there was a post on the Trains.com model railroading forum about the need for NMRA standards for containers. The post reads as follows:
"The latest (July) NMRA bulletin has a letter from a Dutch modelers who points out that while ALL international containers are 100% compatible, NONE of the HO models of them are! And it goes beyond how they mount and fasten to each other (although that is itself an annoyance -- you cannot double stack different makes of container) he showed photos of just about every make of container of what is supposedly the same size -- and they are all different! I mean, 40 feet should be 40 feet, right? But not for containers. Not in HO. Makes you wonder what else we buy is "close but no cigar."
He asks if this is an area where the NMRA has a role to play -- with a standard for mounting (I don't know what the NMRA can do about manufactuers claiming everything between 38 feet and 42 feet is 40 feet other than to deny scale conformity on their warrant, which few manufacturers even seem to care about anymore)."
I too have found the problems discussed herein to be an issue. Does anyone else have any thoughts?
"The latest (July) NMRA bulletin has a letter from a Dutch modelers who points out that while ALL international containers are 100% compatible, NONE of the HO models of them are! And it goes beyond how they mount and fasten to each other (although that is itself an annoyance -- you cannot double stack different makes of container) he showed photos of just about every make of container of what is supposedly the same size -- and they are all different! I mean, 40 feet should be 40 feet, right? But not for containers. Not in HO. Makes you wonder what else we buy is "close but no cigar."
He asks if this is an area where the NMRA has a role to play -- with a standard for mounting (I don't know what the NMRA can do about manufactuers claiming everything between 38 feet and 42 feet is 40 feet other than to deny scale conformity on their warrant, which few manufacturers even seem to care about anymore)."
I too have found the problems discussed herein to be an issue. Does anyone else have any thoughts?