ATLANTIC CENTRAL (Sheldon) said:
"BUT most importantly I don't have any problem finding the items that I want - it is all out there. All you need is a phone, a computer, a car and a credit card. The mailman brings those nice packages from all over the country in a matter of days!"
That sums it up quite nicely.
Folks, we are not going to change the manufacturing policy of Athearn or any other manufacturer/importer. So let´s move on, before this ends up in a flame war.
"Maybe this thread should get back to it's O.P.'s intent which is Athearn's products always being out of stock. I've been to their website, most of what they show as products they produce, is sold out! This begs the question: If the products you show as being for sale are sold out, are they actually for sale?"
Well I don't hold any fancy collage degree, but getting back to the OP's question, as others have explained already, just because it is sold out at Athearn does not mean it is not available. You doubt they are actually for sale? I will see about posting a picture or two of the hundreds of pieces of Athearn RTR still in the boxes in my possession.
Athearn makes it, they sell it to dealers, to distributors and direct to the public through the Horizon web site.
BIG dealers like Trainworld CHOOSE to buy up large volumes of each and every item. Other BIG retailers do the same. The last few remaining sizable distributors do the same. Hundreds of smaller dealers also buy what they think they can sell. ALL of these customers have the option of preordering these items before they arrive or waiting to see how much is available after they arrive.
What should Athearn do? Not sell to the BIG BOYS so that the stock stays at Horizon's warehouse for the OP and others to buy direct? I think not.
I'm sorry if the shop you want to buy from does not have a good stock of Athearn, but a great many of the shops I go into do have hundreds or even thousands of pieces of Athearn in stock - ALL THE TIME.
Is it always going to be the exact items you are looking for? - NO. Is it going to be everything they have ever made? - NO. Will it be everything they have made recently? - that depends on the willingness and ability of the retailer to INVEST in inventory when Athearn says "preorder XYZ for delivery on 123".
Like it or not this industry has moved into the age of "if you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch".
So places like Caboose Hobby, Train World, FDT, Model Train Stuff, Star Hobby, Toy Train Heaven, and others willing to buy the product BEFORE the customer asks for it, are the ones who have it.
So if you want a specific item - YOU need to search out WHO has it and buy it from them!
Athearn is not in the warehouse business - that IS the retailers JOB to have products ON HAND to sell his customers.
As for Blue Box - AS I HAVE EXPLAINED ABOUT 50 TIMES NOW - more than half the current RTR Athearn is only SLIGHTLY upgraded versions of those same kits. I know that the perception of this is skewed depending on the era you model, but if you examine the WHOLE Athearn RTR line it is fact. Most of the detail is no better than Blue Box cars - BUT the paint jobs are all much better.
I buy lots of Athearn - I buy the new RTR, I still buy Blue Box kits when I find the ones I want, I buy new high end RTR from the other companies out there, I buy Accurail and Bowser kits, I buy lots of craftsman kits too, resin, old wood kits, new wood kits. I like detail, but I don't obsess about every piece of rolling stock being some over the top museum piece.
BUT most importantly I don't have any problem finding the items that I want - it is all out there. All you need is a phone, a computer, a car and a credit card. The mailman brings those nice packages from all over the country in a matter of days!
Sheldon
The reason for this thread now being five pages long escapes me.
The OP got his answer on the first page.
Athearn is now owned by Horizon Hobbies and every loco it produces is quickly distributed to retailers. So, if you look on the Athearn web site, everything is always out of stock.
Specific road names and engine types, if they are available at all, are buried on the shelves of LHS and on line retailers.
Rich
Alton Junction
NP2626 Brakie, what am I supposed to do with your comment about it only taking you four hours to build a wood caboose kit? Am I supposed to be impressed and in aah of you building prowess? Not going to happen! I enjoy the process and savor every moment of building a nice model.
Brakie, what am I supposed to do with your comment about it only taking you four hours to build a wood caboose kit? Am I supposed to be impressed and in aah of you building prowess? Not going to happen! I enjoy the process and savor every moment of building a nice model.
Nope..Just stating the fact that I use to build wooden kits-4 hours was about right for a Mainline Model caboose kit before painting the roof,ladders,railings and grabs.
I suppose today it may take me longer since my fingers isn't as nimble as they was when I was young..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Also, you keep going back to the Athearn Blue Box kits. It's my understanding that Athearn stopped making these, that they are no longer available from Athearn and haven't been for a decade; or, more! Yes, they can be found in dwindling numbers on Ebay and at Train shows. Before Athearn stopped making them, I sold most of my Athearn Blue Box freight cars on Ebay and moved on to better kits like Accurail, Branchline, Proto 2000, Intermountain and Red caboose kits.
