Atlas U25B extremely disappointed times three...

[CBQ Fan]

As some of you may recall I received a CB&Q U25 and it howled like banshee, puked a bunch of gray liquid, the rear light flickered while going forward and just up and died.  I sent that unit back to the hobby shop I bought it from and I am waiting on its replacement.  In the meantime I decided to purchase the other road number and added it to an order I had with another hobby shop.  Well it arrived today and this unit howls even worse than the first one. The rear light also blinks intermittently while going forward and at first couldn't go fast enough to get out of its way.  I have run it a little longer and the speed has improved but it still runs like crap.  So I have had two units bought from different shops in different states with the same basic issue.  I am extremely disappointed.  I have paid for return shipping on one unit already and I guess I can throw away more money to ship this back for a return.  Point is I should not have two.  One unit issue I could see but two is not acceptable.  These aren't thirty dollar Bachmann junkers.  For these prices they should work out of the box.

[Joetrain59]

Didn't Atlas ask you to send it to them? Do it with this one. They want to know about things like this.
 Joe D

[LV LOU]

Didn't Atlas ask you to send it to them? Do it with this one. They want to know about things like this.
 Joe D

+1..On the few units I've sent back,I've always gotten more than I expected..

[CBQ Fan]

I should be getting my replacement unit tomorrow.  I want to see if it is any good before I decide on what to do with my current hanger queen.  Atlas did ask me to send the first bad unit to them but that was after I had already returned it. 

In all fairness my two VO-1000 units run flawlessly.

[bbussey]

You should return the units to Atlas for warranty repair or replacement.

[PAL_Houston]

....or you could take matters into your own hands and do a "Ron Bearden" tune-up, which you would probably need or want to do anyway.

Yeah, I know.  We all want stuff to run perfectly out of the box.

But honestly, and irrespective of manufacturer (Kato, Atlas, IM,  Bachmann, Lifelike is my experience base) that's only happened when I bought something used from someone who'd already worked on it. 

Or I had to try to do it myself.

[CBQ Fan]

I unfortunately don't have time to tear apart a loco and try to fix it.  My time is so limited for modeling I would rather spend it on something more productive and fun.  Just for perspective, the time it takes me to drive to and from the post office will eat up two days worth of modeling time.  I wish I had the time to invest in the hobby that a lot of those who share here do. 

[peteski]

I unfortunately don't have time to tear apart a loco and try to fix it.  My time is so limited for modeling I would rather spend it on something more productive and fun.  Just for perspective, the time it takes me to drive to and from the post office will eat up two days worth of modeling time.  I wish I had the time to invest in the hobby that a lot of those who share here do.

Sounds like you might want to wait until the other replacement loco arrives. Then if they are both still crappy, send them both back to Atlas. Like other said: if Atlas doesn't know about the problem (and its cause), they cannot make things right, or prevent the problem from happening in the future.  I think that in itself is worth 2 hours of your hobby time.

[chicken45]

Send it to Peteski!
 

[brokemoto]

I would send an e-Mail to Atlas.  Explain your problem in a courteous and businesslike manner. 

Some time back, I purchased an Atlas product.  It was defective.  The vendor told me to send it back to Atlas.  I read the instructions for that, sent it back.  Atlas returned it to me stating that they had repaired it.  I put it onto the track and discovered that it was not repaired.  I sent an e-Mail to Atlas that explained the problem.  I stated that I did not consider it good business practice that I should be required to pay for another shipping when the required repair obviously had not been performed.  I stated all of this in a courteous and businesslike manner.  Mr. Atlas agreed and sent me an e-Mail that stated that Atlas would issue a UPS pick-up ticket and that they would advise me on the date that the UPS man would show up at my door.  They did this.  I boxed up the product and told GF to look out for the UPS man.  The UPS man showed up and collected the box from GF.  It came back from Atlas within a reasonable time and was repaired, this time.

Most Atlas products are pretty good.  Their customer service, over the years, has also proved to be pretty good.  I have not had that many problems with their products, but when I have, they have always made it good.

[woodchip]

I'm curious to know if this is with a DCC decoder or a DC light board,I've found DCC  equipped engines run brutally on any type of pulsed power supply. My experience with Atlas products has been positive other than u joint issues on SD and C630 Alcos and with the availability of parts was easily fixed. Good luck with these but it sounds as you have already pronounced judgement on the U25B.

                                      Hugh in Canada

[peteski]

Send it to Peteski!
 

I would be more than happy to look at these (analyze the problem and fix them), but that would not happen soon. 

I already asked whether maybe the locomotive had a DCC decoder in it (installed by mistake), but Brian already sent it back (so he couldn't check).  IIRC, Brian's other thread on the original loco had someone from Atlas (Paul or Cory) chime in asking to sent them directly to Atlas.  I am pretty sure that the offer still stands.

[Atlas Paul]

Yes, please return the model directly to us.  Contact our customer service department at csdept@atlasrr.com with the details so we have a record of the issue.

[CBQ Fan]

The original replacement engine is out for for delivery so I should know tonight if I am batting .667 or 1000.  These are all DC per the part number and price I paid.  The first engine issue almost made me laugh due to never having had a problem like this before, the second one is irritating.  I have a couple engines that are DCC, Pioneer Zephyr and BLI E units that run just fine on my track in DC mode.

So I will have to see if it will be a ticket for one or two back to Atlas.   

[johnh35]

When the U25B runs good, it runs damned good. But when it needs to be repaired, it can be a pain to get properly reassembled due to the motor mounts. The RS-1 and RS-3 share the same affliction. I wish Atlas had designed the B23 or U23B mechanisms with the thought in mind of replacing the U25B mechanism.