Atlas SD45's shipping

[spookshow]

I gotta say, I'm not really wowed by the pulling power. Mine can only handle 38 freight cars, most of which are light 40' Atlas and MTL boxcars. Not horrible, but not overly impressive either.

-Mark

[jagged ben]

Mine completed its 24 hour speed step 7 torture test without a single stumble, so I think cleaning the axle wiper holes is something that people are going to want to do sooner or later. Before I performed that task, mine was stuttering and stalling on a regular basis (despite constant track and wheel cleaning). Just stick an exacto blade into the holes and twist.

While I was in there I also added conductalube to the axle ends, which may or may not have contributed to the improvement. It's a good idea anyway because the axles can start to get squeaky after a while if left dry (or at least that's been my experience with BLI locos).

-Mark

So did you manage to remove the trucks for this operation?  Is it as discussed above, that you have to pop off the tops of the worm towers?  Did you desolder the wires from the board, too?

[spookshow]

No, you can unclip the plastic bottom plate from the truck and access the wipers without having to pull the entire truck out of the chassis. It's a pretty simple procedure.

-Mark

[packers#1]

I cringe when Amuricuns call DCC decoders "chips", although it seems to be the popular things to to in Britain.  A DCC decoder is a circuit board with bunch of chips (Integrated Circuits) soldered onto it.  Some older decoders had a socket on them holding a microcontroller chip, which could be removed and an never version chip installed. And of course there are those edible chips (like potato or corn).

Having industrial electronic background where I only used the word "chips" to describe Integrated Circuits, not complete circuit boards makes this even more crigeworthy to me.  If you think you're being hip - you're not.

As someone who was in the packaging industry and learned there’s no such thing as cardboard (it’s either corrugate or paperboard/chipboard depending on if we’re talking corrugated sheets or cereal box type things), it really doesn’t matter man. I sound so pretentious when I call it corrugate instead of just cardboard to laypersons.

[C855B]

I gotta say, I'm not really wowed by the pulling power. Mine can only handle 38 freight cars, most of which are light 40' Atlas and MTL boxcars. Not horrible, but not overly impressive either.

I just ran a quick traction comparison up a 1% to 2% grade. Atlas SD45 > ScaleTrains SD40-2 > BLI RSD-15. The SD45 could handle 20 cars of mixed heritage, all with FVM wheelsets in MTL trucks. SD40-2 wasn't too far behind at 17, RSD-15 maxed-out at 12. All with LokPilot 5s. Interestingly, two SD40-2s walked up the grade pulling 45 cars without wheel slip, so let's call me mystified for the time being.

[peteski]

As someone who was in the packaging industry and learned there’s no such thing as cardboard (it’s either corrugate or paperboard/chipboard depending on if we’re talking corrugated sheets or cereal box type things), it really doesn’t matter man. I sound so pretentious when I call it corrugate instead of just cardboard to laypersons.

I get it, but how many modelers (personally or online) you know who call DCC decoders "chips"?  IMO, starting to use another name for a familiar item just causes confusion.  Decoder is not all that more difficult to write or pronounce than "chip".  Personally I like to call those semiconductors chips Eye-Sees (ICs), and call those deep-fried potato slices "chips". Chip is already a slang name for IC.

[OldEastRR]

So ... is this an "Atlas" loco? Or a "BLI"? Sounds like a hybrid.

[dem34]

So ... is this an "Atlas" loco? Or a "BLI"? Sounds like a hybrid.

Atlas Locomotive built in BLI's factory. Same as the ALP-45s.
This factory usually does their Higher end rollingstock. And the tell is when an Atlas release has a Microtrains clone instead of an Accumate.

[spookshow]

I suspect that scaletrains.com locos come from the same factory as they share many of the same design features.

-Mark

[jagged ben]

What it comes down to is that we don't have such good intel on the actual Chinese manufacturers.  So 'Atlas (China)' is clearly by now actually more than one manufacturer, one of which may be the same as 'Intermountain (China)' and another the same as 'Broadway Limited (China)', which may or may not be the same as 'Scale Trains (China)', and so on and so forth. 

[C855B]

I suspect that scaletrains.com locos come from the same factory as they share many of the same design features.

It was my understanding from an early ScaleTrains presentation they have an exclusive factory.

It could be we're seeing a new design trend in the same way Kato led the industry on split frame. The recent mechanicals seem to take less room, leaving more space in the body for, say, sound electronics. Just a thought.

[spookshow]

I've always been a bit annoyed by the fact that you really don't know who is making these Chinese models. I've heard of Sanda Kan and Kader, but that's about it as far as names go. And of course I have absolutely no idea who makes what 

-Mark

[peteski]

I've always been a bit annoyed by the fact that you really don't know who is making these Chinese models. I've heard of Sanda Kan and Kader, but that's about it as far as names go. And of course I have absolutely no idea who makes what 

-Mark

It is a bit annoying, but does it  really matter (since modelers have absolutely no control or say about which Chines factory builds models for American companies)?  But as we have hypothesizing here, and when reviewing other models, we can make guesses based on the specific design features.  That also sort of tells us that the mechanisms are basically designed in China, with likely very little input from the American companies.

BTW, didn't one of the companies you mention burn down or went out of business several years ago, or was there a 3rd Chinese contractor making model trains, which is no more?

[jagged ben]

It is a bit annoying, but does it  really matter (since modelers have absolutely no control or say about which Chines factory builds models for American companies)?  ...

This thread demonstrates precisely why it matters.  I mean, if I look up an old Atlas model on Mark's website and find it was actually made by Roco or Kato that tells me something about the quality of the mechanism.  But as of the last few years, 'Atlas (China)' is not so precise.  I might get a mech that's like a Kato or one that's like a BLI.  If I care about such differences, then it matters.

[peteski]

This thread demonstrates precisely why it matters.  I mean, if I look up an old Atlas model on Mark's website and find it was actually made by Roco or Kato that tells me something about the quality of the mechanism.  But as of the last few years, 'Atlas (China)' is not so precise.  I might get a mech that's like a Kato or one that's like a BLI.  If I care about such differences, then it matters.

I agree, but what control over this do we have?  Sure, you can "vote with your wallet", but looking at the big picture, will enough other modelers do the same, enough to make a Atlas (or other company) take enough notice to switch the model manufacturer?  Then of course is the other problem: with just couple Chinese companies producing models (with production already backed up), where will Atlas go to have their models manufactured?

And of course, if the sub-par model is the only one of that locomotive available, will you really not buy it, or will you hold your nose and buy the inferior model anyway?