Waiting almost 7 years for an Atlas RS-3

How come nobody suggested repainting an existing model?  Seven years is almost a tenth of a lifetime - if you really, really, really want something, go for it!

That gorgeous, but too wide D&H?  Anybody notice how, when you get rid of the center rail, you are able to overlook the extra width of the carbody?  You are no longer so busy overlooking the track and making sure everything else is perfect?

I had a Weaver for a while - traded it even for a Kemtron.  Never noticed that it was too wide.  Not very discerning, I guess.

bob2 posted:

How come nobody suggested repainting an existing model?  Seven years is almost a tenth of a lifetime - if you really, really, really want something, go for it!

That gorgeous, but too wide D&H?  Anybody notice how, when you get rid of the center rail, you are able to overlook the extra width of the carbody?  You are no longer so busy overlooking the track and making sure everything else is perfect?

I had a Weaver for a while - traded it even for a Kemtron.  Never noticed that it was too wide.  Not very discerning, I guess.

I've painted other locomotives when I could not by a desired roadname. I posted this, not as a complaint, but just as something to talk about. Besides I have plenty of other toys to play with.

For all of you folks with no memory of what went down with Atlas, and a myriad of other manufacturers first read this article http://www.atlasrr.com/News/mrting.htm.  Then, know that later, Kader bought Sanda Kan, and pretty much screwed everyone but Lionel.

Fred

I would like to know how many  employees these model railroad companies really have. We know the old Lionel, Marx and American Flyer had real factories but these modern corporations look like small outfits with a handful doing the planning, financing, marketing and engineering. No modern  normal company could exist today making their customers wait that long for delivery.  They wouldn't stay in business long.  Fortunately we have tons of the old stuff out there that keeps chugging along.

Lionel and MTH have relatively few employees, they basically are an importer rather than a manufacturer, I suspect they number in the hundreds at most. I don't know about MTH (some tell me they own their own factory in China, others tell me it is a contract model), but the basic model is they design the engines and such, and factories there (who make other things as well) bid and get the contracts to build them. Atlas and Lionel definitely are contracted out, which is why they have little control over when stuff actually ships and unfortunately, the quality. The manufacturers rely on inspection at the factory and then a basic checkout here, which is why the quality can be so spotty, that model doesn't produce high quality stuff. 

I just found this thread, I have been looking for a Lehigh and Hudson River RS3 for a year. Can't find one and I am a big LHR fan. The Lionel C420's are 2 of the best loco's I have ever purchased. I just wish I could fins the RS-3 to run with them. If anyone has one..

@jim pastorius posted:

No modern  normal company could exist today making their customers wait that long for delivery.  They wouldn't stay in business long.

That's because the market is small and captive.  Look at all the salivating that goes on every time a new catalog is announced, along with the rush for leaks, even though production is a year or more away.

It's not like 50's when stuff in the latest catalog was already in stock.

Rusty

L&H fans.  Couple of options here, I know Beth Marshall at the Public Delivery Track had advertised a few Atlas 2 rail RS3's in stock a couple of months ago. I also ordered that guy back in the day but gave up on it after three years.  Not sure of the status of late as I am not buying things for a while since I have too many projects as we speak.  Highball Graphics makes THE most accurate set of HO, S & O scale L&H diesel decals I have ever seen.  You can do either of the Alco units RS3 & C420) they operated and if you buy the RS3 set, you can go with whatever stripe (or no stripes) version you want.  Very easy to apply these over solid black or green paint to get a first rate job!  I have the Weaver 2 rail version of the L&H but the graphics are completely wrong.  The Highball Graphics lightning bolt emblem is perfect though and a bit of black paint, a new decal over the Weaver paint and it looks pretty good.  Highball has a really nice set of the early black and yellow D&H RS3's as well should someone want to model them.

Atlas has so much potential.  The quality of what you get is so good.. I just wish they could deliver some more product!  So sad that things are the way they are..

@MichRR714 posted:

Atlas has so much potential.  The quality of what you get is so good.. I just wish they could deliver some more product!  So sad that things are the way they are..

