MTL.... Atlas... FVM....

[wcfn100]

http://microengineering.com/


Jason

[Denver Road Doug]

Cool, that site must be pretty new...there was someone having trouble even finding a phone number for them about a year ago on the Atlas forum. (or was it Trainboard?)   I recall searching then and indeed it took some digging just to find a phone number.

[asarge]

Micro-Engineering finally joins the the technology age! Hallelujah!!

[sundowner]

When will Atlas be bought by Walthers???

This could be the worst thing that happens to N-Scale after what Walther has done to LL N-scale.

[Mark5]

May it never be that Atlas would be bought out by anyone - especially Walthers!

Bring this very idea up again and expect to be pummeled! 

[sundowner]

I am glad they slow down on annoucements, I already have to much on order from Atlas, Kato and BLMA so I am good untill the end of the summer.

[unclepete20]

I think after this weekends operations session, I was lamenting to the fact that my cab forword was the latest ground shaking announcement, a bit late.  I guess its the fact that no one has released a decent SD-40-2 with ditch lights in other than BNSF/SF. There is still a ton of these engines pounding the rails out there. And to mediocre modelers such as my self that really don't have the time/talent/etc to paint some.

[asarge]

I don;t thinbk there is anything left that would be an "earth shattering announcement" except maybe a full line of SD40-2 production. Maybe that shows how much N scale has grown up. We all have stuff that would important to us but there really isn;t much to get the buzz to a fever pitch.

Now we need to get moving on adding to the structure line.

[Philip H]

I don;t thinbk there is anything left that would be an "earth shattering announcement" except maybe a full line of SD40-2 production. Maybe that shows how much N scale has grown up. We all have stuff that would important to us but there really isn;t much to get the buzz to a fever pitch.

Now we need to get moving on adding to the structure line.

If we're going to demand a return to SD40-2 production, I think we need to demand a return to U-Boat production as well.  Yes, Atlas stables a few, and they are light years ahead of the Bachman U36-B from the early 1980's.  But where can Iget a good U33C for IC?  NOwhere unless I bas a trix U30.  Just sayin . . . .

[Denver Road Doug]

I think there are still tons of "earth shattering" things that could be done.  I can probably name 100 freight cars that really don't have a "stand-in".  The BLMA spine cars, in my opinion, are much more earth shattering than more SD40-2's.   If they do 48ft spines, yet again that will be as earth shattering...on it's own merits.   GP50's, C30-7's, Amtrak Hi-Levels, more/better couplers, wheels, ground throws.

Signals, both railroad and traffic.  Working street lights.

And yes, structures!  Plenty of market there.

[TiVoPrince]

Commitment
to a full compliment of SD40-2 including phases, dynamic varieties, and snoots will need a manufacturer talented enough to tool creatively, listen to the market, research accurately, and sell multiple runs over time.   Atlas could make this move anytime they wanted to since they have trucks tooled already.  Personaly I would rather have them use the SD35 trucks and cover the entire SDseries instead.   With SD40-2 locomotives entering thier third (or fourth) lives the paint schemes contnue to go on and on.

FVM having ventured into steam will hopefully be sucessful and continue that direction, somebody else buys a lot of that stuff.  Of course the slightest inaccuracy on steam tends to be more detrimental than diesels because there is always that fear that it won't run as well once you reassemble it.

Too bad that means C-boats will not be available until sometime late in 2028..

Earthshaking
would be a line of GENSETS, green goats and LPG locomotives...

[wazzou]

I'd like to see someone finally do Phase III GP-9's.
I'd like to see U25 and Early U28-C's.
I'd like to see U30-B's.

That is all...

[Packer]

When will Atlas be bought by Walthers???

Burn the heretic!!!

That would be the worst thing to happen to any scale. Look what happened to LL's N and HO lines. In HO; LL used to make copius quantities of product, now they make less produce Kato does, and at nearly double the cost that LL listed them for...

to a full compliment of SD40-2 including phases, dynamic varieties, and snoots will need a manufacturer talented enough to tool creatively, listen to the market, research accurately, and sell multiple runs over time. *snip*

Agreed, athearn has gone off the deep end with theirs... They have run BN SD40-2s twice. One run with 3 Green and blacks and 1 Bi-ci. The newest run is Bi-ci with 0 green and blacks, so just 4 for a road with over 800 of them. To add insult to injury, the only BN ones I ever find is the Bi-Ci one. Also roads that had less get way more (MILW and N&W get 7 each)

They could bring their SD40-2 to N, but they believe that it won't sell between Kato and Bachmann's...

[Mark5]

Commitment
to a full compliment of SD40-2 including phases, dynamic varieties, and snoots will need a manufacturer talented enough to tool creatively, listen to the market, research accurately, and sell multiple runs over time.   Atlas could make this move anytime they wanted to since they have trucks tooled already. 

There are at least three different trucks used on SD40-2s ... 

I've heard bad things about the Atlas HT-C truck but have not experienced any problems with it personally.

I too would like to see someone do them well. I really hope it won't be Kato (their slogan is "we like to sit on tooling") or Intermountain.

Mark

[Mark5]

Also roads that had less get way more (MILW and N&W get 7 each)

How many SD40-2s do you think N&W had?

and Bachmann's...

Bachmann's "SD40-2" is joke even by 1960s standards ...

I'm pretty sure they dropped that caricature at the end of the last century.

Mark