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Post by curtmc on Jan 29, 2015 17:49:49 GMT -8
No, I'm not starting another discussion on the new announcement of Intermountain autoracks at $96.95 MSRP...
Did anybody else notice the price jump on the re-runs of the Atlas articulated autoracks to $99.95?
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Post by atsfan on Jan 29, 2015 17:52:14 GMT -8
I didn't but I don't look at Atlas announcements since they don't make new products.
I am not surprised. I am hearing even more massive price increases are coming in 2015.
I have enough of their Auto carriers so I am glad I got them when they were reasonably priced.
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Post by calzephyr on Jan 29, 2015 17:53:32 GMT -8
I am ignoring the price and the fact the hobby is costing more each day.
Larry
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Post by Great-Northern-Willmar Div on Jan 29, 2015 18:14:04 GMT -8
Pre orders, price, late deliveries, quality control, lack of new product from some, you'd think we'd expect it and just let things be what they will be. There isn't anything we can do other than not buy or suck it up pay the price. You then sit back and wait. When the waiting is over, you hope the model you ordered nearly a year or more earlier isn't shorted, meaning you may or may not get it. The icing on the cake is now that you have that model is it free from poor workmanship and not re-kitting itself!
If you can't accept the above terms and conditions, then reevaluate yourself in the hobby. For things sure ain't changing anytime soon.
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Post by mlehman on Jan 29, 2015 18:24:34 GMT -8
Threads like this remind me how badly some of us need a hobby to take our minds off the trials and tribulations of daily life...May I be the first to suggest model railroading? It's great fun.  |
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Post by atsfan on Jan 29, 2015 18:30:05 GMT -8
Threads like this remind me how badly some of us need a hobby to take our minds off the trials and tribulations of daily life...May I be the first to suggest model railroading? It's great fun. Purchasing freight cars is part of model railroading. People come to the hobby for many reasons and your version is not the only one permitted. |
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Post by Judge Doom on Jan 29, 2015 18:46:20 GMT -8
You should probably have named this thread "$99 *Atlas Articulated Autorack* rerun" to have avoided any confusion with the previous discussion...unless you're bating and intending for this thread to go down the same course as the last.
In that case, Donnell...
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Post by riogrande on Jan 29, 2015 19:10:20 GMT -8
Added Atlas to the topic title to help avoid confusion.
Model Railroading is Fun!
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Post by bdhicks on Jan 29, 2015 19:12:26 GMT -8
No, I'm not starting another discussion on the new announcement of Intermountain autoracks at $96.95 MSRP... Did anybody else notice the price jump on the re-runs of the Atlas articulated autoracks to $99.95? I saw that when there was the thread about the new catalog, but I didn't mention it because there's too much griping about price around here as it is. |
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Post by Brakie on Jan 29, 2015 19:21:00 GMT -8
Added Atlas to the topic title to help avoid confusion. Model Railroading is Fun! Model Railroading is Fun is what I say when replacing a  KD coupler spring.. I still believe the hobby is quite affordable if one uses common sense. |
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Post by Donnell Wells on Jan 29, 2015 19:21:28 GMT -8
Original announcement in 2006 @ $59.95
2nd run in 2007 @ $59.95
3rd run in 2008 @ $64.95
4th run in 2010 @ $74.95
5th (current) run in 2015 $99.95
$40 increase over 9 years for the same model?   
Donnell |
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Post by tdspeedracer on Jan 29, 2015 19:23:46 GMT -8
Atlas also wanted $76 I believe for it's now cancelled run of center partition cars.
Considering the auto carriers sell for around $40-$50 on the auction site, I'm guessing this will follow suit.
Trevor
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Post by lvrr325 on Jan 29, 2015 21:08:27 GMT -8
Prices went up on most everything, I guess, my dealer is holding track prices through Feb. 14th but those have all been raised. Maybe I'll finally be able to move some of this older stock -
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Post by MONSTERRAILROAD on Jan 29, 2015 21:27:04 GMT -8
The year is 2018 -
Hey guys, Remember those companies Atlas, River Point Station and Overland Models Inc.? Why and when did they all go out of business? Why did Atlas sell all of their molds to Exactrail and Athearn too? Did we ever see a sign that any of those three companies were in financial trouble and would end up History in the Model railroading manufacturing business? I was so sure Atlas would grow and be a force in the future while having a strong hold in the hobby UNTIL, First, they closed up the Atlas Forum due to the "high financial cost" and "lack of Personnel to run it" then I started to think that Atlas was in a little bit of trouble when they could not meet customers demand on any of their products like track for a few years straight! Second, I was SURE they were in big trouble when they would produce NOTHING new for about 4 years straight! Finally I was SURE that Atlas was tinkering with Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in 2015 when they began marking up many previous models from $59 to $99!! It was sad to see them close up the model railroading division in early 2017 but that is the way of the manufacturer jungle. As for Overland Models and River Point Station I think the signs were written all over the walls in late 2011 and everyone knew they would fall to the tough economy by 2016. They were right too.
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Post by curtmc on Jan 29, 2015 21:29:33 GMT -8
I had a chance last Timonium show to by a bunch of the earlier production Atlas articu-racks for $30-$33 each. Those were 2nd and 3rd run ones the dealer still had in stock and was trying to get rid of.
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Post by stevewagner on Jan 30, 2015 5:55:34 GMT -8
Big Al, I certainly hope your bleak vision of the future of Atlas and other firms doesn't come true. I think Atlas has done very well to produce as much as it has in recent years despite very adverse conditions beyond their control.
