Crap

[Chris Webster]

Atlas Acquires Select M.T.H Locomotive and Rolling Stock Molds

Hillside, NJ – Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc. is proud to announce the purchase of a variety of tooling in the M.T.H. Premier O Scale Locomotive and Rolling Stock lines from M.T.H. Electric Trains of Columbia, MD.

Rolling stock molds acquired include the 4-Bay Hopper, Coalporter Hopper, PS2CD High Side Hopper, 40' PS1 Box Car, 55' All Door Box Car, 2-Bay Centerflow Hopper, 3-Bay Centerflow Hopper , Steel Caboose , 50' High Cube Box Car , PS2 2-Bay Hopper, 20,000 Gallon Tank Car, 50' Airslide Hopper, Russell Plow, 8000 Gallon Tank Car, Funnel Flow Tank Car, Modern Tank Car, Crane, Crane Tender, 100 Ton Hot Metal Car, Rapid Discharge Hopper, 75' Depressed Flat Car, Scale Test Car, 2-Bay Offset Hopper, Operating Coal and Log Dump Car, Premiere 70' Heavyweight Passenger Cars, Premiere 70' Streamline Passenger Cars and Amfleet Cars.

Locomotive molds include the E6A/B and E8A/B, 44 Tonner, Amtrak P42 Genesis, Dash 9, SD45, F40, U30C, SD70M-2 with SD70Ace, GP38-2, SD70ACe, SD70MAC, GP40, S2, SD40-2, GP30, ES44AC&DC with ES44DC and GEVO ES-44.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Not sure that I follow your title/opinion here.

Also, not really sure what this even means at the end of the day; given the production of little from Atlas, less yet would seem to be secure in the future.

[J. S. Bach]

Stand by for massive price increases and destructive modification to fit Atlas' scheme of things. Oh, and several years to get anything to this shore after the product announcement. Isn't there a GE U-boat that been over five years in gestation.

[Chris Webster]

Also, not really sure what this even means at the end of the day

It is really great news for Sunset/3rd Rail!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Also, not really sure what this even means at the end of the day

It is really great news for Sunset/3rd Rail!

[De Bruin]

I can dream...... maybe Atlas and the PRC can work it out, we get a better version of the toy house GP-30 and AS-616?

Not to mention replacement drives and trucks to convert 3 to 2 rail ?

Sorry, meds kicking in here.....

[Chris Webster]

It is really great news for Sunset/3rd Rail!

I'm completely serious about that.

Atlas-O just bought a line of shorty passenger cars, which probably ensures that Atlas-O will not be tooling any new scale-length cars in the next decade. That's great news for GGD.

[De Bruin]

Good point; those lovely injection molded PS/ACF cars by MTH are all 70' and therefore, with some minor exceptions,
useless for a scale passenger train

[sarge]

Interesting. Looks like Atlas is well in its way to being the Tyco of O Scale if they intend to actually put this stuff on 2-rail wheels and re-enter the market.

Its not really good news, since this stuff will keep anyone from actually making the same prototype to the fidelity and performance of, say, HO. That of course assumes O Scale continues to be a viable marketplace and Atlas actually makes anything of this rather than just hold it defensively.

Its also interesting that Atlas seems to have some optimism, given very little has been seen from them lately, that the dreadful production record of the PRC lately might somehow be circumvented and a producer that makes schedule and meets some level if quality and consistency might be in the wings. Could it be?

Third interesting thing is, no steam. Make of that what you will. Atlas has always had an adversity to steam so it might simply be that. Diesels are easier to add the control system of choice within, and steam usually requires a more specialised installation so that could also be a driver.

I was hoping this stuff would have been left to whither on the vine so some of those prototypes could be revisited without childproof details, tribute features to Lionel postwar like fold-up handrails and swinging pilots, with decent drives and prototype fidelity.

Then there is the issue of pricing. I’ll argue the re-issue pricing of Tyco level detailing and fidelity will be equivalent to anything that could have HO level detailing and fidelity, so its a blow to value for money.

Admittedly, there are a couple jewels under the sh*thouse in that list, but that doesn’t justify preserving the entire content of the cistern. Instead, it looks like it will all survive as a millstone around the neck to stymie any advancement in the quality of RTR offerings in the scale.

The stuff would have been better left where it lay. We almost got out from underneath a huge part of that obligation to compromise fidelity and performance for that assumed obligation that three-rail and two are happily married. Almost.

Dam.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Interesting. Looks like Atlas is well in its way to being the Tyco of O Scale if they intend to actually put this stuff on 2-rail wheels and re-enter the market.

Well, maybe.......and we'll see if they manage to do anything in something timely........

Than again.......... Meh.

[up148]

Agree on the "meh" except maybe for crossovers to 2R from 3R. But for me MEH.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Agree on the "meh" except maybe for crossovers to 2R from 3R. But for me MEH.

With you on that assessment (personally as little that Atlas has ever done has appealed to my interests - there were a handful of custom reefers that I liked).

[E7]

Its not really good news, since this stuff will keep anyone from actually making the same prototype to the fidelity and performance of, say, HO.

Call it the Lowest Common Denominator effect, or the curse of the Roco F9, which closely resembled it's intended target, but missed in almost every subtle aspect. It was CHEAP enough and sold enough, that it prevented anything of it's ilk from being produced for years, except high end brass.

[De Bruin]

Its not really good news, since this stuff will keep anyone from actually making the same prototype to the fidelity and performance of, say, HO.

Call it the Lowest Common Denominator effect, or the curse of the Roco F9, which closely resembled it's intended target, but missed in almost every subtle aspect.....

Maybe, but I doubt the dearth of low end decent EMD F unit models can be attributed to the plethora of Roco F9's since the 70's. The Atwater/AN F3 and F7s, while not as dirt cheap as the Roco's have their issues too, and furthermore are rarely as inexpensive as the Roco F9's. They have to be built too though I think most here would agree it's easier to get a decent engine out of AN's, with less work than trying the same thing with the more inexpensive Roco F9.
I can count on 10 fingers all the Roco F9's I have EVER seen that had a modicum of reliability and could be regularly run for any length of time. All of them were retrofitted with NWSL wheel sets and gears, and even then were still just time bombs to breakdown. I don't count those retrofitted (not that common either)with P&D or CLW drives as they're no longer really Roco's except for the shell and as far as MTH and the rest of the PRC twinkies the China drives may suck but are way more reliable and longer lasting than the Roco's.

All opinion, and again as a "bottom feeder" the only thing I can hope for with Atlas getting MTH's tooling are more of those cool shells and perhaps a better more durable version of the China Drive.

[bob turner]

More durable?

We got, using MTH China drive MTH Diesels, three years of eight hours per day with initial failures of the axle gear. MTH graciously supplied, for free, axle gears, and at the ten year point, new motors with new worm gears.

It has been a decade since the Museum asked me to fix anything, but we had one unit that, at the 20 year point, needed axle bearings. Turns out that they were the same size as Piper Cub control hinge bushings. Hardened axles were still good.

I have never heard of a more durable O Scale power unit. The All Nations died in a year.

Sure, they could use a lower gear ratio - but don't forget - their market was the 3-rail crowd.