The Great American Train Company, LLC

Dear Friends of GATC:

We have sad news to report today. As of September 1, 2015, the Great American Train Company LLC has ceased operations. We will maintain spare parts for our many customers around the world for as long as possible.

It's been a wonderful eight years with many happy memories. We have trains running on every continent (well, except Antarctica). In fact, you might be interested to know that about half of all GATC trains ever built were sent overseas to places such as Korea, United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark. However, starting up GATC during The Great Recession and then trying to build it back up again during a slow economic recovery has finally taken its toll.

On a side note, we've got 10 of our very nice cabooses left in inventory. Normally, these sold for $1995.00 each. Clearance price is just $1195.00. Call us at 1-800-486-0553 or +1-763-475-6676 if you are interested in purchasing one. A photo of the GATC caboose is below. They're all 7.5" gauge but can be easily adapted to 7.25".

Until we meet again -- probably while riding a miniature train somewhere in the world -- please accept our heartfelt thanks for your kindness, support and friendship throughout the past eight years.

Best regards,

Mark, Kellie and the other employees at Great American Train Company LLC -- all of whom still have their jobs with GATC's parent company, Primera Technology, Inc. :-)

At the huge Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas our parent company introduced the world's smallest and lightest printer/scanner/copier. It's called Primera Trio. Read all about it at www.primeratrio.com.

Primera Trio All-in-One Portable Printer. Official Site. Primera Trio

Had to order many thousands of tie plates today from our plastic injection molding vendor. It's truly amazing how many of these little parts we use on every section of track.

So how many do we use on each 10' straight track section? The first person that responds with the right answer gets a free logo Great American Train Company cap and whistle!

Just wishing this winter would go away so we can start riding our trains again!

Until then, export sales continue to grow. GATC trains are now installed in about 10 different countries, including USA, Canada, Japan, UK, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Korea and several others.

If you need a GATC train in a hurry, we've got five complete sets all crated up and ready to go!

We just sold a complete riding train set to a customer in Hong Kong. It's being installed in a few weeks at a children's amusement park. Hopefully we'll get some photos to share here soon.

Pop quiz:

Is it the best time of the year to start planning (a) your backyard railroad, (b) your new train ride business, or (c) your new train ride at an existing facility?

If you answered "all three" you're correct!

Call us now while things are a little slower. We have even more time help you get started with any of these great projects.

A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our wonderful FB fans! We hope that you are having a joyous holiday season. Here's a GATC train dressed up for the occasion. :-)

Our GATC trains are in their storage sheds for the season up here in cold and snowy Minnesota! Here's a photo of the freeways just a couple of days ago. Yuck!

Just getting our first inquiries from the Hammacher Schlemmer Christmas catalog. Yay! Please let us know if you've seen it there. Here's another link to their online page: http://bit.ly/17Y1RXH

The Amusement Park Ride-On Railroad - Hammacher Schlemmer This is the 1:8 scale ride-on electric train set that creates a backyard railroad, inspired by the types found in iconic amusement parks of yesteryear.

We just sold and shipped one of our custom locos and tender that can travel at speeds of up to 6 MPH instead of the default 3 MPH. There's no extra cost for this feature. Just request it when you place your order. It requires a different gear and chain assembly and modified firmware.

A faster top speed is not encouraged for home or business use. However, if you'll be running your loco at a club track, faster speeds are sometimes needed due to 5MPH minimum track speeds.

GATC's no-tip track system and matching riding cars are unique in the miniature train business. Together, they make riding our trains very safe. In fact, safe enough to meet the ASTM F-24 standard for use as an amusement park ride. You can read more about the standard at http://bit.ly/H5ZHPt.