My thoughts on the AtlasO CZ passenger cars

Dave

 

Thank you for the review.

 

The Pennsylvania Limited frequently carried a CZ sleeper car on through service to NYC.

 

List revision: (at least for many of us)

 

Pros---scale sized so O72 is the minimum you can run these on

         

Cons---scale sized so 0-72 is the minimum you can run these on

 

(But about 0-108 to look right)

 

 

Your right Charlie and atlasO has made the Pennsylvania car also.

All you have to do is live long enough for them all to get on the market!

(let alone any follow-up lines)

Production has been exceedingly slow.

Hi Dave,

 

How about some photos of these passenger cars.

 

 

Thanks, Alex

Yeah thers is a con.... no passengers in the cars!

I'll post some pics next week as soon as I unpack a few more.

 

dave

I didnt want be like every one else, running a cal zep, so I got 3 domes so far and relettered them Burlington and re-named them for twin city zep cars.

 

"Yeah thers is a con.... no passengers in the cars"

whoa!  that is a BIG con!!

I am with Breezinup.....it is taking too long for a complete set much less other road names.  This is why I decided not to buy the cars....even though they are really very nice. 

 

Alan

I got a couple to run with an excursion train behind the 611, 3751, or my 4449. Otherwise, I don't NEED any more passenger cars.

 

I believe it was the Broadway Limited.  From Wikipedia: "In 1902 the Pennsylvania Limited was replaced by the Pennsylvania Special which was replaced in 1912 by the Broadway Limited, the most famous train operated by the PRR.  This train operated from New York City to Chicago via Philadelphia, with an additional Harrisburg-Washington, D.C. (connection) dubbed the Liberty Limited." 

If they come out with any of the three cars my wife and I road on, I will buy them just for show. Don

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...zMi4Qi_9DUB_vs5FpHKA

I have no connection with the California Zephyr, but I really do like the cars.  So I'm just getting a few of the unlettered versions to create a Business Train I'll letter for my Penn American Railroad. 

 

So far I have the PRR 10-6 Sleeper "Silver Rapids" (which can be used on other trains as needed) and two unlettered Dome Chair Cars.

 

On order is an unlettered diner (I gotta eat when I'm traveling on official (or un-official) railroad business) and when available I'll add the unlettered Dome Chair Car with Conductor's Window and the observation car to complete my train.

 

For motive power I plan to use my MTH PRR ABBA set of tuscan F3's.  I don't believe the PRR had tuscan F3's, so it'll look like a specially painted locomotive set for the Business Train.  

My understanding is that NY Central came into LaSalle Street station in Chicago, while CB&Q used Union Station. How were the through sleepers between the NYC and the Cal Zephyr routed in Chicago??? Just curious....  A similar situation must have existed for the Santa Fe (Dearborn Station) and NYC.

Unless some serious revisions have been made, the dome ends on the dome cars have shape issues. Last time I saw these cars at York, they had not fixed this. Anyway the cars otherwise look good to me, and hopefully this leads to a generic Budd 10-6 or coach release at some time in the near future.

Make that PAINFULLY slow! 

 

However, one of my LHS's just called me yesterday to inform me that the new intermodal containers are now in-stock -- both the 40-footers and 45-footers.  So I'll be picking up a bunch next week.    Still waiting on the blue CSX Gunderson 5-car set though.  No word on that, except Atlas-O's website which is showing a June 2013 delivery.  But I'd feel better when they at least show they're "on the water".

 

Hopefully, this is a good sign that the log-jam is breaking for Atlas-O product shipments, and they're FINALLY shipping some product again.

 

David

jaygee.....you mention in your post above problems with the dome ends...??  Since I am not an expert on these things, what is wrong with the domes?  I thought a very long discussion took place about getting the cars dimensions, etc. correct way before they were produced.  What happened???  Any info on this would be appreciated since I would like to get a few of the cars but if they are not correct then.....????

