We can still order the new Atlas O F-7s with Pre-Order Pricing through 4/27!

Looks like a great price, give you a call tomorrow. 

Mr. Muffin,  any thoughts when the whole catalog will be up?

 

Thanks,

 

Jim

Okie dokie  A powered- b powered - a unpowered  Guess the road name

That's a bargain pre-paid. I'm deciding on 2 road names, as soon as I can make a choice, I'm in on a A-B set.

Okie dokie  A powered- b powered - a unpowered  Guess the road name

Amtrak no doubt!

Okay - I miss Bob Thatcher too - so I want to be the best Atlas O dealer out there

Is that the best 3-rail Atlas dealer or best Atlas dealer?

Petersen, Public Delivery, the new AmHobbies, the previous owner Bob Thatcher, and Norm's O Scale all offer 2 rail, which you don't seem to offer.

 

I looked to place an order and you didn't list 2 rail.  I had the same experience with a -2 MTH product.

 

You certainly have the drive, convenience, and fast service necessary to be the best.  I was very happy with the Woodland Scenics IGA store.

 

I hope you will chose to include 2 rail.  Either way, I'm glad you're out there!   

I am very interested in the Atlas SF ABBA F7 locs in 3rail.  I have a couple of questions:

* When will they be available?  I hope this will not be a repeat of the CZ car debacle with a wait of several years.

* For the 3 rail F7 A powered units what is the difference between items # 30134013, vs.  30134014, vs. 30134015?

Same question unpowered units #$ 30134046 vs. #30134038?

 

Bob

Why not call him direct?

According to AtlasO the F7's are due 4th qtr. of 2015.

Penn Central or Lackawanna. 

I am very interested in the Atlas SF ABBA F7 locs in 3rail.  I have a couple of questions:

* When will they be available?  I hope this will not be a repeat of the CZ car debacle with a wait of several years.

* For the 3 rail F7 A powered units what is the difference between items # 30134013, vs.  30134014, vs. 30134015?

Same question unpowered units #$ 30134046 vs. #30134038?

Generally a Santa Fe modeler would want a numerically matched set.  Atlas is offering the F7's as #37 or #45.

 

If you choose the #37, you would have to buy 30134013, 30134027, 30134028, 30134038

You would end up with a powered A, 2 powered B's, an unpowered A.

 

If you chose #45, you would end up with 2 powered A's and 2 unpowered B's.

 

When will they be available?  I hope this will not be a repeat of the CZ car debacle with a wait of several years.

Atlas has gone on record as stating they are moving on with a new era.  We will see this year.  I wish them the best.

 

I've already received the new catalog.  It seems the are ready for business. 

 

 

Thanks - I am happy to do two rail anytime and shipped several of the latest MTH offerings in 2 rail not to mention 10 of my Monon's..... It's a lot of keying to re-enter all of this stuff in the website in both 2 and 3 rail - so if you'd like 2 rail just add a comment to the order. I confirm all orders back via email and you will see on the order slip that you have the right version model coming.... 

Odds are the same roadname I am buying..... yes sir!

 

I begged Jim Weaver to ship my Erie F's before he shipped Ben's and he told me "NO!" - those units on display in the booth are Ben's... then he leaned over and whispered - "they're all dummies".... 

I have the same problem - I want the Milwaukee's too....and the Pennsylvania! After EL of course!

The difference is the cab numbers. You either have 37 or 45

Sure like your Atlas prices on engines. How bout your prices on Atlas 3rail track and switches???

JohnJr

Atlas has big plans for O this year.... I got a peek.... I don't think they would be out there with these announcements for the F's right now if they weren't ready to make it happen.... I am taking them seriously.... They make a very high quality product - we know that - and have great custiomer service.... all of my Atlas O diesels have been rock solid and we run them every Saturday for hours and hours.... 

 

By the way - any interest in ordering cases of the hoppers that were announced? I am thinking about offering a special case price - like Kirk used to do..... 

