n scale subways

[csteitz]

Hey everybody!
My name is Robert. If you are interested in n scale NYC MTA R-62 cars please PM me. I like making subways but it can get a bit expensive in n scale. I am about to buy a few custom made R-62's and if you are interested I can make it a lot more cost effective for you and me. Please PM me if you are interested.
Thank You, Robert

 

[pooka2hot4u]

hhmm...im really interested in N scale subways, but not at the moment unfortunately. im just starting out and want to keep it simple, no expensive custom stuff. but out of curiosity where are you getting them? is there a web site? all i ever seen were custom HO and O scale subways and the life like R17s

 

[pooka2hot4u]

true, the prices are high due to low demand. ive always been interested in modeling the MTA subway network, especially the 70's and 80's with all the graffiti (used to do graffiti myself so it can give me a more legal "canvas" to work on). but could never justify the high price tag.
mabe later on down the road i will buy some of the life like cars and mod them to look like all the other variants that ran in those times, they all have basically the same dimensions and layouts of parts so it shouldnt be too hard.

 

[csteitz]

Hey guys, The site that I am getting them from is www.wheelsotime.com . I too have a tight budget and I have always wanted to model the Staten Island Railway which is great because I could use MTA subway cars, but the railway is in the process of reopening freight operations which would allow me to use CSX and Conrail trains along with subway trains.

The reason I posted is because they are expensive and if a sufficient amount of people are willing to buy these it could dramatically reduce the price for everybody, so instead of 500 or 600 dollars per train it could 200-300 dollars, (they could also be sold on ebay for 500-600 dollars on ebay so if you buy a few you might actually turn a profit. Don't hold me to that though.

 

[LongIslandTom]

Just a note on the SIRT... They used IND/BMT-type subway cars, which are a lot bigger than the R62, which is an IRT-type subway car.

The IND/BMT subway cars are very long, with four doorways per side. They are also wider, and they can't fit through the stations on IRT stops. The IRT subway cars are shorter, with just three sets of doors per side. These cars are also narrower.

There are plenty of places in NYC where you can see IRT and freight railroads running nearby each other.. In the Bronx at Hunts Point, you can see the IRT train running near the Conrail (now CSX I think ) rail lines there. In Queens, you can see the #7 IRT (which does use the R62) running over the Sunnyside yard, where one often sees New York & Atlantic freight trains, lots of Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak traffic. :thumb:

 

[csteitz]

Sorry, that was my bad I changed the order from R62 cars to R44 cars. I wanted to make the SIR because I used to live in Staten Island, and used the train to get to the Ferry terminal just about every day. Sorry about that again

 

[LongIslandTom]

SWEET!

Yep, those R44s do look nice. :thumb:

 

[pooka2hot4u]

well R 62s are one of the cars i wanted to make. so those shouldnt be too hard to do with the R17s. i checked the blueprints and detail sheets and they are the same length with the R62 coming in at just 3.5 inches longer.

now to make IND/BMT cars you can always bash 2 R17s together for the extra length and unless you are a rivet counter the width is not all that much different (its no big deal to me). but i guess you can chop the body into 2 pieces length wise and move it apart slightly and then fill in the gap.

for the trains like the R68 which im most interested in because i take those to school everyday on the N line (also R32 and R40 show up every now and then) you will probably scratch build most of the body and just use the trucks and floor plate to hold it all on.

edit: csteitz, i cant find any subway cars on that site. i was just looking out of interest im not really ready to spend that much on a train yet

 

[LongIslandTom]

The width is actually a lot more noticible than you think..

Check out the photo of the R44s I posted above: The sides of the cars aren't flat (slab-sided) like the R62 and R17. The newer IND/BMT cars have flared sides (the sides curve out). If you stick two R62 cars together, it won't look anything close to an R44, even to non-rivet-counters.

Funny you mention the N line.. I used to take it to Astoria, and the last stop on the N (Ditmars Boulevard) is a heck of a station. I love how it actually ends underneath the Hell Gate trestle!

 

[pooka2hot4u]

heh i fell asleep once on the way to school and woke up in astoria, dont remember any hell gate trestle but i do remember a big dirt lot with a pile of sand in the middle
and thats when i realized that queens is a big junk pile lol no offense to anyone from queens.

but yea now that you mention it the N train does feel more roomy than the 4,5 and 6. (god i hate rush hour) but as i said, widening it should not be too hard.

boy this thread is going off topic, started about buying N scale subway cars and turned into scratch building HO cars. sorry csteitz for hijacking your thread

 

[LongIslandTom]

LOL, I don't think you ended up in Astoria.. The last station (Ditmars Boulevard) ends in a residential neighborhood, on a trestle 30 feet above the street. Over that station is an even higher trestle, which is the rail line Amtrak and Conrail uses to get out of Queens (the Hell Gate Bridge).

If you fell asleep on the #7 IRT, you would have ended up near Shea Stadium, where yes there was a lot of junk yards. But the last stop past that is Flushing and lots of good Asian restaurants there. :thumb:

 

[pooka2hot4u]

yea my aunt lives in flushing. i guess i might have gotten off somewhere before the last stop then but i know it was the N train in queens.
im really interested in the NYC subway system, its what influenced me into this hobby. i always wanted to make a model NYC subway layout ( but the cost of trains and lack of N-scale trains kinda killed that idea :cry im the guy you will always see standing at the front of the first car looking out the front window into the tunnels (which you unfortunately cant do on the newer models which i hate :cry even when all the seats are completely empty

 

[csteitz]

The site that I'm getting these from doesn't make subway cars but I emailed him and he said that he could custom make them which is why they are so expensive unless they are made in high quantities. Judging by the rest of his work I believe him since the exterior of subway cars is not as complicated as most trains. The only other n scale subway trains I've seen are some old Images Replicas R46's a few sets sold on ebay for a starting bid of 550 dollars I can only imagine what the winning bid was.

btw pooka2hot4u if I am able to find enough people interested in buying it would lower the price I'll let you know if i can. Are you still interested?

 

[pooka2hot4u]

well im not really sure if you can get it to about the price of the Life Like R17s (around 100 for 1 powered and 3 unpowered cars) then that sounds good but i doubt it.
besides im more interested in the older R32, R40 (or as we call them ridgies and slanties) and just about any car that ran in the 70s and 80s. also main reason i want them now is to just do some graffiti on them and put them as a stationary scene for which i guess the life like R17s would be better, and it sounds fun to try and mod one of those to the cars i want.