Atlas O Trainman 60-Foot Passenger Cars

Well done and informative Eric.

Thank You

Dave

thanks Eric.

What brand passengers did you use? You may have said it in the video but I did not catch it.

Blue Streak posted:

thanks Eric.

What brand passengers did you use? You may have said it in the video but I did not catch it.

It’s a mixture of “little people” made by Golden Gate Depot and some inexpensive o-scale figures ordered from China via Ebay.

-Eric 

Very good presentation, Eric.  I have four of these cars in NYC livery, and I've been extremely happy with all of them.

One thing you did not specifically point out (though it does show in the video) is that the observation car comes with an illuminated drumhead.  

The only thing lacking on these cars is marker lights on the rear of the observation car.  I'm in the process of choosing a pair for my NYC observation.

Terrific review, as always, Eric.  What diameter rail do these run on?

These pictures show my Atlas O Trainman passenger cars – a New Haven Railroad RPO, combine and coach. The Atlas O Archive lists these cars as having been offered in 2008, 2010, 2015 and 2016 and describes them as models based on C&NW 60-foot prototype cars. The 3-rail cars are quoted for O-36 and the 2-rail versions for 36-inch radius curves. The model length is about 15 inches (60 feet) over the body ends and 16 inches (64 feet) over the diaphragms. They have good, adequate detail. The RPO has 3-axle trucks and the combine and coach have 2-axle trucks. The last three photos show how the cars look on O-54 curved track.

MELGAR

POTRZBE posted:

What diameter rail do these run on?

The tightest curve on my own layout is 036.  The Atlas cars can squeeze through it without trouble, but there's a lot of overhang and it looks pretty silly.

Nice. Do they make any Western road names?

Thank you Eric.   That was helpful!  One question:  Is the coupler height on the passenger cars the same as on your MTH steam engine?

Thank you for the time, effort and detailed information you provide in all your videos.

Excellent production work and valuable information.

Always look forward to your posts.

Joe

Nice review Eric. I've held off getting any of these as the couplers droop on friends NYC models causing them to uncouple. How are the ones on yours?

Melgar,

I know this thread is a little old, but any idea where I can find a set of the 60' Atlas New Haven cars in your post?  I just stumbled on these recently and they could be perfect for a project I'm working on. I have been searching online, but only found a few individual cars. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Dave H.

The Public Delivery Track forum sponsor.

Dave H,

Try Forum sponsors Public Delivery Track, Western Depot and Atlas O.

MELGAR

Thank you Melgar and Dave.  Have you had any issues with these cars? Someone else mentioned that the cars were light and rubbed the track in spots. If so, I might consider repainting some different cars. The color scheme of these New Haven cars was perfect though, and they also had the detailed interiors. New Haven was also the name of the street I grew up on as coincidence has it. 

I have 4 of these cars (2 baggage, 1 RPO, 1 combine) all ATSF from the run a couple years ago. All had issue with the wheels on the trucks hitting the underbody detail on 054 curves. I ended up putting washers between the trucks and floor to solve the issue. 

Thanks Lou1985. Good to know that issue can be resolved. I have a set of 6 MTH NYC 60' Madison cars now that are similar to these, would just need repainted, but if I could find a good deal on a used set of the New Haven cars I think I might get them and see what I could do. If it wasn't working out I could just keep them for my own use use, since the project I'm working on is a gift for my son. 

DHman posted:

Thank you Melgar and Dave.  Have you had any issues with these cars?

Lou1985 posted:

I have 4 of these cars (2 baggage, 1 RPO, 1 combine). All had issue with the wheels on the trucks hitting the underbody detail on 054 curves. I ended up putting washers between the trucks and floor to solve the issue. 

As mentioned by Lou1985, when the trucks are turned to a large angle, the wheels may contact the car undersides. I run mine on O-54 and haven't encountered this, but my track is absolutely level. The cars are listed for O-36.

MELGAR

Great video as always Eric!

In my case, I purchased these 3 LIRR’s from P.D.T when the Atlas re-release was offered. Unless Atlas modified them since a few years ago, the latest cars may still have these 2 issues.

1. Cars are too light, had to add 2 (sinkers) weights at each end.
2. Truck and coupler arms rub under the body and also at edge of plastic shell. Had to file down the plastic for smooth operation on 042, 54 curves. Added black tape with oil to glide over floor details, plus a washer on the bolster. I kept hearing a click and grinding noise on curves. Sometime the cars would de-rail which is unheard of on my layout.

After checking the rail spacing on the curves, I discovered it was these cars that were causing the issue. Design oversite.

Thanks SIRT for such a detailed post. That is really good to know about these cars. I wanted these to be part of a legacy gift for my son's graduation (the New Haven RR color scheme matches his football team's colors), so I will have to give this careful thought. I went to my LHS today to see if they had any of these or anything from the NH RR but struck out. Have to weigh these vs. re-painting  some 60' MTH Rail King NYC Madison cars that I recently picked up. 

Does anyone know if this issue applies to later runs of the cars? 

I never had these issues and my friend Stan has been running his Chicago North Western  cars for years with no issues. Stan did mention that the observation car which came out many years after the original run has LED lights the older units didn't.

Thanks Dave.  I have 8 of the Chicago Great Western cars on order.  So hopefully they will be issue free.

Looks like they were made for 2 rail in which the smaller wheels and coupler set up would not cause an issue.

I had the same issues as Steve on the Lackawanna cars  They rocked back and forth on the tracks from the rubbing on the bottom and derailed alot.  They were sold off

I have 2 sets with no issues

Empty statement.

No specifics or facts to convince us as to why you have trouble free operation.

2R? 3R? Curves? Photos? Track?

I have four cars in NJ DOT livery.  These track well on my 042 loops, clicking is evident on my super o loop.  I found the air hose below the coupler scrapped the super o ties.  There is an occasional derail, I will add weight to see if this addresses that issue.  No rubbing or rocking noticed but having commuted on these in the 70's and 80's any rocking would be somewhat prototypical.  Overall I am pleased.