Those are great prices.  Now to decide on a road name.

-Greg

Ok, so since the Santa Fe guys are here... if I wanted 5, is it A-B-B and then an A-B Or A-B-B-A and another A? Or would they have just been broken up and rearranged as needed?

 

I regularly sell the track at 20% off like many of the other folks that are big Atlas dealers.... I think Len Deichman even offers 25% off at times.... The problem now is getting inventory to sell to you guys.... I have piles of O-36 and O-45 turnouts but that's all the turnouts I have left..... Lots of curves incluidng O-63 and up, and a few cases of flex 40" pieces left, but very few 10" pieces. 2 Rail is worse right now. I personally bought some used switches on the Bay for my layout and for customers and I returned more than I kept. When we built the new layout a year ago, Atlas came through with track for me - we needed several thousand dollars more - but it's been tough to get since then.... I am delaying a layour expansion until the track situation gets better....

Jim - it should be soon. The printed copies with the pricing haven't reached the dealers yet.

LOL  I can't believe Bob called me a dummy

Thank you for your reply. I know how difficult it has been to get atlas O72 and atlas 072 or greater switches. But, many are saying that the supply train is right around the corner!?! Who knows. Please take my personal email address and let me know your prices when and if situation changes. Thanks!

JohnJr

You could go in any of those directions. In my Santa Fe library there are pictures of all the combinations you mention, at some point in time, for whatever reason. 

 

You also left out a popular combo seen in many photos; A-B-B-B-A

 

Well, A-B-B-B-A would be the end result of A-B-B and A-B. Since the offerings are 4 unit sets, at least one has to come from the other set. I just didnt know how they would have broken the sets up from the as delivered configuration, or if they didnt last too long in the delivery order before it became free for all. What about the L units? If sets were combined would it have mattered that there was an L on each end? Or would it more likely have been done with an L on one end and a C on the other (example: 37L - 37A - 37B - 45B - 45C)?

Will do, John..... 

 

Thank you you one and all for all of the orders we received overnight. I am looking forward to receiving pallets of these from Atlas! 

Well, A-B-B-B-A would be the end result of A-B-B and A-B. Since the offerings are 4 unit sets, at least one has to come from the other set. I just didnt know how they would have broken the sets up from the as delivered configuration, or if they didnt last too long in the delivery order before it became free for all. What about the L units? If sets were combined would it have mattered that there was an L on each end? Or would it more likely have been done with an L on one end and a C on the other (example: 37L - 37A - 37B - 45B - 45C)?

I suggest you spend some time here looking at the pictures to get an idea how they ran.  

http://www.railpictures.net/vi...d=450993&nseq=23

 

I have seen pictures of them running as A-B-B-B-A combinations, but they also ran in other combos.  If they were running an A-B-B-B-A combo, it would be likely that the A-B-B-A would be as set (L-A-B-C) with a B unit from another set.  Therefore you might want to order 37 or 45 LABC and a B unit from the other set.  From what I've read Santa Fe usually kept the sets together until the as early as 1958 when they combined the El Capitan/Super Chief, and after that the still ran most of the sets together.

 

There others on the Forum that are more knowledgeable than I about the period from about 1958 to Amtrak.  You also post a question in a separate thread in the real trains section.

 

Good Luck!

Thank you you one and all for all of the orders we received overnight. I am looking forward to receiving pallets of these from Atlas! 

Me too!

