How the #$@! do you find anything on the MTL website?

[Chris333]

It has been my experience that finding most things on their website involves a great deal of luck.

On another site (the old A co. site) there's a thread from 2006 that has a monkey looking for the same thing...and while another member was able to help, apparently MT didn't have them then either. So, its been awhile since they were available...

http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=34051

[Kisatchie]

On another site (the old A co. site) there's a thread from 2006 that has a monkey looking for the same thing...

http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=34051


Hmm... I am a GREAT
APE, not some lowly
monkey...

[JMaurer1]

My mistake...I meant to SAY great ape.

[strummer]

I have had much better luck, especially with parts they don't normally sell or list (like the metal bottoms to freight cars), by calling them.   I had scored a big bag of 1015/1016 coupler parts at a train show for a cheap price, but all the short-length
boxes were missing.  I called them up and asked if I could just buy a bulk of 50 of those, and they gave me a price and sent them.  You couldn't order those parts through the website and they are not in any catalog.  They may accomodate you if you ask. Try that for your metal car underframes.

That's what I do as well. Have had great success ordering parts in that fashion...

Mark in (also) Oregon

[JoeD]

No one on this forum has been shy about asking for help on getting parts, so if you can't find something contact me.  The old site was clunky and had reached its limits given the thousands of parts we inventory.  We had to upgrade and change the format which can be confusing, change always is, but its a work in progress.  We don't have dedicated IT so there is a number of us who can competently turn a computer on and off successfully and we take turns addressing ongoing issues..    So again, you can't find something, call us or contact me. 

Joe
MTL

[JMaurer1]

Shipsure: What happened to your picture?

[JoeD]

Shipsure: What happened to your picture?

\\

I have no idea...Tom Mann must be messing with my profile  LOL

[chicken45]

No one on this forum has been shy about asking for help on getting parts, so if you can't find something contact me.  The old site was clunky and had reached its limits given the thousands of parts we inventory.  We had to upgrade and change the format which can be confusing, change always is, but its a work in progress.  We don't have dedicated IT so there is a number of us who can competently turn a computer on and off successfully and we take turns addressing ongoing issues..    So again, you can't find something, call us or contact me. 

Joe
MTL

Just outsource to @Ed Kapuscinski . I'm sure a deal can be arranged !

[strummer]

FWIW, I just called and ordered some parts today for an FT A unit; none of which appeared on the website.

This is probably the fifth or sixth time I've done this; they are always very helpful and pleasant to deal with.

Mark (also) in Oregon

PS: This engine is as smooth as runner as I've seen in any scale...fabulous!

[johnb]

No one on this forum has been shy about asking for help on getting parts, so if you can't find something contact me.  The old site was clunky and had reached its limits given the thousands of parts we inventory.  We had to upgrade and change the format which can be confusing, change always is, but its a work in progress.  We don't have dedicated IT so there is a number of us who can competently turn a computer on and off successfully and we take turns addressing ongoing issues..    So again, you can't find something, call us or contact me. 

Joe
MTL

I am sure that you know someone who can build sites....and may even trade labor for models

[mark.hinds]

I am sure that you know someone who can build sites....and may even trade labor for models

IMHO, the site seems to be fine technically (programatically), so that's not the problem.  What it needs is better organization in certain critical places (I like the IMR hierarchical organization, FWIW). 

For example, on the MT website, you navigate through Products -> N-Scale -> Freight Cars (so far so good).  But then you are presented with a seemingly random list of freight cars.  This is made worse by the fact that each car uses up a large portion of the screen (unlike the IMR site), so you have many pages to scroll through.  If you select "Tags" over on the right, you can narrow things down a bit, but many of the Tags are a bit cryptic, and the ones I tried appear to limit you to what they currently have in stock, rather than a comprehensive list of all their body styles.  To see the latter, I had to go into the "Undecs" section, and even then, it isn't clear if that shows everything. 

MH

[OldEastRR]

They finally put up illustrations of almost each type of truck. Drawings, not pics, but you get a good look. Be nice to see them all (caboose trucks)

[JoeD]

The Search key has been adjusted, I think you'll see its easier now to locate stuff.  Work in progress, be patient.

Joe

[mark.hinds]

They finally put up illustrations of almost each type of truck. Drawings, not pics, but you get a good look. Be nice to see them all (caboose trucks)

Until they improve it further, remember there is a good list of N-scale trucks, sorted by type, and with good color side views, here:  http://www.model160.com/n-scale-news-blog/freight-car-trucks-in-n-a-pictorial-comparison/

The Search key has been adjusted, I think you'll see its easier now to locate stuff.  Work in progress, be patient.

Good to see you're working on it.  However, you also want to allow people to view a complete and compact list of your products, organized by categories.  "Search" functions are often hit-and-miss, as they are at the mercy of the both the search engine, and also the textual decriptions used by the seller.  For example, I noticed that in your "Undec" "Tags" section you have both "boxcar" and "box car", and neither currently yields a list of all your box car body styles. 

MH

[peteski]

Until they improve it further, remember there is a good list of N-scale trucks, sorted by type, and with good color side views, here:  http://www.model160.com/n-scale-news-blog/freight-car-trucks-in-n-a-pictorial-comparison/

Let's also not forget http://www.spookshow.net/trucks/trucks.php  compiled by Spookshow. Very handy reference of all the trucks and all the brands.