union pacific 844

[sp4449]

im planning on getting a athearn genisis union pacfic 844 soon and i dont wanna have to deal with the setup and i was plannging on getting a E-Z command center too does anyone know if the 844 will work on the E-Z command system

[Chris350]

 It ought to run fine with an EZ command, you just may not be happy with the way it's set up from the factory.  I do know from experience that the low speed operation of the MRC decoder in these is poor.  Mine will be getting aTsunami upgrade shortly.  Out of the box it takes off like a rocket at speed step 2 or 3.  It needs to be fine tuned.  The sound is fair, but the choice of whistles is poor.  None of them sound like 844.  I've heard the engine "live" and the recorded choices are not even close.  Detailing is quiet good.  It's a nice locomotive, but if it still has the MRC decoder, which may be getting replaced in newer releases, I'd wait or change it out.  I understand EZ Command is a solid set up for an operator who wants to run DCC with a minimum of fooling about.  This is one instance where it might not be the best solution for the locomotive in question to be run out of the box.

[ABC]

If your locomotive comes with a decoder inside it will run fine. If it is standard DC, it may overheat when running (or sitting) on address 10 for a long time, but most of the time it isn't a problem unless it is sitting on the track. Also the loco will make a buzzing sound if it is DC and you run it with the EZ Command.

[sp4449]

yea but i need to fix up my basement before i even buy the damn things my basement is all concrete so its gonna take a while but anyway thx and im still trying to find it at a good price and i saw and a couple of aution on ebay where it has like a little controler thing i have no idea wat that is

[Chris350]

The controller is for DC sound. As far as I know the Genesis 4-8-4's are all DCC (dual mode, so they will run on DC layouts) with sound.  I've never seen a Genesis loco that wasn't.... doesn't mean they don't exist of course....  If you're not going to run it right away,  I would wait until they release the next production run and see if they don't come with a better decoder.  They're cheap on Ebay cause they're sitting on someones shelf as old inventory.  Somewhere I read Athearn Genesis is going to switch to Soundtraxx Tsunami sound/motor decoders as Bachman as did.