WOW, for $1,600, it better run its self [no remote]. Now that must be a work of art.
Hi John -
Now that is what I’m talking about. Actually, if you look closely at the front, you’ll notice two things:
- 6 (3 on each side) little metal pipes coming out of the snow plow, and
- barely visible - grates on the stairs - they’re not simply plastic indentations.
This looks very much like the detailing on the Atlas GP-35.
I chatted with a guy at a local bay area hobby store - he broke apart a Lionel UP Overland set and is swearing that the detailing on the UP SD70 is in his opinion, comparable to the Atlas. I’m going to check it out in the next day or so.
Thanks Tom, but did you notice the due date - Dec 2005!!! The detailing looks nice though.
Sean,
The model pictured in the K-line ad, is, in fact, not the one that K-line will be producing. The model pictured is a brass model from someone else. Don’t purchase based strictly on the pictures, as you will probably be disapointed.
I’m sure that the detailing on the K-line will be very good, but I would almost guarantee that it’s not going to be as good as it is in the picture.
And for 1600 dollars do you get command control with sound ???
Leave it to Atlas, 3rd rail upped the bar for all diecasters and they are coming around in steam, and Atlas has top spot right now.
I second the nomination for buying from Just Trains. The atlas rs 1 lists for 429 with cruise and I got it for 375 postage paid. That is a good deal and Just Trains is always friendly with me on the phone.
I would warn to NOT order over the internet, most places do not keep their inventory updated enough to know if you can get it or not.
Dave.
Atlas O GP60, or Atlas O Dash 8B
End of contest.
Some great thoughts in this thread about K-Line. Ben’s thoughts are right on target as are SeanCon’s. What troubles me about this K-Line offering is that their current advertising does not actually show a mock-up of their production models. Check out their web site and look at their Santa Fe and Alaska versions.
It’s got to be a great business to get upfront money from customers then the customer has to wait a year to get the product.
I’d love to work with other peoples’ money, too.
BillFromWayne
www.modeltrainjournal.com
But on the other hand,
K-Line has done a great job on detail of the Berkshires, Hudson and refer cars, just to name a few. [tup]
I just pick up one of the new K-line refer [:D] and put it next to the Atlas one. Which is which [?]
tom
By the way, does anybody find the Atlas catalog site as annoying as I do? The folks made everything SSL[}:)], which makes browsing a nightmare!
[:(!]
I just pick up one of the new K-line refer and put it next to the Atlas one. Which is which
Robin Hood is K-Line
===
I ran a GE Demo unit all weeked, a fine machine.
BUY LIONEL AND
ONLY LIONEL
John Long what is the reasoning for your statement regarding lionel.
There are other fish in the sea too. dave.
MTH has the best detail, even though they leave out a few things like little graphics, but that is because it would cost YOU more to buy it
MTH has the best detail, even though they leave out a few things like little graphics, but that is because it would cost YOU more to buy it
Hahah, wrong.
LMAO!!!
That was a good one.
And buy IBM only, and General Motors, and only eat at McDonalds…[:0]
3railguy - do you have anything productive to add to your post that really adds nothing to this thread - my point was that Lionel quality/detailing sucks, and you’re saying, “Buy only Lionel” - why???
Comeonguys,
Play nice.
I will politely disagree with the unnecessary trashing of Lionel’s quality. I picked up the Overland Freight set the day it arrived at Charlie Ro’s and have to say the detailing is extremely good, higher than my previous Lionel and MTH engines. In addition, the engine worked perfectly right out of the box, has great Railsounds, and has quickly become my favorite and best-performing engine. It is a beautiful set, and the rest of the cars are equally nice. To be sure, since I already have a command set and don’t use FasTrack, I didn’t need some of the stuff and sold it. So be it – the diesel engine is a beauty.
A few months back, I started a thread on the future of the O gauge hobby and got some very thoughtful posts in return. There is at present a lot of capacity and a relatively static market, which means that companies like MTH and Lionel (and to a lesser extent K-Line) are trying desperately to serve multiple segments simultaneously. Atlas enjoys a more narrowly focused market: highrailers seeking exceptional detail. Without any history producing or knocking off classic toy trains and their accessories, Atlas can focus on a smaller group of customers with very specific tastes.
That said, like any business – particularly one with a static base of customers – has a certain casino-like element to it. In fact, the O-gauge industry is not unlike the record business, with the big companies looking for “hits” across genres, and the smaller ones like indie labels with economics that allow less revenue (but likely with higher margins).
Finally, my guess is that Lionel got caught a bit off guard by the demand for the Overland Express – it sold out faster than the Acela – partiuclarly since the majority of Americans (and thus O-gauge enthusiasts) live outside the UP service area.
One more thing – you said you’re in the Bay Area. Which train store did you check in with?
Hello tgovebaker -
Thanks for your thoughtful and astute observations. The hobby store I originally looked at (with the over priced engines) will remain nameless, although it is in Marin County…
I’ve been to Tin Plate Junction in Oakland - not yet to look at a diesel, but they seem to have a fantastic selection. They’ve got some newer engines, and and seem to echo your sentiment- the quality has dramatically improved… They also have an Atlas (either Dash8 or GP), so I’ll compare quality side-by-side.
My initial quality comments came from the hobby store I went to in Marin County, which also had a very good selection.
I don’t know if you’ve ever compared Atlas and Lionel side-by-side, but again, if you stick a SP Dash-9 (looks like current model) next to an Atlas, you’ll notice the difference- the Atlas has the fine piping detail on the snowplow, the rivits in the plastic, the metal roof, fine metal ladder rungs up the side, the exhaust fans with working blades (painted a different color), the steps that are metal grates, very fine wiper blades. Compare that to the Lionel - the exhaust fans on the CSX SD appeared molded into the body (a one-piece plastic injection mold), the steps were a single piece of plastic, and the trucks were much less detailed than the Atlas. As I’ve said numerous times, the wipers were comically out of proportion (probably from the same plastic mold as the body).
I am curious - am I describing your train (plastic mold, etc) - or do you see shades of the Atlas I describe in your new Lionel?
Thanks for your productive input!!! [:)]
[quote]
QUOTE: Originally posted by tgovebaker
I will politely disagree with the unnecessary trashing of Lionel’s quality. I picked up the Overland Freight set the day it arrived at Charlie Ro’s and have to say the detailing is extremely good, higher than my previous Lionel and MTH engines. In addition
Your question is difficult. Fine detail does NOT equal high quality. The lIonel engines that “offend” you (I have to ask how qanyone can be offended by an inanimate object) are perfectly made in the highest quality for their originally intended purpose. The problems aren’t the engines but your expectations. If you must have the finest details, the Atlas engine will be what you need or skip right over the three-rail stuff and buy brass for two-rail O scale. If you want an engine that will take a lot of abuse and not get beat up, buy the Lionel. If I turn one of those super Atlas engines over to my six-year-old son, the detail ends up smashed, borken, and bent.
Nevertheless, the Fisher-Price analogy is without much merit: if it ain’t 1:1 scale AND generating revenue, it’s a TOY, but that doesn’t make “toy” an insult.