Atlas "Trainman" Line, Yea or Nay ?

[dougdagrump]

I have aways been a BIG fan of the 3-rail Atlas products but most of the time they were well out of my budget. Sometimes finding a good buy on E-Bay or a dealer blowout, unfortunately you seldom get the roadname you really want.
So I am very pleased to see them announce the Trainman Line that will not neccessarily be as highly detailed but at the same time will be a little bit more affordable.
I have already seen some whining other places, so what are your feelings.
Is this good or bad?

[philo426]

It depends upon the quality of the offering and the price-point.Atlas seems to be going after the budget-minded O gauger but may find the going tough as it is crowded with Railking,Train-19,etc.Let's hope that the new line is a sucess but the outcome is in doubt.

[ChiefEagles]

I am interested. Like Doug, I have stayed away from Atlas due to cost.

[GregM]

I have a few Atlas cars including hoppers, reefers, and box cars. I ordered two PRR gondolas in the Trainman line. Depnds upon what cars are like whether I will order any more. I expect I will be happy with them but you never know.

[ben10ben]

I have only one Atlas car, a 36' reefer, which I absolutely love.

If Atlas can offer even half of the detail at a price that I should be able to afford, I will be very happy.

[Anonymous]

This is a good move by Atlas. I'm a big MTH fan, but I think Atlas is now in the ballpark instead of the parking lot.

[Anonymous]

The TrainMan Line from ATLAS O is a great idea. It will just take some time to decide waht is right for the model railroad theme. The freight cars are very accurate models. The paint schemes are applied as well as humanly possible.

Andrew Falconer.

[trigtrax]

I'm not sure the Atlas Trainman Line is working. People who like Atlas want scale with as much detail as possible. Price doesn't seem to be an issue with them. Trainman is a cheapened version of these products but still on the high side with cost compared to other trains. I think Atlas will have better luck with the Industrial Rail Line.

[Craignor]

Locos: Nay! No Cruise, No Cab figures, No smoke. Where the beef?

Rolling Stock: Yea! Sturdier cars with more detail than MTH Premier (except for the thumbtack couplers Atlas is still using).

I have stayed away from Atlas cars due to their fragility, what with my kids, and taking trains on the road to to modular shows. The Trainman cars are more detailed than MTH Premier, but the details appear pretty sturdy. The Trainman line has good prices, and If I can find a few of the boxcars at York for under $30 I may buy one and check it out. I like the BAR spud car.[:)]

[cnw1995]

Yea. On the rolling stock at least - for new stuff, incredible detail for the price.

[palallin]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trigtrax

I'm not sure the Atlas Trainman Line is working. People who like Atlas want scale with as much detail as possible. Price doesn't seem to be an issue with them. Trainman is a cheapened version of these products but still on the high side with cost compared to other trains. I think Atlas will have better luck with the Industrial Rail Line.

Well, one of the issues that the 2-railers have with the Trainman line is that it's a rerun of the Atlas '70s O scale line, and about a billion of the older versions still float around out there for next to nothing. Most of the nit-pickers don't want them because of their generic nature, a factor increasingly important to some segments of the 3-rail side of the hobby.

OTOH, some 2-railers like them for being relatively affordable kit-bash fodder. This characteristic attracts very few 3-railers.

For 3-railers, the appeal is to those who want scale-sized cars at relatively decent prices, something that the Big L and the Big M don't do so well.

[Anonymous]

I think I see an Atlas RSC-4/5 in my future. I really like RS-3s and the 4/5 is just a bigger, badder version. These guys are available for well under $200 (conv) and they are quite good looking engines, in my opinion. The drive mechanism seems first rate. It'll TMCC it before it even hits the layout and sound a few months after that. It's even OK with me that it's scale (I'm a traditional guy) since it's not a large engine anyway and runs on 031.

The scale rolling stock is a tougher sell for me. I don't like mixing scale and traditional in the same consist - I'll probably have to purchase an entire consist at once with a scale caboose. It could happen. The Trainman line is very attractive.

[dougdagrump]

Boy, was I surprised to see that this old post was revived. I have picked up some of the Trainman rolling stock and all I can say is that they are great. There will be more acquisitions as time and budget allow.
Trainmain Rolling Stock = [tup][tup]

[phillyreading]

Have stayed away because of price issue with Atlas O. I have an older 50 foot gondola
that I had to change the trucks out to Lionel to make it work with my Lionel cars, bought it used.
Lee

[douellet]

I think Atlas has done a great job with their Trainman cars. Great paint job on the State of Maine cars. If you can do those well you're doing something right. They don't look good with Lionel 6464 series cars so I run them with larger cars from Williams and MTH. Good cars for the money.

[jimhaleyscomet]

If you are looking for scale cars for lest cost it is hard to beat Trainman. Is there a market for scale low detail cars? Most traditional and 027 runners will not run them.

Jim H

[3railguy]

I picked up a CNW RSD-5 without all the electronics for under $200. It is a smooth, powerful puller. It looks right doing it too. The detail and graphics put Railking to shame. It squats on the trucks just right I should add. One might say, "But Railking has proto this and that". Appearance is much more important to me than smoke and sounds (which I shut off after a short period because they get annoying) so Trainman wins with me when it comes to value priced engines. I put Trainman somewhere between Williams and premium Atlas, Lionel, and MTH.

Some of the old Atlas tooling may of been used for the cars but the tooling was rebuilt because the new cars put the old ones to shame. They have much more detail and the graphics are superior.

[GregM]

From the Atlas O Trainman FAQ

While the Atlas TRAINMAN™ cars look like products offered by Atlas during the 1970s and as kits in the 1980s and 1990s, they are, in fact, completely new tooling.

Link to the FAQ http://www.atlastrainman.com/atotmfaq.htm

[otftch]

Not the "trainman" line but Atlas has picked up the old industrial rail tools.It would be nice for us 027 guys if they re-produced them.
Ed

[johnnyc]

Atlas needed a more affordable product that scale modelers would appreciate , retailers can keep in stock all the time ( as opposed to pre-orders only ) , and could be sold in sets . So far they haven't taken any chances with roadnames , only sure sellers . Overall seems like a good deal for everybody . [:)] johnnyc

[railfanespee4449]

I'm hoping to get a GP-15 someday. I see UP 711&715 on my local rail line
The only delay is I want a MTH steamer with PS-2!

[Andrew Falconer]

YEA for the TrainMan Line

Walthers produces the Chicago & North Western PS-2 3-Bay Hoppers in HO Scale.

There must be an Atlas O TrainMan CNW PS-2 3-Bay Hopper in the same color as the CNW Caboose.

The TrainMan Gondola is the same as a PRR prototype. CNW bought a series of those former PRR Gondolas in the late 1970's. It is a real scheme.

Andrew

[RR Redneck]

I think that it is about time that they did something like this. Now the average hobbyist can get in on the action. They have a while before they can get into the beginer market.