Atlas Engine production...big announcement, and clarification

Beth, what about a B. and O. , Penn Central or Erie Lackawanna SW-1 switcher.

Atlas has never recovered from the factory shakeup it experienced several years ago.  Even in HO they’re not the same.  Sad.

Hey Jim..... SW-1's are a different car body.  Having enuf trouble just trying to get the SW8/9/1200 series done.  They're all good roads for the later SW's...especially the EL black/yellow, which is my fav.

VO-1000 for me since Dad  worked at Beth Steel Sparrows Point Baltimore. I just sold some brass models of this for financial reasons. DEFINITE purchase part of the Beth Steel generation.

So I can forget ever getting an NC&StL VO-1000?

Beth,

Any chance we see another run of the C-424 / C-425 Alcos?  It would be nice to see the Delaware - Lackawanna engines.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.n...ture.aspx?id=5110012

Its all about pre-orders.  Most ppl like to impulse buy.  Its more fun, instant gratification.  Welcome to the Amazon generation.   If someone orders from me and i dont get it out within a few days, I get a "where my train" email.   Ppl cant wait a week, let alone a year or two.  So without pre-orders, someone has to buy on spec. Atlas doesnt want to guess what ppl want, and have money tied up on the shelf, hoping they guessed right.  And us dealers can afford to put out 20,000 $ on one engine run and have product sitting on the shelf.  And consumers....I can tell u from experience, when I ask "what do u want", the most frequent answer is "no  answer", and then I'll get 25 people who want 1 each of 25 different engines.  And I hear all the time.."can u make these, I'll buy one"   Well I need to sell a lot more than  one of anything to make it viable.

There are other factors too...company philosophy...core business...minimum return on investment, buyer habits.

And as someone at York supposedly said...."in 15 years, everyone here will be dead".  So IDK where this is all going.

And as someone at York supposedly said...."in 15 years, everyone here will be dead".  So IDK where this is all going.

O ya, I have plans on being here another 25 or 30 .   I am glad I did not go to York or I may have went earlier their saying, gulp. 

mlavender480 posted:

Atlas has never recovered from the factory shakeup it experienced several years ago.  Even in HO they’re not the same.  Sad.

Do you work at Atlas?

I would have ordered an NS SD40 if done high nose.  NS fans like the high nose versions.

IC fan posted:

mlavender480 posted:

Atlas has never recovered from the factory shakeup it experienced several years ago.  Even in HO they’re not the same.  Sad.

Do you work at Atlas?

No, why? Do you?

mlavender480 posted:

Atlas has never recovered from the factory shakeup it experienced several years ago.  Even in HO they’re not the same.  Sad.

Mike:

   Yes, some of the factories over there have suddenly become independent and have begun dictating what they will do and won't do. My friend had this kind of experience with a Chinese factory, and contracts mean nothing to some of them.

   Atlas needs to find a cooperative factory or move production to another country or back home, without affecting final pricing to the consumer.

John

John Knapp posted:

 

   Atlas needs to find a cooperative factory or move production to another country or back home, without affecting final pricing to the consumer.

 

And just how would they do that seeing tooling made in China stays in China?

Manufacturing is more than just the factory that does the decoration and assembly.  Even moving to another factory in China (assuming the original factory doesn't "lose" the tools) would require setting up a new supply chain.

Rusty

"And as someone at York supposedly said...."in 15 years, everyone here will be dead". "

That someone doesn't know the current  actuarial and epidemiologic data.  Life expectancy at age 65 for males is about 18-20 years based upon old data, and it is my experience that the older data are unreliable.  Even at age 70 the median life expectancy using those old data is more like 16 years, so they're at least off by a year , and that's a 50% mortality rate in 16 years (definition of the median), not 100%.  Check out the obituaries online in the NY Times or your local newspaper  for the sizable population of people dying in their 90s.  Unheard of in previous centuries/decades.  Good news if you prefer living as opposed to the contrary.

