Atlas’s Walthers tooling Dec 18 edition.

[Atlas Paul]

Sweet.

@Atlas Paul any chance we can have the Thrall 53' wells first? Please???

I hope so - those were ready to go into production when the factory situation happened over the summer. 

[Atlas Paul]

Do the silver series ones still have the speaker included? I know there was discussion of that at one point (just for the SD39-2s maybe?), but I don't see anything in the announcement.

Yes

[Atlas Paul]

I am hoping that Atlas will produce the Walthers/Lifelike USRA 0-8-0 and 2-8-8-2 mallet.  Both are awesome performers.

Not every former Walthers N scale piece was accounted for - we purchased everything that was accounted for.  The items that were not would be offered to us in the event they are located.

[GaryHinshaw]

I hope so - those were ready to go into production when the factory situation happened over the summer.

Me too!  As long as we're begging, I'd also like to see your center-beam flat in N as well.    

(The corresponding Red Caboose car has issues: wrong end bulkheads, wrong wheelbase, too light, and rides too high.)

[James Costello]

I hope so - those were ready to go into production when the factory situation happened over the summer.

Best news I've heard in a long time - thanks @Atlas Paul

Another vote here for the center-beams as well.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Not every former Walthers N scale piece was accounted for - we purchased everything that was accounted for.  The items that were not would be offered to us in the event they are located.

Not for nothing, but it really says a lot on Walther's view of N scale that they somehow misplaced two of the scale's very best locomotives. I get that accidents happen, but this was state of the art tooling on the finest engines on the market.

I don't hold much hope out that Walthers will spend any energy looking for these either.

I'm just glad to see the rest of the WKW/LL tooling found a good home.

[CBQ Fan]

Not for nothing, but it really says a lot on Walther's view of N scale that they somehow misplaced two of the scale's very best locomotives. I get that accidents happen, but this was state of the art tooling on the finest engines on the market.

I don't hold much hope out that Walthers will spend any energy looking for these either.

I'm just glad to see the rest of the WKW/LL tooling found a good home.

Only if it frees up more room for HO tooling.

[nscalbitz]

... says a lot on Walther's view of N scale that they somehow misplaced two of the scale's very best locomotives...

I note the upvote by someone but you try controlling assets out of your hands, and reliance placed on 'ethical' management by someone foreign! We've read all about the tooling that passed from company hands to Chinese and even some that were claimed damaged or lost, or seized for non payment of whatever in the 80s-90s. WHy not so with W?

Over a decade ago I asked a fellow train-group member with whom I was on familiar terms from Utah to assist me being a location that non-export US-eBore sellers could send to as I bought up cheap stuff or OOP items. Worked for 1 or 2 orders. They got shipped and I paid a few extra bucks above costs (like $25?) for the effort to box, customs label and postage.

Then I left a bit of a gap because I lost full time internet (dial up anyway). We had No direct contact but still present on groups together. I had accumulated about 10-15 items worth about $200 including one loco (cheap at $25) with him. When I asked if he could box and quote postage, he said he hadnt heard from me and had taken it to the tip. ReallY????

This is a serial collector- so I seriously doubt that he would have done that. After several emails saying "joke right" he just stopped replying. Ba****d.
Just sayin'

[Rossford Yard]

NSCalbitz,

Not sure I follow your story completely, but think the same way you do.  If any part of those models was held in China, they may have simply not got them back, no matter how hard they tried.  I don't think it was someone in Milwaukee snickering at the thought of screwing N scale steam enthusiasts that got the molds lost.  It was someone in China, more likely than not.


Agree its a shame for all parties, including those wanting the models, but Daniel L and CBQ, your anti-N scale bias belief aside, what motive would Walthers or Atlas realistically have to stop production on two popular models?  Walthers would get a few more $$$ out of Atlas for those two extra models, and Atlas would have rights to two pretty good products.  I would really like to be able to understand that thinking.  Of course, when this was announced, there were probably a dozen naysayers say they would never do anything with it, it was just acquired to somehow keep others from using it?  Again, not sure where that came from. 


Glad to see Atlas making use of some old tooling where they can.  At this point of my modeling career, I don't need any more copies of already existing rolling stock, but could use some unique models.  Ifan  upgrade from IM/RC coil cars in my fleet, I might buy a few to match with the newer Atlas Coil Cars to make my fleet look better.  Looking forward to seeing them in person.

[CBQ Fan]

NSCalbitz,

Not sure I follow your story completely, but think the same way you do.  If any part of those models was held in China, they may have simply not got them back, no matter how hard they tried.  I don't think it was someone in Milwaukee snickering at the thought of screwing N scale steam enthusiasts that got the molds lost.  It was someone in China, more likely than not.


