So I have been following Intermountain's Upcoming List for several years now and have noticed these get pushed farther and farther back each year. Still have the complete set ordered 2 years ago with an online distributor. Finally got around to emailing Intermountain about it last week and a kind gentleman got back with me. Oddly enough, he says "demand is weak" for these models. Really? I have the MT set of these but they are decades old. I cherish them as an ATSF fan, but a set of IM ones would be a nice compliment to the long out of print MTs. Is no one else interested in a fresh take on the Slogan Box Cars? I'm having a hard time believing that. Please let IM know if you are.
I agree. Consumer economics are a factor. However, this style of doing business has worn thin on it's welcome. Too many times, the waits have been long. When years pass, people walk away.
Looks like the Atlas versions of the "Chief" and "Grand Canyon Line" cars are "on the water" - container shipped 7/7/15 - so they ought to be here very soon.
The pre-order system certainly doesn't attract me. But what I've been noticing lately in N Scale is that most of the rolling stock offered is now stuff from the 80's and 90's--ginormous modern engines and long, long unit trains with long, modern cars. This perplexes me: longer cars and engines require vastly larger layouts. Does this mean people now have bigger basements and more money and time than ever before? Because I sort of thought the opposite. Most of the transition-era cars I see are pre-weathered to look like they're on their last legs, and of course the running boards are gone. Most of my rolling stock purchases these days are from Ebay. So I'm not surprised to hear an industry representative saying that there isn't enough demand for some transition-era rolling stock. I rather suspect, though, that they're wrong.
Unsolicited plugola: George Hollwedel did some nice MTL special run boxcars (20000 series) in the Santa Fe slogan schemes. They're correct for the PS-1 body style. George knows his stuff-- he's my go-to ATSF Special Correspondent for the UMTRR. Must... resist... opening pre-order can of worms...
I've been able gather about three of his Slogan cars, but they are hard to come by and usually more expensive when the seller knows what they've got.
Have you contacted George direct (proto.nscale@yahoo.com) to see what he has available? I also recommend that you get yourself on his mailing list to get advance notice of his future releases. He does a lot of ATSF cars in transition era schemes. Regards, Ron
Ron, thanks so much for the suggestion. Am communicating with him now for a possible order. I may have some IM ATSF Slogan cars yet!
