Atlas N April Announcements

[H Lee]

The artwork has been corrected, it will have the correct trucks:

https://shop.atlasrr.com/p-55192-n-u23b-silver-dh-solid-blue-2302.aspx

Looks like more than the truck style needs to be changed to be an accurate model of road number 2312 --



Photo taken in Colonie NY - 08/15/75 - {Michael Leahy Photo} from the     rr-fallenflags.org    web-site.

[coosvalley]

Looks like more than the truck style needs to be changed to be an accurate model of road number 2312 --



Photo taken in Colonie NY - 08/15/75 - {Michael Leahy Photo} from the     rr-fallenflags.org    web-site.

Depends on the era being modeled:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4385813

[thomasjmdavis]

While I think they are about 15 feet too short, I do want to give Atlas credit for doing the CB&Q Chicago suburban paint scheme on some coaches.  I've always thought it was a handsome scheme, and while it looks like something from the 19th century, was in use into the 1950s (60s?) in Chicago suburban service. 

And I assume the reason for black and gold Monon coaches (way too short, of course), when Monon retired its last heavyweight coach 6 years before it painted any passenger cars in those colors, is so that the Atlas passenger cars will match an Atlas RS2 or potential BL2.  Oh well, I can always paint my own- had to do so with all the other Monon equipment...

[CBQ Fan]

I like the CB&Q commuter coaches. Neat scheme.  Foodies but glad to have them just the same.

[Ngineer]

The 60' passenger cars are the 2019 Model Railroader Readers Choice Winner. AFAIK they are not prototypical at all.

How come they are so popular? Is it the lack in heavyweight passenger cars in N-Scale?

I'm just curious. I have been trying to buy only prototypical models, so I am somewhat bewildered by their popularity.

It means that prototypical models won't be maid as "good enough" models sell well.

And yes, I would have bought prototypical CB&Q commuter heavyweight coaches, but I am not going to buy these. I guess we will never see prototypical ones.   

   Javier

P.S. The Atlas lights (wooden pole, metal pole) look like models from Beli-Beco (beli-beco.de), founded in 1927. Atlas states that they are hand crafted in Germany. Beli-Beco has a catalogue (in German): https://beli-beco.de/media/downloads/belibeco-gesamtkatalog.pdf

[w neal]

CGW? Ha! Proof that it somebody paints it, they'll make it that way. The curse works.

[Cajonpassfan]

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A new 50' Single Sheathed Box Car!

Aside from the typically atrocious ad graphics, this is a very cool car.
How close is the model to a real ATSF Furniture Fe-U class?
Thanks, Otto K.

[Tom L]

CGW? Ha! Proof that it somebody paints it, they'll make it that way. The curse works.

Ha, when I painted mine it never occurred to me that they would do them in CGW. Pretty neat that they did though. I'm in for a baggage car since I did mine in green.

Man, they sure are releasing these quickly in a bunch of different schemes. Foobs or not, they make a nice little train.

Tom L
Wellington CO

[Angus Shops]

Ive never understood why Atlas uses such "typically atrocious ad graphics"; they don't present their products in very flattering way. Atlas may be one case where the product actually looks better than the ad graphic.

The Sanich Historical Artifacts Society outside Victoria BC has what appears to be a shorty heavyweight coach on display, visible from the highway on the way to Victoria. I've never stopped to have a look, but it looks to be a good bit less than 80 feet, but more than 60. I have no idea where the car came from and their website doesn't seem to have any data on it. Anyone...?
Geoff

[thomasjmdavis]

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4305792

According to the Passenger Car Photo Index, it is (probably- Jerry listed it with a "history???" note) a steel sheathed wood coach of the  GTW.  GTW did have some wood coaches in mixed train service.  Given where it is now located, one might speculate it is CP rather than GTW.  It does looks 70+ feet in the photo, but another interesting potential historical society car.

[thomasjmdavis]

The 60' passenger cars are the 2019 Model Railroader Readers Choice Winner. AFAIK they are not prototypical at all.

The coach, combine, baggage and RPO are all based on and reasonably accurate models of Chicago and Northwestern prototypes.  The coaches and combines were used in Chicago suburban service (perhaps other places as well).  Baggage cars and RPOs were in general service over the system.  The RPO configuration was fairly common- so it is a better representation for many roads than the MT RPO.

It is the same prototype earlier modeled by Bachmann (although theirs are even shorter by a couple scale feet.

At the time the prototypes were built, CNW had a large fleet of wood 60' coaches, and was apparently happy with the speed of loading/unloading in suburban operations- and used the same floorplan and dimensions for the steel versions.

The observation is a shortened version of a CNJ (? I think) car. Unfortunately, they chopped the car short- it would still have been a shorty, but well over the 60 scale feet of this "model".

[nscalbitz]

The 60' passenger cars are the 2019 Model Railroader Readers Choice Winner. AFAIK they are not prototypical at all.

Except for the designated prots.

How come they are so popular? Is it the lack in heavyweight passenger cars in N-Scale?
I'm just curious. I have been trying to buy only prototypical models, so I am somewhat bewildered by their popularity.

It means that prototypical models won't be maid as "good enough" models sell well.
And yes, I would have bought prototypical CB&Q commuter heavyweight coaches, but I am not going to buy these. I guess we will never see prototypical ones.   
   Javier

It is the nature of the business.
Foobies have been around since the beginning, and another set of concurrent fully priced ones isn't going to make any difference again. From the Bachmanns, Rivs, Con-Cor conflabs and plethora of MTL, these Atlas ones will see a vital income for the business for ages. Their expanded roads/ schemes know no bounds.

>> Foodies but glad to have them just the same.

Yes always looking for more foodies btw....

dave

[prr7161]

A new 50' Single Sheathed Box Car!

Aside from the typically atrocious ad graphics, this is a very cool car.
How close is the model to a real ATSF Furniture Fe-U class?
Thanks, Otto K.

Here's a photo from the Santa Fe historical society folks:

https://sfrhms.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FE-U-A2004-0017-Temple-Railroad-Heritage-Museum-034.jpg

The prototype looks like a Pratt truss car with fewer panels, so the Atlas car is a stand-in.

[nkalanaga]

The GN boxcar is closer than the ATSF car to the model, but again, the diagonals slope the wrong way.

Walthers sold these lettered for the NP, and they're very close to the NP design.  If Atlas had them in NP, I would have bought another one.  For those who want one, Microscale has decals for the arched road name scheme.

[Cajonpassfan]

Here's a photo from the Santa Fe historical society folks:

https://sfrhms.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FE-U-A2004-0017-Temple-Railroad-Heritage-Museum-034.jpg

The prototype looks like a Pratt truss car with fewer panels, so the Atlas car is a stand-in.

Thanks, appreciated. Too bad. So what roads, if any, is this car appropriate for?? I do like it a lot.
Otto K.