Atlas O MP 15

Feel better now you've got that off your chest??

I don't know about runs of small/obscure users, but one common concept I like, that has never caught on here in Britain, is to supply locos and stock Undecorated. That makes a lot of sense to me, & I wish they were easier to get hold of.

A question regarding the Atlas MP15:

 

Since the AAR Type A [ switcher ]  truck has a wb of 8 ft and a Blomberg B is 9 ft, did Atlas

 

A.  Shorten the Blombergs under MP15's to fit their existing switcher truck gearbox ?

 

          or

 

B.  Create a new truck gearbox for a correct-sized Blomberg ?

 

I think the answer is A, but I'm not sure. 

 

SZ

Thats why they make paint and decals!!

I'm with Phill on this one! Atlas announces a rerun of their MP15's decorated with a bunch of obscure railroad lines while omitting Union Pacific, Southern Pacific and other major lines which operated this yard switcher. I know they previously released this switcher a few years back with big time RR names but it makes absolutely no sense to me for them to re-release this model now for Beth or Union RR. If its not to much to ask an undecorated version would be most welcomed!

 

Sorry, but this makes no sense - period.

I'd be all over that NS version but I don't run DCC. I considered removing it to sell. I have a pile of engines that need work so I can't justify it right now.

 I wished Atlas would have kept the standard DC 2 rail versions. I understand the gold RTR as a better choice for most users.

The answer is "B".  There are two sizes of gearboxes.  One with an 8'-0" wheelbase used with AAR type A sideframes on the sw8/9's and the Flexicoil frames for the sw1200rs.  The second has a 9'-0" wheelbase and is used for the Blomberg trucks on the mp15dc.  The gear boxes are exactly the same design except for wheelbase.  And consequently the idler gears are a slightly different diameter to account for the slightly longer distance between centers.

 

Which makes it all the more maddening that other Atlas gp offerings use the two motor drive system.  The tooling already exists for the Blomberg gear box.

 

One of my ideas along the way was to scavenge spare trucks from the mp15dc to retrofit Atlas f unit drives.  Modify the frame to mount the trucks and motor, lengthen the drive shafts incrementally, and theoretically one would have the same performance out of an f3 or gp9 as from the mp15dc.

 

Of course finding whole mp15dc's let alone spare parts is a rare event.  I haven't checked in a while, but previously Atlas didn't have any spare parts of any sort in stock for the them.

 

I've got a stash of them that I've purchased off ebay and elsewhere.  One will be a donor for a frame for a scratch/bash of UPY 2005.  Several others (standard hood - no air filter box) will be cut down to bash into sw1500's.  The rest I don't even really know what I will do with.

 

Jim

I wonder if perhaps Atlas understands their market better than we do?  If I was as good as they are at what they do, I would just compete, and put them out of business.

I hate admit it, because I like Atlas freight cars, but I have to agree with Phill that they have done nothing to excite me in a few years.   I bought the new number paint jobs on the PRR H21 and X29, but have seen nothing new that makes me want to whip out my checkbook.

 

I am not at all interested in 2 motor drives, so their locos leave me pretty cold except for the SW9 which I have 2 of.

Atlas MP15DC offering.  Click on the underlined.   My age, living in western PA, 3 out of 4 hit the mother lode.  Obviously a offering that relates to Steel at it's peak 1970 to 1980, Pittsburgh, Beaver Valley, and north to Sharon, PA.  IMO.  I talked to Dave @ Mercer Junction about the Union RR offering, he has done several custom Union RR. I had noted that the detail on the Union RR offering was not what he had modeled.  He explained, it's a later paint, street named the Ronald McDonald Paint scheme.

Also note that Atlas offers undecorated models.

30133000

Undecorated  - Standard Hood

I hope this works well for them. 

 

I got these pictures, SW 1500, at Conway Yard a few years ago.

 

Custom Paint Atlas SW9's Montour RR is also a Western PA favorite.

 

This repair project crossed my work bench early this year. Burlington, relatively close to CBQ mentioned by the OP.  From the delrin hand rails this SW dates to probably 2002.   Atlas has been doing SW's, of some kind, for a lot of years, Late 1990's.  At this time, you would think, save for additional cab numbers of the main line railroads, searching for roads, (that would sell), is limited. As I stated previous, they do offer undecorated, but they also have to be pre-ordered. 

 

IMO. First rule of being self-employed or any business for that matter. "You can never please everyone". IMO.  Closely connected to that statements is: "You are not allowed to voice the first statement".  IMO.  Mike CT

 

I think it's funny when a catalog comes out, some people love it, some people hate it.  I guess we all have to wait our turn.  I'm just happy that somebody at Atlas was thinking about me this time.  

