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

I am hoping thay are "plated".  I know for a fact that Jerry Kimble and the good folks at Atlas-O are monitoring this thread and realize how serious the Santa Fe modelers are about this release of F7's.  I suspect they fully understand that a LARGE percentage of the orders may be cancelled if they (Atlas) don't get this right.

That's great to hear.  I don't know if Mr. Kimble is aware that there are a lot of us Santa Fe modelers that have for years have conversed amongst each other about the next Santa Fe F unit from Atlas.  We all felt that if anyone was going to bring us the "Holy Grail" of Santa Fe F units, it would be Atlas.  We felt that because Atlas was a long time model railroad firm that had it's roots in the HO world.

My order won't be cancelled.  I wouldn't do the to Mr. Muffin despite his generous offer.  

Warbonnet Santa Fe units are bread and butter for manufacturers.  They always sell.  If Atlas can produce a satisfactory Santa Fe F unit with state of the art stainless, they will own the market.  They will be able to go back to that well many times.

Produce some scale Santa Fe passenger trains and that will be Nirvana.

Super Chief

Chief with Big Dome

San Diegan

San Francisco Chief

El Capitan (pre-Hi Level) with Big Dome

Nearly 100 units ordered so far and the vast majority have been the Santa Fe.....

Thanks

Mr Muffin,

I was just looking through the Atlas catalog and saw a 4 pack of Santa Fe Steel ReBuilt boxcars. Do you have a preorder price for that set?

Nearly 100 units ordered so far and the vast majority have been the Santa Fe.....

Bread & Butter

Here's the thing, no where in the Atlas model description does it mention that the SF F7's will be plated to simulate stainless steel side panels, so for all those who ordered them including myself, it will be a crapshoot on the plating. In the MTH 2010 catalog, it featured a SF F3 ABA set # 26, and in the product description it mentioned "Santa Fe (Warbonnet) Chrome Plated". MTH did a decent job with the plating although not to Athearn HO standards but still better than the Atlas WP F3's IMO, at least you can see a reflection off the MTH side panels. ( See Pics).

If Atlas could equal or better MTH's plating, they would make a lot of us Santa Fe fans happy, not to mention hitting a home run!

I sure hope Mr. Kimble reads these forums to see how passionate we Sanfe Fe fans are, hopefully when Atlas officially announces them in March, the description will mention the Santa Fe F7's with plated side panels.!

Joe

I wonder if that will change if & when it is discovered that they will NOT be "plated" to look like stainless steel.

Gotta be honest, I do not want a mirror finish.  Mild, dim reflective serface is perfect!  I do not want the mirror finish like K-line used on some passenger cars.  Too "toyish" for my taste.

I absolutely agree. How about the finish that Atlas O produced some years ago on those Western Pacific F units? Then there is also the "standard" that Athern came up with on their HO "Genesis" series Santa Fe F7 units. 

If neither Atlas or Sunset offer plated grilles what will the 3 rail market do? the 2 railers can wait on the Key unit for the ultimate F.

You posted the same thing over on the 2-Rail SCALE Forum. The real issue is NOT the grilles, but the finish of the side panels on Santa Fe F7 units, as the real ones were stainless steel. In order to duplicate the prototypical "finish" on plastic body shells, those areas of the panels MUST be "plated", as Athearn has done on their HO models, and Atlas O has previously done on their Western Pacific models.

Sunset/3rd Rail is DEFINITELY capable of doing this feature. The question is, can Atlas O also provide the "plated" finish on the Santa Fe F7 side panels.  

I don't think its a matter of CAN Atlas O provide a plated finish, obviously they did it on the WP F3's, it's a matter of WILL they on the Santa Fe F7's?

I don't agree with your statement. The WP F units were produced quite a long time ago when Atlas O products were produced in a different factory in China. With their new & different manufacturing facility in Chine, the finish on the California Zephyr passenger cars has changed. 

If the Atlas-O F7's look this good I will be satisfied.  Again I do not want to see my face reflected on the side panel.  It is hard enough looking at myself each time I shave. 

Maybe Mr. Kimble should buy a Santa Fe A & B unit from the Athearn Genesis series and use that as the standard for his manufacturer.

I'll pitch in if that will help. 

Happy to do this for you - I will send you an email later today.....

Steve I'm curious on the price for that 4 pack of SF box cars as well

I sent an email to AtlasO concerning the Rio Grande F7's. In the picture they have in the catalog does not have the Rio Grande lettering on the side of the A unit. 

According to Rob of R&D it will be there. Great news and just as I expected from AtlasO.

Btw. am I the only one who didn't order the Santa Fe F7's, lol 

Re the discussion about whether or not the Santa Fe units will be plated. Why doesn't somebody just pick up the phone and call Jerry Kimble and ask him? Atlas isn't Lionel or MTH, at both Atlas and Weaver you can get through to the top guys. I used to talk to former Atlas head Jim Weaver or exchange e-mail with him all the time. I'm not going to call Jerry on this issue because I'm not ordering Santa Fe diesels, but all you guys who care so much, go to the source!

Well, Mr. Muffin DID ask Mr. Kimble directly, and he posted the response from Mr. Kimble, about 12 posts down on the second page of this 3 page thread. I suggest you go back and read that response and see if Mr. Kimble really answered the question to everyone's satisfaction.