That said, people in their 80s and 90s likely spend much more on health care than they do on hobbies, so we'll have to wait and see what the effect of an aging demographic is on the hobby.  Local college has a model railroading club and about 20-30 members under the age of 22.  HO, of course.  But that's where many of us started as young adults.  The sky ain't falling, at least not yet.

Rusty Traque posted:

John Knapp posted:

 

   Atlas needs to find a cooperative factory or move production to another country or back home, without affecting final pricing to the consumer.

 

And just how would they do that seeing tooling made in China stays in China?

Manufacturing is more than just the factory that does the decoration and assembly.  Even moving to another factory in China (assuming the original factory doesn't "lose" the tools) would require setting up a new supply chain.

Rusty

     I just read here where Lionel is making product in Eastern Europe. If an uncooperative factory is on the verge of putting you out of business, as is the case here, it may be time for new tooling or a new cooperative factory somewhere else, or both! (in the case of my friend, an uncooperative Chinese factory DID put his company out of business!)

John

"I just read here where Lionel is making product in Eastern Europe."

John, I think what you've read is referencing to Lionel's recent failed attempt to have some rolling stock produced in Romania, which turned out to be a mistake. Lionel tried and was unable to get their tooling out of Romania, so now according to Lionel, the tooling has to be re-created. The scale milk reefer is one of these cars and the other I believe is the one of the modern bathtub coal gondolas.

brianel_k-lineguy posted:

"I just read here where Lionel is making product in Eastern Europe."

John, I think what you've read is referencing to Lionel's recent failed attempt to have some rolling stock produced in Romania, which turned out to be a mistake. Lionel tried and was unable to get their tooling out of Romania, so now according to Lionel, the tooling has to be re-created. The scale milk reefer is one of these cars and the other I believe is the one of the modern bathtub coal gondolas.

Brian:

    Thanks for the reply. So now let's hope Atlas O does the same as Lionel and "re-creates" their tooling and sets it up in a friendlier environment. Otherwise, I would surely miss those great detailed "Steam Era Classics" and other items from Atlas O!

John

Their track performs well too. I have some of it and their switches on my layout. Very seldom have any trouble with any of it. I recommend it, as a matter of fact.

VistaDomeScott posted:

I would have ordered an NS SD40 if done high nose.  NS fans like the high nose versions.

Are  you saying NS sticks their nose up at other roads? 

John Pignatelli JR. posted:

VistaDomeScott posted:

I would have ordered an NS SD40 if done high nose.  NS fans like the high nose versions.

Are  you saying NS sticks their nose up at other roads? 

...and rightfully so !    ;-)

Beth,

I'm not seeing the GP-7s on your pre-order page.

Don

I have tried several times over the past couple of years to pre-order GP7s from different dealers and was always told they couldn't get any more ordered. IF Atlas opened up the pre-orders again then why didn't they announce it? I used to love Atlas, but this past decade has been a debacle... 

This is a free market and IMHO Scott Mann at 3rd rail is going to put Atlas out of the O scale engine market. The only hope they have is making a lower cost Trainman product. Why would I buy an Atlas engine over one of Scott's (except the fact that I prefer ESU to QSI)? His will be far superior.

Personally, if I want an O scale engine I'd rather wait for Scott to make it. Better yet, ask him to make something! He is open to making anything that he can get orders for. AND he has a track record of delivering within a year or two of announcing a product, not canceling after 5 years.

Sorry Atlas, I'm done waiting.

Jonathan - I've installed a large number of QSI decoders in my roster and would consider purchasing recent Sunset ones from you should you want to swap them out for ESU ones.   

The only issue with Sunset Models is they seem to be successful with first generation diesels. They have not been successful with second and third generation diesels. I hope that will change.

John Pignatelli JR. posted:

And as someone at York supposedly said...."in 15 years, everyone here will be dead".  So IDK where this is all going.

 

O ya, I have plans on being here another 25 or 30 .   I am glad I did not go to York or I may have went earlier their saying, gulp. 

Ha! My dad said something along those lines last Friday. And it was a true statement as it relates to him and 90% of people that were with us in the blue hall that day.