My interest is not bringing Athearn Blue Box Kits back. My interest here is keeping those manufacturers who are still producing kits, continuing to produce kits! Believe me, these manufacturers are extremely interested in my satisfaction with there products. If you don't like the fact that Athearn is always sold out, stop buying their products!
Maybe this thread should get back to it's O.P.'s intent which is Athearn's products always being out of stock. I've been to their website, most of what they show as products they produce, is sold out! This begs the question: If the products you show as being for sale are sold out, are they actually for sale?
Now I'll get a lecture from some of you collage boys about economics in today's market. Save your breath!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
i agree with mr cutlers last sentence. that is still possible today.you can still purchase a locomotive on e bay at a reasonble price and strip the paint off and repaint and decal to your railroad of preference. john
I like RTR and with the time i have Kits just take too long to build.Talking about older stock the old MDC cars like the ABOX and FMC boxcars can't compete with what Athearn did with them to look better,what about the ballest hoppers the new one's is great.And about 50 dollar plus freight cars the Springs Mills Can Stock i had to have,remember when they first hit the rails and that was Seaboard Coast Line days.
Russell
I should make this clear, I'm not trying to bash anyone's view point here, just making a point.
I know that I am just barging in here, but please stop getting at each other's throats about prices and detailed cars VS less detailed cars. Point is, if one is happy with a car, good for them. If one is willing to pay $100.00 for a car that they have been looking for long and hard, that's okay, but we don't need to get into a fight about it.
After all, model railroading is a hobby that should be about having fun with what we want to have fun with. I like running realistic N scale models through a river valley (too small for good accuracy, as argued by some). However, I also love collecting and operating postwar Lionel trains (isn't realistic, why bother with them, says others). Again, if one is happy with how they are enjoying the hobby, then that's fine with me.
Again, just stating a point, not trying to bash anyone here. If you take this the wrong way, well, I am really sorry.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Route of the Black Diamond Express, John Wilkes and Maple Leaf.
-Jake, modeling the Barclay, Towanda & Susquehanna.
NP2626 Maybe there isn't enough high priced, prototypically correct cars for all you guys who want them to go around? To bad, so sad!
Maybe there isn't enough high priced, prototypically correct cars for all you guys who want them to go around? To bad, so sad!
Actually 80% of my cars are BB and MDC..Those are my club cars..The other 20% is the better detailed cars I will be using on my layout when I get it built.For the record I still like my BB GP7s.
If I change eras then I will learn toward Accurail and Atlas Trainman kits since they fit the '50s.
-----------------------------
I can comapare what I want, when I want.
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All I'm saying is don't lump all RTR cars in the same pile since there are several types from little detailed cars like Trainman to the higher detailed prototypical correct cars like Atlas and Tangent.
Even Athearn has 4 types of RTR cars..
BRAKIE NP2626 Now finally the truth! Look at the price of plastic kits in comparison to RTR, which is cheaper? Don't compare all generic car kits or generic RTR cars with the prototypical correct RTR cars that is available. There is no logical way to compare these cars to the old Athearn,Accurail and MDC generic kit cars. Even trying to compare the upgraded cars with their old kit counter parts is near impossible.
NP2626 Now finally the truth! Look at the price of plastic kits in comparison to RTR, which is cheaper?
Now finally the truth! Look at the price of plastic kits in comparison to RTR, which is cheaper?
Don't compare all generic car kits or generic RTR cars with the prototypical correct RTR cars that is available.
There is no logical way to compare these cars to the old Athearn,Accurail and MDC generic kit cars.
Even trying to compare the upgraded cars with their old kit counter parts is near impossible.
Where do you come up with these ideas? I can comapare what I want, when I want. Personally, I don't give a rat's patoot about prototyipcally correct cars one bit, never have! I am also unwilling to pay the money you guys are so willing to part with for these prototypically correct cars. I have one opinion on all this, if it looks like a freight car that I can use on my layout, I'm happy. If it don't have enough panels; or, rivits; or, the roof panels are all wrong, I personally don't care!
andrechapelon ... If DJH quality steam locomotive kits of North American prototypes were available, they'd be priced north of $500 and would be remarkable both for their prototype fidelity and the incredible amount of dust that would collect on the kit boxes during the decades they would sit on the shelf. Andre
...
If DJH quality steam locomotive kits of North American prototypes were available, they'd be priced north of $500 and would be remarkable both for their prototype fidelity and the incredible amount of dust that would collect on the kit boxes during the decades they would sit on the shelf.
Andre
They are. B.T.S.
Enjoy
Paul
Like I've said before, I'll pay $50.00 for a wood caboose kit.
That's all well and good, but you're an anomaly, given the history on this site of people wailing and gnashing their teeth about prices. Of course, people complaining about prices are invariably complaining about the prices of RTR items. When you point out that, say, a Bethelehem Car Works passenger car kit (sans truicks) is about the same price as a Walthers RTR passenger car, they're remarkably silent.
