Athearn announces brand consolidation: Athearn Trains announced this morning that it will be consolidating its product brands. The company will now be using the Athearn, Athearn Genesis, and Athearn Roundhouse names for its HO and N scale locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, vehicles, and train sets.
“We listened to our most important focus group, you,” Athearn said in a press release. “Brands have been consolidated. New logos, new packaging, a new design philosophy. All done to improve customer’s expectations of the Athearn brand and make selling the product easier.”
The Athearn Genesis name will be used for the company’s premium line of models. This will cover steam and diesel locomotives, passenger cars, and freight cars in N and HO scales. Locomotives in the Athearn Genesis line will have road-name and road-number specific details, a dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoder, and various light and sound features.
Passenger cars in the Athearn Genesis line will include detailed interiors, tinted window glazing as appropriate, and wire grab irons, among other features. Interior lighting is planned for future releases.
Among the features on HO scale Athearn Genesis freight cars are etched-metal running boards and crossover platforms where applicable and roller-bearing trucks with rotating bearing caps as appropriate. N scale Athearn Genesis freight cars will have body-mounted couplers and metal wheelsets that will operate on code 80 and 55 track.
The Athearn Roundhouse name will be used for entry-level HO scale models. The line will include locomotives with a 21-pin NEM connector, light-emitting-diode lighting, and serviceable and repairable components.
Freight cars under the Athearn Roundhouse banner will be equipped with metal wheelsets and McHenry knuckle couplers.
Train sets will also be a part of the Athearn Roundhouse line. The sets will include a locomotive, freight cars with metal wheelsets, Kato Unitrack-compatible nickel silver rail, and a transformer.
The Athearn line will be used for all other products. HO scale models in the range will be locomotives (Digital Command Control sound decoder and DCC ready versions), rolling stock (separate, factory-applied grab irons; etched-metal crossover platforms where applicable; basic underbody details; and multiple body styles per prototype), and vehicles (fire trucks, semi trailers, and intermodal containers).
In N scale, products in the Athearn line will include locomotives (DCC and DCC ready), rolling stock, and vehicles.
To commemorate the new brands, Athearn is offering FMC 50-foot combination-door boxcars with the new logos. The HO scale three-pack will sell for $99.99. The N scale two-pack will be priced at $59.99. The boxcars are scheduled for release in May 2023.
“We at Athearn welcome you to your new era of Athearn Trains and look forward to producing models for you for the next 75 years and beyond,” the press release concluded.
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