Heard some scuttlebutt from one of my LHS’s that the release of the Genesis MT-4 Skylines originally projected for late Februaruy has been delayed. Something about them losing their Chinese supplier. Is there more definitive information out there?
While I was at the Amhearst Railway show in Springfield last month, I noticed that the MT-4 was missing from Athearn’s display. When I asked the Rep. about it, he told me that they didn’t have enough room with them to bring every thing to the show. I asked what the status was on the delivery date as I seem to recall that it may have come and gone already and was told that they are hoping to have them to the dealers by December 2012. He didn’t make any mention of problems with losing the manufacturer or any reason for the delay in releasing them. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. I certainly hope they don’t get cancelled.
Thanks for the tip, EBW, I guess I’m fated to join the hordes of folks that have learned to take their originally announced delivery dates with a grain of salt. There’s the old saw that “patience is a virtue”. But there are occasions when I’m more apt to apply King Solomon’s observation: “hope deferred makes the heart sick”! Being a bit new to this stuff, is ten months one of the longer delays?
John in Oregon
John,
Many, many years ago in this business, when stuff was actually made in the USA, new products were not advertised or announced until actually in production and delivery was a sure thing.
But the world was in less of a hurry then and manufacturers planned to actaully put product on shelves to have it available for people to buy.
Not like today were much of this product is “presold” in advance and many manufacturers NEED to sell out a new product as fast as possible to just stay in business.
Athearn is not really in that position, but they have been drawn into some of that behavor but various market pressures, over seas production being one of them.
Athearn did just lose a manufacturer in China, but I don’t think it was the one suppling the MT-4. In any case Athearn is generally good about deliveries and this is a long delay for them. For some other companies in this business, 10 months would be a “typical” delay.
With actual production in the hands of “sub contractors” many thouands of miles away, it is hard to put exact dates on deliveries. Shipping alone is a huge time variable - they don’t come by air freight - they get loaded into containers, that then plod across a vast ocean or two, then get loaded on a flat car to make their way to Athearn’s wharehouse near Chicago. One storm, one labor problem at a port, one hold up at customs, one mechanical problem on a ship, one train derailment, one snow storm can add days, or weeks, or more just to the shipping, not to mention any delays in manufacturing.
You will find that products from Athearn, Bachmann, Atlas to some degree, Walthers, Intermountain and Bowser are generally available once they actually hit the shore. Some others like Broadway Limited are heavily presold and can be hard to find with advance ordering and much patience.
Understand too that just because a manufacturer like Athearn shows an item as sold out, does not mean they cannot be found. The product comes in, a
John,
I had ordered one of the first releases of the MT-4 when Athearn first announced them. If I remember correctly, it was about 18 months after the initial announced arrival date that they finally showed up.
At the time I had asked the Athearn Rep. at the Springfield show about the expected delivery date of the first release of the MT-4, which is the one without the skyline casing. He had a prototype at the show which looked good, but he said that some of the sample units they had received from the manufacturer for review and approval for production, didn’t meet Athearn’s quality expectations. The Rep. told me that they were making the manufacturer improve the quality before they would release them for production. It is my understanding that was the reason for the delay in the release of the first units.
I can tell you that once they shipped the first MT-4’s, it was worth the wait. The level of detail on them rivals that of brass. Its almost to the point where there is so much detail that the locomotives have become too fragile to handle. Athearn did a great job with the MT-4. The detail is superb and they run great. I’m sure that you won’t be disappointed if you decide to get one. I can tell you that they don’t hang around long at the dealers. That first release sold out in what seemed like a week and a half or two weeks. They became scarce quick.
Also, if your interested, the third release will be the MT-4 with skyline casing and partial daylight paint scheme. I don’t have any info as to the production date for the third release but Athearn has told me that it is in the plans for the future. They also told me that due to the great response to the first release, they will probably re-release them with new road numbers down the road.
Sheldon is correct about the way manufacturers are producing and releasing new items. They want a commitment from the consumer before they invest the capital into a new project. The manufacturers don’t want to tie up capital in a p
Does anyone know if the new Skyline version will feature traction tires?
My wife ordered one for me 'way back in 2012 when they were advertised by Train World. Nothing came of it. Then this summer ( 2014 ) A Train World rep phoned and asked if we still wanted it. He said that some orders have lapsed because the customers have died while waiting. He said that if we were still interested he expected delivery in August or September. We said we would still take delivery. September came and went, than October, Then November and finally the Christmas season. Nothing. To paraphrase Mark Twain, I’m sitting by my freezing mailbox waiting for a train that never came.