Mallard4468 posted:OGR Webmaster posted:The entire York meet is a shell of its former glory...
As are most of us who attend.
LOL!
Now that's funny!! Good one Mallard4468.
harmonyards posted:Model Structures posted:harmonyards posted:I hope they keep making Atlas O track. I just started my layout with nothing but their track.......I need ALOT more...............
Harmonyards - My layout is a mixture of Atlas O and Ross track. I started buying Ross track and turnouts for all new stuff a while ago. The two mate together just fine, look good together and are indistinguishable when ballast is used. Ross product is made in the USA so orders are always filled in a timely manner.
Joe
joe, I did not know that....that is a relief knowing I have options.........thanks so much!
Here are some photos of both track. The Ross tie bars are wider and spaced further apart however with ballast the differences will be much harder to see.
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Ingeniero No1 posted:How about Atlas track and turnouts?
I frequently read (this forum) about guys who are building new layouts, and would like to use Atlas, but the supply and variety of Atlas track items is limited.
Alex
I've been planning on making a purchase ... it seems everything is in stock at TrainWorld, Nicholas Smith,
After the billboard reefers, and it's boom, the Atlas emphasis seemed to be on more modern contemporary rolling stock, and it dropped below my radar. It's been a while since I've bought any.
colorado hirailer posted:After the billboard reefers, and it's boom, the Atlas emphasis seemed to be on more modern contemporary rolling stock, and it dropped below my radar. It's been a while since I've bought any.
I guess it depends on what you consider "modern contemporary." Looking at ATLAS' SHIPPING SCHEDULE, I think there are many things from the transition/steam era.
Happy Railroading.
The hobby is evolving and becoming more specialized. Any vendor that participates in the York show makes a large investment to do so. Truck transportation of their booth (and display products), booth space rental, several employee salaries for 4 or 5 days, their lodging, food, and possibly car travel for several. Point is that companies look for a return on their investment and if the new products are minimal then cost cutting ensues. In the case of Atlas it looks as though they may be adjusting the size of their O gauge offerings. Its a good product line but it is often hard to find. If Atlas continues in the O gauge market they may need to focus on uniqueness of product to hold the interest of the hobbyist.
The Atlas Model Railroad Co. exhibit at TRAINFEST in Milwaukee, Wi this weekend will be a large display of items from all scales.
If you are at TRAINFEST in Milwaukee, Wi, take photos, ask questions, and post the results.
Andrew
I see some of you personally know people at Atlas O.
Can you pass on that at least as 11 months ago Rapido had extra capacity at their new factory and was looking for work?
Jason talks a little bit about that 4 minutes in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlbMfyaOykE
falconservice posted:The Atlas Model Railroad Co. exhibit at TRAINFEST in Milwaukee, Wi this weekend will be a large display of items from all scales.
If you are at TRAINFEST in Milwaukee, Wi, take photos, ask questions, and post the results.
Andrew
Atlas just posted 11/23 container shipping, 40' steel reefers, 50' boxcars, 53' containers and Maxi stack cars should put dealer shipping into Jan 2018,just saying!
Dennis LaGrua posted:The hobby is evolving and becoming more specialized. Any vendor that participates in the York show makes a large investment to do so. Truck transportation of their booth (and display products), booth space rental, several employee salaries for 4 or 5 days, their lodging, food, and possibly car travel for several. Point is that companies look for a return on their investment and if the new products are minimal then cost cutting ensues. In the case of Atlas it looks as though they may be adjusting the size of their O gauge offerings. Its a good product line but it is often hard to find. If Atlas continues in the O gauge market they may need to focus on uniqueness of product to hold the interest of the hobbyist.
I also have seen less Atlas offerings in O but in the smaller scales more offerings. If you go to a show like Amherst MA all scales show Atlas has a huge both with lots of offerings and operating layouts I didn’t see that at York.
Ok, my Atlas "story" - opened my Dec issue of OGR and saw the inside front cover spread on the 55 Ton USRA coal cars from Atlas , including one in the rarely-if ever- O,K & G RR paint scheme. Since I'm in Oklahoma I had to have one. The next day I called my local dealer, Whistlestop Trains who said he'd check it out as he wanted some too. A few days later he lets me know he has "2", his Atlas rep said they were sold-out, but my guy found 2 at a buddy's store in Cedar Rapids & snatched them up. At $76 + tax it wasn't cheap, but it is a very well done car from the transition era. My point, makes you wonder why bother with a full page color ad when the cars, at least in one roadname, were gone by publication date ?
trestleking posted:... My point, makes you wonder why bother with a full page color ad when the cars, at least in one roadname, were gone by publication date ?
