I went and bought a BNSF Kato SD40-2 "Snoot" at a train show sunday. I am impressed with these models. I only found a few discrepencies in it. Needed nose headlights and the top of the cab needed to be orange. I am by no means knocking this model. This probably is the best running loco I own. This list also include Athearn C44-9W's And there genesis series SD75I's. Has any one else out there got em and what do you think of them. ------------------ Keep on railroad'n
I've got one, and as for what I think about it, well.... The bodyshell is nice. The only thing that doesn't look quite right to me is the d/b hatch; the forward taper looks a bit too shallow, especially when compared to pics and the Athearn d/b hatch. As for running quality, I was one of the people that got one of the ones with the electrical problem on the circuit board that prevented it from running. When you put it on the track and gave it juice, the lights would come on, but no go! It was traced to a contact on the circuit board, and was a simple fix that Kato explains on their website. Also, I was a bit disappointed in the pickup system Kato installed in the SD40-2. The contact strips aren't all that great in my eyes, and for some people(not myself), they were the suspected culprit of derailment problems. I removed the contacts and replaced them with wire going directly to the motor. I wish Kato would have left things alone, and made the electrical pickups like the ones in their great SD40/45 and GP35, with the wires, since it's a much more reliable way to pick up power. Overall, I was a little let down by Kato's SD40-2, it wasn't quite as good as I expected, and it seemed to me like a step down from their previous products. ------------------ Have A Nice Day!
I'm interested in getting at least one BNSF snoot but i'm leery of spending $86. Is there any chance of retrofitting the handrails from the Athearn snoot? I know it will need an anticlimber as well. DO you guys think it's worth it? Mankind, i'm guessing you changed all the grabs and from what i remember they need that. Any other details you changed?
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by tunnel88: I'm interested in getting at least one BNSF snoot but i'm leery of spending $86. Is there any chance of retrofitting the handrails from the Athearn snoot? I know it will need an anticlimber as well. DO you guys think it's worth it? Mankind, i'm guessing you changed all the grabs and from what i remember they need that. Any other details you changed?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> All those plastic grabs I replaced with wire grabs by DA. The plastic handrails that come with it also went into the trash. I plugged all the handrail mounting holes with styrene rod, and I plan to drill new holes to accomodate Smokey Valley handrails; I'm not sure how easily the new Athearn ones would fit. I also replaced the exhaust stack, dustbin hatch, cab, nose, and sub-base with Cannon. One other thing to mention; out of the box, it's only accurate for a batch of units UP ordered(116" nose). To get an accurate ATSF/BNSF version, you need to install a Cannon 123" nose with brakewheel, and either a DW or Cannon Dash-2 anticlimber. As for whether or not it's worth it is a matter of personal choice....I have several of the newly revised Athearn SD40-2's of various versions, and while some of them would need to have parts replaced to match specific prototypes, I think, IMHO, they are very well done, affordable, present more options, and are a better starting point for modeling. In many regards I like them better than the Kato Dash-2. Overall, which one to choose depends a lot on what railroad, and version, of SD40-2 you want to model. ------------------ Have A Nice Day!
The reason i am considering the Kato over the Athearn snoot is because of the trucks. As i've mentioned before the Athearn C trucks don't stay on the tracks very good with Proto 87 wheels. I personally would prefer to start with the Athearn model to save money if anything, even though it will need a lot of work to look real good. Much less money vs the Kato in the end though! I think i might be able to get the trucks to stay on the rails on 48" radius curves though, so i might not give up on Athearn yet...
I thinking about going and getting the Athearn snoot to compare the two models. The one reason I was very impressed was how quiet the Kato ran. Plus I wanted to see what had to be done for a creditbal model. As I have a Magazine Desiel detail article for them. I let post a future opinion of them later as I have yet to find a Athearn BNSF model. ------------------ Keep on railroad'n
Off the shelf the Kato drive will blow the Athearn one away... But for detailing the Athearn probably is the better cost option.
Can you swap an Athearn drive with a Kato drive easily? Happy Railroading Dane N. ------------------ BCRailKing@Canada.com Teen Association of Model Railroaders- for information, contact Dane N. at Dane_Nicholson@tamr.org http://www.tamr.org
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by BC Rail King: Can you swap an Athearn drive with a Kato drive easily? Happy Railroading Dane N. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Good point, Dane...I tried this awhile back out of curiosty, and the Athearn shell won't fit on account of the extra metal Kato casts onto the frame. If you milled this away, and/or trimmed the inside of the shell, you might be able to get it to fit, but after all that, I'm not sure if the whole thing would sit at the proper height. For my Athearns, remotoring and a little tune-up goes a long way to improving preformance. A funny example; while I was running my kitbashed SD45T-2 at one of clubs' recent open houses, a visitor came up and asked me if it was brass, since it ran so nicely(I guess he didn't see the Athearn gear tower behind the radiator screen ). After I told him it was a tweaked Athearn, he seemed surprised, and wanted to know what I did to make it run so well. Although they may not be as great as Kato, Atlas, P2k or Athearn Genesis in the running department, the stock Athearn drive can be made into a great runner with a little tinkering. ------------------ Have A Nice Day! [This message has been edited by Mankind (edited 20 September 2000).] [This message has been edited by Mankind (edited 20 September 2000).]
I here you there tunnel I probably won't run but a small number of them on my layout. I just wanted to see what it would take to make them both credibal models. As for the cost option I will kitbash a Athearn loco. I will probably run only 3 or so on there anyway. Thanks for your guys opinion. ------------------ Keep on railroad'n