His answer tells me that Atlas will NOT plate them. If they were, why wouldn't he just say it? Because he don't want to lose sales from the get go. What he did say is "they will be PAINTED" .... nothing about stainless plating

It's the typical answer in a Corporate America World. Answer the question without directly answering the question. It's either YES or NO... and he already knows the answer . Lets wait and see how many orders come, because if there is enough (which there will most likely be), then they don't have to worry about satisfying a few. 

Southwest,

Can you give me some info on what the Milwaukee Road would've run? I don't have any reference books and searches really aren't an aid... 

Yesterday when this topic was in its second page I sent an email to Mr. Kimble with a link to this topic.  As of 3 o'clock central time I have not recieved an email back and he has not responded directly on the Forum.  

If I don't have a reply by Monday, I will call and ask him to reply in this venue.

IMHO... leaving us hanging is NOT a good business practice.  Sorta like calling and being put on hold indefinitely.

Just some thoughts.....

Not that I know the exact finish on the Santa Fe F7 units, that I will more than likely order (90%). But I was just looking through the catalog online again and the finish on the side panels appears to be reflective and not solid. A little bluish modeled with silver. I know as an architect when I render a color drawing and want to show a shiny finish that is the technique I use. And just looking at them it appears to be a shiny/reflective finish to me. How shiny, I do not know. None of the other F units have that technique applied. Of course I would like to know fore sure like you guys. But it looks correct based on the renderings in the catalog. Of course as mention earlier the No 45 is incorrect for "Early", unless they plan on putting in a 48" Dynamic Brake Fan. Since I ordered the Golden Gate El Cap set I am going with the three powered units and #37.

Please remember sir, that one can NOT depend on catalog renditions.

Hot Water

I knew you would be the first person to jump on me. But I am just stating what is shown in the catalog

Please! I didn't "jump on you", I was just pointing out the obvious with any and all catalog renditions.

I solved the problem by ordering undec units, and I'm pretty sure who I will blame if i don't like the paint job...

Jeff C

But what if the models don't come with the correct headlight/Mars light configuration?

As I haven't settled on a paint scheme/road name it's a bit hard to worry about that now. If worst comes to worse I will move to South America, cover myself in liver pâté' and do a perfect cannonball into a piranha infested stream...

Jeff C

Configurations - did they run ABBA, ABA, all?! Just looking for some advice on what to order....

Sides shine. Don

After being advised by Steve Nelson aka Mr. Muffin's Trains along with receiving e-mails from both Tom Number 90 OGR Forum Member (retired Santa Fe Engineer) and Santa Fe Jim another OGR Forum Member and Santa Fe Railway enthusiast about the Atlas O F7 Pre-Order thread, we at Atlas thought it important to give some direct input in addition to that which Steve has already passed on from our communications.

We want to thank all the Atlas supporters who have pre-ordered our F7 and that     have been positive in their remarks on this forum. We realize there is a tremendous amount of passion over the Santa Fe version of this locomotive and we'll diligently try not to disappoint the faithful including looking at all options of paint finishes including plating.

In our haste to meet the catalog deadline there were some typos and mistakes that happened along the way for which we apologize, but rest assured when these locomotives arrive they'll have the following:

• Highly detailed body and railroad specific details
• Accurate painting and lettering
• Accurate road numbers
• Steam generator on either the A or B unit as appropriate by railroad
• Available in powered and unpowered versions
• All metal grab irons
• Die-cast metal chassis, fuel tank and trucks
• A hidden port in the bottom of each of the Blomberg "B" trucks for lubrication of the worm gears without disassembly of the locomotive
• Twin flywheel equipped can motors for the powered models
• Directional golden white LED lighting with MARS lighting where appropriate
• Close coupling between units for a better look
• 3-rail models will have Electric Railroad Company's "Cruise Commander"® speed control
• 3-rail models will have improved Lionel ®"RailSounds" digital sound system with improved "Crew Talk"
• 3-rail models will be 100 percent "TMCC"® or "LEGACY"® Command Control compatible
• 3-rail models will include operating diesel exhaust
• 3-rail model "A" units will include an alternate full scale front pilot for a great look 
• 2-rail models will incorporate all the features and options mentioned for the 3-rail models specific for a 2-rail version regardless of the decoder or sound system we use

I hope this helps in making your decision whether to purchase our version of the F7 or another brand. I'm a huge Santa Fe Railway enthusiast myself modeling it on my modular railroad.

Jerry Kimble

Atlas Model Railroad Company

Coordinator Sales/Marketing/Product Development

Thank you Jerry for taking the time and posting this information about your product.

Thanks Jerry.  

My A-B-B-A order will stand. 

T4TT,

You're welcome.

Jerry Kimble

Atlas Model Railroad Company

Coordinator Sales/Marketing/Product Development

Santa Fe Jim,

Great to hear!

Jerry Kimble

Atlas Model Railroad Company

Coordinator Sales/Marketing/Product Development

I'm not ordering any F7's, but its this commitment to accuracy that makes me a past (and future) Atlas customer!

Jim

So that confirms the Santa Fe models will be "plated" in order to correctly represent stainless steel side panels!