New Atlas O Maxi IV Articulated Well Car

I think whether a 3 or a 5 car unit,the unit has the same road # as the cars are treated as 1 unit. The next 3-5 car unit is another car number. If they're 1 single car with a knuckle coupler on each end of 1 single car,then each single car carries a separate car number. However when you have 3 or 5 cars,with a knuckle on each end of that 3 or 5 car unit,then those cars are regarded as 1 unit with the same reporting number.

Al Hummel

 

Thank you Rob! 

 

Looks like orders due by 11/11.  Seems like a long order cycle.  Most others average around a month from announcement time.  Perhaps they are trying to get some extra details finalized and give us longer to figure out which ones we want! 

Yeah will be curious what is meant by the A/B part numbers since as already noted there is only one price for 2R and one price for 3R @ $10 less.

 

Rob can you help clarify?   Seems like the announcement still isn't as complete as most of your other announcements?

Actually, we want to give people the opportunity to see these models at York - so we could have held off on the announcement by a month, or given an extra month for everyone to put the orders together.  We chose the latter.

 

 

Our order desk people are not in yet, but I can give you some clarification right now.   The Maxi IV is a 3 car set.  Each A or B pack contains two 3 car sets with different road numbers.  The A set will include the -1 and -2 item numbers and the B set will include -3 and -4 item numbers.

 

For the containers, there are 8 road numbers for each scheme - six in one pack and 2 of each builder's (Jindo or CIMC) container in a six piece assortment for a total or 48 different containers.

 

Once our staff arrives, I will work with them to get the listing clarified for better understanding.  Sorry for the confusion.

 

I do not believe Atlas is selling 2, 3 car sets in a pack for 289-299 a pack, unless they think it will generate huge container sales.

The MSRP is for an individual 3 car set.

 

 

My question here is, when can we expect arrival of these? They look FANTASTIC!! Looking at the arrival time of the Atlas 8-40CW Diesels,which is now the 1st quarter of 2016,which was scheduled for 3rd quarter 2014,it makes 1 scratch his head. Are the ships these things travel on powered with troweling motors that it takes this long? Was there a problem with the 8-40CWs that they had to be sent back or something similar?

 

Al Hummel

Alan, the product announcement says 2Q2016.  So we'll see.  I'm planning more along the lines of 2nd HALF of 2016.  

 

Probably worth watching delivery of items in 2015 as a benchmark to see how well Atlas is  meeting its shipping ETA's.  I think they've been reasonably close (i.e., within 6 months) on some rolling stock pieces like the recent CZ cars, tankers, and fishbelly hoppers.  The coil cars and CZ Baggage cars are due up next for 3Q2015, whose window is just a couple of weeks from closing.  So perhaps year-end 2015 is more like it for these items now.  Who knows?

 

As for locomotives, their track record is TERRIBLE.    We can handle a few months delay, but two years is ridiculous.  It'll be interesting to see how they do with the upcoming F7's ETA of 4Q2015.  I seriously doubt we'll actually see them this year, but perhaps 1H2016 is more realistic?  That'll be easier on the wallet anyway!!!  

 

David

I believe Rob mentioned at the National Show end of Oct they were expecting to receive the Cal Zephyr baggage cars, current schedule shows only T man bay window caboose container shipping Aug 30.I think Atlas has pushed up F7 production ahead of other listed diesels.I believe you can easely add a Qtr to everything on the coming schedule. Just saying.

At the show Rob said the CZ baggage and dome lounge cars were in production and expected to ship in the next couple of weeks.  So they will not meet Q3 2015 but before the end of October 2015 arrival at Atlas is expected.  We shall see. That will be a big improvement to date.

 

The Dash 8 was a double edged disaster with MTH bringing out the exact same locomotive at the same time plus the issues with Sanda Kan, etal. Atlas was not going to plunk down the production bucks to compete with MTH one-on-one during that time, wasn't going to happen.

 

But, things will show up when they show up, and not one day before.  Things will get better with Atlas but as the Chinese economy continues to dip you SHOULD expect it to affect the builders in unpredictable and negative ways in the coming year or so.

I really think Atlas should also develop the 40' well cars.  I see them all the time now.

 

Do the railroads put 53' containers on 40' containers, I'm thinking maybe the over-hang is too much?

 

All the time.  Watch Youtube videos.  There are of course limitations. You can put anything on top except, in the real world, put 20' containers on top, unless they would interfere with the top container in the next well.  

Am I reading correctly? $29.95 for 1 container? I guess that's not bad,but still tough on the wallet.

 

Al Hummel

Actually thats not a bad list  price [although I did not see any mention of opening container doors, not that that is an issue for me] the last container run of 45's in 2012 listed for 27.95 and 40's in 2010 for 29.95. Just saying.

We can rationalize it any way we want... but I still say that these containers are the worst "price/performers" in our little corner of the world -- at least in terms of dollars per ounce.   I guess I'm still spoiled by RMT's blow-out sales from a couple of years ago when I grabbed complete ore cars for $10 a pop.    So paying $20+ per container (whether the doors open or not) for essentially a hunk of light plastic seems like a huge waste of money.  But these nice cars have gotta haul SOMETHING enroute, so we take the plunge and do what we gotta do.  

