Yeah but....

You still end up with a model locomotive that looked bad 30 years ago!  

I think I melted my model down on purpose in the 1970s!

Surprised to see this in a magazine in 2013 (2014!).

Yeah, but

There are still a lot of them out there, and the tuning principles apply to every non-Genesis Athearn.  Found a page a couple days ago on DCC-ing an Athearn GP30, and that shell makes the SD45 look like an RPM candidate.

Welcome to the real world

Welcome to the real world. I have an Athearn Blue Box SD9 (SP 4326) on my layout that's used regularly as a yard switcher that's been nicely detailed and weathered - seemed a shame to just ditch it when it runs decent and looks okay.

No one has ever commented that the loco looked wrong ... in spite of what the magazines would have you believe, these locos are still running out many miles on layouts, including my Siskiyou Line!

Great article!

I really liked the article as I have two of those old units and enjoy them very much! It is nice to see the magazine addressing all types of equipment both new and old. I am planning on following the article for my two SD45s and have to admit I was very excited to see the article. Thanks so much, Joe, for remembering all of your readers!

SP 4326

I've run SP 4326 several times at Joe's as the Roseburg Yard Goat - it's a rather reliable locomotive. Much more reliable than those Life-Like SD9's upon which many things (some not printable) have been said. 

DM Rail Group...

... rosters several of those "good old" ("bad old") Athearns; no SD45s (as of now), but a couple GP35s will end up on the roster (one sans DB!), a GP9 with a Proto 2000 motor, a sister to Joe's SP 4326 as MFN 903, and even a Trainmaster with ditch lights!

-Fuzzy
DM Rail Group: Milwaukee Franklin & Norway • Paris Coal Railway • South Fork • IndustRail • St. Louis Northern
 

I have some too

These ancient Athearn locos see service every op session my layout.  I've had crews skip over newer units on the ready track just to run these.  Are these the greatest models around?  Not a chance, but I like having them.

Great Article

Nice simple upgrade on an older engine, especially the the wiring.

Looks much better than just out of the box.

Bernd

There always one in the crowd.

I think Tom missed the point about the article!  I have several old Blue Box locos running.  Tough as nails!

Value and modeling

Vaseline?

One thing caught my attention, and I wanted to ask about it.  The article recommends packing the trucks with Vaseline to reduce the growl.  Every other article, web site, etc. I have seen suggests the exact opposite - less lubrication is better.  Before I do something which could damage a model, is this really a good idea?  I'd love to reduce the grown from my F7, and I have a friend who runs quite a few Athearn engines.

Takes me back...

...to my high-school days, when I was doing such things with my Athearn 'blue box' units.

Sadly that was over 30 years ago.

I would have hoped our hobby had progressed far beyond 1970's technology by 2014.

hoped our hobby had progressed far beyond 1970's technology

it has, we could only dream of something like MRH magazine and this forum in 1970........DaveB

Vaseline

is a thicker lube than any of the model lubes I believe.  The inheritent noise is typical of spur gears no matter where they are used. Tighter tolerances in the manufacture of the gears and gear tower would eliminate a majority of the noise. In this case the Vaseline helps fill some of those sloppy tolerances.

Bernd

And yet...

This article in MRH is still relevant to our hobby.

Sorry, but I find that depressing.

Sorry, but I find that depressing.

Ted,

What about the newbie that has just bought one of those engines for a good price at a swap meet and also is a luker here and wants to improve that type of engine to run on his layout. Wouldn't you think he'd be more inclined to take apart an engine of, lets say $20 to $50 range, before doing that to a $250 engine?

I would think that once he's confident in doing that to a cheaper engine he would be more inclined to disassemble a more costly engine down the road to perhaps install a decoder or do some maintenance on the engine. Just my thought.

Bernd

Have there been no other SD45's released since 1970?

Apologies Bernd, I don't buy that $250 locomotive argument. Especially since there is NO need to tinker with a $250 unit, because if it doesn't work right out of the box I'd definitely return that one to the hobby shop. Also, $250 usually buys you DCC+sound. More like $150-200 for brand new, higher-end, straight-DC locos.

