Model Railroading > Broadway Limited Paragon3 EMD SD7 - SD9

I was thinking about ordering one of the GN SD9s .    Anyone have any comments or reviews on the previous Paragon 2 EMD SD7 - SD9 run.   First of all how they run, second on the level of detail and sound decoder.   They are not cheap.   When I Googled reviews I noticed a few negative comments about the cost vs. railroad specific detail.  Especially on the on the SP models.  Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Casselton

Casselton Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was thinking about ordering one of the GN
> SD9s .    Anyone have any comments or reviews
> on the previous Paragon 2 EMD SD7 - SD9 run.  
> First of all how they run, second on the level of
> detail and sound decoder.   They are not
> cheap.   When I Googled reviews I noticed a few
> negative comments about the cost vs. railroad
> specific detail.  Especially on the on the SP
> models.  Any comments would be appreciated.
> Thanks,
> Casselton

I have always noticed that BLI is not big into proto specific details. In general, diesel locomotives in the Athearn Genesis and Walther's proto lines are better detailed in my opinion then BLI or MTH. Too bad Athearn does not have SD7's or SD9's in the Genesis line. BLI locos run fine, but plan on some modifications if you want proto specific details. The lack of a gyralight package may be the most aggravating detail omission for SP modelers. A fair amount of work is required to remedy that problem, espically if you want them to be working lights. The "ashcan" light on the Walther's SD9 is an improvment, although most SP SD9's were not equipped with this type of light.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/15 09:24 by ATSF3751.

I have two of the SD-9s.  They run smooth after breaking in and haul a lot of cars.  I had two issues (1) the front side handrails were fragle and I had to repair them after normal handling, and (2) I needed to replace the couplers with longer shank ones to allow the locos to negociate smaller than 26" radius curves without the pilots hitting each other.

I would guess over time Athearn Genesis will offer them after they've gone through the GPs.

Thanks for the feedback.