Hi Sam, two things to consider about these hoppers. First, regarding the detail of the models, the tooling for these were made almost, if not, fifty years ago. So they've been around a long time. Second, the couplers were the early design Kadee knock-offs, using the moulded tabs instead of proper springs to hold the knuckles closed. Since then all of the Kadee clones have switched to springs like Kadee.

10:23 as far as Porters go, it's huge. Their little 8-ton class B 0-4-0s were absolutely tiny, and had 24-inch drivers.

This may be somewhat unrelated, but I wanted to mention it because it's on my mind and this video mentions bachmann. As an American modeler I find great interest in watching your videos and seeing how foreign models are built and comparing them to the expectations we have on the American market. There's a lot of differences. One interesting point is that bachmann is typically known as the "cheap and nasty" manufacturer of the American market. They do have select good products like the hoppers you've reviewed before, but they're pretty uncommon comparatively. Their American market locomotives suffer from this the most. Athearn is generally known as a better brand, as are most others in the states. That of course assumes you'd get modern releases, I know others have mentioned the near antique age of these specifically. Keep sending content this way; I really do enjoy all of your reviews and I don't even model non-american trains!

I enjoy your reviews of less expensive models quite a lot. Seeing what can be got for a lower, or even down right cheap price, good or bad, is often just as interesting for me as watching the shows with exemplary top-of-the-line models.

Hey Sam, you should really consider doing a caboose review it’d be nice to see a full American consist on your layout!

Hi Sam... I have read all the other posts and no one mentioned the coal loads. Living here in Pennsylvania, the fine texture and matte finish of the Athearn is a lot more representative of actual coal than the Bachmann's huge shiny lumps. Now, let me tell you about Blue Coal. Best regards from beautiful bucolic downtown Schnecksville, Pa.

A lot of American modelers have said to replace the couplers with Kadees, but that's only the start. Part of the problem is that the coupler heights are mismatched. It's possible that those two troublesome couplers literally slipped off of one another as they crested Gordon's Hill because one was so much higher than the other. If you pick up Kadees, make sure to get one of their coupler height gauges to go with them and acquire the necessary techniques and materials to adjust said couplers.

The hoppers are from the Ready to Roll series which began in the mid 1990s, but as has been mentioned, the tooling is old, dating back to the early 1960s. They were originally sold as screwdriver kits called blue box, due to the color of the box, with the trucks, chassis, weights, and details all separate. Ready to Roll are the same wagon pre assembled and detailed. Athearn's new tooled engine's and rolling stock are sold under the Genesis Labels. As for couplers True Kadee's are the best solution. I would suggest #148 whisker couplers as a drop in replacement. Also Kadee makes NEM compatible couplers, so you can make a transition car with a Kadee on one end, and a standard NEM on the other,so you can use your UK rolling stock with US locos, and vica versa.

Great review Sam , I’d definitely check out some Athearn locomotives if I were you

Your best bet for the coupler issue is to swap them with Kadee metal couplers. The ones with the whiskers (Kadee 148) are easiest to install.

The molds used on a lot of Athearn's "Ready To Roll" freight cars were cutting-edge for their day, but that day was quite a while ago indeed in some cases. Still, they aren't bad as value models and, as you've seen, the paint definitely has been updated to more modern standards, making for reasonably good models. Early plastic Kadee-compatible couplers had plastic tabs for the knuckle springs, as is the case on those cars, and those can be weakened if the packaging has pressed against the trip pin and held the knuckle open for long periods of time, leaving the coupler less capable of staying closed in operation. This was the case with early Bachmann E-Z Mate couplers as well. These days plastic couplers tend to have bronze coil springs for the kunckle (as seen on the E-Z Mate Mark II) but I prefer to replace the coupler with fully metal ones anyway for the most reliable operation.

I'm from Canada, @Sam'sTrains, you got an AWESOME deal. Even second hand.

More top content, Sam. My "Lucky Find" was DC Kits, which I'd like to share with you and your community. A very small outfit that seems to specialise in DCC Sound, but also has what seems to be a small selection of "Old New Stock". I've recently picked up a Hornby LNER black J15 for £75, a Dapol BR early lined black Manor for £120 and a Hornby GWR livered Castle class for £75, all brand new boxed. They still seem to have stock of all three, plus a Bachmann Deltic for £100 and a Hornby Duke of Gloucester for £120. In these days of ridiculously priced new locos, finds like this are rare indeed.