You've pretty much summed up the big negative with today's BTO environment -- especially for small, regional road-names. If you don't PRE-order something, you run the risk of not finding it at delivery time. The big dealers typically order plenty of extra items from Lionel. But for MTH and Atlas-O, that's seldom the case.
As for print-ads featuring specific items... the companies are often paying for "visibility" and keeping their name in front of magazine readers, rather than selling any one particular product, per se.
Any pics of York Booth?
Trestleking,
There is another problem with the Build-To_Order system described by Rocky Mountaineer above. If not enough orders are received for a particular product or road-name, that one may never get produced, despite the advertising. So, you were darn lucky to find even a few with that road-name.
Chuck
prrhorseshoecurve posted:Any pics of York Booth?
No pics from me aside from a couple of close-ups I took of the CSX Maxi-IV containers I have on pre-order.
But I'd say the booth was 1/3 to 1/4 the size of the former booth in years past. The big dog-bone display layout was replaced by a much smaller layout -- perhaps 5x10. One small scenic'd diorama showing the containers and maxi-IV well cars. Another table showing a few pieces of rolling stock, and a very small wall display with a couple of sample locomotives. A small table for the Golden Spike Club memberships, but no behind-the-booth seminars. You get the idea.
Ah, ok what you're saying then is to scan the manufacturer's websites for upcoming products and place a preorder with your dealer - because "there it is in a magazine" is often too late. Got it.
The 40' Steel Reefers, The PS-1 50' Box Cars, the 53' containers, and the Maxi-Stack IV well cars will be sent out to dealers by the first two weeks of DECEMBER 2017.
That will fill up my freight car roster.
Andrew
Would like to see it happen but that sounds optimistic at best. JMO
falconservice posted:The 40' Steel Reefers, The PS-1 50' Box Cars, the 53' containers, and the Maxi-Stack IV well cars will be sent out to dealers by the first two weeks of DECEMBER 2017. ....
That's great news if it's true. But I'd feel better if I saw Atlas-O update their shipping schedule to show that those products shipped out of China in October. They'd need to already be on the water right now if there's any chance of Atlas-O shipping to their dealers in early December (unless Atlas-O is shipping those items via air).
Currently, the last container with Atlas-O products shipped out of China on 9/11/2017 according to the website shipping schedule.
The container that departed China on September 11th, 2017 container has already arrived at Atlas and everything is at Train Stores or coming soon.
Andrew
Latest container shipping www.atlasrr.com/containershipping.htm they have reworded this report to say the week of 11/23/17 the shipment will be at their warehouse [Hillside NJ] and ship to dealers the following week. Previous reports tended to have 6-8 weeks before dealer shipping, just saying.
falconservice posted:The container that departed China on September 11th, 2017 container has already arrived at Atlas and everything is at Train Stores or coming soon.
Andrew
Right... We knew that, but that's not the shipment that contains the items mentioned above.
hibar posted:Latest container shipping www.atlasrr.com/containershipping.htm they have reworded this report to say the week of 11/23/17 the shipment will be at their warehouse [Hillside NJ] and ship to dealers the following week. Previous reports tended to have 6-8 weeks before dealer shipping, just saying.
OK... So it looks like Atlas DID have another factory shipment out of China in October that they didn't mention on the Atlas-O website (yet) if something is arriving on 11/23 as referenced on the Atlas Model Railroading website.
That's looking more promising for those Gunderson Maxi-IV well cars and containers arriving in OUR hands by year-end 2017 -- or perhaps a bit sooner. 
The Container Report on the Atlas Model RR home page is always more current than the Atlas O shipping schedule.
Andrew
Atlas has a poor track record on product status. Perhaps they should not announce or state anything until they have it. They would be better off announcing the offerings when the product is actually sitting in the NJ stock room ready to sell. Instead they just keep digging a deeper hole.
Imagine how surprised most of you would be! 
trestleking posted:Ok, my Atlas "story" - opened my Dec issue of OGR and saw the inside front cover spread on the 55 Ton USRA coal cars from Atlas , including one in the rarely-if ever- O,K & G RR paint scheme. Since I'm in Oklahoma I had to have one. The next day I called my local dealer, Whistlestop Trains who said he'd check it out as he wanted some too. A few days later he lets me know he has "2", his Atlas rep said they were sold-out, but my guy found 2 at a buddy's store in Cedar Rapids & snatched them up. At $76 + tax it wasn't cheap, but it is a very well done car from the transition era. My point, makes you wonder why bother with a full page color ad when the cars, at least in one roadname, were gone by publication date ?
They do it to support the magazine..... they, too, need to support the hobby.....
BTW - I have four of the OK&G Hoppers left - out price is $67.46 and no sales tax for you folks out of state.... https://mrmuffinstrains.com/products/ao-3005813-1