So true!!! They easily sell updated RS-1 and RS-3's as guys still are always looking for them. A friend of mine, for example, paid a obscene amount for a Washington Terminal RS-1 w/ TMCC .  I would but a Susquehanna in a second along with the above L&H RS-3 I am looking for.

@Rusty Traque posted:

That's because the market is small and captive.  Look at all the salivating that goes on every time a new catalog is announced, along with the rush for leaks, even though production is a year or more away.

It's not like 50's when stuff in the latest catalog was already in stock.

Rusty

And we all know how varied and realistic that 50's stuff was.

There are/have been "scads" of Atlas RS-3's on ebay.

I've been looking for an MTH RS-1 (Illinois Central Gulf) seems like forever and all I ever find are RS-3's!

That being said, various road names  can be scares or none existent.

@D500 posted:

And we all know how varied and realistic that 50's stuff was.

And we didn't care.  I know as a pre-teen I surely didn't.

Not until I got into HO in the 60's did I start really beginning to learn about the prototypes and scale.

Rusty

@Fred Brenek posted:

For all of you folks with no memory of what went down with Atlas, and a myriad of other manufacturers first read this article http://www.atlasrr.com/News/mrting.htm.  Then, know that later, Kader bought Sanda Kan, and pretty much screwed everyone but Lionel.

Fred

Maybe so but Atlas o has since made and released some models like the trainman c40-8 and the F7's. If they did than than why can they release more locomotive that have yet to be rerun especially in this O gauge/ O scale market that has lost much of its competition?

OLD but interesting thread. What I would like to know is did Atlas ever release the Lehigh and Hudson River RS3? And did Richard E ever get his?

Atlas flushed all of their on order diesels in O like 2 years ago, except the GP7's. The painted samples of the GP7's arrived at Atlas right before Christmas. They still expect them in 1Q21.

They later reannounced  the RSD 7/15's and they are scheduled for 1Q21, too.

@MrMuffin'sTrains posted:

Atlas flushed all of their on order diesels in O like 2 years ago, except the GP7's. The painted samples of the GP7's arrived at Atlas right before Christmas. They still expect them in 1Q21.

They later reannounced  the RSD 7/15's and they are scheduled for 1Q21, too.

That “painted samples ... arrived” seems like a miracle - but seeing a delivery is “the real deal”.  How long since First announced?  Maybe 8 years ???
Man what a shame the new issue diesels have been soooo Scarce. Atlas diesels were always the best for the money IMO. I guess we will see if they Really show up “on time (?)”. I Sure Hope So !!!!

There were "painted samples" of the Trainman Dash 8-40CW's in 2014, 4 years before they were actually delivered.

My freind Joe bought one yesterday at our go to train store...it’s conventional but he loves it ! You can see it running in the background of this video I posted showing my new Lionel Docksider.

They only had one in stock and he bought it.

As Bob mentioned above, our go-to train store had one sitting conveniently on the shelf when we went over last time. Needless to say, there was little hesitation! This is a beautiful locomotive.

@catnap posted:

There were "painted samples" of the Trainman Dash 8-40CW's in 2014, 4 years before they were actually delivered.

Ah sweet encouragement 😑

I believe that I would have long ago bought a mint condition Weaver RS-3,  paid whatever it cost, and moved on.

This hobby is suppose to be fun, not frustrating. 

@Joeb2497 posted:

As Bob mentioned above, our go-to train store had one sitting conveniently on the shelf when we went over last time. Needless to say, there was little hesitation! This is a beautiful locomotive.

Love it!  I am a L&H guy, I love the Lionel C420's. They are perfect loco's and look fantastic. I am have been searching for the Atlas RS-3 L&H for months to no avail. Oh well, maybe someone will part with theirs one day.

When I purchased the engine (in the video above) it was a simple conventional locomotive. Horn and bell but nothing else. This past week I had it upgraded by Alex M to ERR Cruise & Railsounds, and it made a world of a difference! Here it is running on our friend Steve’s layout in Frenchtown!