The "first generation" of rolling stock imported by the Atlas Tool Company, of Hillside, New Jersey, was the backbone of N Scale layouts everywhere during the late 1960's and early 1970's. Sourced from both Rivarossi (Italy) and Roco (Austria), the Atlas "first generation" consisted of a wide variety of body styles, a number of which had never been made before in 1:160, and a few of which have not been made since. My A1G website has been around since 2001, but I've just now completed a refresh of each of the pages on the site. All A1G pages now include individual digital images of each of the over 150 A1G cars (freight and passenger) in the cataloged accumulation, including variations to which I have access. There are also links to other A1G enthusiasts' companion sites covering A1G locomotives and the less well known "one and halfth generation" Atlas kits (!!!) marketed for a short time in the 1970's. It's taken a rather embarrassing amoung of time (years in fact), but it's now DONE. No more suboptimal flatbed scans of entire groups of cars! Please feel free to visit the A1G site here and have a look around. I also host a small, low volume YahooGroup for discussion of this important part of N Scale history. Enjoy! It's part of my contribution to the hobby.
Interesting! I've not yet perused the entire site. But noted that one of the first pages opened, there was a State of Maine box car. Yup. I had one! A lot of memories there. Boxcab E50
I must admit that i still own and run several of these dinosaurs. Some have been modified or even repainted. A few I have had since the 60s. I wish someone would do this for the other first generation stuff by the other manufactures.
I love it- thanks for the post. Good to see what made this end of the hobby- N Scale, what it is today. I remember when they said it wouldn't last. I was 12 then. I still love the few Postage Stamp trains I have that survived my handling (dad's trains) from those days. UP! Mark
With respect to some of the "long gone" molds... Kirk Reddie reported in the most recent issue of N Scale Railroading that Hornby, which now owns what was left of Rivarossi, is getting ready to reissue "retooled versions of the ARA steel boxcar, 40 foot ice refrigerator car and 40 foot quad hopper, with samples available by early summer" (Page 58, NSR Mar/Apr 08).