BRAKIE Andre,The last BB kit I bought was $5.95..Now that same car is $18.98 and still has a thick out of scale roof walk.. My point? It always cost more to build a car or locomotive by using R&R parts..
Andre,The last BB kit I bought was $5.95..Now that same car is $18.98 and still has a thick out of scale roof walk..
My point?
It always cost more to build a car or locomotive by using R&R parts..
NP2626 I get no pride from simply buying something a ploping it down on the rails.
Actually one needs to paint the wheel face,trucks and change out couplers to KD if the car doesn't come KD equipped..Then there's the matter of weathering the cars so,IMHO we went from building kits to touch up,changing couplers and weathering..
Kind of a odd trade off I think?
BTW.The last wooden caboose kit I built was a Mainline Models PRR N6B..This kit took me about 4 hours to build.
In the end this all boils down to what it is that we want to do in this hobby. I want kits and will not be buying much in the way of RTR equipment and absolutly will not buy any pre-built structures!
You can listen to as many explainations from the manufacturers about why they charge what they charge for something, as you want. It's still boils down to what a willing buyer is willing to pay a willing seller.
Like I've said before, I'll pay $50.00 for a wood caboose kit. I get around 20-30 hours of enjoyment putting it together, painting, detailing and decaling it. In the end I have something I built and have a certain amount of pride in. I get no pride from simply buying something and ploping it down on the rails.
Apropos building from kits, some years ago there was an article (in Car and Driver, IIRC) about how much it would cost to build a VW Beetle from spare parts. That was over 40 years ago and back then a Beetle retailed for about $2500. Building your own would have cost you something over $12,000 (parts only, never mind the tools you might need). Then, again, a VW Beetle has a lot more parts than, say, an Athearn BB boxcar.
I decided to see how much it would cost to build an Athearn 1950's 40' boxcar from parts. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a listing for the body shell or the weight, but I did find most parts. So here's a (partial) list.
Betterndorf trucks: 5.98/pair
Underframe: 3.98
Door guides: 6.98/12 (or about 1.16/pair).
Doors: 3.98/6 (about 1.33/pair)
Roofwallk: 3.98/3 (1.33/each)
Brakewheel: 3.98/6 ( .66/each)
I did find top and end casting for a 40' reefer at $2.98, so let's assume we can get a full boxcar body for $3.98 and a metal weight for a $1.
So far, using the calculator, I've got $19.42 without couplers, paint or decals. A pack of 2 pairs of couplers will cost you $3.19 (plus shipping) at MB Klein. So that's $1.60 for a pair and we're up to $21.00. We won't bother costing out paint and decals, because there'd be a wide variance depending on the road name (an NYC Pacemaker car is going to cost you more than a simple boxcar red car).
$21 compared to the cost of a RTR car (with the caveat that the partsbuilt car won't be decorated). The closest thing I could find from MB Klein was an Athearn 40' modern boxcar with a price of $14.99 (MSRP of $19.98). So the price difference between the RTR boxcar and the parts built boxcar is a lot more favorable than trying to build a late 1960's VW Beetle from spare parts.
There is another solution (if you're willing to move to China and work in a factory) and that's to get your modeling done the way Johnny Cash built his own car. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWHniL8MyMM You could even get Genesis items that way.
Sorry ' bout that. I saw the thread and couldn't resist.
Ulrich, I find researchg my chosen fallen flag (Northern Pacific) to be every bit as fun as building the car kits I can find; or, building my layout!
I literally have no interest in modern railroads; although when a BNSF freight passes by when driving, I always look at the train.
Ulrich Sometimes you just have to go with what's available. If you don't like painting your own or scratch building, then skip the obscure railroad from yesteryear...model the present day UP, and enjoy. The more mainstream you make your layout, the easier it will become to populate your layout with models that are readily available in stores.
Sometimes you just have to go with what's available. If you don't like painting your own or scratch building, then skip the obscure railroad from yesteryear...model the present day UP, and enjoy. The more mainstream you make your layout, the easier it will become to populate your layout with models that are readily available in stores.
Well, there are plenty of locomotives that I would like to run that are decorated for the Lehigh Valley and I decorate and patch-out the rest. I would like to have some cars that come from kits for that little bit of variety. Nice to know that they at least exist, will be checking eBay more often now. Thank you!
Lehigh Valley 2089 Oh, sorry. I was wondering if there were cars of that era from the 50's time frame in N scale.
Oh, sorry. I was wondering if there were cars of that era from the 50's time frame in N scale.
Apparently you not only want '50s-era cars, but car kits in N scale. These are rare. Intermountain made kits for a number of their N scale '50s-era freight cars in years past. These are easily found on eBay and a few may still be at hobby shops. A few N scale kits are still found on Intermountain's web site, but they seem to be winding down the kits. There have been other manufacturers offering N scale kits in the past; these often turn up, unbuilt, on eBay.
