Uploaded November 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The last time I bought an Athearn loco was over 30 years ago, and while I love their freight cars , I have been hesitant to get a new locomotive from them after reading about early Genesis motor problems , and still remembering the high current draw "Blue box" motors! But I have been impressed with photos of the new "RTR" line of SD39 & 40 _2 engines , and , it is easy to replace the motor with a Kato HM5 motor to improve the performance , so I took the plunge and gave one a go! Being fitted with Soundtraxx Econami sound was a bonus as the new Tsunami 2 decoders are a step up from the series 1 and now have motor control equal to ESU. Out of the box , the model ran as good as any Kato or Atlas I have , and I don't think I will be replacing the motor any time soon...so much so , I have 3 of these units now and they all run super smooth and sound great! These units have a few surprises, so take a look and see what is under the hood.
Gregg :-)
The last time I bought an Athearn loco was over 30 years ago, and while I love their freight cars , I have been hesitant to get a new locomotive from them after reading about early Genesis motor problems , and still remembering the high current draw "Blue box" motors! But I have been impressed with photos of the new "RTR" line of SD39 & 40 _2 engines , and , it is easy to replace the motor with a Kato HM5 motor to improve the performance , so I took the plunge and gave one a go! Being fitted with Soundtraxx Econami sound was a bonus as the new Tsunami 2 decoders are a step up from the series 1 and now have motor control equal to ESU. Out of the box , the model ran as good as any Kato or Atlas I have , and I don't think I will be replacing the motor any time soon...so much so , I have 3 of these units now and they all run super smooth and sound great! These units have a few surprises, so take a look and see what is under the hood.
Gregg :-)
