Wow $75...


On the plus side, there is another run of Trainman Thrall 4750 covered hoppers....i see several i will be getting!:)
 
Trainman and the fledgeling Trainman Plus are tremendous values for the quality and detail you receive.

No doubt, Atlas makes good quality products (their turnouts notwithstanding), but I was surprised that their Atlas Masterline products would command that mrsp. 18 months ago that same car (obviously previous release) was $59 mrsp.
 
Thre are lots of things....not just trains lately that are skyrocketing in price.
It is shocking.
And the government says there is no cost of living increase and didn't increase my SS check this year or for next year.Yet Congress voted itself a raise! If there is no need to increase my paltry SS check, then there is no reason to increase their pay either!
Nobody in any public servant job should be able to vote their pay. It should go to a vote before their constituants. Then maybe they would get teh hint they need to actually work for the people and do thier job or they don;t get paid.
RAnt over.:D
________
BBW VID
 
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Yes...and at the same time, a centerbeam flat was going for $45......

I usually only get Atlas master when it is on sale, unless it's something i really want, for that reason.

bigB said:
Trainman and the fledgeling Trainman Plus are tremendous values for the quality and detail you receive.

No doubt, Atlas makes good quality products (their turnouts notwithstanding), but I was surprised that their Atlas Masterline products would command that mrsp. 18 months ago that same car (obviously previous release) was $59 mrsp.
Click to expand...
 
I got a ATLAS 89' flatbed was $32.95 I got it on my discount for $25,But still?
The athearn version has the containers for the same price.
 
Well to be fair, it is two cars. :) An unfortunate development but hey who figured those Chinese workers would want a higher living standard? I just picked up two Athearn Genesis passenger cars...$69.98 each MSRP :eek:. The LHS gave me an 18% discount on them, so that took some of the sting out, but yeah this stuff is going nowhere but up. Now their detail was great, very nice models, and cheaper than brass but a train of these things will cost some serious money. The market wants highly detailed prototypically accurate models, and that means $$$.

Shop carefully. You can still find deals out there.
 
Lets see.... New Cobalt colored box Athearn Genesis cars - $30, Athearn RTR which is nearly just as good (metal walkways, metal roofwalks, wire grabs, metal piping, brake rigging, metal wheels on metal axles) and is only $12-$25. Atlas Trainman is $10-$15 at most.

When they don't sell, Atlas is going to have a fire sale on those racks....

At that price, I expect a brass model.
 
Usually when prices start to creep up manufacturers find another 3rd world country to switch to for consumer goods. Let's see it's been Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico.... I'm sure I'm forgettign a couple but they'll more than likely find another place to reset the cheap clock.
 
The entire continent of Africa.

I'm hoping Mexico. Kill two birds with one stone. If you have semi-decent jobs south of the border, for every person they hire, will be one more person put to work and won't need to jump the border to make a living.
 
Eric, I'm not sure where you're getting your numbers...I just went over to the Athearn website. Their articulated auto racks are long gone, so no price was posted, but their next run of 50 ft boxcars (Genesis) will have an MSRP of $37.98. The current Walthers "City" trains passenger cars are $64.98 and $74.98 for the domes. The City cars are selling. The Atlas model is two car bodies, so if we look at all this from a labor/material standpoint, I don't think Atlas is very far from anyone else in the market at this point.

As for brass...Cabeese are going for $255.00. Freight cars are bringing anywhere from $145.00-325.00 for reefers, hoppers, and gons, and that's used equipment. New stuff will knock your socks off. How about $500.00 for a passenger car or $1695.00 for a steamer? :eek:

Granted we all hate to see prices going this high, especailly those of us who started in the hobby with the five buck Athearn blue boxes, but it's what we all wanted. Highly detailed prototypically correct models. You get what you pay for.

Still, as someone has said, who pays MSRP? Not me :D The Atlas cars will sell, LHS's will discount them, as will online retailers, and some will hit the clearance racks, as with any model. If you want to take your chances and wait, go for it!
 
hamltnblue said:
Usually when prices start to creep up manufacturers find another 3rd world country to switch to for consumer goods. Let's see it's been Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico.... I'm sure I'm forgettign a couple but they'll more than likely find another place to reset the cheap clock.
Click to expand...

Actually they left Mexico to go to China. My guess is India next.
 
Actually, I picked up some excellent deals on passenger cars at the Du Page train show in October and I think it's because others are upgrading to the newer better detailed cars and dumping the old stuff. A Bachmann Spectrum heavy weight Pennsy observation and an Amtrak full dome for $5 a piece. You can't beat it! They're better than most of my other passenger equipment.
 
Gary B said:
Actually, I picked up some excellent deals on passenger cars at the Du Page train show in October and I think it's because others are upgrading to the newer better detailed cars and dumping the old stuff. A Bachmann Spectrum heavy weight Pennsy observation and an Amtrak full dome for $5 a piece. You can't beat it! They're better than most of my other passenger equipment.
Click to expand...

Gotta love the DuPage show! I'll be there tomorrow. Bunch of stuff to sell!
 
The majority of my engines and rolling stock was bought back in the 70's and 80's, typically Athearn blue box, Train Miniature, Atlas/Roco and Atlas/Kato. Other than the true stick by stick craftsman kits and the odd imported brass piece this was the accepted level of detail back then at a reasonable price. For a dollar or two you could buy all sorts of detail parts and upgrade your models. Other interests put my train hobby on hold for about 23 years and when I jumped back in 2 years ago I was shocked and amazed at how far accurate details and the prices had gone up.

For me to buy gold line or master type cars or engines right now doesn't make much sense. My older equipment would look bare when mixed in with the newest stuff and at the least need added details or a complete rebuild. That's not about to happen so products like Atlas Trainman and others like that are what I am buying. Even then I have to think twice before buying a RTR 40' boxcar for $14 when I used to buy the same basic car in a Blue Box "kit" for $2.50.

to hamltnblue; I believe you're right and if they ever discover "intelligent life" with basic small motor skills in another galaxy and willing to work for pennies a week we may someday pick up a freight car that says: Made On Andromeda III.
 
This thread can go to 500 pages just discussing the economics of globalization and its effects on the MSRP as a derivative of production costs overseas... however, let's not take it there. There is nothing that argument will resolve.

Bottom line is, we will just have to learn to make more with less. This is probably a good thing for model railroaders who typically buy more than we need and hoard stuff... I have way more trains than I need, so I am guilty of that too. We'll just have to make more with less. I welcome the trend, it will be a positive behavioral adjustment for me.
 
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