Atlas just released their spring 2024 O gauge catalog..here's a quick and dirty

Is it just me or is anyone else wondering why all the MTH retreads? What happened to all the great Atlas O master line locos and cars I have loved over the years? I am also afraid to ask why TMCC seems to have never existed according to new offerings. Your loyal customers are not impressed....

All that I know is hearsay, so better not to spread gossip.  

What i can say, is that the production of the "good old stuff" is slow, but  has not stopped. F units,. GP-7's and the RSD-15's were made.  A number of freight and passenger cars have been made.  The comet and horizon passenger cars will be here shortly.

As far as the new catalog is concerned...P42's have been very popular, hence more production in schemes that havent been done before.    The GP-15's are from the original atlas production.  The 2-8-0's are a weaver product that Atlas bought back in 2015, so im glad they are able to resurrect it. These will be the 1st 2 rail steam engines made at least 5 years now.

In fact the only other items items in  this catalog that are former MTH, are the snow plows, and the Northeastern cabooses.

As for why there has been so much former MTH being made at Atlas and Lionel...

1. Buying MTH tooling was a way for both companies to introduce something " new" to their line, without the cost of putting together new tooling from the bottom up, IMHO.   And after purchasing this "new tooling ", of course they want to use it.

2. Atlas O gauge production was getting very slow...so producing the former MTH O gauge items was a way to jump start the O gauge line....IMHO.

3. Now, if you are waiting for more Atlas Alco centuries, and  SW switchers, etc.  IDK what to say.  All i can suggest is asking Atlas.

4.  TMCC vs DCS?    AFAIK...its all just economics.  AFAIK. its less expensive for Atlas to use DCS than TMCC.  Also the DCS system has DCC installed for the 2 railers.  The same electronics package works for 2 rail or 3 rail.  With TMCC, they need to have a different electronics package for the 2 rail locos.   And of course, all the former MTH locos are designed to use the DCS system, so why spend a ton of money rebuilding the engine guts, when you already have something that works.

All things considered, I happy with these offerings.  I think there are a few too many re-runs of previously done paint schemes on some items...... the marketplace will be the ultimate decider of which things were good ideas, and which were not.

Dont know if i answered your question.....  Believe me, there are some things Ive been asking Atlas to produce for some time now, but its just not all that simple.

beth

Amazing to see my Weaver 2-8-0 available again! I bought mine in 2003 from a friend, ‘new in box’ just as production was ending, the only current production piece of O scale I have ever bought!

I wonder what these will be priced at? The Atlas website appears to be down at the moment.

I do 2-rail and this was my return to O scale after selling all my O scale as a kid in the early eighties and pursuing HO for a decade. I learned; why do anything half-way?!? Right?

My Weaver is very smooth but hasn’t seen much run time, we bought a house a few months ago with lots of plans O scale and larger…

Here it is running on my unfinished sectional layout (which is about to come out of storage!): https://youtu.be/70jgtBBxZC8

we have everything from the new atlas catalog up on our website now.  U can look under pre-order, or use th search function.

thx

beth

Atlas Spring 2024 PDF catalog

Though Atlas website seems to be down at the moment, I found a direct link to the catalog. The 2-8-0 list price is $799.99 2 or 3-rail.

Our (and prob most everyones ) pre order price is 719.95   fwiw

I’d certainly get a Rutland 2-8-0 or a pair if multiple road numbers are made. Just a suggestion, the letting and cab numbers should be an aluminum color, not white like others have used.

Did the Rutland hoppers and prsl sand car custom runs get approved?

The 2-8-0 is definitely in my price range. I would maybe in for a Rutland as well. I don’t worry about road  accurate details at this point at least in a diecast model. It has the look and stance of a Rutland 2-8-0.
Eric nailed the color of the lettering. MTH  I believe got it wrong on there early 2000’s Mikado. Lionel as well on their 2 offerings. Also the letter spacing needs attention. Highball Graphics decals have it correct. I watched the demo. last night. Seems to have a sound set from an 0-8-0.

Definitely interested in the NYO&W gondola and 60' passenger cars.

So when was the last Atlas catalog that was this large?  Seems they are getting larger, no?  A good sign if so.  Clear that they have gone all in on DCS for their locos. 

Thanks, Beth for clarifying.  1st I want to say I support the hobby's success and it is a challenging market.  I knew some of what you say about using tooling they buy.  I also get re-paints and re-releases only go so far. New tooling is very expensive.

Having said all that, as a buying customer I don't think I am alone in noticing that the MTH product tooling are also somewhat dated and IMHO can not hold a candle from what Atlas has in terms of the scale O market.  Yes the market will decide, and I suspect the market misses alot of what Atlas O was known for. Yes they produce some of their legacy products -  and I have bought many (including their amazing new Autorack tooling and RSD loco).  All I am offering Atlas to consider is that just using what you buy and expecting customers to 'take what we offer" may be a a business strategy to re-think? If I had an opportunity to order an Atlas O Alco, GP60M, Dash 8, SD 40, etc not to mention any of their freight cars, a re-release in a new favorite scheme would have my credit card out pretty fast.......just say'in.😁

TBH, and not surprisingly, I dont agree with all the decisions that any of the manufacturers make.  And not from a position of "what I want", but from a position of "what i think will sell best"   OTOH, I see the market from the perspective of the serious modeler, not the collector or the "toys for the kids" consumer.

