... I have a lot of respect for the guys at Atlas who bring us great products, but not for their owners, who sold out entirely to China and ended up having a competitor holding them by the balls.
You obviously don't know any of the reasons that led to Atlas moving the track manufacturing overseas based on your "selling out" statement, so you're not really in a position to pass judgment in that area. Come manufacture in New Jersey for a few decades and deal with continuously-tightening state regulatory restrictions, and then you would be able to offer a valid assessment.
Also, when you see another model railroad manufacturer have the temerity to try to make inroads in the track business, which is still the bread-and-butter of Atlas, then you can say the move to China might have some downside. Which is unlikely. The only way Atlas loses its major share of the track market is if they choose to abandon it. Which also is unlikely. And it's a family-owned business by the way, which if not for their pioneering efforts in the latter part of the last century, the industry - especially N scale - wouldn't be anywhere as advanced and diverse as it is today. And the family is hands-on and involved in the process, which means you should have as much respect for them as you do for the "guys."
