Dear Atlas...................

[Pizzaparty]

It would be nice to see a U36B come out from atlas! The Bachmann models are junk. Besides it’s not like they don’t already have a chassis

[randgust]

I was in HO for my formative years, ate half a basement.   I remember thinking how long I thought an 8-car train of 40-foot cars was, and four 85' Rivarossi passenger cars were a full train.   I have a street-level office window that has an HO layout in it, and it reminds me how much I really don't like working in the scale at all.

I'd need a different house to now go to HO, but what brought me to N scale was long trains, wider curves (15" in N seemed enormous) main line railroading in a small space that wouldn't fit a 5x9.   My HO friends had to be content with a single locomotive and handful of cars and modeling branch lines, I was in N and doing 30 car mainline freights behind 3-4 units on a signalled two-track main line.

So no, no interest at all in HO.  I got my eyes done and I still have a tight focal point and comfy with N.    Very much space constrained, still.   And I still love the reaction of HO guys when they see my N layout, as it thoroughly undoes everything they assumed about the scale, including performance.   I've launched several HO guys into Ttrak in N.   

The major PROGRESS in N has been reliability and appearance, but the more electrical 'stuff' you jam in, the price of entry goes up, and the ability to pull a long train goes down.   It's just physics.   I'm just saying that after spending an entire rainy day trying to stuff in a sound decoder in an N tender, along with a speaker, weight, wiring connections, etc. I look at all that air in HO and go, wow, what must that be like.....   

[dem34]

The thing I like to remind people of. Atleast to my preference. Do you really notice if only one engine in a 3 unit lash up is making sounds or not? Recently I've started to get into the habit for long trains of having a designated leader with DCC + Sound. A superbass speaker etc. Which is usually still adequate for pulling its own short locals. But then backing it up with a couple engines that have motor + light decoders with extra weights added.

[Curtis Kyger]

YES I do notice if only one locomotive in a consist is equipped with sound.  By varying the prime mover speed, the various locomotives within a consist no longer sound like one big loud unit but rather acquire their own ideocratic sound, and those individual actors in our stage play begin to show their individual personalities. Together they sound like a choir verses a single singer.  It is a richer experience and adds to the ambience of the scene.

[sirenwerks]

I'm still hoping for RS3 Phase 2 and 3 shell variations.

[jdcolombo]

If I have a 3-unit consist, only the first and third units have sound.  Like Curtis, I vary the Prime Mover "sound speed" a bit (this is an ESU setting) so the engines sound a bit different.  No on seems to notice the lack of sound in the middle unit.  For two units, both have sound.  I never run more than three, so I'm not sure what I'd do with longer consists.

John C.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

The thing I like to remind people of. Atleast to my preference. Do you really notice if only one engine in a 3 unit lash up is making sounds or not? Recently I've started to get into the habit for long trains of having a designated leader with DCC + Sound. A superbass speaker etc. Which is usually still adequate for pulling its own short locals. But then backing it up with a couple engines that have motor + light decoders with extra weights added.

Same. I'm trying to get my fleet into a position where I have enough sound equipped leaders for road trains. My biggest issue is switchers and local power. The BLI NW2/SW7 has been very helpful in that regard, but I'd love to get some sound in my MTL SW1500s. It's also why I need to get more and more sound equipped GP9 mechs to do up a bunch of that power too.

[Mark5]

Do you really notice if only one engine in a 3 unit lash up is making sounds or not?

To a large extent I agree, unless the lashup is a RS11, a GP9, and a SD40-2. 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

To a large extent I agree, unless the lashup is a RS11, a GP9, and a SD40-2. 

This is a good point and one that I do find challenging when building consists.

[MetroRedLine]

Dear Atlas:

That GP60 with ditch lights...when????

[u18b]

To a large extent I agree, unless the lashup is a RS11, a GP9, and a SD40-2. 

Actually, I saw an RS11 in a CSX consist in the 1990s.

Like this.

[Pizzaparty]

I guess the railroad gods smiled upon me today. Atlas is making U33/36B!

[mmagliaro]

This.

Whether we like it or not, sound is the future.  Atlas is addressing the tradeoffs of chassis design vs. space for a sound decoder and decent speaker.  Sound decoders might continue to get smaller as electronics miniaturization continues (I expect they will), but physics dictates that speakers need to be as large as possible.  So re-designing mechanisms to provide excellent running while still maximizing room for sound installations makes perfect sense.   And should be applauded, IMHO.

Honestly, why would anyone WANT some of the old LL stuff?  Yes, the LL Berk was well-detailed and smooth running.  But it can't pull more than 8 cars on level track and requires a PhD in electrical engineering to add DCC to.  The LL GP18 mechanism was fine, but the shell (particularly handrails) was crude even for its time.  The original PA-1 was plastic with huge lead weights, and the revision never got body details correct for the various roadnames.  The second run of the 0-8-0 was very nice, but that tooling apparently is "lost in China". 

I'm sympathetic to those that want/need certain models, like the Erie-built; I'd pay a LOT for an FM H10 or H12 switcher in NKP paint (heck, I'd pay a lot for one in ANY paint and just repaint it if needed).  But I don't have any interest in the old Trix model.  It's 2024; manufacturers should produce stuff that is cutting edge for today, not 20 years ago.

John C.

Losing the LL steam was so disappointing and frustrating.
The LL Berk 2-8-4 and the 2-8-8-2 are huge wastes of potential by Atlas.  The 0-8-0, well, I'll take them at their word that they don't have the tooling so they can't resurrect it.  One of greatest motive power losses to N Scal, ever.  Just as the 0-8-0 had overcome its early growing pains with the second version, it was snatched away.  And good steam switchers are a major hole in N Scale.

The 2-8-8-2's I've seen are fine runners and pullers.  The 2-8-4 had problems with pickup until they did the 2-truck tender pickup later on.  And as you point out, it was sorely lacking in pulling power.  But Atlas could surely address that if they re-released the engine.