# Athearn technology



## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

Hello, 

I am back after a 20 year absence. I have Athearn's that I purchased in the '70's and '80's.

What is a RTR?

What is a Blue Box?

Mine were ready to run and came in a blue box, but that is not the answer.

Is anyone satisfied with the old technology, or is DCC the only way to go nowadays?

Bill


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

Mister Bill said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am back after a 20 year absence. I have Athearn's that I purchased in the '70's and '80's.
> 
> ...


The motor and drive mechazisms are a bit better and quieter.
RTR is right out of the box, with handrails installed.
The Blue Box thing is referring to the older models as you have. Athearn has a line called Genesis which is a higher quality loco than the standard blue box locos. It's a bigger box with lots of soft padding to protect the loco. Some of the boxes are yellow, some are blue.
As for DCC, yes, it's the way to go with model railroading unless your only running a small layout with one or two locos and sound isn't important, then DC will be just fine for ya.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Mister Bill said:


> Is anyone satisfied with the old technology, or is DCC the only way to go nowadays?
> 
> Bill


You'll find a lot of modelers on this forum who still use DC. Since I am setting up a new (my first) real layout, I'm going with DCC, but it certainly isn't the only game in town.

And welcome back to the hobby, and welcome to this forum.


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

RTR means Ready To Run or Ready to Roll. I like the old Blue Box stuff as well. I am switching all my locomotives to DCC.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Mister Bill

You're going to hear from very happy DC folks, and a lot from
people like me who have had a DC layout, but got exposed
to the wonders of DCC.

If you try it, you'll like it. I would urge you to visit a person or
club with DCC and see why we like it.

First, unless you are planning a huge layout, it's more or less
plug and play. There are no complicated wiring requirements
and you can be up and running in a few minutes.

The reason is that the entire track is powered all the time.
You control EACH loco digitally through your controller. Punch
a button for a GP, set it moving and then punch another
for a Steamer and get it going. Each at it's own speed, each
going in the direction you tell it. The lights stay on when 
your loco stops and do not dim when it slows.

That's just some of the reasons we are DCC fans. There's
more to it as you'll see by going back through some of the
posts in the DCC forum. Let me warn you. 
There are very sharp owners who do get very technical. You
won't need to go into that area unless you are also
tech oriented. So don't let their discussions of advanced systems 
frighten you. Actually, DCC is more simple and easier to
use than DC ever was.

Don


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Athearn Blue Box is sort of a generic term for the older, put-it-together rolling stock and loco kits.....even though the locos were "almost" ready to run, you had to install couplers, handrails and details, etc, unlike today's RTR (ready to run) locos and rolling stock.

And of course, the box that those old pieces came in were/are blue......they were yellow and red before that.

Blue Box









Old Athearn Yellow & Red









The Old Yellow & Red Athearn even came RTR at one time


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## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

Mister Bill, Don R has pointed out the finer points of DCC. As explained, it is indeed a great system - what is not to like? You control each loco separately and don't have to worry about separating different wired blocks and all that. Very realistic.
From my perspective though, there are other things to consider. Namely, you do have to wire each loco with a decoder. New locos are plug-and-play, older locos....well it depends. Are you into running new stuff or enjoy tinkering with vintage locos? 
If you haven't guessed, I run all DC all the time and don't feel deprived, but that's just me. I have no need to run more then 2 locos at a time (rarely) and when I do I'm into train watching, not operations.
I'd say give it a try and have at it, but don't get the idea that you 'have' to adopt the system to keep up.


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## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

I'm a dyed in the wool DC button-pusher and toggle flipper from way back- early 1980s. I have 17 locos from Athearn to Kato, all with Kadee couplers, as was all my rolling stock. My train buddy and I had a pretty good sized basement layout- all DC, run by 4 MRC Tech II's, with a 12v car battery and charger powering layout lighting and NJI switch machines- somewhere around 4 of 5 dozen of them, altogether. All the locos were somewhere on the platform, either in one of the yards or a loco track, and any could be brought out at any time with proper creative button pushing and toggle flipping, and there wasn't a decoder to be found anywhere in the lot. DC might require a little (or a lot) more wiring knowledge, but even with DCC you still have reversing loops and switch machines to wire (damn! More decoders and codes to remember!) Both systems have their good and bad points. DC does everything I want and costs a heck of a lot less than converting to DCC would cost me now. I could have bought three of my better old locos new at the local shop for what a deeply discounted last year's DCC equipped Genesis goes for today.


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## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

Thanks. I have about eight DC Athearns and a 4-88-4 Rivaarossi that I treasure. Most have sentimental value and I love each one, having made quite a few improvements with custom paint and handrails. One favorite is a Santa Fe warbonnet passenger train with Mars light.

