I'm just glad they're able to keep these productions going.
Welcome to the forum! Yep, MTH's passenger cars were outstanding. I hope Atlas does them justice.
Welcome to the forum DCFD!
Even though these cars are not scale I am somewhat interested in them because I have ridden on both the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern, and the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway and I have a RBM&N locomotive on pre-order. I was looking at on line photos of the prototype and I noticed almost all of the pictures I saw show the prototype with 4 wheel trucks. Some of the LGSR cars have some strange looking trucks that I have never seen before. I doubt that models of those trucks are available in O scale but I could be wrong. I wonder if in the deal Atlas made with MTH if they have access to all MTH trucks (sorry—if that was mentioned I missed it) and if Atlas will consider using 4 wheel trucks where appropriate? Just talking here and not knocking the cars. I am happy they will get made for the folks who want them. I am just on the fence about them.
@Hudson J1e posted:Welcome to the forum DCFD!
Some of the LGSR cars have some strange looking trucks that I have never seen before. I doubt that models of those trucks are available in O scale but I could be wrong.
Are those the ones that look lile stretched-out freight trucks? I think those are former electric MU cars.
---PCJ
@Hudson J1e posted:I wonder if in the deal Atlas made with MTH if they have access to all MTH trucks (sorry—if that was mentioned I missed it) and if Atlas will consider using 4 wheel trucks where appropriate? Just talking here and not knocking the cars. I am happy they will get made for the folks who want them. I am just on the fence about them.
I don’t have an answer but MTH does have a 4 wheel passenger truck they use on the R50B express reefer. I don’t know if they’re prototypical on coaches though.
Atlas did some 60' passenger cars. What trucks did they put on those?
@RailRide posted:Are those the ones that look lile stretched-out freight trucks? I think those are former electric MU cars.
---PCJ
PCJ, yes that’s exactly what they look like to me. My friend is a big railfan and he told me that some of these cars are former electric MU cars so you are right about that.
Rplst8, yes you are correct but I don’t think they are prototypical for passenger cars. I could be wrong though. And MTH also has the 4 wheel trucks from the 19th century passenger cars. Probably not prototypical either.
Oman, good question. On the 60’ Atlas cars they did use 4 wheel trucks. Perhaps Atlas will use those trucks? Hopefully most of these questions will be answered in their next announcement.
I'm already coming up with some ideas for future runs:
- Southern Streamlined Coach (Ribbed - Black Roof)
- Norfolk Southern Full Dome Car (Ribbed Sided)
- Various AAPRCO Cars
- Chessie Steam Special Coach "150th Birthday of American Railroading"
@rplst8 posted:I don’t have an answer but MTH does have a 4 wheel passenger truck they use on the R50B express reefer. I don’t know if they’re prototypical on coaches though.
The MTH passenger truck on the R50B is the PRR 2D-P5 standard truck that was used for many decades as the standard passenger trucks under the R50s, B60 baggages, and the P70 coaches. They are specific to the PRR.
@Hudson J1e posted:And MTH also has the 4 wheel trucks from the 19th century passenger cars. Probably not prototypical either.
Oman, good question. On the 60’ Atlas cars they did use 4 wheel trucks. Perhaps Atlas will use those trucks? Hopefully most of these questions will be answered in their next announcement.
The MTH trucks are close, but the details are a bit outdated. The truck under most of those cars is the standard AAR 4 wheel passenger truck. I am using MTH 2 rail trucks on some All Nation cars I am working and they are close enough for me. The Atlas trucks are similar and likely a little more accurate for the era. All Nation's 4 wheel trucks are great, but they are not as easy to find based on the age of the castings.
The cars are mostly former Bethlehem steel commuter cars that were found on the Reading and CNJ.
@Oman posted:Atlas did some 60' passenger cars. What trucks did they put on those?
I Have a few Atlas 60' Reading and Northern coaches. they have the correct 2 wheel trucks. the only cars equipped with 3 wheel trucks are the pullman and office cars. As for the LGSR 2 wheel trucks, they are strange but i did see a model of them somewhere. not sure where though. pick up those LGSR while you can. from what i see going on, RBMN is repainting all the blue ones into the dark red color.
@GG1 4877 posted:The MTH passenger truck on the R50B is the PRR 2D-P5 standard truck that was used for many decades as the standard passenger trucks under the R50s, B60 baggages, and the P70 coaches. They are specific to the PRR.
I read that those trucks were also used on the P58 coaches. Transplanting them onto one of the MTH 70’ Madison coaches could make something slightly more prototypical I guess.
This is great to see Atlas jumping in with new MTH tooling. I wonder if the paint quality and attention to detail will be better.
I would like to see some CB&Q madisons to go along with my Atlas 0-6-0 steam engine that I love so much.
Ah, someone else has all the good stuff!
My understanding was that Atlas was going to produce the 70' Madison's to complement the MTH Pacifics that were just announced. MTH is producing a Maine Central Pacific. Where are the Maine Central Madisons??
@rattler21 posted:MTH heavyweight baggage cars are all but clones of the Williams cars. John
Didn't MTH take over the Madison car tooling from Williams while it was being made at Samhongsa? (sic?) They came in those "Custom Trains" or something boxes.
That's where he got the Weaver E8 tooling with the big "eyebrows" over the windows too IIRC.
@BobbyD posted:Didn't MTH take over the Madison car tooling from Williams while it was being made at Samhongsa? (sic?) They came in those "Custom Trains" or something boxes.
That's where he got the Weaver E8 tooling with the big "eyebrows" over the windows too IIRC.
This history must go back quite a few years. I got back into the train hobby in the late 90s and don’t remember hearing of these acquisitions.
Williams never made Betterment style heavyweight cars. AFAIK only MTH had made these in 18”.
Pete
@BobbyD posted:Didn't MTH take over the Madison car tooling from Williams while it was being made at Samhongsa? (sic?) They came in those "Custom Trains" or something boxes.
That's where he got the Weaver E8 tooling with the big "eyebrows" over the windows too IIRC.
I don't think that is the case since Williams by Bachmann has offered many of the same heavyweight cars Williams did originally.
@BobbyD posted:Didn't MTH take over the Madison car tooling from Williams while it was being made at Samhongsa? (sic?) They came in those "Custom Trains" or something boxes.
That's where he got the Weaver E8 tooling with the big "eyebrows" over the windows too IIRC.
@SGP posted:I don't think that is the case since Williams by Bachmann has offered many of the same heavyweight cars Williams did originally.
The Bachmann heavyweights got from Williams were clones of the Postwar 2627 Lionel Madison cars.
MTH got the Williams scale-proportioned 70 footer cars.
Rusty
@C_Murley posted:I Have a few Atlas 60' Reading and Northern coaches. they have the correct 2 wheel trucks. the only cars equipped with 3 wheel trucks are the pullman and office cars.
Not sure what the Pullman and office cars are. I haven't seen any of these sets that have those cars. I have the Milwaukee Atlas 60' set - and I think this was true for all the different railroads done in this line - the RPO and baggage have 6-wheel trucks. All the rest have 4-wheel trucks.
i was refering to the "real" ones. all of rbmn's passenger cars are 4 axle trucks except the business cars. they have 6 axle.