As for the quality of the product that is being made....its all over the place, and most of the public, even the serious modelers, dont know which items are highly detailed, and which are not.    since detailing is something my customers want, I know what's what...but getting the word out is difficult. The manufacturers have totally blurred the lines as far as the branding and the quality.   some of the MTH "Premier" is less detailed than some of the Atlas Trainman.  In fact, some of the Atlas trainman is more detailed than some of their masterline stuff.   And a lot of what used to be MTH Premier, is now MTH Railking scale.   The MTH Railking scale and Premier Northeastern cabooses are virtually identical.   I used to tell ppl that the difference was the color of the box they came in.  You pay more for the purple box.

Like i say, its all over the place.   IMHO, all of the special run cars I do, are very nice cars.  Some are not super detailed, but they are nice cars.

When it comes to MTH Premier...generally, the things that were introduced after 2005 are much more detailed than the prior items....and the later something was introduced, the better the detailing.   2 of the nicest MTH premier car are the AAR 40' box cars, and the fishbelly hoppers.  When ppl actually look at these cars i almost always here  "yea...these are really nice.  I had no idea".   And of course, the premier 36' wood reefers are equal in detail to the Atlas Master wood reefers.

I could go on, but u get the idea.  As the late great Sy Sims used to say "An educated consumer is our best customer"

- beth

@Beth Marshall-The Public Delivery Track posted:

TBH, and not surprisingly, I dont agree with all the decisions that any of the manufacturers make.  And not from a position of "what I want", but from a position of "what i think will sell best"   OTOH, I see the market from the perspective of the serious modeler, not the collector or the "toys for the kids" consumer.

As for the quality of the product that is being made....its all over the place, and most of the public, even the serious modelers, dont know which items are highly detailed, and which are not.    since detailing is something my customers want, I know what's what...but getting the word out is difficult. The manufacturers have totally blurred the lines as far as the branding and the quality.   some of the MTH "Premier" is less detailed than some of the Atlas Trainman.  In fact, some of the Atlas trainman is more detailed than some of their masterline stuff.   And a lot of what used to be MTH Premier, is now MTH Railking scale.   The MTH Railking scale and Premier Northeastern cabooses are virtually identical.   I used to tell ppl that the difference was the color of the box they came in.  You pay more for the purple box.

Like i say, its all over the place.   IMHO, all of the special run cars I do, are very nice cars.  Some are not super detailed, but they are nice cars.

When it comes to MTH Premier...generally, the things that were introduced after 2005 are much more detailed than the prior items....and the later something was introduced, the better the detailing.   2 of the nicest MTH premier car are the AAR 40' box cars, and the fishbelly hoppers.  When ppl actually look at these cars i almost always here  "yea...these are really nice.  I had no idea".   And of course, the premier 36' wood reefers are equal in detail to the Atlas Master wood reefers.

I could go on, but u get the idea.  As the late great Sy Sims used to say "An educated consumer is our best customer"

- beth

Wow, it’s been ages since I heard that!  "An educated consumer is our best customer"

Any update on the PRSL and Raritan hoppers. I realize that you asked the question right before your world got turned upside down. I only mention it because you posted about hoppers above.
God Bless

as far as I know, we are on track to do the PRSL and RR sand hoppers.  I need to get the pix to andy, and car numbers.

beth

Does anyone know if 2-rail diesels will be set up to add rollers for those of us who want fixed pilots, etc?

Dave

@luvindemtrains posted:

Does anyone know if 2-rail diesels will be set up to add rollers for those of us who want fixed pilots, etc?

Dave

I watched the video on YT last night. They talked about how some 3 rail guys like the fixed pilot and Kadee couplers while talking about the P42. Also, it says on the Atlas website for the P42: "Proto-Scale 3-2 3-Rail/2-Rail Conversion Capable." I don't think the GP15s have this option. My guess is because the P42 is former MTH and the GP15 is not.

@luvindemtrains posted:

Does anyone know if 2-rail diesels will be set up to add rollers for those of us who want fixed pilots, etc?

Dave

The last run of P42s were delivered with rollers in the 2 rail boxes.

Regarding the GP15s, the structure of an atlas truck is similar to an MTH 3-2 convertible truck.  If you have flat top rails and O72+ curves, I would presume its a matter of swapping the wiper assembly and insulator for the pickup roller and insulator.  There's a long screw that passes thru the truck block to pass electrical contact to a ring terminal on top of the truck.  

**Disclaimer** This assumes that Atlas does not re-tool or re-equip the GP15s with the trucks that utilize the pin-plunger pickups.  I sure hope not because the phosphor bronze wipers are more reliable. Regardless of the 2 rail pickup used, Atlas trucks are universal 3/2 rail. You might be able to get 3 rail axles from the parts department, but you may not need them.

Until we hear otherwise from Atlas, I agree with Phil‘s assessment above. If it’s former MTH tooling that says 3/2 compatible, then you should be able to swap out the scale wheel sets for 3-rail and add pickup rollers.  It would be awesome if Atlas eventually gives us the ability to do that with their original products!

PS......Ive got everything from the atlas catalong up on line for pre-order, or if u want to see pix.

Go to the pre-order drop down, or u can use the search function.  When using the search function, put a + between words.    P42 will get u all the P42's.. GP+15 should get u the GP-15's, etc.  We do have some of the older GP-15's in stock, if u like conventional operation or TMCC.

Regarding the 2-rail GP15-1 release:  The Atlas catalog mentions DCC-compatible DCS unit for the P42, but did not specifically mention DCC capability for the GP15-1.  Bill/Atlas confirmed that the 2-rail GP15-1 with DCS will use the same decoder and smoke unit as the P42, and will support DCC. 

The GP15-1 2-rail analog unit won't have a smoke unit (as most would probably expect).  He wasn't sure about the speaker, but I would not expect them to have one (as was the case with previous 2-rail DC-only releases).

Will the 2-8-0’s be 3 Rail/2 Rail convertible?