okay, can anyone tell me if it is any good and if it runs on dc?
It is OK if you don't get one from the first production run. Suggest you test run before you buy.
It does run on DC and a small handheld wireless controller is included for use with DC power. The handheld controller controls speed and direction but only six of the sound functions.
It is better to run the locomotive on DCC.
Many of the model's roadnames are now discontinued. Check the Athearn website.
I happen to have a recent Athern Challenger with DCC and Sound .I purchased it from Trainland and is one of my favourite loco's. It ran well right out of the box with no adjustments . All the turns on my layout are 18" and it looks good going around the turns. The whistle is good but the steam chuff leaves something to be desired. The parked sounds are good and the slow speed chuff is excellent but as you increase speed the chuff becomes less and less distinctive. I am sure this can be adjusted but I am using EZCommand and can't do it - wouldn't know how if I could.
Don :)
can you run it on dc with a bachmann spectrum magnum power pack
Quote from: grumpy on May 30, 2008, 06:51:01 PM
... and the slow speed chuff is excellent but as you increase speed the chuff becomes less and less distinctive. ...
Don :)
It is by design it works that way.
Quote from: grumpy on May 30, 2008, 06:51:01 PM
The whistle is good but the steam chuff leaves something to be desired.
Don :)
Don,
You can change the CHUFF SOUND TYPE - there are five or six to choose from. They range from tinny to terrifying.
Have a look in your instruction manual. I am away from home at the moment, so can't look it up for you.
I have four Athearn Challengers, & am very happy with their performance.
They run particularly well on an MRC BLACK BOX , as do Tsunami fitted locos. NOTE : You cannot run NON-DCC locos on an MRC BlackBox It gives you access to all the sounds but pumps out the same power as a DCC controller, so is unsuitable for DC-only locos.
I have noticed Athearn Challengers & Big Boys occasionally get confused & must be reset.
This is a rare occurrence & symptoms include remaining stationary & chuffing. A reset is quick & easy, so your should not feel too alarmed about this rare trait.
The NON TRACTION TYRED driver set is available from Athearn for around $10, plus postage. This will reduce the Braking effect on tight curves caused by the traction tyre.
i have heard it will run on 18 inch radius, cool!
It wiil, looking like a hippo on a balance beam. (This is not just the Challenger, but the C&O H-8, the N&W A and Y classes and the USRA light Mallet. Just because something CAN be done, doesn't mean it should be done.
Gene
so untrue, I've seen videos of it and it is beautiful. can't wait for one in January, i need it seeing as my inner mainline rises 3 eights of an inch for every 9 inches of track and my prairie pulls maybe 3 passenger cars up the hill.
And the radii of the track in the videos? I have 30" curves and I could make a Challenger look at least okay on them. But 18" - lots of overhang. Now, if you want to locate a video which shows an Athearn Challenger looking good on 18" radius, send it on.
Gene
Quote from: Daylight4449 on May 31, 2008, 02:11:39 PM
i have heard it will run on 18 inch radius, cool!
If your layout has 18" curves and you really want on of the Athearn Challengers go for it. It is your layout and no one elses. Sure a wider radius would be nice but some of us have to make do with smaller layouts.
Quote from: SteamGene on May 31, 2008, 07:57:41 PM
And the radii of the track in the videos? I have 30" curves and I could make a Challenger look at least okay on them. But 18" - lots of overhang. Now, if you want to locate a video which shows an Athearn Challenger looking good on 18" radius, send it on.
Gene
Gene.
Keep in mind there are "model railways/roads" and then there are "toy trains".
Snobbish? Maybe.
Nuff said.
Just hope they still make it in january.
[[/quote]
Gene.
Keep in mind there are "model railways/roads" and then there are "toy trains".
Snobbish? Maybe.
Nuff said.
[/quote]
Are you implying that those forum members who have smaller layouts requiring the use of 18" radius curves are of the toy train class and only those who are fortunate enough to have the space to use large radius curves are the model railroaders?.