I can think of 4 different releases of the SD45 in HO scale since the 1970's; Kato, Proto-2000, Bachmann (early not so good 'Plus' line, and much improved 2006 released version) along with Horizon/Athearn's improved R-T-R line (also now discontinued).

I just searched Ebay for "SD45 Santa Fe HO" and nothing was close to $250, with the exception of a brass Overland model (which obviously was well north of this price). Highest cost for plastic was $150 for a long discontinued Kato unit (still the best HO drive in the industry IMHO). Lowest (non 'blue-box') was $10 for a Bachmann Spectrum unit. I did see an Athearn unit like in this article for $3.99, hands down the lowest price.

However let us look at the 2006-released Bachmann Spectrum SD45, which I found this review online, as an example...

"This new SD45 is a whole new ballgame. The shell is now similar to an Atlas or P2K shell so adding the high sort hood will be a piece of cake. The cab is improved and may not require replacing. The window glass is now flush instead of recessed and there is a whole bag of detail parts including cut levers, trainline hoses and mu cables. Generally the detail is much sharper than the previous models. The big surprise though is the chassis which is completely new. It also resembles an Atlas or P2K model up to and including a dual flywheel quality can motor. I don't know about the gearing yet but will update u'all later.

If this is the direction Bachmann is heading with their diesel spectrum line Atlas and P2K better watch out. Because I got this loco for $35"

Over and over I'm finding people very satisfied with these units. Good units for people on a budget. Much improved drive and body molding/detailing over the original 'Plus' version (let alone blue box).

And I'm finding them for $20 on Ebay.

I understand hobbyists here who've got old Athearn units they've lovingly reworked years ago, that continue to run revenue miles on their home layouts. That's different that someone just starting in this hobby with one of these units.

My question is why this far into the 21st century are 50+ year old modellers thinking that Irv's ancient wide-body molds and dinosaur drives are still relevant? Especially when much newer, better detailed, and great running units exist at very good prices for the newbies in the hobby?

Our thinking needs to change, not the new folks.

Yes and no

Yes and no.

If you want something quick and simple to do to these old models that just seem to keep being passed around at swap meets - then here's the article for you.

If you don't like these oldies and want something more modern and more accurate, then write us an article about one of those - we'd love to publish it.

I'd also love to see an article about how to put a better shell on one of these old mechanisms. There are methods, how about someone writing them up?

Point is, there are lots of ways to do the hobby - none of them "better" than the other. If you're having fun, that's what matters. This is one way to do an SD45 diesel model ... but it's not the only way, nor is it the "best" way.

Someone showing how to make a more accurate model is also not necessarily the "best" way, because like beauty, "best" also has elements that depend on the eye of the beholder (in other words, what meets your needs).

The bigger picture

Are there other SD45s out there?  Yes.  Are they cheaper and better?  Maybe, maybe not.  But that's not the point.  The beauty of this article for me is that it allies equally well to EVERY Athearn (well, except the rubber band drive ones, anyway) engine, as well as all of the Proto 2000 engines out there.  It will be many, many, many years before all of those are replaced with newer models.  I have an Athearn F7, and you could not pay me to get rid of it.  It was a gift from a lovely woman (my wife's great aunt), and I would not willingly replace it.  I also doubt that most modelers have the budget to replace all of their engines every time a newer version comes on the market.

Will a beginner start with an Athearn engine?  They could do a heck of a lot worse.  Bang for the buck, it's hard to beat an Athearn for quality, durability, and looks.  They're cheap, they run reasonably well, they keep running more or less forever, and they look decent.  They're not the best in any single way, but they're pretty darn good overall.

I know a lot of people who have had to tinker with their Genesis locomotives.  Search the threads here for some idea of the problems people have had with them.  An astronomical price tag is no guarantee of quality or durability.  I've had to rebuild Atlas engines, and I've seen BLI, Kato, Atlas, Proto 2000, Spectrum, and Genesis engines all torn apart for repair.  If it's not worth it to you and your broken models are out of warranty, you're more than welcome to send me all of your "trash."  I'll tinker with it and sell whatever I don't need - it'll easily pay for the rest of my hobby.

I really appreciated this article, and I'm glad to see the subject covered again.  We've been doing some things for decades, but they're still things which some modelers want or need to know how to do.  When we reach the point that we must simply buy everything we want, take it out of the box, turn it on, and watch it go, I suspect the hobby press as we know it will die.  I'll probably leave the hobby, if that ever happens.  I don't have the budget to keep up with the Joneses.

