Atlas-O Santa Fe F-7's: October 2016 York Preview

Paint job looks great.  I think they did a very nice job of dulling the ss on the side panels.

I will have more comments in the morning.

Good nite.

 The only thing I notice right off is the grills. They were not painted. I personally think they look great painted to match but the real ones were not.

Love the close coupling and knowing they come with fixed pilots in the box, fantastic. Body mounted steps, fantastic! Stainless panels look fantastic! Stripes along the bottom stop at the doors, perfect!

Thanks for the photos David... they look awesome.

I can't wait for the PRR units to arrive! If the F's are as stunning as these ATSF units, I might have to dump the Chincy Lionel Legacy ones.... esp if the Atlas O units have red marker lights. the lionel's have amber!

Curse you Dave!  Now I want a set of SF !

Look like real beauties!

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

I can't wait for the PRR units to arrive! If the F's are as stunning as these ATSF units, I might have to dump the Chincy Lionel Legacy ones.... esp if the Atlas O units have red marker lights. the lionel's have amber!

I like the Lionel F7's  let me know when you "dump them"

The Atlas F7's look great! But WHAT is with the saggy  pilots? Can we get those fixed to the body please?

Now that I'm into 2-rail, I'd like to see a fixed pilot, scale-wheel, scale-coupler version of this model. It looks like a superb fit and finish but we've seen pre-production models of the Trainman Dash-8 40CW's and there still is no word on their arrival.

catnap posted:

Now that I'm into 2-rail, I'd like to see a fixed pilot, scale-wheel, scale-coupler version of this model. It looks like a superb fit and finish but we've seen pre-production models of the Trainman Dash-8 40CW's and there still is no word on their arrival.

I thought that Atlas offers both 3-Rail AND 2-Rail models.

Laidoffsick posted:

 The only thing I notice right off is the grills. They were not painted. I personally think they look great painted to match but the real ones were not.

Love the close coupling and knowing they come with fixed pilots in the box, fantastic. Body mounted steps, fantastic! Stainless panels look fantastic! Stripes along the bottom stop at the doors, perfect!

Thanks for the photos David... they look awesome.

Correct, an easy fix on Atlas part to install unpainted grills.

http://www.railpictures.net/photo/450959/

Like the first F's and paint scheme myself with the big Warbonnet.

http://www.atsfrr.net/resources/funits/gfx/p28f1.jpg

Right. I have 4 Atlas 2-rail locomotives (SD40's) preordered for next year. I have an Atlas 2-rail GP35 and I'm looking to add another soon.

I'd like to see the 2-rail model of the F7. It could be any road name, not just ATSF.

Beautiful models - Thanks David!

Ive got a set on order

Dear Atlas,

With that F7 frame.. you know have the foundation for the CF-7 Model of which many regional and shortline RR's had.. including of course, the Santa Fe! Would be a great model! Has a couple Cab types too..  Has some great modeling possibilities and a ton of road names..  DB

Outstanding looks but if I was interested I'd be buying it as a operator, not for a static display and more interested in its internals?   Is it a 4 motor like MTH or a 2 motor under powered overpriced Lionel clone with generic sound?   

Joe 

The side panel joints are wrong.  As a result, the "Indian Head" overlaps the joint.  It also causes the Santa Fe lettering on the  B unit to be split incorrectly.  Doug is right on as far as the screens being painted is a mistake.  As for the droopy pilots, not a problem ALL the A units come with a second pilot that can be fixed to the body.

Everything considered they look better and have fewer flaws than the 3rd Rail version released last year.

Wow, those are beautiful! I wonder how they measure up to my 2353s?  (Yes, I know these are F7s.....)

Just took another look and noticed that the steps on the B unit are not aligned with the door.  Easy to spot in pictures 5, 6 and 7 that Rocky posted.

Should the red be that dark?

I just snapped this picture of the 2 Rail Rio Grande. 

Both the Rio Grande and Pennsy have the same problem on the B unit ladders.  I suspect that there are 2 places to mount the ladders on the truck side frames.  If that IS the case it would be an easy fix for the consumer. 

If not, then Atlas needs to clean that up pronto.  

I sure hope Atlas makes a correction on this...........................

That issue with the trucks and sideframe ladders looks like they have the left and right side truck sideframes on that particular truck mixed up- swap them out and they should line up--

Hudson J1e posted:

I just snapped this picture of the 2 Rail Rio Grande. 

Thanks for the pics of the 2-rail models. They look much better than the 3-rail.

I guess the dampers on the truck sideframes are supposed to line up with the steps...Like mentioned above, it's probably just a matter of swapping out the left and right sideframes.

These are great-looking models, "imperfections" and "inaccuracies" withstanding. 

I guarantee that I could find a $2500 brass model and pick it apart for discrepancies from the prototype.

Has anyone said when these beauties will be delivered?

Norm

The Atlas side steps are normally body/frame mounted right, not truck mounted??? Right? So they mounted the steps in the wrong hole. Not a big deal as long as the holes are drilled and tapped in the correct location.

JC642 posted:

Outstanding looks but if I was interested I'd be buying it as a operator, not for a static display and more interested in its internals?   Is it a 4 motor like MTH or a 2 motor under powered overpriced Lionel clone with generic sound?   

Joe 

Atlas F units are sold individually, not in a set. Each unit has dual motors. So I ordered 37LABC, 3 powered and 1 dummy. You choose how many powered engines you want or need.

