Atlas Master Line coil cars

[larry p mahoning division]

Went to a train show today and was looking at the new coil cars from Atlas, Just wondered if anyone knows why they have truck mounted couplers and plastic wheels. I have 22 of their previous run cars and they have steel wheels and body mounted couplers. Sorry to say I did not buy any of the new cars.   

[jereising]

Probably they didn't want the retooling cost to make the Walthers cars up-to-date.  After all, N scalers will buy anything.
 

[jagged ben]

They could have at least changed the wheels at no tooling cost, right? 

Kinda lame considering how well Athearn has done with MDC tooling.

[Englewood]

Their 100 ton Greenville hoppers (ex Walthers) released last month also had plastic wheels. Disappointing.

[nkalanaga]

Possibly they come from a different factory, which only makes plastic wheels.  Moving tooling in China isn't easy, even just from one factory to another.  Making the cars in one place, and the trucks another, would require at least one added assembly step.

Plus, a lot of modelers still use plastic wheels, and have no problems with them.  Metal wheels would add to the cost.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Possibly they come from a different factory, which only makes plastic wheels.  Moving tooling in China isn't easy, even just from one factory to another.  Making the cars in one place, and the trucks another, would require at least one added assembly step.

Plus, a lot of modelers still use plastic wheels, and have no problems with them.  Metal wheels would add to the cost.

The old Walthers stuff was indeed from a different factory than their regular line. I'm unsure if that is the case as Atlas had to find alternate plans when their factory slowed or stopped orders. From what I understand, it was the Walthers acquisition that allowed Atlas to keep up with monthly releases while their main factory was down.

That being said, I have been vocally annoyed that Atlas did not invest any money on updating the Walthers tooling. Then they charge "Master Line" prices on these dated models. Even the best cars, like the Walthers PS2 covered hopper are about the same quality as the Trainman line. To price them within a dollar or two of former BLMA cars is just crazy.

Atlas did say that they updated the cryo reefer with new steps, underframe and other items. This could be a really good car and I hope they bring this up to true "Master Line" quality. But the stuff so far? Hard pass.

[basementcalling]

The old Walthers stuff was indeed from a different factory than their regular line. I'm unsure if that is the case as Atlas had to find alternate plans when their factory slowed or stopped orders. From what I understand, it was the Walthers acquisition that allowed Atlas to keep up with monthly releases while their main factory was down.

That being said, I have been vocally annoyed that Atlas did not invest any money on updating the Walthers tooling. Then they charge "Master Line" prices on these dated models. Even the best cars, like the Walthers PS2 covered hopper are about the same quality as the Trainman line. To price them within a dollar or two of former BLMA cars is just crazy.

Atlas did say that they updated the cryo reefer with new steps, underframe and other items. This could be a really good car and I hope they bring this up to true "Master Line" quality. But the stuff so far? Hard pass.

Buy low, sell high seems to apply here. But I too am surprised that the old Walthers tooled cars make the Master line in Atlas and not Trainman.  The Greenville 100 ton hoppers are nice, but $21-23 street is a little steep there. The Walthers coil cars were a lump of metal with simple plastic load covers.

[jagged ben]

Okay, let's try to turn this from a gripe thread into a 'what's the best way to improve these models' thread.

Can someone confirm the correct truck sizes (100 ton or 70 ton) for :
a) The Greenville hopper
b) the coil cars

I'm thinking BLMA 100-ton trucks and MT 1025s, pending confirmation of truck size.
Or depending on how the ride height turns out maybe I have enough 36" FVM wheels around to use the trucks that came with these cars, while cutting off the couplers.

(I'm actually a little glad that after fixing these up I'll have a few free Accumate shanks left over as I like to have those on hand to replace body mounted McHenry's on Athearn products.)

[nkalanaga]

IF, and it can be a big IF, the printed data is correct, the truck size is easy to determine.  Add the LD LMT and LT WT lines.  70-ton cars should be 220,000 lbs, 100-ton cars 263000.  Some modern cars go over 263,000, but as far as I know the largest trucks available in N are 100-ton.

I have an old Walthers coil car, with Atlas 100-ton trucks, Intermountain metal wheels, and 1025 couplers.

Off-topic:  100-ton wheelsets have less clearance above the axles tha 70-ton, for the same ride height.  I've had a few cars where 1015 couplers, or 1025 with the MT roundhead screws, fit fine, with 70-ton trucks.  Change the trucks, and the axle rubbed on the screw head, or 1015 box, as it's thinker than the 1025.  Solution?  Countersink the screw hole on the 1025, and use a flathead screw.  It's real easy to do.

Take a 3/32 inch drill bit, or similar sized metric, and, with just your fingers, "twirl" it in the hole.  You want to scrape the plastic out, NOT drill into the plastic.  Done carefully, the head will sit almost flush, and the box will still work as usual.  Drill too far, and it falls apart!

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I talked about improvements on the Walthers line several times in the past. All of them need proper trucks, metal wheels and body mounted couplers. This could be done by adding detail (like Trainworx hopper coupler kits) or just modifying the current tooling (like Athearn has done with their ex MDC tooling).

My main complaint is with the REALLY clunky details on some Walthers cars. The ballast hoppers are a great example. The end cages need to be thinned out quite a bit. New brake wheels are a must. But these went into production as is. I'm curious to see what happens with the NACC boxcars they announced because I pointed out a rather large tooling flaw when they first announced the run. There are areas of the shell near the door where the rivets are more than 6 scale inches long. These things need help.

[sundowner]

The tread subject tittle should clarified that this is about the old Walthers car and
not the excellent NSC coil car that Atlas also makes.
When I think master line coil car, the NSC car pop in my brain not the Walthers car.

[larry p mahoning division]

This thread is not about the Walthers car. This is about the new release of their Master Line coil car. With truck mounted couplers and plastic wheels it should be in their Trainman line.

[Missaberoad]

This thread is not about the Walthers car. This is about the new release of their Master Line coil car. With truck mounted couplers and plastic wheels it should be in their Trainman line.

The new release of Atlas' Master line coil car is the Walthers car... They are one and the same...

[sirenwerks]

...surprised that the old Walthers tooled cars make the Master line in Atlas and not Trainman.  The Walthers coil cars were a lump of metal with simple plastic load covers.



Completely agree with this thought.  They are nowhere near a master of anything, except lumpiness.