Snobbish? If that is what you are implying, then most certainly
Perhaps Model Railroader needs another level added to the forum for us Toy train enthusiasts?.
okay, please don't fight as i don't want this forum going down the same road the Thomas and friends one did. i can't fit much on my table but i don't consider myself a toy trainer i think of myself as a limited modeler. i wan't this for pulling the heavy freights up devils loop which has a huge grade. I will also get a spectrum consolidation or decapod for the express.
daylight4449, I don't know anything about your layout, but you said it has a huge grade. The spectrum consolidation Is a good locomotive. The spectrum decapod is a small locomotive that will not pull much. So if you have a huge grade I would not get the decapod.
good advice, i have 2 mainlines and only one has the grade but nice to know.
As I remember, John Allen had some fairly tight curves on the G&D. John also had some pretty hefty steam power operating.
I remember a line from Glenn Bier's narration of the G&D: "His heart was his own". The day any of you can compare your stuff to Allen's, then you can talk about "toy trains". As was said above, it is their money; It is not causing pain to either you or your trains, so stop the immature garbage, and lets keep this forum decent.
The Old Reprobate
My grade rises 3/8 of an inch for every peice of track and is all on curves. 18 inch radius of course.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS5y9o36r3M#94LYQbPs3TE
This video has one on what looks like sharp radius. i have seen others and i asked this guy and he said it was 3 radius, whatever that means.
He mentioned its 505mm radii.
25.4mm=1"
505÷25.4= aproxx 19.8. So between 18" radii+20" radii.
This isn't a belt drive and it is capable of slow speeds right? I would hate to buy and find out it was a wild thing like my rdc.
Have you gone to the Athearn webpage and read the specs on it?
Gene
good idea.
don't think that answered my question. this is the page.
http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATHG9132
Try clicking on "Tech & Spec" right under the picture. It's all right there.
Timothy
sadly it is not
Quote from: Daylight4449 on May 30, 2008, 05:06:17 PM
okay, can anyone tell me if it is any good and if it runs on dc?
The Model Railroader web site has a review of this engine.
The N-scale version is gear-driven and has good slow-speed performance, so chances are good the HO version is pretty much the same.
Timothy
great, the model railroader site has it but it's only available to members and subscribers.
Don't rely on a Bachmann decapod to pull an express. The steam engine rule is "the bigger the driving wheels the faster the locomotive." The decapod works best with branch line peddler freights that poke along at a leisurely pace.
As for Challenger overhang - it is unavoidable when you operate a long articulated locomotive on 18 inch radius track.
while true, the over hang and many restrictions are eliminated by one major difference from prototype. Both driver sets are swiveling.
I am going to get both the decapod and the consodilation for my layout. only they will run on my 18 inch radius curves and the express won't be speeding like theres no tommorow. i like slow trains and since the only streches of straight track on my layout ar 3, 45 inch sections i can't run it fast or it will be in and out every 3 seconds.
Just because both drivers are articulated, doesn't mean that it cuts down the overhang. If they cut down the boiler length then it would, but they didn't.
GG - I agree. I've not seen one but I assume the Athearn Challenger is articulated like the old Lionel GG-1 wher everything can pivot, rather than being fixed like the prototype. The overhang just makes long wheelbase engines look really toylike on sharp curves.
I have an Athearn Challenger and I think it runs wonderfully. It has run on my own layout and the club modular layout (which is not ideal somethimes). The only time it has ever derailed is when it encountered a turnout which was not set correctly. Both layouts are DC so I have not been able to try it on a DCC layout and hear its full sound potential.
I have four of the H0 Challenger and one BigBoy, from Athearn. They pull very good and run very well. Using 30 inch radius they just glide around. The engines are mechanically made good , but I have changed the decoders in all 5 engines. Put in Tsunamis insread.
Two of the orginal MRC decoders just died. Got an new one from Athearn for the first one, but when running, the sounds live its own life. Sometimes when running at speed, the conductor calling, All aboard, in an freight train :). I could not program it to quit. That was the time I change all decoders to Tsunami. Decoders I can both program and read back.
The engines are still worth the money.
after this entire thread this is a dissipointment and i think that since i can get these for $30 i might pt off getting the challenger for a while and get 2 more 2-8-0s to double head.