I just can't see turning my back to them.

Bill


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## Dr Bob (Dec 31, 2013)

Hi Mister Bill. I am like you in that I am returning to the hobby from about 20 years ago with late 70s and early 80s equipment. I am building a shelf layout and, after some research, decided to stick with DC control to use my older equipment. I understand installing decoders into this vintage of locos can be challenging. My plan is to run DC and when I purchase new locos buy the those that are prewired for decoders. I am not up and running as of yet but I am interested to see how my old equipment runs after 20 plus years in storage.

Dr Bob


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## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

Dr. Bob,

It has been an adventure. I started off slow and made a test track. Some of my engines ran like always, some would not run, and some ran great. I started lubricating the engines early on. Some were running good and I decided to lube anyway and then I could not get them running again. I wound up replacing every motor mount. Quite a few had turned to mush over 20 years. All of that is behind me now, and I am in to laying track.


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## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

Yeah, ain't it the truth. Where did you get your motors? I'm probably going to have do the same thing because I have several undecorated BB PA1's and PB1's to paint in early PRR diesel livery, plus install the antenna on the A units. I've ran them and only one or two seem to run smoothly. I've cleaned and lubricated the worm gear attached to the drive shaft, and the truck gears. That provided some help but didn't really solve the problems. Did you get any of the lubricant in the motor by accident?


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## Dr Bob (Dec 31, 2013)

I have an Athearn BN locomotive still new in the box from the 80's that has not had the hand rails attached and it runs fine. So I proceeded to build benchwork and start laying track. I have not checked all my other locomotives as of yet, but they were stored in a cool dry place. I figure if I have at least one locomotive running, I am "go" for building the layout. If any of the others are not functional, it's my excuse to buy new equipment! (I hope my wife doesn't read this.)

Dr Bob


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## irishthump (Jul 1, 2013)

I have a few BB locos that I picked up on Ebay and at fairs over the last year. They all seem to run ok (after a goof clean and plenty of running in). The motor mounts are a right pain though, several have broken on me. Replacements are hard to source here in Ireland so I just repaired them as best I can.
The sintered wheels are also a pain in the butt, but I've have replacement wheelsets on order.


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## Walkerboh40 (Feb 5, 2014)

Good Afternoon All.....I have a question on old Blue Box Athearn Trains....have a PA unit that I found was jumping around the track when going forward, it would not do this going backwards....took the rear trucks apart and found the large gear had damage teeth. I ordered what I believe where the correct replacement gear...put it in, but now its really tight. Is it supposed to be like this? Does it take time for it to break in? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

I would think that any new part would require a breakin period. Just run it and see if it loosens up. It should. Won't hurt to put some vasalene on the gear or some other kind of light lub.Pete


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## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

Vaseline is cheap, but it's petroleum based- as are plastic gears. Over time it can soften them, leading to a repeat of the same problem, stripped teeth. I'd use something designed for use on plastic, like LaBelle 102 or 106; a tiny tube will last a VERY long time. Like they used to say in the old Brylcreem ads, a little dab will do ya. Just a thought.


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## Walkerboh40 (Feb 5, 2014)

*Well That did not*

Well, I got some oil for the gears...sure made them move easier...put it back together still does not move (note it still ran before i started playing train mechanic) wheel just locked up....there gears in the right order...its easy, you can't screw that part up...but for some reason the wheels do not mesh with the gears....I think I have ruined a very fine model....grrrr


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## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

OK this may sound silly - but you mentioned you ordered what you _believe_ to be the right gear ....and then you made the observation that when it was installed, it felt really tight.
So my first question from this would be: are you positive it is the correct replacement gear? I ask because the symptoms (locked up and won't move) sound like you have the wrong gear.
I ran into something similar myself, replacing gears in one of my own locos - I made the assumption it was correct, but it would not budge, even though it had at least moved with the damaged original gears. Sure enough, when I counted the teeth, they were different.


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## Walkerboh40 (Feb 5, 2014)

*Gears.....*

I forgot to mention that yes, I double checked that the gears I ordered where correct. I even found the build layout that came with the Athearn train and matched the replacement part. After doing all this, i took it apart once again and put the old damaged gear back in (it would still run with this gear, but just had a bit of a jump to it) and it would not budge....so it comes down to somewhere in the process of putting the actual drive wheels back in, the damn thing does not move. The logical answer is the drive wheels gears are not lining up.....so I am going to spend the entire flipping weekend if need be doing this over and over until I figure it out lol.


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## Walkerboh40 (Feb 5, 2014)

Wow...been a bit since my last post....I was able to repair the PA unit! The replacement parts were correct, but the large gear just needed to be drilled a bit so it would move easier. After that everything was fine.


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