Agree its a shame for all parties, including those wanting the models, but Daniel L and CBQ, your anti-N scale bias belief aside, what motive would Walthers or Atlas realistically have to stop production on two popular models?  Walthers would get a few more $$$ out of Atlas for those two extra models, and Atlas would have rights to two pretty good products.  I would really like to be able to understand that thinking.  Of course, when this was announced, there were probably a dozen naysayers say they would never do anything with it, it was just acquired to somehow keep others from using it?  Again, not sure where that came from. 


Glad to see Atlas making use of some old tooling where they can.  At this point of my modeling career, I don't need any more copies of already existing rolling stock, but could use some unique models.  Ifan  upgrade from IM/RC coil cars in my fleet, I might buy a few to match with the newer Atlas Coil Cars to make my fleet look better.  Looking forward to seeing them in person.

Uhm, it isn’t my bias. With Walthers it is fact.  Atlas has no bias.  But Walthers doesn’t believe they can make any money selling N-Scale rolling stock or locomotives. If they did they wouldn’t have sold it all to Atlas. Now my HO comment was a bit of tongue and cheek, I am sure if they located N-Scale tooling they would let let Atlas know about it and let Atlas handle it in a reasonable amount of time.  But they aren’t going to out of their way to do the heavy lifting for Atlas. Walthers reps have as much told the general N scale customer base that we do not buy products in the way they want to sell them. We are distinctly different than HO modelers and they either can’t or choose not to understand the difference. Look how much n scale has grown in the past 15-20 years in offerings, technology, new companies entering in the market but yet Walthers shrunk,mshrunk some more and then sold out everything but their structures. As the quote goes “ I am a man, I’m 40 get your facts straight.” 

[Rossford Yard]

I understand they had some trouble selling in N. Not sure if it was bias or just plain experience, or as you suggest, reluctance or inability to adapt well to the N scale market.  Not sure what % of N scalers do steam, for instance.  In diesel, I know I wouldn't bother buying LL for the most part (athough I had an SW7, SD9 and GP60, all of which were good) because even if the quality was good (and I credit them for improving it over time) there was the old speed matching problem between different brands, especially pre-DCC.

As to N scale growing over the last 20 years, I sort of have the impression it grew a bunch pre 2006 recession, it may have leveled off or contracted.  At least, it seems the general LHS is going all/mostly HO, and we acquire our N scale through a smaller bevy of N scale specialists, which may also speak to some of the adaptations to the N scale market.

All I know is most mfgs seem to think N sells 25-40% of stuff (except unit train rolling stock) that HO sells, which makes sense with N supposedly being about 25-50% the size  of HO (maybe 15-20% of total market to 60-70% HO) We all thought it would go to 25% of the total market, but I'm not sure that happened.

[peteski]

As to N scale growing over the last 20 years, I sort of have the impression it grew a bunch pre 2006 recession, it may have leveled off or contracted. 

You think that?  Really?!  No offense, but to me it seems that you have not been watching the N scale market. Or maybe your definition of growth is different than mine.  As I see it, there has been a *HUGE* number of new N scale releases (and re-releases) since 2006.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

You think that?  Really?!  No offense, but to me it seems that you have not been watching the N scale market. Or maybe your definition of growth is different than mine.  As I see it, there has been a *HUGE* number of new N scale releases (and re-releases) since 2006.

Not to mention a number of growing manufacturers.

Sure, there WAS BLMA on a growth trajectory, but now we have Trainworx, Bluford, WoT, Tangent all doing what BLMA once did. And it's not like MTL, Atlas or Kato have really slowed down either.

[thomasjmdavis]

Certainly from my own point of view (in terms of what I model), there has been a lot of growth in the last 10-15 years.  For instance Kato alone has released more RTR passenger cars in the last 15 years than were available from all manufacturers combined previously.  Add to those, Micro-trains, WoT, Rapido, Fox Valley, new cars from Atlas, even some new body styles from Con-Cor and Bachmann, and the Walthers cars that came and went and are coming back as Railsmith.  And then add in all the new kits, sides, shapeways parts, etc.

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, I'm as much of an N scale fan as anyone, but I think it boils down to dollars spent, not the number of modelers or cars and number of  engines sold. I would  think that as individual N scalers, we'd buy more cars than the typical HO modeler, particularly hoppers and other cars that tend to run in multiple numbers, hence Trainworx etc. But there are a substantial number of guys that spend crazy money on a handful of HO items, and that tends to sway the manufacturers preferences. Rather than looking at statistics of how many modelers are in each scale, I'd like to see a pie chart showing $ spent on each scale today... it takes a lot of N scale hoppers to equal a $2,500 HO brass engine
Still, we never had it so good, so I'm happy with what we got today...
Otto K.