60 foot high cube box boom

[milw156]

Looks like the Scale Trains Trinity 7500 cuft (per email from ST) and the Atlas Gunderson7550 cuft boxes (notification from Lombard Hobbies) have hit the US about the same time to compliment the Aroura Greenbrier 7550 cuft, and MT NSC 7538 cuft cars. Had the Atlas cars pre ordered for Hogtrains, have not gotten shipping notification yet.

[dcr1793]

I had a chance to test run the Atlas samples back in June following the NSE convention. Great looking cars and a nice addition to the modern offerings. You can't have enough various 60' boxcars.

L-R - Aurora, Atlas, MTL, Scale Trains


4 paint schemes from the Atlas offering


Atlas TBOX with graffiti


Atlas vs Scale Trains - Single Door Versions

[Mark5]

Great to some 60 foot love for contemporary modelers! 

[Smike]

Just got my ST boxes in, these might be the most highly detailed N scale car ever. Haven’t run them yet, but feel sufficiently weighted.

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[Scottl]

I have some ST enroute, glad they are nice as i pre-ordered.  Looking at those photos, the Atlas ribs looks very chunky.  Is it old tooling? 

[dcr1793]

Atlas is new tooling as well. I have both on the layout and mixed in with MTL cars. Nice to run a modern size cut of 60' boxcars. Need to get some testing in with them to compare.

[GaryHinshaw]

I suspect I'm out of luck. I tried to order some last week from ST, but when I went to order, they only offered UPS shipping to Canada, and UPS charge crazy brokerage fees, so I cancelled the order and complained.  ST responded that they had an issue with USPS that they were trying to resolve.  But now they are completely sold out, and I haven't seen them listed anywhere else online (except Credit Valley, who is charging $49.99 USD -- higher than the ST themselves charge).  Oh well, I have a ton of 60' boxes now from Aurora, MTL, and some from Atlas on the way, so I don't really *need* these....  But I'll keep an eye out anyway, just in case.  They do look nice.

[joepri]

I got 2 TTX & 2 UP ST 60 ft. high cubes. They look really good and what little running I've done they seem to run nicely.

[GaryHinshaw]

I suspect I'm out of luck....  But I'll keep an eye out anyway, just in case.  They do look nice.

Uh oh, Spring Creek Trains Trains just listed these, and I ordered a bunch.  Good for me, bad for my wallet... 

[basementcalling]

I got 2 TTX & 2 UP ST 60 ft. high cubes. They look really good and what little running I've done they seem to run nicely.

Big beefy couplers still?

The Atlas cars seem to have finer details than Aurora, though no air hose, but are notably less heavily weighted. Haven't gone hands on with a ST yet.

[samusi01]

Big beefy couplers still?

MTL or clones

[GaryHinshaw]

My order of Atlas plate F box cars came on Friday, and since it was the last day of the teaching term, I was able to spend Saturday obsessing over them.    Below is a moderately anal comparison of the Atlas model (the single-door version - top) to the Aurora model (double-door version - bottom):



My overall impression is good, not great: B+.  The body shell is good: the dimensions and ride height match up well to the Aurora; the painting and lettering is nice - I especially like the finish of the roof finish (Atlas on top, compared to the overly shiny Aurora finish):



The door detail os ok, but the Aurora detail really pops in a head to head comparison:



I don't normally pay much attention to underbody detail, but this is again a feature where the Aurora model pops:



The only reason to call it out here is because it is visible from the side (especially on my eye-level upper deck).  Here the visible Atlas detail disappoints (especially that short line on the left...):




Overall, I'm glad to have these.  My one genuine complaint is about the trucks.  I ordered all 4 BNSF cars and one of the four came with a broken truck:



  Ok, I replace trucks all the time, so I can do that here...  But no, these trucks have an especially thin bolster cross member, so even BLMA trucks cause the car to ride too high.  This thin member has the side effect that the bolster pin won't retain the truck as snugly as normal:



My only hope for fixing this DOA car is to hope that Atlas (or Lombard) will replace them for me.  Has anyone else here found broken trucks on their samples?

Final note: I know the Aurora cars are hard to source and are expensive in the US: e.g., Midwest sells the Aurora cars for $44.95 and the Atlas cars for $34.36.  So it's not really a fair comparison.  That's a bummer.  Here in Canada I can get both for ~$40 CDN from Otter Valley.  Anyway, enough said.  I cover the straightforward N-Possible conversion here.

[Mark5]

  Ok, I replace trucks all the time, so I can do that here...  But no, these trucks have an especially thin bolster cross member, so even BLMA trucks cause the car to ride too high.  This thin member has the side effect that the bolster pin won't retain the truck as snugly as normal:

  I hope Atlas has spares and can send you a replacement.

[wmcbride]

I really liked the two Aurora cars (second run) I received recently.

Today, I received two Scale Trains 60-footers. The free-standing ladder rungs really stand out. And these were a bit less expensive than the Aurora cars.

BTW, Scale Trains had some of these come back in stock today (Friday, 17 Apr) if anyone is interested.

[Scottl]

Finally received my CN-DWC cars from Scaletrains.  They are really nice. Probably the best N  scale car I have seen to date.  Everything is crisp and detailed and they roll very well.

One curious thing- for me at least- are the white panel lines on the roof.  Are these accurate, and if so, why the complex paint on the roof?

Here is ST (left) vs Microtrains.   Nice to now have both variants of the CN markings!


ST roof