I was doing a little browsing in Walthers online catalog today, and in checking the new releases, I found that all the Athearn cars listed as newly released/arrived for the month of March are ALL listed as "Discontinued Product. This item to be phased out...", etc... The same for the brand new SD-50s. This makes no sense to me. Has anyone heard anything else about this situation??? Its hard enough to find the stuff in local stores, and now the products are vanishing from the catalogs as soon as they're introduced. This is NOT a good sign.....
Railroad Forums
What' up with Athearn and Walthers???
- Discussion related to everything about model railroading, from layout design and planning, to reviews of related model tools and equipment. Discussion includes O, S, HO, N and Z, as well as narrow gauge topics. Also includes discussion of traditional "toy train" and "collector" topics such as Lionel, American Flyer, Marx, and others. Also includes discussion of outdoor garden railways and live steamers.
Moderators: 3rdrail, stilson4283, Otto Vondrak
I think I read on other forums that Walthers is no longer selling Athearn products. I suppose its due to the take-over. Who knows.
The new AMD-103s from Athearn are improved but walthers supposedly isn't selling them.
I'll check to confirm this.
The new AMD-103s from Athearn are improved but walthers supposedly isn't selling them.
I'll check to confirm this.
Horizon Hobbies who took over Athearn is a distributor that is why they are not selling to another distrbutor, let's see if they put out a nice catalog like Walthers!
R-T-R and Genesis. If Walthers is dropping Athearn, well, that bloody well sucks, pardon my language. 
I'd love to know how this is supposed to be a good thing, from anybodies standpoint. File under wishlist: Win big lottery jackpot, Buy Athearn, and fire EVERYBODY involved with the Horizon Hobbies sale!!! Then start taking suggestions from you guys as to how to make it a better product!!!( Oh, Yeah, and move all operations back to the U.S.A. where they belong!!!) Hey....I can dream, can't I ??? 
:D
I'd love to know how this is supposed to be a good thing, from anybodies standpoint. File under wishlist: Win big lottery jackpot, Buy Athearn, and fire EVERYBODY involved with the Horizon Hobbies sale!!! Then start taking suggestions from you guys as to how to make it a better product!!!( Oh, Yeah, and move all operations back to the U.S.A. where they belong!!!) Hey....I can dream, can't I ??? :DThis Horizon buyout of Athearn does not look very promising. Horizon is a big player in radio controlled model planes and boat, and is a business that only sells to hobby shops, they do not sell to mail order firms nor do they sell direct. Horizon Hobby is now the exclusive distributor of Athearn, this means other former distributors such as Walther's, BevBel and others are out of the picture whereas old Athearn had a number of distributors who sold to both shops and mail order firms. Walther's discontinuing Athearn might not be their decision but rather one brought on by Horizon. I have seen some mail order sites post notices that they can no longer buy Athearn products anymore, to purchase from Horizon you must have a store front business. Those hobbies shops with a mail order business should be OK, we'll have to wait an see. IMO I think this proposed plan to limit sales to only stores will only hurt Athearn sales, not help, we may just be seeing the demise of Athearn. Hobby shops numbers are declining, only those with a large stores and mail order will survive, by cutting out the small business and mail order firms, you immediately drop overall sales by a good margin. The question is, how do they plan to make up these lost sales, and how it the buying public going to respond to all this.
I just looked up the freightc ars on their web site and didn't see any marks like that. Let's not get so alarmist so quicky.
Go to www.walthers.com, click on advanced search. Do a search for "freight cars" and "HO" and click "show only items in stock."
Only shows a few items listed as "Disc. when sold out."
-otto-
Go to www.walthers.com, click on advanced search. Do a search for "freight cars" and "HO" and click "show only items in stock."
Only shows a few items listed as "Disc. when sold out."
-otto-
----------------------------------------------
Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
NYW&B Fan Site :: A Magazine I Read Often :: A Museum I Volunteer At
Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
NYW&B Fan Site :: A Magazine I Read Often :: A Museum I Volunteer At
I was at Trainland in Lynbrook NY today for the first time in awhile. They used to carry a large inventory of Athearn. All they had were a few bins on the counters with cars and engines that were marked clearence and most of it was old junk. This is not a good sign.