Holy c#@p!! That's a very good price for that pack! You sure got lucky on this one sam!

Are there many people out there like myself that collect loco’s & stand out examples of rolling stock not to run on a layout but simply to display each individually on a single piece of track ultimately to fill a wall mounted cabinet.

🧝‍♂This set was issued by Athearn in June 2007 and the RRP at that time was $79.98. The couplers are older McHenry brand and they have changed to a coil spring. The flat spring can develop a memory and were notorious for pulling loose. As in some of the other comments modelers I know always changed to Kadee couplers, 148s are an excellent choice. It is an easy drop in job. At one time Athearn was probably the top selling brand, but other companies have started offering rolling stock and locomotives with much better details. Athearn is still a good choice and some modelers like them as they prefer the simple details that do not break off with handling.

What a deal! Considering these packs go for about $80 on eBay. The tolling is most likely one Athearn has produced for over 50 years, always with metal axles, body-mounted couplers, and some good weight. That was when Bachmann used plastic axles, bogie-mounted couplers, and very little weight. Brake wheels becoming damaged or missing is common in HO scale cars. 8:57 better quality cars usually have springs in the knuckle couplers. Bachmann sells those as E-Z Mate Mark II while Kadee brand ones always have springs, but can be either plastic or metal.

Athearn rolling stock comes with McHenry couplers. As you can see they are junk. Whenever I buy an Athearn car the first thing I do is toss the cou[lers in the trash and replace them with Kadee couplers which are all metal.

I recently bought a set of used Athearn hoppers without original box. I’m not sure if I have a premium set but my hoppers came with separately fitted metal handrails and a lot of detailed print.

Sam you need to find a ho model of a Norfolk and Western class A or Y6b

Remember when you reviewed a rather SLOP FEF Series from Bachmann? Maybe you should get one from Athearn this time, hopefully it's the Living Legend, 844.

I have a 34' Athearn hopper from the 1970's. It was in kit form, looks just like the ones you reviewed except that it doesn't have a coal load, or molding marks on the inside and came with horn-hook couplers (which I replaced with Kadee). Even the instruction sheet looks much the same as the sheet that came as yours and is dated May 1973.

@Sam'sTrains, It is common practice here in North America to swap out the factory plastic couplers with metal Kadee couplers. Some may even swap out the wheels to all metal wheels.

If you want to see Athearn at their best, try one of the "Genesis" series models. Some of them even have separately installed roller bearing cap details on the axles!

Definitely an auction bargain Sam. The coal load does look a bit fine and possibly under scale. You mentioned that the coal load was a Matt Black. Maybe that could be improved by spraying over it with a Gloss Black or Semi Gloss Black model paint?

Thanks again, Sam, for reviewing more North American rolling stock. I still have a 40 foot Athearn boxcar I built from a Blue Box kit circa 1960 when I was a young teenager. The old Athearn cars had good proportions overall and were nicely decorated, but some of their details were a bit clunky by today's standards. Some were close to a prototype while for others compromises were made due to the technology of the time (1950's injection molding) or to reduce the number of mold sets needed. Most importantly, they were an affordable entry point to the hobby and so were ubiquitous here. Cheers from Wisconsin!

Hi, look at the revision on the leaflet. This may be April 2006. Just a guess for the age of these.

Sam you can in prove the cuppling By by cleaning the flash on the couplers.

You like massive rake of cars, then I saw this at a train show, a N scale 2-8-8-0 had pulled a massive 112 car train

TBH, £7-£8 each is what you pay in the UK for the original "Blue Box" incarnation of those cars with plastic wheels and horn hook (Hornby Dublo) couplers.Getting Ready to Roll cars for that price isn't too shabby - good catch.

They look the part. If you're a modeller that has a North American layout, then these would still look great parked in a siding, as well as chugging around the track.

"The coupling went without a hitch".... is that good or bad? Perfect for the review either way.

The British chap there at the station is probably having his mind blown 🤯 watching these American models parading by. He’s probably wondering when - and if - he’s ever going to see a right and proper British coach or wagon again. 😩

Sam, if you want shiny coal remove the load and give it a blast of gloss varnish!

