Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)If you are going to challenge Lionel at the Ready-To-Run train set level, then you'd better have something that gives you an edge, and for the most part in their Industrial Rail category, Atlas does. They start out with a beautifully detailed die-cast metal 4-4-2 steam locomotive and tender, with headlight, puffing smoke, and transformer-activated whistle and bell sounds.
Note: The manual says not to run the smoke generator unit without smoke fluid to avoid damaging it, so if you don't wish to make smoke, you must switch it off, using a switch underneath the engine on the right side just above and in front of the trailing wheels. Unfortunately the smoke switch isn't marked on the locomotive, only on the diagram in the manual, so remember: forward is on, rearward is off. Once you have removed and set aside the plastic plug that comes stuck in the smokestack, you will note how narrow it is. A steady hand and a fine pointed dispenser are required to add fluid to it, and unless you have something finer, you should save and refill the little bottle of smoke fluid that comes with your set. In addition this smoke generator works differently than I'm used to. At low speeds, especially when starting up, it gives off very little smoke so don't be fooled into overfilling it.
Defects? Just some cautions. The wires connecting engine and tender seem rather flimsy. I've had wires pull out of the BACK of the connectors after derailing separated the draw bar coupling; fortunately, I was able to push them right back in. In addition the spring loaded electrical pickups on the locomotive project lower than I've ever seen before; when the front one hits the projecting electromagnet of a Lionel FasTrack Uncoupling Track at any speed, the whole engine visibly bounces with sparks flying. (Perhaps the electromagnet of an Atlas O Industrial Rail 10" Uncoupling Track doesn't project as far.)
The rolling stock is equally beautiful: die-cast metal trucks and operating couplers, highly detailed ABS plastic bodies, and detailed underframes on the (opening doors) boxcar, gondola and caboose.
Track: Atlas claims that their IR track is more realistic looking than Lionel's FasTrack, and based on the t-rail alone, they are correct. Unfortunately Atlas IR track is also a real @#$%^&*! to put together, requiring a LOT of careful pin lining up, lateral pressure, and deleted expletives; compared to this, connecting Lionel FasTrack really is a snap. The flip side is that Atlas IR track doesn't separate as easily as Lionel FasTrack does when you don't want it to...
or of course when you finally want it to. Taking Atlas IR track apart will be another time you don't want impressionable children listening to you while you struggle! In addition Atlas IR track has an annoying tendency I thought I had left behind with tubular track: pin transference. It will be worth the effort to take a pair of pliers and put all the stray electrical connecting pins back where they belong in the exact same pattern of IN-IN-OUT at one end and OUT-IN-IN at the other end as shown in the manual before boxing up the track in order to avoid jamming pins together when you reassemble the track.
Note: It goes without saying that Atlas IR track and Lionel FasTrack are incompatible, but both companies make transition track for hooking up to tubular track: an Atlas O Industrial Rail 10" Transition Track and a Lionel FasTrack Transition Piece, but whether these two can be directly fastened together or will require a piece of tubular track as a bridge is a question I cannot yet answer.
Transformer: Despite both being rated at 80 Watts AC, the Atlas O Industrial Rail Transformer, 80W that comes with this set is noticeably more powerful than the similarly rated Lionel CW-80 80-Watt Transformer I was using before. The accompanying paperwork (on both) is a bit unclear but it appears that the Atlas produces about 3 more Amps and 3 more Volts; suddenly EVERY engine could pull every single car I could fit on the layout, up to the limits of coupler strength and adhesion.
Ironically, with the exception of a separate accessory control dial, an on/off switch, and sheer power, IMHO the Lionel transformer is superior to the Atlas in every way: ergonomic throttle vs. stupid dial, thumbscrew terminals vs. flat blade screw terminals, and pierced terminal posts (for hooking wires through) vs. solid terminal posts. Even the Direction, Whistle, and Bell button action of the Lionel is superior,...
but it is packed up in the box it came in while the Atlas is powering my Lionel FasTrack layout.
Finally, IMHO the hidden, under track, permanently attached terminal wires of the Lionel FasTrack Terminal Section makes it clearly superior, both in function and realism, to the boxy, visible, flat blade screw trackside attachments for the unattached wires of the Atlas O Industrial Rail 10" Terminal Track.
Thus in conclusion, IMHO Atlas IR makes the grade as an alternative to Lionel FasTrack well worth considering, as long as you keep its limitations in mind.
Click Here to see more reviews about:
1009001 Atlas O Industrial Rail Southern Fast Freight Train Set
Click here for more information about 1009001 Atlas O Industrial Rail Southern Fast Freight Train Set
