I have been in a scramble trying to develop a Frisco boxcar fleet for my 1950's era West Bottoms. The only thing out there now is some Accurail outside braced boxcars on EBAY. Last February I order from Caboose Hobbies a couple pre-announced Atlas USRA cars, undec. I've never received them and the pre-delivery notice has been dropped from their website. Is this kind of thing standard. The reason I asked is Rick M. pointed out to me this week that Rapido has some 36 Ft GATX reefers coming. I really need some of these for the Armour plant. Today when I called Caboose they said Rapido was unreliable and could run adds years before they actually produce something? He said Broadway was also this way, they had steam engines on order from them pre announced seven years ago. Am I getting the run around and should I try to order these Rapido reefers elsewhere, or does this make sense given the state of the industry? John
John, I have always had good experiences pre-ordering through Caboose Hobbies. Along the way, some items have been cancelled by the manufacturer. This can and does happen more frequently than we like. I don't know anything about Rapido's practices in this regard, but I have never felt like I got a bum deal from Caboose Hobbies.
This is a problem with the manufacturer, not the store. Intermountain is a chronic offender with the problem, it happenes time and time again with IM. I'm sure it also happens with other manufacturers. Caboose Hobbies is a reputable dealer, it's not their fault. Tom G.
FYI, Atlas has suffered massive delays on many announced items due to problems with their supplier in China. I'm waiting for a car promised for July, 2011. I was in contact with them last week, and was told they are now receiving the backlog, and hope to have them all out to customer orders by the end of February. A new item I ordered in November will be shipped to me in March, I was told, so maybe they are catching up. No, I don't have a date for the Frisco U30b's. That item is moving again, but the poor SLSF U-Boat "chugger" is well back in the que. The Chinese economy is proving often now that they frequently cannot handle the product volume, product quality, and/or product safety demands the US economy puts on them. Ken
I deal with imported, mostly Chinese, product on a daily basis in my job. Production volume is not an issue. In this down economy, there is plenty of production time and space available. They CAN make top quality product, but they will make the lowest acceptable quality, or the poorest quality they can get away with. That being the most profitable, and the Wal-Mart way. Many companies are very good at holding the factories feet to the fire, and getting good quality, some, not so much. Part, if not most, of the product safety and quality problems are from lack of oversight. It is amazing to me that many companies don't to a quality check on the product until the container arrives in the US. I had a factory this week that rejected a container of product after it arrived here. It seems that it would have been worth checking the quality before it left China, especially now that they are going to have to air freight in the replacement product. Sorry, got off subject, but needed to vent at what I perceive as stupid. Kent in KC
No problem, and we certainly do not want to start a thread on the Chinese economy! After my 35 year career in the chemical business with Monsanto, I retired and started a chemical industry consulting practice, now finishing my 13th year. I have Chinese firms as clients, and have been to China for, probably, 25 days total. You are right on the quality issue. They will do only as much as they need to do to not get in trouble. You need to keep the clamps down on them very tightly, and after they realize that, they can and do perform excellent work, as long as you keep a close watch on them. A good example is the work they have done on the Proto 2000 HO line. The body shells and the decorating they have delivered have been almost always really nice - obviously they worked to tight specs on the painting decor. But, look at the drives - all kinds of variation, multiple motors, and mixed bag performance. Obviously not the same level of specs. On the volume output issue, I don't agree. Production time and line capacity are not always the issue. Raw material availability, importantly - energy availability, and equally importantly - skilled labor availability, are often the constraints. No matter if you have production time available if you have no raws to feed in, or no electricity to run the place, or no skilled craftsmen to do the detail work. This is what the Chinese chemical industry is facing now and for the last few years. They have all kinds of capacity, and in fact are closing down plants to try to tighten things up and raise their overall efficiency. I didn't talk to Atlas in depth about their 2011 delivery problems, but got the impression they have had a reliability lapse with their sources, due in large part to lack of the skilled workers they formerly utilized. Many of these folks have moved up the block in China's robust economy to jobs that pay more than does making railroad models for we Frisco lovers! Hopefully Atlas has the problem behind them. I can hear those Frisco U30b's chugging away over there far to the west, so west that it is far east! Ken