Little bit of advice. Trim the coupler pins. I learned the hard way as my cars ended up constantly picking switches until I did.

Decent wagons from what I’ve seen, would be cool to see you print some new brake wheels

I could want to have 6-7 of those sets.for my b'day and run a huge coal freights. For you Gretha.

Technically coal should have a bit of a glossy surface, so the bachman does look more realistic, but for the price, the Athearn's are pretty hard to beat. I would say the Athearn's are an older tooling than Bachman's versions.

Awesome video today Sam really nice wagons 😊

There were lots of these packs on sale of different cars in the US 15 years ago. Great way to build a large rake of cars. As others have said very old tooling but always separate running numbers. This is important for US modellers who focus on freight operations and actually often use the car numbers for Waybills etc.

Hi Sam if you want a North American locomotive that is modern try scale train.

(@12:07) - Looks like the big, bad wolf tried to blow the trees down. We can’t be having that, now, can we? Nope! 😌

I will admit, the ratings aren’t that off. I swear by old Athearn rolling stock, especially the Blue Box kits from the 80’s and 90’s. I will say the first thing I always do with plastic couplers on rolling stock or locomotives is swap them for proper genuine Kadee couplers. Another note, plastic axles are a bit archaic but given the Blue Box models have plastic wheels and metal axles they roll decently but metal and metal are always going to be superior. The price doesn’t seem that far off either. On the American eBay side of things I’ve see. That set, not exact name/numbers, go for about $70-$100+ so the price you paid wasn’t too bad at all. I tend to pay around $5-$8 a piece for old Blue Box versions a local shop here in Pennsylvania. I hope you are able to upgrade the couplers on all of your USA rolling stock to metal Kadees to improve the reliability of your equipment. I’ll also add I’d love to see some more American engines in your roster. I recommend the Reading T1 4-8-4 made by Precision Craft Models. They’re offered DCC ready or DCC/sound. They’re strong haulers with or without the traction tire. Semi common on eBay and the most common numbers are 2111 and 2113. They should work on your tight radius curves as they can negotiate an 18 inch curve, which is one of the tightest curves we use. Thanks for reading and keep up the great reviews. -James.

Hello Sam, Would sluggish wheel sets free up after a break in period or would never get better or perhaps even worse ? Thanksfor doing this review.

I would say that the tool used for that body is pushing 60 years old.

Hi Sam! Check the coupler height, many times on inclines that is the issue. I did notice the couplers are not completely level with one another. Switch to Kadee's. Love your videos!

Random aside, the term "hitch" in the parlance of atleast one American railroad means "to couple". then again, this is a railroad that calls a caboose a "buggy"

As several people have pointed out these cars date back to the Arhearn “Blue Box” era of the 1960s to the 1980s. Athearn’s place in the market then was as affordable “serious” models a cut above the stuff found in train sets. Locomotives and cars were sold as easy to build kits. You could build them as is but many people added extra detail kits made by companies like CalScale.

Amazing hoppers sam

Yeah these are older athearns I paid about $20aud each for the nickel plate ones I had with these dodgy couplers the newer tooled stuff doesn't use these couplers anymore either which is a plus. I replaced all mine eventually because I was sick of the decoupling because the knuckles on these plastic couplers spread over time unlike the genuine kadee metal couplers. I think these athearn couplers were a knock off of the old ez mate couplers from bachmann that also used to have the same little plastic strip design.

Awesome video Sam's trains

Hi Sam, FYI Just thought you outta know, the real prototypes had an appearance difference between one manufacture and the other. One was called an Open Top 2 bay Ribbed Hopper for oblivious reasons, The other was called an Open Top 2-bay Offset Hopper, the ribs disappear from view. That's how they really looked back then.

I'm surprised the porter pulled all of that without slipping, those engines are not heavy at all. Now I don't know what your general budget for models is but I have an engine suggestion, the Broadway Limited UP-1/5 4-12-2

Hi Sam. 👋 I have several Athearns Models in N Scale, of course. Mine all had metal axles and wheels . However, the average cost is about $35.00 each. After replacing the couplers with Micro Trains ( add to the cost of $7.00 more ). The details are amazingly wonderful, and the paint is awesome. The Micro Trains couplers out perform the McHenry ones that come with the railcar . I use the magnetic uncoupler track from Atlas, so I'm not knocking over scenery. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I know it is very much appreciated by myself and a lot , Us , Modelers . Bruce in Minnesota

What's funny is that Porter runs on tiny little itty-bitty motor

Athearn is very good stuff. Those couplers should be replaced.

