some work on my Atlas o CZ

Nice job, they look great.

I believe the rear coupler on the Super Chief observation cars where the only ones ever painted.

Another look...

I'm with you on this as well.  Definitely not a deal-breaker.  But I think it's a harsh reality that we'll see much more frequently whenever products are produced over a longer span of time.

There's little -- if any -- stability in the overseas manufacturing industries these days.  Factories get bought out.  Allegiances change.  And loyalties have diminished in a culture that was once well-noted for strong loyalties.   So importers are often left scrambling in an attempt to find new contractors to fulfill production of items that have been catalog'd and pre-ordered.

In case we haven't realized... we ain't in Kansas anymore, Toto.  The manufacturing panacea that executives sought out in Asia 15-20 years ago has changed dramatically.  There's still enough profit built in for them to still smile all the way to the bank with ridiculous compensation packages.  But we've inherited a legacy of "issues" that most folks would have never predicted.

By the way... terrific "tweaking" work on the CZ cars.  They look terrific!!! 

David

The Cal Zephyr cars are money in the bank to Atlas so at some point in time all will be produced[lets face it for the money these are outstanding models]with the 4 freight cars coming in by years end Atlas will actually have had a decent production year and so far the future calender is not overly ambitious.JMHO

That's great! I just sent you an email to your gmail account!

All CZ cars had disk brakes.  Why the dome and 10-6 cars came with the correct, well almost, they have the wrong dampers, 41-ND trucks and then changed to the less correct 41-N trucks with clasp brakes for the diner and 16-section sleepers is beyond me. 

Great looking CZ train! Jealous.

On your early cars did you do anything to make the trucks more free rolling?

Thanks,

ncng

Those are truly impressive models.  Surely there is something to be said for giving the Lionel CZ folks a link to here?

Santiago

I have nothing of any consequence to add to the above -- except to say THANKs -- and that I'm thoroughly enjoying following your topic.

rdunniii, thanks for clarifying that. It is pretty weird, I guess Atlas had to had something to go by to make a separate tooling for those trucks.

ncng, all my cars are lit by batteries, which allows me to bend the picks ups away from  the wheels therefore reducing the friction considerably. I also put a dab of oil on each wheel. They run really smooth.

bob2, I know! lionel's CZ is embarrasing, just plain awful. Shame on them. I consider myself pretty forgiving, but dear God what the hell?

Bill, thanks! I'm glad you are! cheers!  

I'll tell ya all things considered these cars are beautiful.  I like what you have done to them thus far...makes a nice difference IMHO.

Have seen this, and the 1948 Freedom Train with white coupler, but never a between car coupler painted.

Santiago, very nice work. Enjoy the beautiful train, and keep us updated!

Santiago, beautiful cars and you've done them right with your tweaks.  Thanks for taking the time to post pictures; they're very well done.

If you can, measure the dome length at the roof.  I have some older extruded aluminum 21" cars (8 total; 4 domes) and, while they come with cast lead domes, they'll require a lot of work.  I'd prefer to find a drop in dome from one of the manufacturers.  The opening in my cars is 6".

Again, thanks for sharing, and looking forward to more updates.

The secret to domes is the Midland Reproductions kit.  While they usually are found in Union Pacific style, when properly soldered up, they are quite nice looking.

The lead domes came with Clark Benson extrusions.  I would put those back on eBay where they belong, and get Mac Shops cars.  

I believe the rear coupler on the Super Chief observation cars where the only ones ever painted.

Jon -I think you posed a picture of the observation on the Chief.  I think the reason Santa Fe was able to paint the observation couplers on their trains was because they only ran on company track.

On the other hand, the CZ was interchanged between 3 railroads. 

_______________________________________________________________________

SANTIAGOP23 - I'm enjoying your work.  Regarding the trucks, rdunniii is very knowledgeable.

All CZ cars had disk brakes.  Why the dome and 10-6 cars came with the correct, well almost, they have the wrong dampers, 41-ND trucks and then changed to the less correct 41-N trucks with clasp brakes for the diner and 16-section sleepers is beyond me. 

Looking at your pictures of the trucks, the original Atlas CZ trucks look identical to the newer trucks except for the clasp brakes. (I'll have to check mine.)  If I find them to be the same, I'm going to clip the clasp breaks off.  