It's complicated when you first look at it, but -- when you step back and see the big picture -- it makes perfect sense.  I will not go into minute detail, but this is the basic information:

• Santa Fe purchased EMD F3's and F7's for passenger service in three configurations (none of which was the A-B-A which MTH and Lionel traditionally sell to the O-gauge customers).
• All of the F3's, in three different "phases" were purchased in A-B-B-A configuration.
• Two orders of A-B-B-A F7's were purchased: 37 through 41 (Phase I) in 1949 and 42 through 47 (Phase II) in 1952.
• 3-Unit A-B-B consists were purchased in two groups.  The 300 Class were 100 MPH engines for passenger service.  The 325 Class were dual-service 80 MPH engines for passenger service when needed (second sections; standby passenger engines at LA, KC, Chicago; special trains; peak service times, etc.) and through freight service when not needed on passenger trains.  Most of the 325 Class freight use was on the Illinois and Los Angeles Divisions.
• The last few 300 Class were purchased as 2-unit A-B consists to be used as relief units when a single unit of one of the 3- or 4-unit F's had to go to the backshop.  They were seldom run on a passenger train as A-B.  A passenger train short enough to be pulled by an A-B F7 usually got a single E8m instead.
• Santa Fe kept all the F-units coupled in their original consists of the same number until 1957 or 1958, when the transcontinental trains gained an additional booster, making the consists A-B-B-B-A, with 4 units of the same number and an additional booster from one of the 300's.  At that time -- and this was the only time -- the orphaned cab units were used to create 300 Class A-B-A consists on the San Diegan trains.  This lasted until 1960.
• Beginning around 1959, front-end mu connections were added to the F7A units and the numerically matched consists were broken up into individual consists that could be freely mu'ed.  That's when you would have begun to see F3's and F7's running together and cab units coupled elephant style, usually the first 2 units of the consist in case the leading unit got damaged in a road crossing collision.  (Remember, Santa Fe used steam-ejector air conditioning on its cars and only the F-unit booster units had steam generators, so F-unit consists always needed to include booster units.)
• The Alco-GE PA1 and PB1 units were kept in A-B-A and A-B numeric consists from 1946 through 1949, when some of the cab units were renumbered and then they were individual units, normally run on the transcontinental trains as A-B-A consists until 1957, when A-B-B-A consists began to be used.  Alco-GE A-A consists replaced the A-B-A F7's on the San Diegans in 1960.  GE U28CG's and U30CG's were used for a few months in 1968, but they were unsuccessful and were quickly replaced by A-B-B and A-B F-units.  A-B F-units finished out Santa Fe's San Diegan operation, which by then was only 3 or 4 cars except weekends.  Amtrak continued to use A-B F-units until they got new engines.

Mr.Muffin, I'm going to have to pass on this offer, which is indeed a good one.  Atlas is offering two different Santa Fe rednose numbers which are from different F7 phases, so the 45 will not be correct, and that does not sound like Atlas is newly committed.  They have been pretty careful about such things in the past.  I chose the Sunset/Golden Gate rednoses, which I can be sure will be authentic in detail.  I'm only going to buy passenger F7's once and I am faithful to my Home Road, though most O Gauge railroaders will probably like the Atlas units.

 

However, when they announce the zebra stripe Santa Fe RSD4 (June, they say) I'll do some business with you.

Assuming most people would want to order these as ABBA sets, why is the Santa Fe 37 set configured with 3 powered units and the 45 set with 2 powered units. Would anyone really want/need 3 powered units?

For the folks that have already ordered the FULL SET of El Capatan passenger cars from Golden Gate Depot, I would think three power units would be ideal for good performance.

Depends, if Atlas model's the #45 (Phase II) with the 48" D/B fan, then they will be correct, I just hope they don't model the as delivered version with the single headlight. I'd like to see the added headlight with add on's such as nose lift rings, grab irons, simulated stainless side panels (See HO Athearn Genesis Units) and the MU door on the nose. I hope Atlas reads the OGR forums!

 

Joe 

Now there is a VERY big question! Will these units have the "plated sides" to represent stainless steel, as in done on the Athearn HO models?

I will have to ask..... 

Thank you - I am looking forward to it..... 

Good Question Hot Water! if they indeed model them with the plated side panels, that would definitely set them apart from some previously modeled O scale warbonnet F7's

 

Joe