Don't strain your brain, paint a train.....
Trainworld and Trainland are retail locations- no reason they cant continue selling Athearn products...
-otto-
-otto-
----------------------------------------------
Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
NYW&B Fan Site :: A Magazine I Read Often :: A Museum I Volunteer At
Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
NYW&B Fan Site :: A Magazine I Read Often :: A Museum I Volunteer At
Interesingly enough, my local hobby shop does plenty of business with Horizon, so they will continue to carry Athearn equipment. Any shop that deals with Horizon should be able to aquire Athearn equipment with no problems... unless Horizon, or the shop, have a minimum order requirement.
But that limits your consumer base, which limits your profit line, which means discontinuance of production of certian products... anyone here good at delivering eulugies? (... so shall be missed the Athearn "blue box" kits, the seeds from which sprouted the dreams of many miniature empires across America and around the world...)
But that limits your consumer base, which limits your profit line, which means discontinuance of production of certian products... anyone here good at delivering eulugies? (... so shall be missed the Athearn "blue box" kits, the seeds from which sprouted the dreams of many miniature empires across America and around the world...)
~Erik Paulson
Moderator: BNSF :: CN :: CP :: Rock Island :: Rebuilders & Small Loco Works :: Worldwide Railfan :: Western Railfan
Moderator: BNSF :: CN :: CP :: Rock Island :: Rebuilders & Small Loco Works :: Worldwide Railfan :: Western Railfan
How will this affect the Walthers Santa Fe Super Chief set, since it includes Athearn locos that won't be available for a cupla months? Will I be stuck with eight passenger cars with no engines to pull them?
Thank god I got my F Sante Fe units (all 4) when the 1st came out. It's currenlty in a glass case.
You can always have a pair of Amtrak units pull them as the American Orient Express does a few times.
Occasionaly I have the Sante Fe untis pull my version of the Zephyer. My version has the cars in Amtrak phase 3 paint. I can't wait for Walthers to finally coem out with a dome obs in phase 3 amtrak paint.
You can always have a pair of Amtrak units pull them as the American Orient Express does a few times.
Occasionaly I have the Sante Fe untis pull my version of the Zephyer. My version has the cars in Amtrak phase 3 paint. I can't wait for Walthers to finally coem out with a dome obs in phase 3 amtrak paint.
From the info I have read the takeover of Athearn by Horizon will mean a change in the way Athearn products are distributed and to whom. Indications are that Horizon is going to be very choosy in who gets to deal in the product line and what their facilities look like. In essence Horizon is looking to get rid of the basement dealers by demanding a store front location and the ability to take on a certain volume of product. It would only be logical then that the larger operations like Walther's shouldn't have trouble continuing to offer Athearn products. I'm sure as this deal unfolds we'll all learn if it hurts or hinders the hobby itself.
Otto Vondrak wrote:I just looked up the freightc ars on their web site and didn't see any marks like that. Let's not get so alarmist so quicky....My fault, Otto, I should have been more specific. It was the "Arrived in
Only shows a few items listed as "Disc. when sold out."...
-otto-
March 2004" section. Both Athearn brands are either
listed as "sold out", or "discontinued when sold out."And for merchandise thats been in the Walthers catalog for less than a month, that's pretty sad , even for Athearn.
They didn't drop Athearn, Athearn dropped them.
Horizon announced when they acquired Athearn that they would become the sole US distributor of Athearn products in March 2004. Walthers is first and foremost a distributor, so they got cut off by Horizon.
The only exception to this might be the Super Chief F units, since those would probably have ben covered by contracts signed prior to the Horizon deal. I haven't heard either way, but I suspect that Horizon would prefer filling that order to paying breach-of-contract penalties.
Horizon announced when they acquired Athearn that they would become the sole US distributor of Athearn products in March 2004. Walthers is first and foremost a distributor, so they got cut off by Horizon.
The only exception to this might be the Super Chief F units, since those would probably have ben covered by contracts signed prior to the Horizon deal. I haven't heard either way, but I suspect that Horizon would prefer filling that order to paying breach-of-contract penalties.