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I think you need a person with a huge drive to make a O scale train line work in todays market.

You need a guy who is a maven in industry, a person with a vision of what needs to be done, a person who is not afraid to throw large sums of money into a project.

This person has to have great knowledge of electronics.

He also has to have a mechanical mind.

You need...Elon Musk.

Last edited by John Pignatelli JR.
@Cogen1981 posted:

Lou,

I agree with you, continuing DCS is a beautiful thing. I have owned and operated DCS, TMCC, and Legacy for 10 years, and I find both systems have their pros and cons, and I don’t find one to be superior than the other.

DCS certainly has some quirks and is more sensitive to signal interference such as dirty track. With that said I find DCS to be reliable for the most part. MTH has come a long way with its PS 3.0 locomotive hardware and I have had yet to have a board fail. I find DCS to be easier to set up, the two way communication system is great, and the ability to piggyback DCS onto Legacy is an excellent feature.

Bottom line is TMCC and DCS are both great systems, and it would be a enormous loss on the hobby to lose one

I find the biggest issue with DCS to be when using a remote the software doesn't always give you an accurate message to the situation.

Many times it will say "Out of Range" when actually the handheld remote isn't out of range at all, rather that the TIU and Engine have lost touch with each other. Seems when they went to the Wifi and app work on the remotes software stopped.

One of the coolest features of DCS is the fully automatic forward, reverse, or crossing horn/whistle sequences. Yet when you place two engines in a consist, you lose the crossing sequence capability. That has got to be the  "Worst Feature Ever"

Hopefully this will be a great move for Atlas and help all the current MTH operators as well.

Last edited by BobbyD

You need a guy who is a maven in industry, a person with a vision of what needs to be done, a person who is not afraid to throw large sums of money into a project.



You need...Elon Musk.

With with the best case scenario being zero return on the investment with the more likely a loss on the investment. That's why there is so little new tooling made these days; there is no return on the investment with little prospect on getting return on the investment.

Elon gets return on his investments and everything he does is for eventual massive returns on his investment be it Tesla, SpaceX or Bitcoin. BTW, his investment in Bitcoin is already worth billions more than he exchanged for it.

@WBC posted:

With with the best case scenario being zero return on the investment with the more likely a loss on the investment. That's why there is so little new tooling made these days; there is no return on the investment with little prospect on getting return on the investment.

Elon gets return on his investments and everything he does is for eventual massive returns on his investment be it Tesla, SpaceX or Bitcoin. BTW, his investment in Bitcoin is already worth billions more than he exchanged for it.

And y’all wonder why threads get deleted,....🙄...lemme give ya a little hint,....nonsense like this,...

Pat

I'm glad to see a number of MTH models will now be made by Atlas. I'm especially hopeful this development, and apparently Atlas' access to MTH's former factory, will allow Atlas to resume making it's own designs. As between an Atlas design and MTH, I choose Atlas first. I think some folks, especially those who've come into the hobby in the last ten years or so, think of Atlas as a marginal and sporadic supplier. But in the ten or so years after Atlas entered the O market in 1998, it regularly announced and regularly delivered innovative new models. I found Atlas typically came closest to its announced delivery dates, usually having the model to dealers within a month or two of the announced arrival date.

I do wonder how some models made it "in" to the sale but not others. Presumably Atlas has no interest in tooling that duplicates its own models. But why Atlas would want, for example, the SD40-2 tooling is beyond me. That one's just not a terribly accurate rendition of the prototype and not up to Atlas standards. Other late MTH designs, like the SD45-2T, SD50, or AC4400, among others are better detailed and more accurate but aren't on the list. So I wonder if other tooling was spoken for, or if the tooling was sold in lots or something else. At any rate, this all is great news, especially if Atlas resumes regular production.

RM

@WBC posted:

With with the best case scenario being zero return on the investment with the more likely a loss on the investment. That's why there is so little new tooling made these days; there is no return on the investment with little prospect on getting return on the investment.

How does that explain 3rd Rail's offerings which are all new tooling with just a few exceptions?

I do wonder how some models made it "in" to the sale but not others. Presumably Atlas has no interest in tooling that duplicates its own models. But why Atlas would want, for example, the SD40-2 tooling is beyond me. That one's just not a terribly accurate rendition of the prototype and not up to Atlas standards.

The main problems with the MTH (as well as Lionel) SD40-2 are the undersized fuel tank and wheel base.  These should be easy fixes as they are separate from the body.

Other late MTH designs, like the SD45-2T, SD50, or AC4400, among others are better detailed and more accurate but aren't on the list. So I wonder if other tooling was spoken for, or if the tooling was sold in lots or something else. At any rate, this all is great news, especially if Atlas resumes regular production.

If I had to venture a guess, based on a comparison to imported toy lines, I’d wager a sum that certain molds are tied to a particular company/factory over there in the Pacific.

In the world of Transformers (the toy not the electrical component) Hasbro imported various models from different Japanese toy companies, and rolled them into one product line for the US market.  Some of the transforming robot toys were made by Takara (two separate toy lines in fact), while others were made by Bandai/Takatoku.  

@GG1 4877 posted:

How does that explain 3rd Rail's offerings which are all new tooling with just a few exceptions?

