Does Athearn have something against N scale?

Hah. East coast bias, just like sports.

 

There were many more eastern railroads than western so there should be more, IMO about 85% would be just about right!

 

I will admit it is annoying when companies do not make new stuff for what you are wanting. However if a company invests thousands into new tooling and new products and only sells a few then they just fold up and we will not even be able to get the old stuff then. So in all fairness, just be patient. With the slow economy and uncertain sales projections it is just a huge risk that no company is willing to take right now. Unless they have the capital to gamble on such a project. As for me, Athearn has been doing me good. They spent much time on the phone trying to diagnose and get my engine going and followed that with a return authorization to repair my engine.
I will not complain about the lack of new products but instead be glad they are still producing N scale products at all. Shaun

 

Interesting point on "rising expectations." Who is to blame for that? We are, of course.

The mfgs have continually upped their product quality, and for that matter, number of offerings. Human nature, I guess, but instead of being happy, it has simply made many of us even MORE unhappy, as we rise our expectations faster than they can raise their game.

And, of course, no one is ever really happy until they get that "one product" that they want, no matter how good the mfgs are. And, then, only for a while, because we all think of just one more product that we need to be happy.

Endless cycle, no?

I remember being floored when Atlas told me they would never do a GP38 in IHB, because some of the fans were wrong. They had four versions of the shell, and most looked good to my eye, but Paul/Cory basically said there experience was that no one would buy them with those minor proto flaws.

So, do we expect them to do too much?

 

Not really a bias just plain logical. Look, there were more railroads in the East than the West so to be fair the model world would reflect the prototype world. In 1850 there were over 120 Railroads east of the Mississippi. There were none West of it. It was only after the passage of the land grants that railroads went West of the Mississippi.

 

And yet good old Uncle Irv used to sell us generic HO engines all the time. The price was right and the superdetailing pretty easy.

If in the year 2013, we've moved to a model where generic locos simply won't sell, then that is our fault and we, as a hobby are pretty dumb.

On the other hand, Bachmann still has good success, so maybe the problem isn't that they wouldn't sell, it's that "they wouldn't sell at the price the Manufacturer wants to charge."

 

So then what's your point about a West Coast bias? If there is a west coast bias, then how can 61% of the Nscale locos available be from east coast roads.

Me thinks this is less about diesels and more about steam.

In which case, there is no west coast bias, there is a bias towards articulateds, preserved engines and uniqueness.

And yes, HO with BLI, a former brass company and MTH has a larger variety.
I'm not aware of any manufacturer in N-scale that even relates to either of those.

 

True we have 4 different versions of the GP 38-2 but I can tell you that there is still a flaw. If you look at the extended range dynamic brake blister they are wrong. On the engineers side the blister is correct, but on the brakemans side it should NOT have the hatch behind the dynamic inlet. Here is a protype shot to show this. This is the same engine looking at each side. See the difference? This is just a minor flaw and something that not too many people will pay attention to. I know I missed it for the longest time. So my point is, some minor things even us modelers can overlook and live with. I know I did.

 

Are you saying Atlas ONLY has extended range dynamics on their shells?

You know, another thing Uncle Irv did was make the Dynamics a separate piece that could be swapped.

 

No, Atlas has non-dynamic, regular dynamic brakes, and also extended range dynamic brakes. The difference between the dynamic and extended range dynamic brake is the hatch behind the inlet fan on the dynamic brake blister.

I was estatic when I found out that Atlas was offering the extended range dynamics. However, as you can see in the photos, the blister is wrong on the brakemans side. No big deal, and easy to correct IF you know how to cast your own parts. Maybe I will do this one of these days when making another model, but for the time it is no big deal. However, to some this could be a BIG deal.

When I was making this model, I looked at Atlas and the Life Like version. Although the Life Like version I got the anti climber pilots, I chose Atlas for 2 KEY reasons. 1-parts availability and 2-Life Like does NOT have the water sight glass molded into the shell. This to me was a bigger issue than the pilots.

 

Inkaneer, So now we cry "its not fair?". Really not a great point, since those 120 Civil War era railroads represent an era that practically no one models!

Logtrain, thanks for the info. I looked at fans, but maybe he was talking brake blister. Hey, to my eye, in N, DB vs non DB is the main difference, and I would take some minor foob schemes to get what I want.

Yoho, I always wondered why this wasn't more of a tooling strategy as well. Especially now when the tolerances are so tight they will fit perfectly, which wasn't always the case 20 years ago. For that matter, for a few bucks, they could add various light packages, etc., but then I guess the market really is for RTR AND perfect fidelity, but it seems more logical to favor one or the other, maybe on a specific model basis.

 

I'm confused, I'm looking at the Atlas site at the conrail GP38-2 with normal (not extended range) dynamics and I can't spot the difference from the prototype on the fireman's side.

 

If you look at an extended range dynamic version it should have a hatch just behind the grille on the side of the brake blister.

 

Actually, the President of Athearn just called me to say that they do, indeed, hate N scale.

1:160 is over, folks. Everyone turn in your trains. Good game.

 

OK, I'm confused, because the proto pictures you linked of extended range dynamics and you said the engineer's side was fine and that's where the hatch is and the atlas model has a hatch there.



Wait, I see it now, what you're saying is that Atlas duplicated the Engineer's side onto the fireman's side when that is not what it should be like.

Is that universally true? Is the Atlas extended range shell just dead wrong, or are their versions in the wild that have the extended dynamics configured that way?

 

Yes the proto photos are an extended range dynamic. Look at both photos again. The firemans side should be the same whether it is regular or extended range dynamics. The engineers side is different. Atlas made BOTH sides on their model with the extra hatch like an extended range brake blister. You are more than likely confused because the photo you posted is of an HO scale loco which IS NOT offered with extended range dynamics.

 

edited my post. see above.

This UP unit has a hatch on the fireman's side aft of the Dynamic grills. That is not present on the prototype linked.

 

You are correct. And that is my point. If you reference the photos I attached in an earlier message, I am saying that the model IS WRONG. There should NOT be a hatch on the rear of the blister on the firemans side. The model pic you have attached is wrong. Not a big deal to me, but to others it may be.