I went downstairs to take some pics of my Athearn Genesis Santa Fe F7's to help illustrate some of the comments I posted about the Atlas F7's.

This one shows the the "Grill" applied "AFTER" the body was painted.  Just like the real units. 

The next one shows proper placement of the ladders on the B unit.

The next two show the proper seams on the side panels and how the "Indian Head" (not overlapping the seam) and how the SANTE FE lettering should appear.  Note the seam is between the SANTA | FE.

I don't know if Atlas can correct all the flaws.  But I strongly feel that the Grill would be the most important and probably the easiest fix.   It would also provide the most bang -for-the-buck.  Followed by the ladders and side seams.  Fixing the side seams would also fix the Indian Head and the lettering automatically.  However, that would require some re-tooling and extra $$$.  Not to mention a big set-back on the delivery date.  Therefore.... 

    PLEASE do the Grills and we can live with the others.    

Or if you can not fix the grills because the production is too far along, at least offer FREE         replacements (for the do it yourselfers) just as you did for the CZ blinds a few years back.

Thank You. 

Norm posted:

Has anyone said when these beauties will be delivered?

...

Atlas folks at York are still hoping for 4Q2016 / 1Q2017.  As always, the container shipping date bears watching.  That starts what is typically an 8-week countdown to arrival in the USA.  We're already into late-October.  So unless production models were to ship from China this week, it's unlikely we're gonna see these in 2016.  I'm actually planning on June 2017.  So if they arrive sooner, it'll be a pleasant surprise!!!

David

Were the Erie Lackawanna versions of the F-7's there

Sometimes it puzzles me how folks that are OK with 3 rail track, oversized couplers, swinging pilots, big flanges, and cabs with motor shrouds sticking up in them precluding interiors will get so bent out of shape over certain "prototypical" inaccuracies. Everyone is entitled to go about it their own way, but I would think a "good enough" attitude would prevail in 3R. Like I said, puzzling...

So because my track has a middle rail, $400+ per diesel we should have the "good enough" attitude huh? Ummm... NO!

The step is 4 feet from the door and that should be "good enough"?

Jonathon:

This is a classic mistake that many people make… pre-qualifying.

If you (we) are into model railroading then by definition we have already agreed to some concessions. What those concessions are is up to each and every individual.

In the case of two rail, come to the Chicago March meet and I will show you a ton of “good enough”. It won’t be the number of rails, or fixed pilots it will be some other area “operation, sound, decoration, actual construction, availability etc.” Don’t let anybody kid you, there are many concessions we accept regardless of scale.

The mistake you make is assuming that someone operating on three rails will not care about the color of the screens (in the case of the Atlas F7). Rest assured, the two “concessions” are not related, at least to the people that have voiced concern so far. It might not make sense to you, which is fine, but it does to them and that is what matters.

From a manufacturing side, it has got to be a nightmare. The manufactures need to pick which concessions we as hobbyists are willing to overlook for the price paid. Or even harder, how much more are we willing to spend for just a little more accuracy? It is not easy.

Charlie

The stainless look is nice but that pilot is horrendous. aside from Lionels high water trucks and truck mounted ladders I'm not seein the "wow factor"  these Atlas units. Even Lionel got the grill right, pick your flaws I suppose.

If lionel lowered the chassis on the trucks on a legacy release they would be a standup offering

MR-150 posted:

Were the Erie Lackawanna versions of the F-7's there

Yes and they looked pretty good.

Other than the obvious flaws pointed out by previous posters, the painted side grills, miss positioned steps, droopy pilot, something above the pilot just didn't look right. Then I noticed the anticlimber, there's no ribbing!, it's just a solid silver band with a bumper and No Grab handles! That's a huge mistake in my opinion. I realize this is a pre production sample, but I hope Atlas corrects that huge error or this could be a deal breaker for me. 

Well, these are pre-production samples so the misaligned ladders, which I think fasten to the frame, and two-tone grilles on the ATSF F7's can be corrected before they go into full production. I'm thinking that Atlas was aware of these issues but wanted to bring something to York to give people an idea what they look like and that they will eventually be delivered.

Perhaps by next York the finished product will be on display featuring the corrections and ready to ship for a June delivery like was previously mentioned.

jvega2 posted:

Other than the obvious flaws pointed out by previous posters, the painted side grills, miss positioned steps, droopy pilot, something above the pilot just didn't look right. Then I noticed the anticlimber, there's no ribbing!, it's just a solid silver band with a bumper and No Grab handles! That's a huge mistake in my opinion. I realize this is a pre production sample, but I hope Atlas corrects that huge error or this could be a deal breaker for me. 

I think the anti-climbers are there.  They just might be hard to see.  On the SF it looks like half is on the body and half on the pilot.  This is resolved with the fixed pilots.  You can see the front better on the Rio Grande unit.  Look real close and you can see the "teeth".

I actually think the painted grill looks much better than the painted behind the grill look. Especially since there is no wall behind the grill to see paint on on the real loco. Maybe paint the grill recess flat black then install the grills

That might be a full-length cutout on the shell that the grille fits into. In that case, it would have to be painted at the end nearest the cab.

Guys, 

Watch Eric's video and you will see just how sweet these units look after installing the (included FREE) fixed pilots.  You will also see how nice the the anti-climber looks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YefMHgO2sjs