Well, first off, if there were large quantities of Atlas at Indy, would somebody please provide me with some e-mail addresses and phone numbers. Really, I'm serious. I've got quite a shopping list! Seriously!..........and why is that? Well, that brings me to the next point.....which is......
Quality and obtainability. As an O Scale modeler, I try to find the best models that appeal to my prototype era and my eye for detail. That would be Atlas. Don't expect that out of Lionel or MTH. Those companies cater first and most to 3 rail collectors and operators. Has anyone forgotten that?? This is the "2 rail" forum, right??? Now this isn't to slam anyone, far be it from me, a humble and seldom seen or heard member of the O Scale community. I just want to point out that when was the last time anyone saw any of the Berwick Forge Hi-cubes in Rio Grande, ATSF mineral or Indian Red, or Western Pacific for sale in quantity? When was the last time you saw any of the later runs of the GP60 in Rio Grande or the GP60M/B in ATSF Super Fleet colors (War Bonnet scheme to us old farts)? Have you seen any of quantities of the Coalveyor in the Black/Orange Utility Fuels (UFIX) scheme for sale? Atlas only produced 16 numbers and no more, not quite enough for a unit train. Or how about the first and only run of Cotton Belt Wide Vision Cabooses (no, not Trainman)? Seen any of the first run Bulkhead flats for sale: UP, BNSF, TTX, BC, IC? or how about the ATSF Indian red version and the 68ft flat car version? How many of the Trinity 5161cf Grain Cars in CMO, CHTT, BNSF Nike Swoosh, AGP, Borax, GATX, and NATX have you been able to buy in any quantity, and at a reasonable price just lately? What I'm saying is high quality and desirability. It was and still is Atlas that is feeding and caring for the O Scale community. If not for Atlas O, Lionel and MTH would still be trying to out-do each other with endless re-runs of the NYC J-1E. Have you seen or bought the Lionel 66ft Gunderson Mill Gondola? I have two, in CSX, and plan to get another in TTX. Granted, the Atlas O Master Line could have done a better job with the underframe details, but over all, darn good. Rest assured we wouldn't have this car if not for the influence of Atlas O and the desire on Lionel's part to compete. Now I realize that most of the people on this forum are steam/transition modelers, but for those of you, like me, who model trains after 1995, do you really want Atlas to sell out to Brand L and Brand M??? Do you really think they care about the two rail market, other than as an after-thought? What! are you thinking???
O Scale quality and obtainability, real value! Not, well if I shave a little here, glue that there, buy extra parts to improve that! Now it is frustrating to the current prototype modeler to have to wait....and wait for some models to appear, but (and I maybe be wrong) it seems to me, after reading these posts, that Atlas O/Trainman owners are so disappointed, so angry, so disloyal to Atlas O that they keep all those wretched models Atlas imports for years on end so that guys like me, who can't travel to the big shows and don't have the $$$ to buy it all up at once when it first appears, have to wait years for re-runs or used models to appear on the secondary market. Ouch!! When said unhappy modelers do sell to the secondary market, it's at inflated prices because, "These quality models are so scarce and hard to come by!" And funnier yet, (in a strange and twisted sort of way) these same disgruntled and disappointed customers snap up new product as soon as it becomes available like hungry trout during the spring hatches. Imagine that.
So all you folks who are so unhappy with Atlas, please, (and I truly mean this from the heart) please put your trains up for sale so I and the newer and upcoming generations of O Scale model railroaders can get a chance to own some quality models. And for those of you who have witnessed "Atlas glut" please alert us to those incidents by posting the names, e-mails, addresses, and phone numbers of said persons having said glut. Seriously! I have a big shopping list! Come to think of it, I also want some Overland SP Bay Window Caboose and UP Ca7s, -9s, and -10s. Well, any way....................
Mike Caddell Arvada, Colorado
PS: As an after-thought (Yes, I am capable of having them). Although I have just expounded on Brands A, L, and M, I just want to tip my hat to the many smaller manufacturers of great O Scale products. Together, you make this a great hobby to be in and together you also pressure the bigger guns to bring us more of what we want. Keep up the good work and a Big THANK YOU!!!