I have this hopper pack, but lettered for the Chessie System.

Kadee makes this now. Part Number 7525. RRP is 42.95USD

Maybe you can buy a emd sd70ace a American locomotive

They are the early 2000’s RTR cars. Now it appears you have one coupler hanging a little lower which is the issue. A NMRA knuckle level device made by Kadee could be useful kit and allows you to go through and find out your coupler heights. They separation is because one was low hanging which is ether because the plate and screw are loose. Or it just needs a spacer to push it up.

Great video!

You could always gloss coat the coal loads to give the same finish as the Bachmann loads. To be honest though older in design I would purchase these over Bachman as after years of shoddy and cheap locomotives and cars from Bachmann America, I would trust my luck with Athearn. British Bachmann seems to be a completely different kettle of fish as they seem far superior to most of the American Bachmann products.

November 1st 2007, RRP of $79.98 new, you saved £20

What you really should compare is an American Bachmann train set and a Athern train set. And I guarantee you the Athern is better.

not kadee "style" but the athearn cheep knock offs. plastic couplers will break the kadees are metal, and i have some that are over 40 years old and work just as new. and will hold up to trains over 100 weighted cars long. add a bit of lead shot, to bring up the weight...can you even buy shotgun reloading supply's in your country?

Cheap o mchenry couplings not KD metal ones

I have a three pack of equivalent wagons (modern hoppers 1995 and later) in N scale bought new for less than 100 € (can't remember the price), and they are nice. You have old models here, but for the price, it's a good deal. Couplings are functional, minus the one that randomly decouple. Athearn puts usually full plastic couplings on their models, even in N, it's something to consider while buying.They stay on the tracks, that's fine. You can upgrade with Kadee metal couplings, but that's an expense to consider only if you need lots of shunting operations, for instance. Also, replacing the wheels can be something to do, but only if you need high performances. You also can buy metal brake wheels to replace the broken ones, but we entering another dimension here. As is, with no modifications, it's a good deal.

This is good for a guy who just wants a big rake to run. (Me)

What you could do for the rolling test is use a solenoid that you used in the working brakevan to give wagons a nudge down the hill. That way no one can say human bias has be done to give wagons more of a push than others; as the push power of the solenoid will always be the same. 👍👍

good vid

I would hazard a guess those hoppers are from the Athearn Blue Box era (kits to build) molds, upgraded a bit in the Ready to Roll sets. Assembled, metal wheels and knuckle couplers. Late 1990's to 2000's set.

I find athearn stuff more reliable then bachmann, I actually prefer athearn over bachmann. You should try one of there genesis locomotives

Is this your 1st model trains from athearn

Ah, the Athearn 34 foot hoppers. As you've no doubt heard by now, they were originally "screwdriver" kits. The exploded diagram you see is exactly how they were assembled; and it looks like basically a cleaned up version of the instructions I've seen and followed so many times. I was going to film and post a short video with all of the ones I've built over the years (mostly back when they were still made as kits when I was much younger, but a few I've picked up and assembled for nostalgia more recently) but I ran into another issue that you did today - knuckle couplers, despite being semi-prototypical in appearance, really struggle with any kind of change in track height or angle. Most of them are actually significantly above scale to help with that, but compatible half-sized ones exist (and are even worse for auto-uncoupling). Not much to be done for that, unfortunately, besides buying a Kadee height gauge and some washers and tuning each car as you get it (or tossing it in a pile to get to, eventually, as I do). One more funny note about these - today they're sold with metal wheels and plastic axles, but when they were sold as kits they had plastic wheels and metal axles. I can't say which is better overall, just that I've ripped out most of them and replaced them with all-metal wheelsets so I don't have to choose between smooth rolling and clickety-clack clean rails and wheels.

There are few things that irritate me more, in ho scale, then those darn ABS plastic spring couplers! Bachmann still "loves" to put these types of couplers in their inexpensive trainsets! I don't know how I put up with them in my train set reviews. They have a life measured in minutes before they give up and your train is left behind on the mainline. I personally replace, and recommend you to do this as well, any stock I with theses' with Kadee metal couplers or the cheaper plastic MC henry's or Bachmann mark II couplers, all of which have metal springs.