$250 models

Ted,

Sorry, I should have checked prices first. It was a hip shot.

It may be true that those bodies don't match in the correct body width of the prototype. I question,"will the newbie be aware of it and will he/she care?" I don't think so. If they do then I'm sure they would buy a better model. But how about the guy that likes to "tinker"? I count my self as one of those. It's a challenge for me to try and correct something like a bad running  or poor quality detail work on the engine and try to make it better. This is my enjoyment out of the hobby. I can understand your feeling since you don't want to do something like this. You would rather spend your time on another phase of the hobby, that's great.

I believe that that statement you made about the article may have shied a potential author away. I know it would make me think twice about sending in an article for fear it's not up to todays standard of modeling.

And I'll go along with what Ken said. I'll split what ever you want to give away with Ken.

...

Why is it depressing that the products made for your hobby 50 years ago were of such robust quality that they are still relevant [and still running] today?

Shells are cheap, swap them out all day long.  Drives wear out...how fast do the new drives wear out versus these old drives?

Yes, it is depressing to know you could have a fleet of SD-45s for a mere $3.99 each... It' depressing for me to know that the later Lifelike SD-9 drive is potentially a can of bad worms.

Just because it's new, does not mean it is either good or even just better than the old stuff...THAT is sad.

You've lost slight of what model railroading is when you can no longer see the value in one of these older units.

" I have an Athearn Blue Box SD9 (SP 4326)"

and I got one in the original black widow paint job. Haven't run it in years but I've kept it along with some other blue box locos  just in case I build another HO layout someday. One reason a beginner might be well served by one of these locos is they are very simple, just takes a few minutes to trouble shoot and repair them if ever needed and it would be hard to find a town that doesn't have some one in a hobby shop or train club who can show the newbie how to fix it themselves and probably also have all the spare parts to offer. These are much like the model railroad version of the chevy small block motor that just keeps ticking and ticking, the athearn plastic line came out about the same time as the chevy 283 and they both have a had a great run....DaveB 

Hear, hear, Joe!

I agree completely with Joe's points, with a couple of comments:

I believe there is a disproportionate amount of talk regarding highly detailed, prototypically accurate models relative to the number of modelers active in the hobby. I personally am perfectly happy with a model that isn't completely faithful to the real thing, if it works well and fits my miserly hobby budget. Plus, that provides me an opportunity to tinker with it, which is fun. Blue Box locos ft that description perfectly.

I have a BB GP50, bought in my teens when the prototype units were still in production. Hadn't been run in years. I just recently pulled it out of storage, did the full "Athearn tune-up," repainted it in a fantasy Monon black-and-gold scheme (the Monon had been gone for over a decade before the engine entered production), added grab irons fabricated from broken guitar strings and replaced the lights with LED's. It now runs great and is back on my active roster. My point? It was FUN!

Jim

Final thoughts on this...

Benny, you think I've lost sight of the value of older models. This is curious, as you commented on my past blog post about how I'm resuscitating 30-year old freight car kits ...and thanks for the compliment

Bernd, your $250 price tag is valid, just for top-of-the-line DCC/sound units. No need to call it a hip shot. Your basic statement is valid, it is intimidating to open up an expensive locomotive model.

As for being intimidated to publish an article here - - - please! I follow your cool projects here. You are a master modeller with a great writing style.

This is my final post on this thread, because I'm pretty sure my opinion won't change, and I doubt I'll influence anyone here. However one final observation...

I am also a participant (demonstrating the hobby) and vendor at local train flea markets. I see there are new twenty-somethings in this hobby, and what they buy. They are looking for deals (no surprise) but they are rarely a blue box product. Actually trying to sell any loco without DCC, or without a DCC plug is difficult now.

I don't pretend to know what the newbies in the hobby are buying, this is just what I'm seeing. However I think some people in this hobby are sticking too much to how they entered it way back in the 1970's (or earlier) and are in danger of not recognizing how things are very different now. Watch some of Al Mayo's Youtube videos to see what I mean.

Thank you for the great conversation here, and peace to all.