I would count Atlas's introduction of assembled and improved versions of several former Branchline models as new products. The latest HO Alco S-2's are also substantially improved over the older Atlas model (and the N scale version is entirely new). The latest Atlas Alco RS-3's also show some improvement over earlier versions, though I would very much like to see some made with single-lens headlights like nearly all D&H locos of that type. The latest run of HO pulpwood cars are more expensive than earlier ones, but this time the cars come with the wire hand grabs already installed, which is a great timesaver. I've happily bought the two new D&H cars and sold off five others to which I hadn't gotten around to attaching the grabs. Many of the new paint schemes on older models are also attractive to many potential customers, especially those of us with no place to use an airbrush.
I did buy one of Atlas's articulated extra-height auto rack cars when they first were made, because full-sized ones regularly come to the Ford unloading facility off Willow Road in Ayer, Mass. (The even taller ones as modeled by Athearn can't be used in much of the Northeast.) It was my only car lettered for the new, huge Norfolk Southern. However, last November I sold off all my enclosed autoracks (mostly ones I built from Walthers kits) along with a lot of other cars and kits, many of them representing cars that are too recent for my favorite time frames, because after 55 years in the hobby I've accumulated far too much. Many of us have to make difficult choices.
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Post by markfj on Jan 30, 2015 7:12:28 GMT -8
Glad I don’t need autoracks, geeze!
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Post by riogrande on Jan 30, 2015 7:18:42 GMT -8
The Atlas articulated racks are way to new for me, and for the most part so are the IMRC racks. Although it would cost a lot to load them, the Genesis racks due this spring are more affordable in and of themselves at $49.95 MSRP. I plan on adding a couple of them and am hoping they are offered in the future with mid-late 1970's schemes and even side panels! That would be awesome.
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Post by thebessemerkid on Jan 30, 2015 10:09:24 GMT -8
I would expect the next run of Athearn AutoMax to follow suit. (Does anyone do brass AutoMax sides with etched holes?)
The real shocker will come when someone does an open autorack with side-shields and a full compliment of autos (10-15 per car).
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Post by Great-Northern-Willmar Div on Jan 30, 2015 10:15:39 GMT -8
I would expect the next run of Athearn AutoMax to follow suit. (Does anyone do brass AutoMax sides with etched holes?) The real shocker will come when someone does an open autorack with side-shields and a full compliment of autos (10-15 per car). With the open and partially open racks the price of the model auto rack isn't the bank account buster. Its those 10-15 little Chevy Impala's that will send you to the poor farm. |
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Post by thebessemerkid on Jan 30, 2015 10:27:15 GMT -8
The Atlas car is a good model. What is troubling is the re-release of 'not-so-good' models with high price tags. For example, Walthers just redid the old C&O caboose now stickered at $40. It's maybe worth $10-15. Paint and wire grabs do not make a crude model worthy of Tangent/Exactrail pricing.  |
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Post by Gary P on Jan 30, 2015 10:40:19 GMT -8
I would expect the next run of Athearn AutoMax to follow suit. (Does anyone do brass AutoMax sides with etched holes?) The real shocker will come when someone does an open autorack with side-shields and a full compliment of autos (10-15 per car). Yikes! As neat as that would look, I can't imagine what a set-up like that would retail for!!! |
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Post by thebessemerkid on Jan 30, 2015 10:46:00 GMT -8
I would expect the next run of Athearn AutoMax to follow suit. (Does anyone do brass AutoMax sides with etched holes?) The real shocker will come when someone does an open autorack with side-shields and a full compliment of autos (10-15 per car). Yikes! As neat as that would look, I can't imagine what a set-up like that would retail for!!! Makes $99 seem like a bargain!   |
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Post by thb401 on Jan 30, 2015 13:14:22 GMT -8
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Post by tankcarsrule on Jan 30, 2015 15:07:01 GMT -8
Not in my life time!
Tighter than a tick, Bobby
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Post by Paul Cutler III on Jan 30, 2015 16:53:03 GMT -8
If you really want a not-so-good product for a higher-than-normal price, how about the latest run of Bachmann Spectrum heavyweight sleepers? www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/160-13902For the record, they're asking $99 for it. When the Rapido 8600-type coach comes out next year, they will also be $99. |
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Post by Judge Doom on Jan 30, 2015 19:08:08 GMT -8
Well that's CAD, you gotta throw in the conversion, with the Canadian Dollar hovering just above the 80 cent mark...model prices in Canada will only go up now. |
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Post by fiend540 on Jan 30, 2015 19:13:38 GMT -8
Second, I was SURE they were in big trouble when they would produce NOTHING new for about 4 years straight! Didn't they release two new box cars within the past 2 years? |
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Post by drolsen on Jan 30, 2015 20:18:24 GMT -8
I would expect the next run of Athearn AutoMax to follow suit. (Does anyone do brass AutoMax sides with etched holes?) The Athearn run that just hit stores a month or so ago was priced at $59.98. I think Atlas is still suffering a bit from the factory issues that they went through a couple years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if they're having to pay extra to get their production runs bumped up in priority to get caught up Since the Auto-Max sides are more integral to the whole car body than older "conventional" autoracks, it would be challenging to incorporated etched sides without having to completely rebuild the car. You'd just have the original floor, ends, and roof, and the side ladders and handbrake would need to be added back on to the sides. An interesting idea, and definitely feasible, but you'd probably need some kind of internal frame to strengthen the whole car body. Dave |
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Post by fr8kar on Jan 30, 2015 21:29:02 GMT -8
Not to hijack the thread, but I'm curious: how do you use large cars like autoracks - especially the big articulated beasts - that require large, specialized loading and unloading facilities on your layout? I model a time when they moved in small cuts or as onesie-twosies, so they're just large cars in a mixed freight to me. But for those who model the modern era, how do you handle them? Are they just passing through, do you have the auto facilities to handle these cars and their cargo or do you model an assembly plant that fills these cars up? Do you run entire auto trains or have long cuts added onto your intermodal trains?
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