Atlas Open Letter...Reports of Their Demise Greatly Exaggerated

Actually Atlas stayed on with Sandar Kan for a period of time partly because Kadar Holdings also controlled the factory that was doing HO and N guage work for Atlas, unfortunately Atlas got very limited production time and the situation ultimately became untennable for them. As the letter points out this has been a long and difficult project for Atlas to set up new suppliers and production facilities. Based on their current shipping schedule they only have 12 models[rolling stock and engines] listed through the 3rd Q of 2015 this does not include the 4 cars they should be shipping out by the end of Dec or early Jan. Obiviously the 2 biggest items we would expect to see early 2015 are the Cal Zep cars and the GE-8, if that happens I would say they are back!

Atlas, if you read this, please reissue the Clinchfield SD40, and consider a Purple/silver Atlantic Coast Line GP-7. Wouldn't mind reissues of Southern and SAL SD35 and GP35 as well.

I'm a big fan of Atlas products. My HO layout was 100% Atlas track and a number of locos, cars and structures.

I am using a few of their crossovers on my O 3R layout as they were cheaper and my dealer had them in stock. (when  I bought them 6 months ago it was the last bit of Atlas O track he had!)

We need Atlas in the hobby....so I hope they get going at 100% again soon.

NOT wanting to get into a political bash fest......but dealing with China is a blessing and a curse. We do it and it has ranged from working with some fantastic folks to the most frustrating thing I've ever done. Working with companies in China would fill a big book........

This is certainly good news for the hobby, thanks for sharing.  Now my next statement may be asinine and if so can be attributed to my lack of expertise in oversees manufacturing, especially in the model railroading space.  

Here goes …

Would it not be beneficial for Lionel, MTH, Atlas, Bachman, 3^rd Rail, etc … to get together and lease a single space and hire a single company to do all their manufacturing?  This kind of volume would certainly be beneficial from a cost perspective for these companies.  This could also have a positive impact on employee morale at these companies, maybe leading to better quality???  Positive impact on employee moral because of better wages, longer term contracts, better working conditions and some sort of employment guarantee.  A lot more I could write but it is just a thought ….. Maybe I am completely wrong and nuts .... 

Years ago... long before all this nonsense recently surfaced with overseas factories, I often joked tongue-in-cheek that there really only was ONE factory that built all our toy trains.  And anytime one of the executives flew over to China to check things out, the factory would switch signs and have a big "welcome banner" in the lobby for whichever executive was visiting that week.  

Obviously, there's a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes maneuvering that goes on to properly represent one's interests overseas.  And it's not all as wonderful as it's made out to be.  Competitive business is a harsh reality no matter where the key players reside.

David 

What executive, facing a contract renewal with a major vendor, would not build a substantial inventory to cover the loss of that vendor for a significant period of time in the event negotiations ended as these did for Atlas?  Sure, you'll have a bloated inventory that will need to be drawn down over time if negotiations result in a continued relationship with that vendor.  And if you don't build that inventory, and the relationship comes to an end, basically your dealers and customers are screwed until you find an alternate vendor, move manufacturing equipment, etc.  With the bloated inventory, you would be able to meet customer requirements while sourcing another vendor who should have been identified long ago.

Yes, it's good that Atlas has communicated with you; but, they ought to have managed their O scale/gauge business much, much better.

I got basically the same email last year and one sometime before that.  The proof is in the deliveries not the words.

If this latest news bear fruti, I am very happy for Atlas.

Unfortunately, as rdunniii stated, and pingman alluded to above, we've sort of heard this before.

I heard it when I was getting ready to build a big layout with Atlas O track.

It became very frustrating having to try and find bit and piece here and there.

I kept being told, Atlas will be ramping up very shortly, have patience.  So I did.

Then I tried again.  "Have patience, they'll be ramping up soon."

I finally gave up after almost a year of having patience and went with another track system.

I sure would have hated to be a newcomer to the hobby and see Atlas track and want it, only to find you can't have it.