The idea that kits should always be much cheaper than assembled cars is a left-over concept from the 1960s or so. The cost of tooling models so that the modeler can build them (as opposed to a modern assembly-line) is substantial, as well as the costs of providing instructions, customer service, etc. This has been explained to me first-hand by a manufacturer and he had no reason to be untruthful.
So those who really want to build kits may do so, but they won't save a lot of money for their effort.
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
NP2626,
http://www.atlasrr.com/News/branchline.htm
March 1st, 2011Atlas Purchases Branchline Rolling Stock AssetsAtlas Model Railroad Co. Inc., Hillside, NJ and Branchline Trains Inc., East Hartford, CT have formally announced the sale of all Branchline rolling stock assets, including molds, inventory and other items to Atlas, effective today. Branchline Trains, started in 1998 produced the HO Blueprint Series, freight car kits; passenger car kits detail parts, and Yardmaster freight car kits. Select Series cars were also produced in ready to run models. Branchline Trains will continue and expand both their multi-scale Laser Art Structures and model railroad distribution business. New laser art brick structures and backdrop buildings are planned for release in the near future.Marilyn Krutt, President, Branchline Trains said, “Atlas is well-suited to take over the production and distribution of the former Branchline rolling stock. Branchline and Atlas are both family based businesses and we know that Atlas will provide well for current and future customers.”Atlas, founded in Newark, NJ 85+ years ago, has been a model railroad company for the past 60+ years specializing in N, HO and O scale track, freight cars, locomotives and accessories. Diane Schaffan Haedrich, Atlas President and granddaughter of company founder Stephan J. Schaffan Sr. said, “Atlas is pleased to have the opportunity to bring this fine line of HO scale trains into the Atlas rolling stock family of products.” Atlas plans to integrate both ready to run and kits into Atlas packaged rolling stock lines. Atlas will also continue to offer a complete line of HO wheel sets, trucks and freight car detail parts.Branchline Trains will honor existing warranties until the end of 2011, at which time customers will begin to work with Atlas. Atlas will begin to offer limited availability existing Branchline in-stock kits to Atlas distributors in March 2011. New and re-run previous Branchline based products will be announced and distributed by Atlas throughout the second half of 2011.
From the old Atlas Forum:2011 March 03
Paul A. Cutler III
NP2626 Brakie, I don't know how important this is however, simply pointing to the Atlas Trainman series and stating that it is the old Branchline Yardmaster series doesn't prove your contention that they are. Logically, it sort of makes sense; but, I can see no statement from Atlas stating this as fact. However, these cars are kits, so thanks for pointing this out! They will be added to my list of kit manufacturers.
Brakie, I don't know how important this is however, simply pointing to the Atlas Trainman series and stating that it is the old Branchline Yardmaster series doesn't prove your contention that they are. Logically, it sort of makes sense; but, I can see no statement from Atlas stating this as fact. However, these cars are kits, so thanks for pointing this out! They will be added to my list of kit manufacturers.
Having built several of these kits I will assure you they are..
They are slightly different from most kits since you need to glue the ends and roof on.Still they are very nice cars..I think you will like them.
As far as gluing the roof I found 2-3 rubber bands is needed to hold the roof in place.
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Atlas-Trainman-HO-2-Bay-Box-Car-Kit-PLE-p/atl-21000024.htm
NP2626, send Atlas an email. They are very good at responding.
NP2626 Brakie, Lehigh Valley is looking for freight car kits from the 50s in N-Scale. Not having been an N-Scaler I don't know if kits have ever been available in N-Scale. My brother-in- law is an N-Scaler and I remember looking for kits to build for him 10-15 years ago and not having much luck. Also Brakie, you made a statement making me thing that the Branchline Yardmaster Series is now the Atlas Trainman Series, can anyone verify this?
Brakie, Lehigh Valley is looking for freight car kits from the 50s in N-Scale.
Not having been an N-Scaler I don't know if kits have ever been available in N-Scale. My brother-in- law is an N-Scaler and I remember looking for kits to build for him 10-15 years ago and not having much luck.
Also Brakie, you made a statement making me thing that the Branchline Yardmaster Series is now the Atlas Trainman Series, can anyone verify this?
Obviously I'm going to have to do some real hard searching to find what I want. Just hope I can find some really good kits for not too much money.
NP2626 Also Brakie, you made a statement making me thing that the Branchline Yardmaster Series is now the Atlas Trainman Series, can anyone verify this?
See page 2..I posted a picture and UP in CT posted a link to Atlas.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/213208.aspx?sort=ASC&pi314=2
As far as N Scale kits good luck..There may be a few undecs kits but,N is primary a RTR scale with a required change out of trucks and couplers for most brands..