If there was a King of catalogs, this would be it.

[Anonymous]

I just received the 2005 Walthers HO Reference Book through the mail today.[:D] Granted that I just got started in the hobby, but what can I say, this catalog is huge, and quite heavy when it comes to one too.[:0] Looks like I'll be busy for quite some time.

Let the fun begin[:)]

Steve

[Big_Boy_4005]

It has been getting larger and larger for as long as I have been aware of it, which is about 30 years. It has also been getting more and more expensive to buy a copy. I'm not sure what to make of Horizon Hobby's move to take the Athearn and Roundhouse lines out of it. Their loss doesn't seem to have caused the catalog to shrink.

[Anonymous]

Yes, and I think Horizon's removal of Athearn & MDC Roundhouse from the Walther's Catalog was some DUMB THINK on Horizon's part! Now, I don't need a bunch of you "sharp bizz types" esplaining to me why Horizon did what they did. I think I got a handle on it.!

Slim Steve, she is a bigun' tho, ain't she!

[camarokid]

Well now, I sure didn't know that. If Athearn isn't in the big book what's the use of buying one? I will probably get one anyway as the last one is now 2 years old. I know I will look at the Cornerstone stuff and the Campbell's (if it's still there) for just what I need to complete my layout, now that I know what I want when I rebuild it this summer. Wonder what it costs this year? 25 bucks? Ain't it great!!
Archie

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DeSchane

Yes, and I think Horizon's removal of Athearn & MDC Roundhouse from the Walther's Catalog was some DUMB THINK on Horizon's part! Now, I don't need a bunch of you "sharp bizz types" esplaining to me why Horizon did what they did. I think I got a handle on it.!

Slim Steve, she is a bigun' tho, ain't she!

Mark, I was talking to the owner of one of the local hobby stores, and he was saying good things about Horizon. Actually, listing Athearn in the Walthers was kind of an exercise in futility, partly because the line was so large, and partly because much of it wasn't immeadiately available anyway. It was always sold out or on back order. I remember for years on end, Irv never made certain cars, but they kept showing up in the catalog.

[willy6]

FYI, I found a 1979 WALTHERS catalog/reference manual at an antique store, back then it was $5.00 and had 385 pages and all B&W except for the cover.It still has the order form in the front and s/h is $1.00 maybe i need to make an order and see what happens..........[:D]

[TurboOne]

Steve, [#welcome] enjoy the forum. I still am reading mine and I got mine before Christmas.

No matter the reason Horizon needs a brain transplant. But so does the Proto Page. 1 page, silly. The more you market, the more advertising, the more business you produce. Still waiting for horizons catalog, Oops don't have one. Guess I don't need any of their brands products. Bye bye athearn, roundhouse and co. I spend my dollars and what I can see. Although the last 4 purchases have been used atheanns, great engines for the dollars, but didn't make them any money.

Again Steve enjoy your catalog, and [#welcome]

Tim

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

Actually, listing Athearn in the Walthers was kind of an exercise in futility, partly because the line was so large, and partly because much of it wasn't immeadiately available anyway. It was always sold out or on back order. I remember for years on end, Irv never made certain cars, but they kept showing up in the catalog.

ITA that it bites not having Athearn or MDC in the new catalog.[:(!]

It wasn't really that important to me as to what was currently being made...it was just nice to have a reference source of what Athearn & MDC does make. Even if it's not on the hobby shop shelves right now, if I could see that Athearn has made say, a GP 9 in Soo Line colors in the past, then maybe I could keep my eyes open for one on eBay, for example.

Horizon's website is still a mess as far as trying to find anything, and if they're going to try to go head-to-head with Walthers, then they need to put out their own catalog. Especially since now Intermountain has jumped ship and gone from Walthers to Horizon.

