it will look more acceptable I guess. I guess I could send it back, but I doubt I could improve on its performance or lack thereof.
I do agree, for the prices we pay there should be a heck of a lot more detail on some of those engines. Detailing is fun, especially when the locomotive starts out with more detail. The ditchlights look very interesting, and perhaps it is time to look into ways of making ot more feasible and easy for maintainance. I like the idea of fiber optics, personally.
