GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Atlas

chuga-chuga Oct 2, 2013

  1. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Gary-

    I can tell you that one certain raeson is a lot of folks are locked into one single forum area. They never venture outside of that, to see the Swap Meet, or previous versions. Some people I have convinced to do a bit of browsing end up rather stunned after finding all the various corners of this site.

    :(
     
  2. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    I did that cruising around the site one day. Took all day. Found some interesting stuff to read for sure :) Problem was...I almost forgot how to get back here I was having such a good time !!! :p
     
  3. SP&S #750

    SP&S #750 TrainBoard Member

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    To the other Gary, Are you sure you had it posted? When I was searching for Atlas track(for a good three weeks straight) checking up to 20 pages on Google I never saw any links to here except in forum posts.
     
  4. learmoia

    learmoia TrainBoard Member

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    100ct Case of Code 55 available.

    I've got a case (100pcs) of Atlas Code 55 available at a reasonable discount price. PM me if interested.

    learmoia@gmail.com

    ~Ian
     
  5. elbaldwino

    elbaldwino TrainBoard Member

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    This. A member had some flex that I picked up and I've seen the occasional turnout on eBay...
     
  6. Kisatchie

    Kisatchie TrainBoard Member

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    Since I don't post too often here, I got out of the habit of posting her.


    Hmm... a likely story. Do
    you think it's fun sitting
    cooped up in my tree
    house all day long? Why
    can't I appear here more
    often. It's not like I have
    nothing to say. If the shoe
    were on the other foot,
    Kiz would be screaming
    bloody murder blah blah
    blah blah....
    [​IMG]
     
  7. Dave

    Dave Permanently dispatched

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    So, it seems that many think the answer to the production issues (shortages of items) could be alleviated by bringing production back to the USA. In order to do that, there will be a substantial cost for these items because the labor costs are much higher in the USA. How many of us are willing are to pay 25% more, 50% more or even 100% more for these items so they are all available all of the time?
     
  8. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    I see cars both freight and passenger going for upwards of $30 and $40 or more respectively. None of those I have seen have been US manufactured,so much for the cheaper to make cars over there. So something is driving the cost upward and it is not the overseas labor and material.
     
  9. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    Shipping and/or Import Duties?

    Running a business requires constant Cost-to-Benefit tracking and decisions, or else you go bankrupt, and never know why. This thread has been all about those decisions experienced by us who never see the details, only the results.
     
  10. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Another aspect: Ever increasing costs of moving goods. For example, July 1 of this year, USDOT burro-crats put into place new rules upon the trucking industry, (somehow these events seem to bypass Congress), which are forcing up operating costs. Guess what happens then? That's right: Up go rates to shippers, and that gets passed along to us in the end. Meddle, meddle, meddle, up and up and up go prices. Every time someone has a (not-so) bright idea, which is enacted, we pay more and more and more.
     
  11. cape.gauge

    cape.gauge TrainBoard Member

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    The concern I have, is that T-Track, Z-Bend, FreeMo, and similar module standards are very specific about the track that is used for the module.

    If the module wasn't going to be incorporated into a show layout, then your recommendation works.
    If one expects/desires one's module to be incorporated into a show layout, then will following your recommendation suffice for it being rejected at a show layout?
     
  12. kalbert

    kalbert Guest

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    A FreeMo club would likely be most open to alternative track, as long as the module interfaces meet the agreed upon standards and the track on the module operates reliably they don't really care what's done. Just be sure if you're going to hand lay any of it that it works. You don't want to be that guy.

    T-Track clubs I'd expect would be fairly rigid on the track used, as would oNeTrack and Ntrack. It all really depends on the other members of the club and how they've chosen to operate though, every group is different even if they follow the same general recommendations.
     
  13. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Ah. Good to see her again! :)
     
  14. cape.gauge

    cape.gauge TrainBoard Member

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    It doesn't matter where the product in manufactured, when there are problems in the production line.

    In the United States, the biggest expense in manufacturing products, is the cost of adhering to federal, state, and local rules and regulations. It is not uncommon for these to conflict with each other, resulting in doing something to adhere to a regulation issued by one agency, that is a violation of a regulation issued by a different agency. The only people that make money there, are the lawyers.

