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Atlas Acquires Select M.T.H Locomotive and Rolling Stock Molds

Hillside, NJ – Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc. is proud to announce the purchase of a variety of tooling in the M.T.H. Premier O Scale Locomotive and Rolling Stock lines from M.T.H. Electric Trains of Columbia, MD.

Rolling stock molds acquired  include the  4-Bay Hopper, Coalporter Hopper, PS2CD High Side Hopper, 40' PS1 Box Car, 55' All Door Box Car, 2-Bay Centerflow Hopper, 3-Bay Centerflow Hopper , Steel Caboose , 50' High Cube Box Car , PS2 2-Bay Hopper, 20,000 Gallon Tank Car, 50' Airslide Hopper, Russell Plow, 8000 Gallon Tank Car, Funnel Flow Tank Car, Modern Tank Car, Crane, Crane Tender, 100 Ton Hot Metal Car, Rapid Discharge Hopper, 75' Depressed Flat Car, Scale Test Car, 2-Bay Offset Hopper, Operating Coal and Log Dump Car, Premiere 70' Heavyweight Passenger Cars, Premiere 70' Streamline Passenger Cars and Amfleet Cars.

Locomotive molds include the E6A/B and E8A/B, 44 Tonner, Amtrak P42 Genesis, Dash 9, SD45, F40, U30C, SD70M-2 with SD70Ace, GP38-2, SD70ACe, SD70MAC, GP40, S2, SD40-2, GP30, ES44AC&DC with ES44DC and GEVO ES-44.

In addition, Atlas has also acquired the following accessories from MTH’s Railking Line: Water Column, 22 figure sets, Operating Traffic Light, Motorcycle Pack, Pedestrian Crosswalk, Floodlight Tower, Sanding Tower, Road signs, Telephone Poles and the Operating Modern Crossing Signal.

Atlas has also acquired a license for the MTH Proto-Sound 3 Sound & Control Electronics Boards, which adds realistic sounds to locomotives and also allows control via DCS (Digital Command System).  Part of the license will give Atlas the option to sell DCS components as well.

"MTH has long been an outstanding manufacturer of model trains and we are excited to continue that legacy," said Jarrett Haedrich, COO of Atlas. "We will be working closely with the existing supplier to ensure that the models are produced and delivered in a timely fashion."  The first model to be produced will be announced Wednesday, March 24th.

M.T.H. Electric Trains was founded in 1980 by Mike Wolf as a mail order train business. Over the years it grew into a full manufacturing business with full lines of O, HO and S scale trains and track. In June 2020, Mike Wolf announced he was retiring and that M.T.H. would be closing in May of 2021.

Founded in 1924 and incorporated in 1949 as Atlas Tool Co. Inc., present day Atlas Model Railroad Co. produces locomotives, rolling stock, track, and accessories in N, HO and O scales for its Atlas Master, Atlas Classic, Trainman, and Atlas O lines.

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Kudos to Atlas for a VERY good move! They appear to have pretty much taken on the "cream of the crop" of MTH Premier Line production, at least in my opinion. Would be nice to see them also do more MTH Premier cabooses at some point, but I know they can't do everything. In short: VERY glad to see Atlas take this step, which, I believe, is sure to bring smiles to the faces of a good many fans of both the MTH and Atlas product lines.

Last edited by Allan Miller

Wise preemptive move by the moderator to channel discussion to one place.

For the Atlas naysayers saying that they were getting out of the O business, this clearly  indicates they are going in the opposite direction.  Looks like they are picking up ability to produce DCS as well.  Very good news (or at least hope) for those of us who are fans of the MTH Premier line and Atlas O.

Now the rumor mill will really start churning about the Railking line.

Last edited by eaaiii

This is exciting news to me. I look forward to Atlas engine production and the rest. Having production on PS3 brings me joy too.

