Athearn Cancels Ton of Projects

[ljudice]

Good afternoon,
 
The Athearn team has identified projects within the current production cue that have received either the minimum amount or not enough pre-orders in which to justify production. To streamline our production and deliver the models that were the most popular with our customers, we have elected to cancel models that did not perform as expected within the pre-order window. We have listed the models as seen on the attached list.
 
We apologize if you were one of the customers who pre-ordered one or more of these models and any disappointment you may have.
Sincerely,
 
The Athearn Team
 
 
 
Some of the announced cancellations are:
 
 - 53' GSC Bulkhead Flat Cars
 - 28' Wedge Trailers
 - 53' CMC Containers
 - 50' Waffle Box Cars
 - 65' Mill Gondolas
 - 52' Mill Gondolas
 - 20' Corrugated Containers
 - Bay Window Cabooses
 - 53' Stoughton Containers
 - 30k Ethanol Tank Cars
 - 40' Pfaudler Wood Milk Cars
 - 50' PS-1 1-Door Box Cars
 - 48' Containers
 - F89F Bi-Level Autoracks
 

[OldEastRR]

How many of these are reruns of earlier productions? I know the Pfaudler car is -- I have a couple of them. But no more coming ... well, it just goes to re-inforce the model RR principle: if you see something come out that you think maybe possibly a long shot looks interesting you might need it someday, BUY IT.

[mu26aeh]

Really sucks they cancelled the waffle cars, I ordered all 3 CSXT cars.  They were, and still are staple in their fleet.  Between their long lead times, recent bout of cancellations and their tariff based business/pricing decisions, I'm no longer pre-ordering from Athearn. 

[robertjohndavis]

Until the tariffs ease, I expect more of this as consumers and importers weigh their tolerance for the costs and uncertainty. I am reluctant to pre-order from anyone that doesn’t spell out their plan to cope.

What does this leave in the pipeline? The Santa Fe cowl units and?

Rob

[nkalanaga]

I don't have anything reserved from Athearn to start with.  Between too much equipment already and nothing on the list I need, there's no point ordering.

[MetroRedLine]

And that list is likely to grow. Does that also mean those poor HO scalers will never get their Pacific Surfliner?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I don't think Horizon really wants to be in the model train business so of course they're de-risking their project pipeline.

[Missaberoad]

I dont even know whats coming from Athearn anymore.

There was some FMC 5327 boxcars I wanted but I'm not sure if they are still in the pipeline.

[thomasjmdavis]

I dont even know whats coming from Athearn anymore.

True for me, too.  I was surprised that they had so many N scale projects going (prior to cancellation).  Reminds me of the big cancellation by Intermountain several years ago.

I have a fair number of Athearn cars already- essentially, everything they've made that was appropriate for a 1955 era layout, plus some milk cars.  So, I would have been unlikely to pre-order anything if I had known about it.  My recollection is that I asked to be taken off their mailing list because I tired of having several emails a month telling me about all the HO projects they were doing.

Looked around their website, and couldn't find the cancellation memo (might be my own fault- I may well have missed a link or something).

I don't think Horizon really wants to be in the model train business so of course they're de-risking their project pipeline.

I think you may be right- I've never had them so much as return an email, when I was looking for a dealer who stocked Athearn N scale.

[Point353]

I don't think Horizon really wants to be in the model train business so of course they're de-risking their project pipeline.

Would seem to make business sense to give preference to those items with greater potential demand.
If it moves them closer to the head of the production queue, then it translates to more sales volume sooner rather than later.

[squirrelhunter]

I don't think Horizon really wants to be in the model train business so of course they're de-risking their project pipeline.

Agreed, I think they just want to do RC planes (I'm pretty sure the profit margins there are astronomical compared to trains, foam is cheap and RC planes are all foam now).

Didn't they end up with Athearn in the first place because they wanted the company that distributed/owned Athearn?

[peteski]

I had very successful dealings (through email) with Athearn customer service/tech support whenever I needed spare parts for N scale Big Boys and Challengers, and also when just looking to buy parts like reefer trucks. Fast replies and they were very pleasant to deal with. Even when I called in with my credit card info, it was a pleasant process.

And yes, Horizon Hobbies was always mainly an RC models company (before and after the Athearn buyout).

[Tad_T]

I reckon that I didn’t really need those two Missouri Pacific bulkhead flats.

[Scott Nixon]

Has anyone seen anything more about the cancellations and details about what specifically has been cancelled (like, what particular runs; a whole run of a particular car, or just a few roadnames within the run)?  The only place I see the announcement is on a Canadian retailer's website, and I have found no other information (even on Athearn's Facebook page).

[Tad_T]

If you look at the list and then go to Athearn's web page and look up the model you are interested in you can see the status.