Yeah, I agree.  I’m not even sure why tooling costs go up in price.  Look all all the different things made out of plastic available for peanuts on Amazon.  The wheels, gears, and truck side frames are probably a bit more costly I guess.  Anyway, all of that requires injection molds to be made, and manufacturers change the cases on products on a whim to suit aesthetics.  I’ve seen many products with the exact same internal guts, just with an updated case.

I'm glad to see a number of MTH models will now be made by Atlas. I'm especially hopeful this development, and apparently Atlas' access to MTH's former factory, will allow Atlas to resume making it's own designs. As between an Atlas design and MTH, I choose Atlas first. I think some folks, especially those who've come into the hobby in the last ten years or so, think of Atlas as a marginal and sporadic supplier. But in the ten or so years after Atlas entered the O market in 1998, it regularly announced and regularly delivered innovative new models. I found Atlas typically came closest to its announced delivery dates, usually having the model to dealers within a month or two of the announced arrival date.



This was my experience as well with the locomotives I ordered from Atlas during those days. I call it the “Jim Weaver” era. Post Jim Weaver era was a different story. I hope Atlas has someone in mind who will manage the O scale side of things for them like Jim did. I think it’s great that they have the MTH factory to start making models but they also need someone at the helm to make sure things go right.





Last edited by Hudson J1e

I believe it was in the mr.muffin email. I know I heard it somewhere.

In the email I got from Mr. Muffin, there were two sentences after Atlas's press release and the second one read, "Atlas also announced they have licensed MTH's DCS technology and will be using it in their future products."  It could be interpreted to mean DCS only (which I agree is likely) but it also could mean that it will be available in addition to TMCC.   The situation would have been clarified by writing either that they "will be using it exclusively in their future products" or by saying it would be an additional option in future products.

Last edited by PGentieu

I doubt that Atlas will produce both TMCC and DCS locomotives. I also think that Atlas will consider the DCC capability of PS3 as their DCC offering. One version of command control can serve xx% of the market. Or they can offer

DCS

TMCC

DCC plug in

AC (let's not forget the traditional 3 rail guy)

That's 4 versions vs one. I know what I would do if it was my company.

@PGentieu posted:

In the email I got from Mr. Muffin, there were two sentences after Atlas's press release and the second one read, "Atlas also announced they have licensed MTH's DCS technology and will be using it in their future products."  It could be interpreted to mean DCS only (which I agree is likely) but it also could mean that it will be available in addition to TMCC.   The situation would have been clarified by writing either that they "will be using it exclusively in their future products" or by saying it would be an additional option in future products.

IMO, it's a bit early to expect Atlas to make a final decision on how the control systems will play out.

@Keith L posted:

Tooling costs for a diecast model are extremely high--much more than for a brass model--and require many more units to be produced and sold before those costs can be recouped.



3rd Rail's brass offerings are limited and have been for going on 10 years.  The main business model is plastic shelled diesels with road specific detailing and to the floor plan accurate aluminum car sets.  This year there is only one scheduled brass model to go forward, while at three to four newly tooled diesels will be arriving depending on production schedules including the Krauss Maffei, the GP7/GP9s, and the SD40-2s.  There may be another one, but I suspect it will push into early next year.  Typical run is about 500 units and not all of them have been rerun in the 10 years that 3rd Rail started in the injection molded diesel market.

To the topic I just hope that Atlas can get their act together and deliver.  Preferably Atlas designs for me like the SWs and the AEM7/ALP44 which is still most accurate one on the market.  The MTH tooling Atlas acquired is it a lot tools that go back to the 90's.  However, I'd like to see the F40 produced with the front pilot corrected and the P42 to go with my Viewliners.

Pure speculation, but it seems that Atlas bought the tooling to simply get access to a better factory which they have had issues with for sometime.  DCS is the real prize in the deal. 

@Keith L posted:

Since you would like to learn more, you can research this easily. Share with us what you learn...

Clearly you know a lot about the subject, so why not share with the rest of the class??.....your first reply was as if you have first hand knowledge,.....so do you?...or is this internet speculation??...because if it’s on the internet, it has to be true,....right??..

Pat

@GG1 4877 posted:

To the topic I just hope that Atlas can get their act together and deliver.  Preferably Atlas designs for me like the SWs and the AEM7/ALP44 which is still most accurate one on the market.  The MTH tooling Atlas acquired is it a lot tools that go back to the 90's.  However, I'd like to see the F40 produced with the front pilot corrected and the P42 to go with my Viewliners.

Pure speculation, but it seems that Atlas bought the tooling to simply get access to a better factory which they have had issues with for sometime.  DCS is the real prize in the deal.

I too think factory access and DCS are the keys. Some of the models need updating / better trucks, lowering model etc. Let’s hope access to the MTH factory can resurrect some of the great Atlas models with superb details we’ve loved in the past. Be interesting to have them now with DCS 😜

@trainbob posted:

It would surprise me if Atlas dropped TMCC for the simple reason that it would keep a lot of people who only use Lionel’s command control from buying their locomotives. Why would I pay for a command control system that I will never use. To this day I have never bought a MTH locomotive.

Well, they can bring in buyers that prefer DCS. I have both Legacy and DCS. However, until now, Atlas only has TMCC, not Legacy. I'll take DCS.

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