Model Railroading > Fond Memories of Old Athearn Geeps

I built these probably 35 years ago (and didn't need an Opti-Visor to do it!) and although they may not run anymore, and were a bit "fat" across their middles, the Athearn GP7 was a staple of model railroading in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Kemtron handrails and early detail parts such as MU steps, spark arresters and new horns made them a little more palatable.

My protofreelance concept at the time was the Jersey Lake Region Railroad, which operated the former CNJ High Bridge Branch and all the little lines at the north end of it (Dover & Rockaway, Mount Hope Mineral and Wharton & Northern). JLR's paint scheme is a variation of the Erie-Lackawanna paint job with orange substituted for yellow, and blue substituted for maroon. When the CNJ pulled out of Pennsylvania, the trackage from Phillipsburg to Bethlehem was taken over by affiliate Lehigh Terminal, which had a paint scheme that mixed up the JLR colors into a blue body with gray accents. Both roads followed the Lehigh Valley practice of orange handrails. JLR started running right into the Allentown Yard.

Although many of the real rail lines that made up the JLR and LT are now gone, it would have been a great concept to carry into the post-Conrail era.

Tom Y

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I bought an undec one years ago when I was in college. I never did paint it and have no idea what I did with it. I also had a dummy Globe F7 (painted gold) my uncle gave me. I understand this was the beginning of the Athearn line. My uncle also gave me some Varney cars. OK, so the newer stuff is better, but it inspired us.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

I have an A-B-A set custom built by Larry Sprock back in the early 1970s in AT&SF Blue Pin Strip. The models don't hold a torch to todays models, but 40 years ago, they were the bad boys on the block!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/14 05:25 by CCT41.

I bet all of us have a few Athearn GP7's somewhere. For the time, they we a good product for a reasonable price.

Yes, I think I picked up mine for about $20 new in the 1970s!

My first HO locomotive was an unpowered Globe F-7 that I discovered in a local store when I was six years old. It wasn't until I was nine that I was able to purchase my first powered HO loco after saving my 25 cent weekly allowance for many, many months. That was an Athearn GP-9 in Baltimore and Ohio livery with "Hi-F Drive". It didn't take long to discover that my Lionel transformer was not going to work for a power source (I didn't know the difference between AC and DC at that time). So, much to my chagrin, I calculated that it would take me about another year and a half to save my allowance before I would have enough to buy a cheap power pack. I think the owner of the hobby shop saw the disappointment on my face and may have mentioned something to my mother because somehow I got that little power pack without having to wait very long. The next challenge was to build a layout by purchasing one section of Atlas snap track each week with my 25 cent weekly allowance.

Many thanks to Athearn for keeping me busy all those years. Good stuff to grow up with. Blew TYCO away!

Irv did a great thing but I heard recently that if you sent him a SASE with a question or complaint, hoping to get a reply, he would steam the stamp off and use if for his other correspondence! LOL

I have a friend who models the Burlington and he has several early Athearn Geeps
and F units. There re even a couple of SD's in the bunch. Say what you will about
their detailing and scale discrepancies, they RUN and run well, a prime asset for
prototypical operations.

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

They are also a great way to introduce younger kids to HO scale trains as they are indestructible. Hard wire the motor to the trucks, clean and lube the gears and they will run for years and years.

Mike

My brother and I started with the BN U28B. Finally I got a SP GP35 and dad had a friend put the nose light in. My brother got the UP GP7. Both of us have both today. The GP35 got a new frame a few years back and cured the shorting.
Never had anything else until a few years ago bought some Atlas and Proto.
Was good stuff. I still run it:)

I'm still running a couple old Athearn GP9s as well as a couple of the "cowl-carbody" GP35s--all sans the bonfire headlight. :) Amazing how well they still run with just a little maintenance!

Edwin O'Connor
Brashear, MO