Excuse me while I rant, but I have an IR trolley I bought at a train show for under $40-brand new. I thought I would like another, but see that Atlas sells it as a set for $160! Another example of ripping-off the customer. It is old Tooling-it is Chinese Tooling-Long paid for. This trolley costs less than $15 to make in China.
There is nothing like greed, is there?
No wonder kids don’t play with trains.
Try Ready Made Trains(RMT) or Williams trains as I think they sell trolleys or Rail Diesel Cars that can be added to a trolley set and the price won’t get you seeing RED!!
Lee F.
I just bought an Atlas NJ Public Service trolley by itself. $80. Very happy with it. The price is a might high, I thought $50-60, but the quality is top notch, it runs very very well, and so far the cats have tried to chase it and has held up to the little abuse I’ve subjected it to.
I wanted the set for the structures (and they are Atlas, so they’re pretty good), probably would have re-evaluated the track and sold the transformer.
$160 for all that really isn’t that bad. I thought it was a good value for the price.
As for greed, who cares, somebody’s gotta make a buck.[:-^]
Atlas upgraded the electronics so the newer model should not burst into flames like that later production runs of the IR trolley under a previous owner.
If you don’t need the track, transformer, or passenger station, then don’t buy the set, buy the stand-alone trolley car.
I had the IR trolly, mine went up in flames. BROTHERS is still running four years now.
laz57
Since we’re on this subject,
Bob, have you run the trolley yet? Just curious of your first impressions of it.
I burned the circuit board trace right off the board of an “old” IR trolley with a PW ZW. $30. more for good electronics is a good thing. Anyway, I just put a bridge rectifier into the one I “blew up” and it runs fine.
I bought the new/improved IR trolley at a train show in Nov. for $75. I need to use the bump-reverse feature, and in my case, it did’nt work well for me. It goes more slowly in one direction than the other, so if I get it going fast enough to bump-reverse in one direction, it goes like a rocket in the other direction. This may be just a problem with mine. Wish I had bought it from my local train store so I could return it. Joe
butch, I think you have this all wrong. This is absolutely not a case of greed at all, especially when you look at the facts:
The original Industrial Rail line was tooled up by United Model Distributors about 7-9 years ago, depending on the product. If you look at the original list prices by UMD, consider that some years have passed, Atlas’s Industrial Rail list prices are not out of line at all.
Now you must consider, as many didn’t and haven’t, that when UMD sold off the Industrial Rail line (at least the remaining inventory) to HobbyCo, list prices were reduced dramatically, as were wholesale prices to dealers. Plus there were incentives to dealers to order more of the IR products, as it wasn’t clear whether HobbyCo would continue the line. At this time, they were literally blowing out the remaining inventory. So as a result, many people paid rock-bottom under-market prices for the original Industrial Rail products. During that time, it wasn’t hard at all to find IR rolling stock for $12-$15, which was 50% or more below list. At one point, you could find the original IR cars advertised for $10 new, and the deparate sale trucks couldn’t even be bought that cheap.
I have heard this criticsm of Atlas’s IR pricing before, and many who make this charge are comparing the later IR rock bottom blow-out prices to what is now fair market pricing, and not greed. Remember, whenh the later scale K-Line products weren’t selling, they too got blown out at incredilble bargains as compared to their original list prices.
So in this case of Atlas taking control of the IR product line, I will defend them and tell you it is NOT a case of greed. Though the IR tooling and dies were much simpler, and probably not nearly as costly as more detailed scale, limited run products, it is entirely possible that some of the later issue IR products had not yet at that point recouped their tooling costs.
On the IR Trolley, UMD/HobbyCo was selling it alone whereas Atlas is sel
Bob K.
First time hearing of any problem with an IR trolley!
Lee F.
BOB did a review a few years back on these trollys. Can remember when but the jist of it was that 1/3 made it and the others burnt. Mine went up in flames.
laz57
My PLASTIC gears cracked.
Funny how they were advertised as having all metal gears.[:-^]
If you have one of the older ones DON’T use them in bump n go operation.
Carl T.
My older one, in a “bump and go” mode, used to stop in the middle of the “run” (not at either end), and the interior lights would get very bright. I figured this may be a pre-fire sign, so I replaced it with a MTH trolley (not as nice looking, but it works). Joe
The same thing happened to mine…I thought it was just my bad luck! Nice to know I am not alone this time…unlike with the plymouth switchers!
Tested the new trolley set and shot the videos for it last week. I love the new track system, and it comes with a nifty passenger shelter and some detail items. Works well with either transformer reverse or "stick-your-hand-in-the-middle-of-the-track-and-let-the-train-whack-it reverse.
Regarding the problems, we ran something a year or so back, in both the long term review (I believe) and maybe another editorial mention that garnered some reader comments that they, too, had experienced shorts with their trolley cars.
I believe it was from a third production run (post UMD ownership, but pre-Atlas).
I’ve got three cars from the first run that still operate fine.
The Walther’s December 2007 monthly sales flier (pg 71) has the Los Angeles Transit Lines set (item#351-1009100) on sale for $139.98 Includes Trolley, 40x50 track oval and station platform, but doesn’t list a transformer, but it may be included , I don’t Know.
The November 2007 Sales flier (PG71) has two trolleys available as separate sale items (Industrial Rail also) for $69.98 they are the LA Transit again, plus the New Orleans Paint scheme (My personal favorite) These are Good Looking and Good Running little trolleys ( I UHM, AHH, have UHM, AHH, TEST RUN [:-^]) one that will be one of my Nephew’s Christmas Presents, and I will be ordering one for my self.
The separate sale trolleys are the L.A. Transit Trolley item# 351-1008101, and the New Orleans Trolley, Item # 351-1008104 both on sale for $69.98 each sale price expires 12/31/2007
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR,
Doug