Model Railroading > HO Photo Review - New Atlas Thrall 3x53' Well Car

Just received a few of Atlas's new HO scale articulated well cars today, two TTX and one Pacer Stack Train (BRAN). Out of the box, nice looking models with very similar construction to the InterMountain Maxi-IV well cars released last year. The models are all plastic with numerous etched metal details, many of which have been folded into complex parts. Weight wise they are on the lighter side, so adding some weight to lower containers would probably be recommended for longer trains. Running bare-tables, well, you're on your own. The paint appears smooth and opaque, the model lettering and pad printed marks are crisp and clear. The models unfortunately come with plastic semi-scale Accumate couplers. Not sufficient for long, heavy stack trains. The near scale coupler boxes are to narrow for a standard Kadee conversion, though a modified #78 or #178 may fit. Still, I like the look of the models enough I'm willing to remove the Atlas coupler box, and replace with a Kadee compatible box. Also, no signs of the sag some folks discovered in early preproduction samples. My models appear straight all the way down, no visible warpage.

The articulated mounting pins between each well have very tight clearances. Atlas provides assembly instructions on their website. [b]www.atlasrr.com/Instructions/ho53wellcarinstructions.htm[/b] Just keep a small phillips screw driver handy when assembling and tearing down your train. Some sections pop together with out the need of loosening the ends, but you risk breaking delicate details. There are many etched metal stabilizer details affixed to the ends, a few of which interfere with coupling the articulating pin between sections. It may be possible to carefully adjust some of these to allow for an easier fit, but again the parts are rather delicate. If possible, potential buyers should try and couple the three wells together at the hobby shop before purchase to ensure proper fit.

OK, turn on the lights, on to the photos.

Mr. MRL



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/12 20:29 by MrMRL.

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What is the cost per box?

Javier Ortiz
Dallas, TX

chefjavier Wrote:
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> What is the cost per box?


Retail: $109.95 - http://www.atlasrr.com/HOFreight/ho53wellcar.htm

Street: as low as 33% off, $72.99 (well known online hobby shop in central Maryland...)

Mr. MRL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/12 22:30 by MrMRL.

I picked up a TTX pack today and was disappointed. They seem far too light to run without having to add extra weight. With other makers solving the weight issue out of the box, I was surprised.

I got my Atlas 53' Thrall well cars yesterday and after working with them for about an hour, I have decided to return mine. As reported, the cars are extremely light.In fact when you pick up the box, you think the box is empty. When you hold the cars in your hand, you feel like if you were to drop them, they would probably float to the floor like a leaf. Maybe that is a good thing? I also felt the detailing was very average and mine had allot of noticeable glue marks which could be eliminated with weathering and dullcote. But the big killer for me was....

Scale coupler pockets. The pockets hold that tiny junk Accurail scale coupler. Very small and useless. A Kadee #78 coupler does fit inside but you have to slightly file the sides to get that coupler to swing side to side freely. Then try putting the small spring in. Enough to drive you to the mental institute. So after I got the #78 couplers in, the coupler has too much up and down play and you would have to make a styrene shim to get it to hold up correctly. All this leads to a challenge with reliable performance. Will wait to see if Atlas corrects some of these deficiencies in future runs. At $109 list price and $72-80 street price, I will pass. Too bad, a car I really would like to have. I am a huge Atlas fan and spend allot of my budget on them but these cars remind me allot of the Intermountain Maxi IV's that were released with similar issues. Atlas could help this issue if they released a traditional coupler pocket you use use in lieu of the scale pocket. Yes you could mount your own coupler pocket but you would have to cut away the bolster from the coupler pocket assembly to do so as the coupler pocket cover, covers the pocket and is the bolster for the truck. Bruce

I've never had a problem with the Walthers or Athearn well cars coming apart at the articulation joint, even under severe strain. I wonder if trimming the retaining bracket so the cars come apart easily would be a good idea.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Thanks for sharing the photos - it's always nice to get a close look at a new model. While these are too new for me, I'm very interested in the 125-ton trucks under the articulated joints. I think these are a new design from Atlas - note that they're different than the trucks at the ends of the car. The "bowed" top of the truck sideframe is a design that I don't think has ever been produced in HO. I hope Atlas will offer those trucks separately, or at least through their parts department.

Dave

I got a couple myself and have found the 53'containers I have, Athearn, Intermountain, get wedged into the bay. When I pull them out, the walk ways come off the car. The coupler pockets are a pain, but I have a bunch of the replacement Intermountain coupler pockets Imtermoutain sent to me to fix their narrow coupler pocket problem. As soon as I find them I'll see if they work.

needles_sub Wrote:
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> I got a couple myself and have found the
> 53'containers I have, Athearn, Intermountain, get
> wedged into the bay. When I pull them out, the
> walk ways come off the car.

I opened up my Pacer cars last night and tried putting containers in them. Kato and Athearn Stoughton containers fit well enough, but I can't get Athearn Jindo or CIMC containers or Atlas Jindo containers to fit. I haven't tried Atlas CIMCes or any Intermountain containers yet. I think the problem is that the etched metal load guides on the car make the well slightly too narrow to fit some containers.

This problem is not unique to Atlas though, as I can't get Intermountain containers to fit in my Athearn Maxi-Is or any 48' containers to fit in my old Walthers Thrall cars.

Yes, looking good. The hand brake chains need to have some white or orange paint where they come out of the brake housing to show they are released which is obvious by the slack in the chain but still a requirement these days.