 

Thanks,

Alan

I gotta assume that Atlas would have the latest revision of this model on display at York. If so then the issue is NOT really solved.  Other builders can get this detail sorted out...why a problem?  Would need to see the latest cars being brought in and the correct views to make a determination on this. Pix please, if anyone has 'em !

My compliments to all of you who ordered this set. You sure have a lot of patience. I remember when it was first introduced at the TCA Museum presentations and the whole set was projected to be out in a couple of years. That was so many years back that I do not remember just when. I am sure those who did wait it out are happy with this set.

 

I chose not to wait it out and I got a set of 21" K-Line CZ cars that I am ecstatic about. This is no way takes away from this product.

Rumor mill here,

 

The next 2 cars after the diner and 16 section sleeper will be the dome observation and the baggage; and that will be the end of it.  No dome dormitory or dome coach with conductors window and no 6-5 sleeper.  Those cars are unique to the CZ so there is less other use for them and not even enough people who are buying the whole train would buy many of those anyway because they are so similar to what is already available.

 

The molds for the cars were not made as modular or slide molds so a complete new set of molds has to be made for each individual car.

Watch my YouTube California Zephyr video with Atlas O cars.

 

Any real or percieved issues with these cars or any of the products Atlas produces are highly unlikely to see revisions once the original tooling is produced, To my knowledge no later run of any car or loco has had any cosmetic upgrades to the original model, it is possible someone else may have additional insight on this.

I just didn't have the patience to buy cars piecemeal over what has been such an elongated chunk of time.  Having said that though, I really think Atlas-O raised the bar relative to what O-scale passenger cars should look like for the given price point.  Next step up are the products from GGD, which are admittedly in a league of their own (along with their prices accordingly).

 

As to any dome issues?  Wow... This is news to me, as I thought ALL that stuff had been hashed out ad-nauseum back when Atlas-O was showing factory samples YEARS ago.  I can recall guys doing all kinds of acrobatics if they saw a rivet out of place -- not to mention what would happen if there was something amiss with the dome.    Check the archives here... I'm sure you'll find some of those discussions -- unless they were over on the Atlas-O forum which is now history.

 

I'd have to agree that by now, any issue someone has with these models that involves any kind of "re-tooling" per se is all but a lost cause.  The cars are what they are.  And up 'till now, I've heard nothing but positive reviews about them.  I saw a few at the Allentown Spring Thaw 2013 show, and they looked fantastic.

 

David

How many cars are there supposed in the AtlasO CZ set? 

 

I hope Atlas makes the dome with the lounge and crew dorm.  It doesn't have an entrance door so it looks different from the other domes.  The sleeper cars also look  different because of window spacing.

 

http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum...c.asp?TOPIC_ID=68846

https://ogrforum.com/t...in-1?reply=lastReply

While I can't respond directly to the NYC-to-CZ(CB&Q) Chicago connection, I can give an idea of what the through cars...and their passengers...would experience.

 

Dad rode from Washington, D.C. to the west coast on business at least once a year in the late 40's, early 50's.  He would leave Union Station (D.C.) on B&O's Capitol Limited, boarding a shiny Santa Fe sleeper.  (The gorgeous stainless car was both an anomaly as well as a jewel in an otherwise unbroken string of immaculate blue/gray imagery)  The train arrived at Grand Central on the following AM.  The Super Chief would not depart until late afternoon.  

 

Dad said the B&O porter would give the sleeper's passengers two options:  They could stay quarantined in the car while it was shunted over to the Dearborn Station yards where it would be assembled into 'the Super'.  Or, they could leave their luggage on board the car, but depart themselves at Grand Central, find their own way to Dearborn Station, and enjoy the sights/stores/restaurants of Chicago for the several intervening hours.  There would be no heat or air conditioning (seasonal) on the sleeper for the shunting move until 'The Super' was in its place at the Dearborn platform, ready for departure.