[dknelson]

I tend to be more of a catalog shopper rather than a browsing the shelves kind of shopper so I think Atheran and MDC not being in the Walthers catalog will likely mean I buy less of their stuff (frankly I was buying less of it anyway).
I do miss seeing the list of Athearn parts in the Walthers catalog. I think that is where we will really see how being in the catalog influences what we can actually obtain at the LHS (and for me living in Milwaukee, Walthers IS one of my LHS's).
By the way I notice Walthers really beefed up the coverage of Bowser with the departure of Athearn and MDC. That is useful, as Bowser had a lot of cars I did not know they had
Dave Nelson

[siberianmo]

Seems to me that browsing the Walthers catalog ain't like it used to be. I have decades of them in my trainroom file cabinets. Athearn belongs along with Roundhouse.

You would think that getting these people together would be relatively easy, not at all like the three factions in Iraq! I sent Walthers an e-mail and called them too - just to let them know what I thought. Of course, the blame goes to Athearn's new owners. Still and all, why is this so difficult to resolve?

If there is a gripe with Walthers that has been ongoing it has been with the Con-Cor line. Talk about perpetual out of stock! Can't even get a response that makes sense by phone - at times I think I'm speaking to the janitor (if there is one).

I'll be buying the King of Catologs on a once every three year basis and using the Walthers web site in between. Those saved bucks will be better spent elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Agree with comments about anything being left out of the Walthers catalog and would add to that being left out online. I use the Walthers website all the time. It is easy to search in a "MRR" kind of way. Have tried using the Horizon site to search for MRR items and, at best, it is cumbersome. That has been my experience with Horizon in the RC airplane world also, although I have always gotten good service on the products I have purchased through Horizon over the years. Hope maybe the Horizon items show up again at Walthers or the Horizon website at least is made more like the Walthers site - easy search, logically organized, good photos, etc.

John
Austin, Texas

[Anonymous]

I don't think Athearn's or Con-Cor's inability to produce products advertized in a catalog is the responsibility of the producers of the catalog! It is the responsibility of the producer to be honest about the products they are bringing to market or making available. Con-Cor's current advertizing is stating "The Boss has a two year plan"! Does this mean con-Cor will be: 1). Going out of business? 2). Selling out? 3). We should buy all the Con-Cor products we can, because "The Boss has a two year plan"? I think it means number 3!

[davekelly]

I love the Walthers catalog. When I'm thinking about needed a structure I got pages of stuff to look at to determine what might be able to be bashed from different structure models. It's pretty neat having a large percentage of the industry represented - especially those detail parts.

[Anonymous]

Well I took the time to look through most of it last night. Reading here and there, but overal it was very good and for a new guy like myself, it really gave me a picture of whats all out there. I guess if I was to be disappointed with this catalog, I was expecting to see more when it comes to the locomotive section. I did how ever enjoy reading the section on modeling passenger trains, weathering, etc. Lets not forget the safety section too. That was an eye opener for sure.

Speaking of catalogs, is there one available for the Athearn and MDC products?

Steve

[TurboOne]

Slim it is online.

http://www.athearn.com/

Enjoy

Tim

[CBQ_Guy]

Not to be disrespectful, but that's the reason it's often referred to as "the bible".

[railman]

It's should be like a telephone book...everybody's in it. Whether or not something is in stock, one could look in the catalog and see if it existed at some point. To pull Athearn from one of the reference books seems a bit absent minded...especially when their website isn't exactly "easy" to surf through. Personally? I liked the old-old version of Athearn's site, which was just a glorified list in courier font. ...but at least it made sense.

[Anonymous]

yes its the models bible.....
its all i use.

[Bob Hayes]

Willy6
I have a 1970, Summer Edition, of Walthers catalog. The price is $2.00, and the index is in the middle, with 142 pages. Everything is black & white except the cover has some red, and the pages are stapled together. Quite a change from my 2004 edition.

BTW, not everything made is in the Walthers catalog. Just look at the back page where all the manufacturers are listed with their manufacturers numbers, & see how many of them are not in the catalog.. Walthers assigns a number to almost every manufacturer in existance, somewhat like Scott's catalog(stamp collecting), and almost everyone uses their numbering system.

Bob Hayes