I think this is a good list of engine products from above:

"Locomotive molds include the E6A/B and E8A/B, 44 Tonner, Amtrak P42 Genesis, Dash 9, SD45, F40, U30C, SD70M-2 with SD70Ace, GP38-2, SD70ACe, SD70MAC, GP40, S2, SD40-2, GP30, ES44AC&DC with ES44DC and GEVO ES-44."

Remember what Atlas has produced so far and how big this expands their line-up in O scale.

Thanks for sharing!!!

This is exciting news to me. I look forward to Atlas engine production and the rest. Having production on PS3 brings me joy too.

I think this is a good list of engine products from above:

"Locomotive molds include the E6A/B and E8A/B, 44 Tonner, Amtrak P42 Genesis, Dash 9, SD45, F40, U30C, SD70M-2 with SD70Ace, GP38-2, SD70ACe, SD70MAC, GP40, S2, SD40-2, GP30, ES44AC&DC with ES44DC and GEVO ES-44."

Remember what Atlas has produced so far and how big this expands their line-up in O scale.

Thanks for sharing!!!

Yeah, like Pepperidge Farm, I remember... gotta get the dust and cobwebs off too!

Haven't been on the Forum for a couple of weeks and just hopped on to see what's up. What sterling timing for me to discover this announcement! As a long-time MTH fan, I'm very excited at the prospect of Atlas producing new engines and rolling stock using the MTH Premier tooling and electronics. Atlas' product line in O gauge/scale is greatly increased with this deal, as should their production in the future. Great news for all of us in both three- and two-rail O gauge. Can't wait to see their next catalog's "Premier" offerings.

Stay well.

Chris

@Richie C. posted:

That's the $64K question, for sure.

Since the release only states that Atlas acquired the molds and is silent about the proprietary hardware/electronics, it may be that we will be seeing MTH products with TMCC electronics.

Read the entire press release:

"Atlas has also acquired a license for the MTH Proto-Sound 3 Sound & Control Electronics Boards, which adds realistic sounds to locomotives and also allows control via DCS (Digital Command System).  Part of the license will give Atlas the option to sell DCS components as well."

Interesting that this good news was not leaked earlier.  I'm sure they have been in discussion for some time and probably inked the deal long before today, but their hasn't been a hint.

Good news indeed for us MTH fans.  I'll be interested to see if Atlas pricing is similar to MTH.

I guess we will see a bunch of threads asking people what they want to see Atlas make.  I'm still looking for D&H 18" streamlined passenger cars. 

Good news I guess for DCS and a few diesels. I.M.O. I see several undesirable items in the mix.

I would think the other group will pick up the 50’ PS-1’s F3’s, FM’s, RS-1, RS-3, 44 ton, Subways, MU’s or GP35’s. I know Atlas offers some of these so they were probably avoiding conflict in the choice.

Very excited about this news! Glad DCS/Protosound 3.0 lives on!  I have been buying more Atlas O freight cars over the past few years and I've grown to really appreciate what they do.  I hope they keep the prices comparable to MTH because Premier diesels have been the ceiling I am willing to pay.  I like Railking, too -- and hope it lives on as well, especially for steam.  This news made my day.  Hooray!

Happy it has life!!!! The es44 and SD40 is great due to the swiveling pilots. I still hope that railking lives on. Either through lionel or some other manufacturer will likely purchase the tooling eventually. There are no mid level engines or passenger cars in lionels repertoire so maybe something will happen. (e.g. imperial and railking scale engines)

I agree, but time will tell

@ncdave posted:

I’m hoping Atlas will be able to produce a PS3 and a TMCC/Legacy edition of the same engine. This would appeal to both sides of the O Gauge market. IMO it would be a big mistake for Atlas to drop the TMCC/Legacy license.

As far as I know Atlas only has TMCC licensing I don't think Lionel will let Legacy walk out the door.  The only reason I could see for Atlas to drop TMCC is so they don't have to keep paying Lionel for the licensing now that they bought their own system in DCS.

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