 

Needless to say, most everyone left the train and stretched their legs in Chicago, taking a cab (locally referred to as 'A Parmalee') from GC to Dearborn.  Yet, that sleeper was, indeed, Dad's private room for three nights/days coast-to-coast. 

 

Through cars were extremely important to the several railroads that accommodated them.  I'm not sure how much transfer time was allowed by schedule for the Chicago moves, but I'm quite sure that the through sleeper was a departure schedule-buster if, for any reason, it's arrival at Chicago was delayed.  As such, if the transfer time was too tight, I'm sure passengers were advised/required to remain on board the car for the shunting move.  I don't recall Dad experiencing such a delay/crunch, but it might have happened.  In those days passenger trains generally ruled the rails with scheduling priority.

 

BTW, the B&O's arrival path into Chicago must have been somewhat close to the yard activities of Dearborn.  Mom and we three kids would make a similar trip each year when going to visit her family/relatives in Wisconsin; except we road coach...The Columbian.  As our 'Beano' train drifted towards Grand Central Station, I remember seeing all those gorgeous warbonnet Santa Fe units burbling on ready tracks, the shiny all-silver trains in the Pullman/coach cleaning yards.  We were more rushed, though, in our transfer.  The morning arrival at Grand Central required a mad dash from Grand Central to Union Station to catch the morning Twin Cities Zephyr (Burlington). 

 

Yep, Mom really earned a Mothers' Day award for herding three young kids and a bunch of luggage, running down the long GC platform, piling into a cab, unloading everything at Union, tipping the Red Caps along the way, racing to the gate, down the platform, piling on board the silver Zephyr, etc., etc..

 

Ah, memories.

 

KD

 

Why do half the train....if you're going to leave it half finished?  Can't figure Atlas out on any of this.  Glad I didn't decide to jump in. Atlas HAS fixed previous models with tooling issues in the past; case in point: the cab on the SD35.  OTOH, they never have shown any interest in fixing the cab on the FM Train Master...which is even more"wrong" than the EMD cab was. I got the BLI version of this train in HO, and it's a more accurate, and complete set than the Atlas O set...too bad.  At least they did a really terrific job on the RSD15, especially for the money!

Interesting I have an original 1st run Conrail SD-35 and I was not aware of an issue with the cab. I know the model rode too high on the trucks something Atlas addressed on their newer Diesels SD-40 and GP-60 engines which I have also. The late Jim Weaver had promised directional lighting on the later SD-40 unpowered units [this did not happen when I recieved my CSX units an Atlas rep told me it would have been too expensive to add]

Chicago had an intricate network of trackage that connected various railroads in the city. For example, the Rock Island and New York central had access to the Sanata Fe Coach yard which was South of Dearborn Station. New York Centarl could also access ther St Charles Airline( IC) which connected with the CB&Q and PRR yards at Roosevelt Road. 

 

The NYC- Santa Fe transfer was likely made through the Santa Fe coach yard . The other IC connection would allow NYC access to Union Station for transfers for cars coming and going to Trains operating from Union Station including the California Zephyr. PRR also handled Santa Fe cars and would have to use this link to get to the Santa Fe Yard as well. NYC and UP also Interchanged cars starting in the C&NW era and later when the Milwaikee handled UP trains.

I like the Atlas Cars and plan to mix them with the Lionel cars if lionel ever gets theirs out. I have Atlas cars in hand and on the track.

I bought a couple of the 1st run cars with the window blinds on the outside of the window. I took the cars apart to add some passengers, and replace the windows that I just received from Atlas. Here's a pic of the side of the car with the old blinds, and the new blinds.

 

Click on the picture to make it full size and you'll really notice the difference! 

 

 

I should of checked the blinds placement before I filled the car with passengers lol You can't see half of them anyway with the blinds down. The dome looks good though. Waiting for glue to dry so I can put it back together and take a photo for ya.