Pingman,

Midland Reproductions has been out of business for over 20 years.  They were forced out when the company doing the extrusions was sold and the new owners scrapped the extrusion tools.

ChipE

Thanks for the info.  Pity to lose a resource.

Pingman, The dome was quite the center of discussion circa 2008 when Atlas introduced the first sample. Most of the discussion happened on the Atlas Forum in which Atlas members themselves participated, and while at the time some where pulling their hairs from the skull as it didn't seem Atlas was going to "get it right" (some might still think they never did) there was a heated (yet in hindsight wonderful) exchange with the community that led to the final product you see here. Erik, rdunniii, Bob2 and others (sorry if missed you) assisted Atlas with suggestions, observations and material which included a midland reproductions dome. We definitely owe all the members of the community that assisted and pushed Atlas to go as far as they did.       

I'm playing with the idea of completely sanding down the rivets on the name plates. The rivets on the real cars where so tiny you might as well forget about them. I photoshoped the pictures below to give me an idea of how it they would end up looking.

I would have to see if I can reproduce the metallic finish before I commit. I already lettered 4 of my cars so redoing them wouldn't really be an issue just work. I have the InDesign lettering file and the decal materials. What do you guys think?

with the rivets

without the rivets

without the rivets

I would say take them off. They bother me on my diner.

Wasn't me - I just participated in the discussion with my many opinions.  Yes, both MacShops and Midland Reproductions are no longer viable suppliers, but the market is very slim, and eBay is almost like going to the store, except easier to shop and you do not have to stand in line at the register.

If Atlas sells the domes separately, that would be your best bet, because the Midland must be soldered and glazed.  And Mac Shops extrusions are out there, but even easier is to get some K-Line extrusions and replace their dome with a good one.  My K-Line compares favorably with Mac Shops, and the windows are already cut.

The Benson extrusions were Lionel, with that unrealistic lower letterboard.  Otherwise, they are quite good.

This post is out of sequence - I would leave the rivets alone.

Theoretically Des Plaines Hobbies has all the Midland Reproductions stuff but good luck getting any of it out of Mr Sebastian.

Yep,  the Midland Reproductions principals and a railroad official climbed all over a dome on the CZ whilst is was paused in Denver United Station, with measuring tools in hand.  One of the participants told me that the passengers were amused.

ChipR 

Thanks for the reply, SANTIAGOP23.  Before I chase the Atlas domes, it would be helpful if you could supply the dome length on your Atlas domes; or, for someone else reading this to do so.  I would like to make this aspect of the Benson cars as prototypically correct as I can reasonably accomplish with my very modest modeling abilities.  For example, the domes Lionel uses on their 18" cars, although far from prototypically correct, measure 5.75" and it would be relatively simple to add 1/4" of material to them to fit the 6" opening on my Benson domes.  So I would appreciate the measurement of the Atlas dome length before I undertake the chase to secure them.

bob2, if you can, please supply the dome length measurement of the K-Line domes.  They might also be a viable source for a better dome than the Lionel; one thing I know is I'm not going to use the cast lead dome supplied with the cars. 

Thanks for any help, and I regret if my inquiries about dome length detract in anyway from anyone's enjoyment of this very entertaining thread and the photographs of the Atlas models and the prototypes.

EDIT 12/1:  The K-Line dome is 6.5" x 2.5" per info from another forumite. 

As of about 2 years ago Mac Shops was still supplying car kits and parts. Haynes had his brass dome kit available as a separate offering.

 You can add my vote of agreement.

If you have any contact information for Mac Shops, please supply it.  Thanks.

Sorry, I do not have any K-Line dome cars.  The domes were too "toy-like" for me.

If it hasn't been mentioned before, the early and late Atlas trucks (with clasp brakes) are identical except for the clasp brakes.  Removing the clasp brakes will allow them to match the earlier trucks.

I wonder if 41-N trucks with clasp brakes were from a mold that Atlas had made for future Budd passenger car production, and the new factory picked the wrong one for the last two cars.

Sorry it took me so long. At the base the dome measures 6 inches long. At the top it's 5 inches. The base width is a little over 3 1/2 inches. Hope this helps.

This is EXACTLY the information I was seeking.  THANK YOU for supplying it.  No problem with any delay--I have a bigger modeling project I'm just starting, so it will be at least a couple of months before I get to the Benson cars.

Looking forward to more posts on your project.