Overall very decent for such a steal of a deal Sam. One could always upgrade the couplers and even the wheels. It would defeat the purpose of this fantastic bargain perhaps, but it can be done. And you know what, a tad of rolling resistance actually might be preferable. We are always wondering if too much free rolling can cause a wagon/coach to be more susceptible to derailments, i.e. that it could jump off the track easier / more freely, caused by unevenness and bumps in the trackwork?

That N gauge locomotive I sent you, I thought I'd let you know, that it's a General Electric U25B diesel locomotive, it was General Electric's first road switcher introduced in 1959, the U25B's are one of my favorite diesel locomotives

"Like" 500... Couplers with those cheesy finger springs, ugh! They came with the set, hmmm. Those truck assemblies? You said this set is used. I'd guess the original "set" trucks were swapped and replaced with older/high mileage truck frames. Yes, they all match, but Athearn has a higher standard, and with this six-car/wagon set, they all should have rolled extremely well down your hill... better than the Bachmann's. I've a set of boxcars from the same era the hopper set was made that roll very well. Too bad you got this set as is... But, no complaints on what you paid! The other comments are covering the lineage of the car-body age and manufacturing... I agree with them. John BC, Canada

The way the bogies are screwed on look to be the same as on the KR Consett wagons and I'm curious as to whether the screws loosened themselves while being ran? I had that issue with the Consetts. Cheers

lovely

Nice looking hoppers Sam

£43? That’s a heck of a deal. That’s roughly $53 US dollars. And those packs new run for about $150 USD or £120 roughly

I would have loved to see you test these with the Bachmann hoppers in your review, to see if there was coupling trouble between the different brands. Other than that, wonderful review! Always very informative. As a side note, I always find it humorous that you notice when rolling stock has bogies. Here in America, as I'm sure you know, we don't have any two axle freight cars. An American reviewer would notice whether the wheels were metal or plastic, but not ever mention the existence of the bogies.

Hi Sam you should try the 2-6-0 or the 2-8-0 from athearn as well. I already have a roundhouse 2-6-0 which is pretty much the same model. Cheers Jasper & Willow

@Sam'sTrains, would you be interested in rolling stock kit builds. This was very common in the 1980's and 1990's. There are still manufacturers that make kits to assemble. There is still a lot of New Old Stock available. Atherarn Blue Box kits can still be found to buy and assemble, Proto 2000 kits can be found as well. Accurail still makes new kits to build. Search them out and buy a few, this could make a good video for you. Just a suggestion. Are kits like these available in Great Brittan or Europe?

I would have been interested to see how they coupled to other manufacturers models, looks like you got good value though 👍

It's hard not to mention coal trains and not mention the Norfolk and Western (N&W), and you somehow nailed it. The couplers are slightly higher/lower than the other. it will cause that

Athearn models are great, but their couplings, not so much. Others recommend swapping for Kadees, and I support that advice. While their locomotives are expensive, I own two, and both are awesome. If you ever feel like you can afford it, I totally recommend their locomotives, specifically the Genesis range

Do you get staff discount? ;)

The Athearn cars are still USA made. The hopper is based on a Pennsylvania Railroad design and the molds go back decades. Athearns are a rich source of base models for those who like to detail or modify for other railroad lines. I would replace the wheel sets with Northwest Short Line's replacement wheel sets which are heavier and higher quality.

Oo even more ameican stocklove the videos keep it up

Hey Sam sorry I didn't write you today, I was at the Dr's all day. Cheers Jasper & Willow

I notice you didn't provide a Grade as well as score... Are you only offering those on loco reviews, or is this a 2022 video (I notice you refer to it as representative of a '2022 model') recorded before your new grading system was announced?

If you want to stop the uncopiling you could glue them in the right place and while they won’t be able to open they’ll stay coupled. Or just replace them with Katie couplers

Were they secondhand when you bought them ?

👍👍👍👍👍👍

Couplers should be fine. I've done things to them that they shouldn't be able to hold and none have broken yet

Hi sam

Hey Sam, since you love visiting railways, how about visiting the Pelion Railway in Greece, you know this railway and its steam locomotives and rolling stock were designed and built by Evaristo de Chirico, father of the famous artist Giorgio de Chirico.

Finally...