Seeing comments about MTH's center beam lumber cars all of a sudden where I have not seen them before tells me something. Now that Midwest has shown samples of their brass version, everybody wants brass quality at MTH prices. The MTH version is one of their better cars but even if most major inaccuracies are corrected they will not be close to the brass version. The amount of new tooling or retooling necessary to update the MTH version to an Atlas master line or even trainman version would raise the price of the car to the neighborhood of the new autoracks.
The new Atlas well cars are new tooling Master series. I do have most possibilities reserved including extras. The same is true for the new containers they have announced. With Atlas not doing reruns of their other contemporary cars in the foreseeable future, you takes what you can get. I'm not sure what prototype well cars they are talking about because I'm not familiar with rebuilt 48' cars with flat sides. But then Atlas does usually does pick the unusual rather than the common for O Scale. Disappointing to me but it is what it is. A standalone version of their 53' Gunderson car would have worked just as well for me.
I would like it if Atlas updated the MTH 5-car articulated skeleton flats but that tooling is pretty much worthless. I don't know if they even bought they Centerbeam car tooling.
From my talking to younger attendees at the March Meet (under ~50), most, but certainly not all, want more contemporary offerings they can go down to their nearest real railroad and watch (with their children vs their grandchildren). I will be doing the same at the upcoming O Scale West.