    The single biggest expense is the cost of industrial bots that construct and assemble the product. If volume is high enough, then line employees can be dispensed with.

    How many units are produced?

    Design cost is the same, regardless of the number of units that are made. Let's say that it costs US$10,000 to design one car.
    • 10,000 units means that design costs are US$1 per unit;
    • 1,000 units means that design costs are US$10 per unit;
    • 100 units means that design costs are US$100 per unit;
    • 10 units means that design costs are US$1,000 per unit;
    • 1 unit means that design costs are US$10,000 per unit;

    Other things to factor are:
    • Change in the cost of the raw materials;
    • Cost of the electronics;

    ForEx market volatility. Look at historic exchange rates for the last decade or two, and predict what it will be in two years. Then use that as the basis for pricing.
     
  15. DaveD

    DaveD TrainBoard Member

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    Yes, it's called inflation. When I was a kid I could buy cars for $2.50 each. And I'm not that old. Properties I looked at 20 years ago for 300k, are now valued at 2 million. Inflation. Why would train models be any different?

    I don't really understand how people can think there would be no price deference, between something made by people making $1.50 an hour, and something made by people making a min of $10. This is basic math. It's pretty simple... One guy makes a car for $50 here in the US, and then another guy has it made somewhere else cheaper, and can charge $40. Most people are going to buy the $40. So first guy goes... "OK, I guess I'll join the crowd"... and he starts making his stuff someplace else. This is not some sort of giant conspiracy to defraud train model hobbyists.

    Nobody is getting rich off the train model business. I'm not really sure why people treat it like it's the oil industry or something. But as Dave said... I guess this is just part of the new mentality in the US, where anybody involved with a business, is automatically treated like some sort of shady scammer.

    I challenge someone to start making a model product entirely here, full-time... to the point where you have to make a profit... then release it for an amount that will sustain your business. See what happens. Hope you have a thick skin, because first you'll get to sit through all the comments on boards like this, where people are complaining that your product is a "rip-off", because it's so expensive... Followed by next to no sales.
     
  16. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yup. Those who'd tend to not follow what you've said are too often also those who have never owned a business. And it is not getting any better, but going just the opposite.
     
  17. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Back to the original question. When will we see Atlas C55 track and turnouts return to store shelves and etailers ?

    HMmmmm...When is Halley's Comet due to return ?
     
  18. kalbert

    kalbert Guest

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    lol @ this. You're correct, it's not uncommon for regulations to conflict, it's extremely rare. In the event it does occur it is the result of groups unwilling to negotiate a resolution that satisfies everyone's needs. Resulting regulations are side stepped, overruled, ambiguous, and incomplete. That's where the lawyers make the money, finding ways around regulation, not compliance.

    lol @ most of this thread... There are maybe 10 posts in 10 pages that are informative, and Atlas contributed 2 of them. The rest are the same old assumptions, speculation, and rhetoric that get injected in just about every thread on any topic. The track will get here when it gets here. If Atlas could get it here quicker they would, they have said so. If people would use the search function more often they would find multiple threads that have already been started on this topic, and none were any different. It's nice that Atlas occasionally chimes in here, but did it ever occur to anyone to try contacting them directly for updated information about when the track will arrive? Or maybe check the shipping schedule they have? You probably won't like the answers you get, but they'll be accurate. Atlas is the only one who knows when the track will be ready, and if their supplier said it's not done yet then it's not.
     
  19. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Been there, done that, paid the attorneys. It's a fact.

    As the bureaucracies are the ones who create the problems with such mandates, it's on them to figure it out. Something extremely difficult for them to accomplish, as it requires giving up their power.

    The alternative is losing a lot of money or even closing doors. Been there, know that, seen the bank account thinned due to bureaucracies. Lest we forget, were it not for their creating that initial issue, the lawyers would not have been making that money.

    Re: "lol @ most of this thread..." Neither reading nor responding to any topic is required.
     
  20. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Dave and of course anyone tuned in here.

    I know I m a bit out of sync, off subject and out of context with the original posting BUT: I would like to see what you've done with your layout. Looking forward to seeing the results of all your had work. I know you had an unfortunate experience as in set back and would like to see results of your come back.

    I now return you back to the regularly scheduled program.

    Uhh....errr....it is what it is!
     

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