 

David

 

Now I'm lost. According to this info I'm reading,we get a total of 2 three car units for $299.95&6 containers,1 for each car? The hobby stores listing them,list 1 3car pack for $299.95,MSRP,not their selling price,the best I've seen so far for preorder is $239.95 from Deichman's. Len is a fantastic dealer to work with.

 

Al Hummel

Looking at Atlas' website I would understand it as a single 3-car set is $289.95 (3-rail)/$299.95 (2-rail). There are 2 road #s for each item #.

 

For example:

2-rail Item #3008400A (BNSF) has 2 road #s which would give you 6 well cars.

2-rail Item #3008400B (BNSF) has 2 road #s which would give you 6 well cars.

 

The containers will have 6 road#s available although Paul is stating that up to 8 are available. I guess there's going to be a 6-pack of 1 road name with it's own item # and then 2 -1 and -2 models for the other road names.

I just checked Deichman's site and I did not see any listing for the cars or containers unless I am missing something there is no separate preorder listing and some other preorders are in his ordering list.What gives? I believe 15% off list on cars and containers would be best street price you could find.

Does anyone know whether there will be any meaningful difference to O-Gaugers between these Jindo and CIMC containers?  By that I mean will it matter which ones you order as far as stacking them on top of each other or on top of other smaller Atlas containers?  Are they interchangeable?  

I think that each 3-car set consists of an item A and B.
For example: one TTX road # would be A-1 and B-1; the next TTX road # would be A-2 and B-2.
I maybe wrong, therefore I think we will need some clarification.

        Now I'm lost. According to this info I'm reading,we get a total of 2 three car units for $299.95&6 containers,1 for each car? ...
      

This is what happens when importers post consumer MSRP's, and then muck up the waters by posting SKU's that dealers need to order for internal shipping purposes.  Think of the SKU's with the A and B suffixes as "master cartons" that dealers order, and they are packaged with two 3-car sets per master carton.  Containers/cans are priced and sold separately,  and they are not included with the 3-car sets.

Think of these multiple-roadnumber offerings the way MTH does it.  They may offer 2 roadnumbers of a car, but dealers often receive them packaged 2 per carton.  Atlas has unnecessarily confused the ordering here by giving the master carton a SKU visible to the consumer that only typically applies to dealers.

Hang in there... The dust will settle eventually!

David

All should be interchangeable, the Jindo and CIMC are just 2 different container mfgs [same container specs,just mfg styles of construction] these are just O versions of Atlas popular HO containers where all the subtle differences are demanded by a much larger more prototypical oriented market. I would think Atlas makes sure these containers stack with their previous offerings. As for the announced order numbering somebody clearly dropped the ball at Atlas.

One thought is using the MTH 48-foot cans instead of the Atlas 53-foot cans if one wanted some variety (and to save a few bucks). By the way, does anyone know if the MTH 40-foot cans will fit in an Atlas Gunderson twin-stack?

I would like to see later model 40' boxes with correct door configurations of panels and corrugated roofs, the current Atlas model portray very early boxes which I have rarely seen. This, IMO, should have been addressed way before the 53's were manufactured, these do not interest me at all although I suspect I am in a small minority.

 <rant>I really cannot understand why it is so **** difficult for people to read back through the thread a couple of days to find answers to questions already asked and answered </rant>.

 

Matt, no the MTH containers will not fit in the Atlas twin-stack wells.  The MTH 20' and 40' containers are incorrectly done as domestic 8.5' width instead of the correct ISO 8' width (and there are no such things as 20 and 40' domestic containers).  The newer cars are designed to accept both Domestic and ISO containers in the wells but not the older ones.  So the MTH stack cars are too wide to accept their too wide containers.

 

The MTH containers will fit in the 53' well cars. 

 

 

 

Mike

I agree.  Comes down to msrp $299.99 per three car set.  Four numbers per road name.  Containers are msrp $29.99 each. 

I am sure Atlas will clarify. 

Can't wait for these cars!!!

Don

Atlas did a GREAT JOB on these.!!

Al Hummel

 

I ordered mine yesterday from Charlie Ro, 6 sets of cars and a 6 pack of each container.

 

Now the waiting begins. Frankly, I don't think I've been this excited about trains in a very long time.

Lets see 48 different container rd #s at a 25.50 each = 1224.00 for a big stack of plastic boxes, if you want to make a full train thats 8 Maxi-IV sets assuming a 15% discount thats a 3200.00 + investment Just saying.

 

Bear in mind MTH is using many year old tooling to rerun these cars, containers are OK cars scale size or close to it I believe thats there best feature JMO. Die cast has gotten very expensive from China look at last list price for Lionel husky stacks and I don't think they have been rerun at all in recent years, apart from accurate markings and scale well size I don't see the Atlas cars being much better than Lionels, in my opinion this was a very well detailed overall scale size car at the time.

For folks running trains on modular layouts a shows, the MTH and Lionel individual husky stack cars are the way to go.  Much quicker set-up and tear-down.  No need to assemble/disassemble the articulated sets.  And casual observers will enjoy long intermodal trains without knowing/caring that you did it all at a HUGE savings. 

 

David