 

Give them a call or talk to them at shows.  If they get enough requests, they will make it.

 

Respectfully,

 

Dave

 

 

This is the problem with modeling in a minority scale--most of the product is either next to impossible to find (as there was one limited production run of twelve pieces back in 2003), or it's promised but never delivered--or worse, finally delivered 12 years past the due date with some major flaw.

 

I think modelers in 2-Rail O scale have to learn to adapt their modeling preferences to align with reality, or learn the skills necessary to scratchbuild or modify the product that is available into the model they want. That's the price of admission when working in a minority scale.

 

In the meantime I'll keep looking for my O scale MRS MP15dc locos, because O scale has forced me to become a patient man.

 

Jeff C

'Modeling in a minority scale' aside Atlas for whatever reason chose to intentionally limit importing their 2-rail MP15ac or dc switchers which to my way of thinking is total rubbish. What kind of rational business plan is that - limiting a product to increase demand is not good business! Case in point, I spent nearly 3 years seriously looking for an SP MP15 with no luck and finally purchased an Overland MP15 I recently saw on ebay. To my way of thinking there is really no excuse for Atlas's business behavior these past few years. Limiting product selection and availability is just plain bad business and certainly not my definition of servicing their customers. Atlas can take an important business lesson from Scott Mann and 3rdRail - i.e. communicate with your customers and tell them why something is or is not happening.

 

So a big rasberry to Atlas!

 

 

Phill,

Since Chicago & North Western (C&NW) was acquired by your favorite railroad, Union Pacific, have you considered reserving that MP15DC? Since the pre-order deadline was past a few weeks ago you might still have a chance. If Atlas-O ever gets to offering & then actually making a Union Pacific MP15DC in one of their future runs, you could sell the C&NW MP15DC. As rare as these models are these days, you might not lose much selling a used 2-rail MP15DC.

 

Leikec,

Like you I have also adapted to some extent, for 2-rail O-Scale. I used to be against pre-ordering any models but with cancelled runs & hard-to-find models these days, I pre-ordered the Golden Gate Depot Hi-Level cars last year & this year I pre-ordered a 2-rail MTH GE Evolution Hybrid. But if were faced with these challenges when I was thinking about entering O-Scale, I would have just stayed in HO-Scale. I remember someone on these forums say that O-Scale was traditionally for scratch-builders. I am not totally convinced that it is just scratch-builders who favor O-Scale or else we wouldn’t have Sunset, Atlas-O or MTH offering ready-to-run O-Scale models. For hobbyists who have invested a lot in O-Scale, they adapt like someone who mentioned on the main 3-rail forum that since there were fewer models available in their most favorite railroad, they ended up modeling a popular road (like Pennsylvania Railroad).

These are just my opinion,

Thanks,

Naveen Rajan

That's the way I feel about Ford.  I always loved Fords, from my 1950 convertible right through my 1966 Mustang convertible.  Then I bought a 2003 Ranger, and from now on it is Nissan or Toyota.

 

Really, if you do not like what a manufacturer is doing, then do not buy its products.

 

In O Scale, you can buy practically anything easily today.  That was not true until eBay came along.

You guys are beginning to sound like S gaugers/scalers...

 

Rusty (one of those guys...)

Naveen, I don't want to put that kind of money up for a model in hopes to be able to sell it in the future. I came to O scale because of Atlas and their production of nice scale models in the scale. I liked the bigger heft of the models as they made one feel like he had more of a model and not a toy. Maybe I should have gone to 1 live steam/diesel then I would only need one or two power units and a few cars. Then again I should have stayed in HO as I sold off so much for so little but I did enjoy the decades I was in the scale. 

With Atlas I have learned now to buy ASAP as one may not get a second chance. Again, look at the  SD 40s. Not even a chance of a -2. or a re run. WHy, were they that bad? Maybe I should be thankful for no models up my way as I am saving bucks. Heck, I got nearly 150 cars and a dozen engines, way more than I can ever run or put on my unfinished layout. 

 

To be honest I wrote my post specifically to address O scale, but my experiences in S scale were on my mind...

 

Jeff C

Yeah, I wondered about Atlas going that route too;  when the MP15 was first announced I thought that it was going to be a China drive.....

 

You may get an e-mail from me later this week on the repowering-with-the-MP15- gear tower concept, but with a slightly different approach.

 

With best regards, SZ