Atlas PS-1 boxcars in hand! (INNER HEIGHT CLARIFICATION)

[peteski]

As stated up-thread, the lower door sill of the MTL car is positioned at least a foot too high on the sides.  It should be down on the tabs below the floor line.

Ok, using the convenient photo posted earlier I compared the cars.  I lined up using the bottom edge of the door for reference.



Looks like the Atlas door is actually a hair taller than the MT one!  The edge of the roof (and the roof top) is also lining up pretty well.  The running board makes the MT car higher and as you said the sill is deeper  on the MT car.   I guess it all adds up to a taller looking MT car.

[nkalanaga]

Bryan:  I did a quick check in my photo books last night, and it agrees with you.  The door track on the MT model is too high.  I've never heard anyone mention that before, in soite of all the comments over the years about the car sitting too high.

For those interested, the MT track's top is even with the floor of the car.  On the prototype, the top of the track is below the floor boards, and the ends of the boards show when the door is open.  This makes sense, as any water coming in under the door would drain under the floor, rather than running into the car.

[Chris333]

Door looks taller, but the door and track together is thinner. The thinner is the winner 

[robert3985]

"Don't worry about getting it exactly correct and prototypical", "It's just a hobby!", "It's your layout, do whatever you want", "Just have fun, run trains!", "If I can't see it from three feet away, I don't worry about it!", "When the obsession sets in, the fun leaves." "It isn't supposed to be homework!"

Hmmmm...can't think of any more of these sayings which I loathe. 

I say, this thread kicks a$$!! 

[Sokramiketes]

"Don't worry about getting it exactly correct and prototypical", "It's just a hobby!", "It's your layout, do whatever you want", "Just have fun, run trains!", "If I can't see it from three feet away, I don't worry about it!", "When the obsession sets in, the fun leaves." "It isn't supposed to be homework!"

Hmmmm...can't think of any more of these sayings which I loathe. 

I say, this thread kicks a$$!! 

LOL, I'm with you Bob.

While the MTL car is almost certainly too tall, the Atlas car at first blush appears to be short for a 10'6" car.  I'd like to get some sill to eave measurements to take ride height and roofwalk dimensions out of the equation... but it looks like Atlas split the uprights between a 10' and 10'6" car.

The Atlas car will work for the next 40 years though.   

[MichaelWinicki]

The one thing the photo comparison doesn't show quite as starkly as seeing them in real life is the color difference between the two cars.

Big difference in the coloring.

[wcfn100]

Bryan:  I did a quick check in my photo books last night, and it agrees with you.  The door track on the MT model is too high.  I've never heard anyone mention that before, in soite of all the comments over the years about the car sitting too high.

Yeah, if only somebody pointed this out two years ago and then this year started a thread about it including modifying a car to show how far off it is.

Jason

[DKS]

The Atlas car will work for the next 40 years though.

+1

[bbussey]

Looks like the Atlas door is actually a hair taller than the MT one!  The edge of the roof (and the roof top) is also lining up pretty well.  The running board makes the MT car higher and as you said the sill is deeper  on the MT car.   I guess it all adds up to a taller looking MT car.

In addition to the ladder being mounted too low, the roofwalk supports (aside from the roofwalk thickness) being too high, and other issues that shouldn't have been difficult to render correctly using 1972 technology.  All the issues with the model are measurement-related.

The Atlas model supplants it quite well, regardless of any flaws, and as stated will serve the purpose for the next few decades.

[central.vermont]

The one thing the photo comparison doesn't show quite as starkly as seeing them in real life is the color difference between the two cars.

Big difference in the coloring.

Not only that but it looks like they got the lettering on backwards or is this one of those really rare
collectable one of a kind cars!! 

Jon

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Since I never has use for PS-1s, this is my first time reading the thread. here are a few thoughts:
1. WOW that MTL car's color is WAY off!
2. The bachmann's paint color seems to be very close to Atlas. Too bad they painted the door track.
3. The old Con-Cor car seems to have very accurate measurments compaired to the Atlas car. If the tooling was anywhere near as crisp as the MTL car, that would have been nearly as good as the Atlas car.
4. We all trash MTL fron time to time, but this IS a 40 year old car. Think of people in the 1980's bashing the accuracy of tinplate. These PS-1s were being tooled the same time as Tyco was turning out more crap than Bachmann. How long have they been gone?
5. There are certain models I'm glad to see retired: Bachmann's whole pre-2010 line for example, but the molds are not worn and the detail is stil crisp. Do we really want to see the only US produced PS-1 shelved? What happens the next time China has a hiccup?
6. Besides the indignant body mounted coupler box, what was so bad about MTL's newest?

[Mark5]

Ok, using the convenient photo posted earlier I compared the cars.  I lined up using the bottom edge of the door for reference.



Looks like the Atlas door is actually a hair taller than the MT one!  The edge of the roof (and the roof top) is also lining up pretty well.  The running board makes the MT car higher and as you said the sill is deeper  on the MT car.   I guess it all adds up to a taller looking MT car.

The Atlas door measures in at about 9.75 scale feet while the MT door is about 9.5 feet.

[Mark5]

The one thing the photo comparison doesn't show quite as starkly as seeing them in real life is the color difference between the two cars.

Big difference in the coloring.

Yeah, I gotta point out that the color rendering on my camera is incorrect. The MTL car's yellow is not even painted though - it is molded in that yellow color. This gives the MTL car a sorta of translucent feel.

Mark

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Yeah, I gotta point out that the color rendering on my camera is incorrect. The MTL car's yellow is not even painted though - it is molded in that yellow color. This gives the MTL car a sorta of translucent feel.

Mark

Pfff, amatures.

[bbussey]

... Besides the indignant body mounted coupler box, what was so bad about MTL's newest?

Oh, don't open THAT can of worms again!