RTR Freight Car(s)

Fred

I know what you mean about finding the Accurail kits. Only one LHS around here carries them. They have about 10 kits at any given time and half of them are auto racks. I get mine off of Ebay.
 
No RTR for me yet. The Accurail products work well for me. They seem to have new offerings regularily, they have many "multi-car" sets which reduces the time spent re-numbering, and I've recently purchased some with the "screw-on" trucks and coupler box covers. I've already purchased every MDC and Athearn kit that fits my layout...it seems that these two are making more of the RTR than kits these days and are not issuing any new kits. I like the P2K kits but I haven't seen any new offerings in a couple of years. I have made a number of Walthers kits, but I always seem to have to "adjust" something...they don't always fit together well...too much trimming.
I have tried some Walthers RTR in the past but just like the kits, lots of re-work is usually needed. I generally have to fix sagging couplers, re-apply railings (on tankers) and adjust the wheel gauge.
Tom, sorry to hear that your LHS does not stock enough Accurail, The two stores that I use, Silver Spike in Denton and Discount Models in Addison each carry over 150 Accurail kits at any time.
I do see the writing on the wall and I'm stocking up on kits now for my retirement.
 
In terms of RTR cars, I like detail and accurate markings so I go with:

1. Atlas - some of the best rolling stock made in MRRing, period!

2. Kadee - only problem is that they are too shiney - a quick spray of dullcoat makes them perfect. Plus they already have Kadee couplers !!!

3. P2K - again, great detail and accurate markings. And they already have P2K wheels!


Yes, they cost more, but I feel you get your money's worth - quality products all !!!

Which can NOT be said of Athearn (RTR or Kit).
 
IAIS 604 said:
In terms of RTR cars, I like detail and accurate markings so I go with:

1. Atlas - some of the best rolling stock made in MRRing, period!

2. Kadee - only problem is that they are too shiney - a quick spray of dullcoat makes them perfect. Plus they already have Kadee couplers !!!

3. P2K - again, great detail and accurate markings. And they already have P2K wheels!


Yes, they cost more, but I feel you get your money's worth - quality products all !!!

Which can NOT be said of Athearn (RTR or Kit).
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We are not against you having a favorite brand, but we are also not here to just to bash a particular brand. If you dislike Athearn products please tell us why? But please don't just say they are bad-quality products and not worth the money. That's how flame wars start and we don't allow such here in the flame free zone. :) FRED
 
The remark was not a "bash" but an accurate statement that Athearn RTRs and Blue boxes as a general rule do not have the detail nor, in many cases, the accurate markings that are found on the brands I was talking about.

Anyone who has been in this hobby more than a year or two knows this, and I could give you a list of the faults found on many of the Athearn cars I own.

But that would be "bashing" I suppose.

As my remarks are considered "flaming", I can cure this - please remove me as a member of this forum.

Also please remove my older member name of IMRL 393, which I see is still on the members list.

Those who want to can find me on the Atlas forum.
 
We will be sorry to loose you. I was only pointing out that we discuss rather than dismiss. :confused: If one looks and measures close enough one could find fault with any and all models. FRED :cry:
 
Hey guys, c'mon, relax a little please :eek:

I have a few Athearn blue box, and they required a bit of patience but in the end they turned out fine. :) I have one Genesis RTR Athearn and it has very fine details but the trucks are kind of blend, but that's ok. I can change it later on

I have a few Con-cor box cars and they did required some fine-tuning. Details are ok to so-so.

I have no Intermountain or Atlas RTR because they're waaay too expensive for me. Around here they go for $45.00+ for one boxcar, which is too rich for my blood

My P2K are doing fine and cost me about $20.00 each. And I taught that was expensive :mad: :D :rolleyes: :)

In the final analysis they all run very well on my layout. Mind you, I changed all the wheels for P2K metal wheelset and I changed all the couplers to Kadees(c) :D :thumb:

Weathering :confused: Yes but I think I went overboard on some them :( :p
 
Some people like and buy $3 "Industrial" branded cars. They are happy with them. Some people build wonderful structures from cerial board. Some buy plastic kits, some buy craftsman kits, some buy RTR, and some build from the trash can. This hobby has many facets. We can and should discuss what is wrong with this or that car or kit, but we can't trash a whole brand or method of building because they don't meet our standard. FRED
 
I believe a person should be able to state they dislike a product and this ought to be a place to say it. I have learned much from other's dislikes, and their stated reasons. My experience is that everybody supports their opinion, either by saying what they like in a model, or by explaining what they dislike about a brand.:)
As to car kits; I like Accurail, Branchline Yardmaster (Blueprint is for masochists), and E&C, or is it EB&C?
I do not have a layout, so don't know what operational problems these brands cause in use.
I have always been perplexed by older Blue Box kits having a low set coupler, I have probably shimmed fifty of them. I have never seen an explanation of this persistent aberration.:)
 
Hi petey, I've never really noticed that as much as their boxes are loose which allow kadee's to droop. As you stated the fix is to shim. Thing I dislike the most is them plastic coupler boxes on the blue box locos and the knuckle couplers that ship with all their stuff. Yeah, them blueprints have lots of parts:D. But when put together :thumb: They are very fragile too. I have never seen that last brand. FRED
 
Quite true, Fred. I've been trying to introduce a less judgemental attitude toward what we don't like. Our comments can be insulting to those modelers who are strapped for cash, just getting into the hobby, or modelers who use certain models for certain purposes. There is enough variety in our hobby to make smething available to every modeler, no matter what the budget or level of experience.
 
True

I could spend $45.00 and up for a boxcar but I would personaly feel weird doing so. Why? I don't know! I feel fine spending $100.00, $125.00, $150.00, $175.00 for a nice loco. Why? I don't know either! It's just one of those things........
 
:wave: :wave: :wave: Welcome to the-gauge, Petey :wave: :wave: :wave:

I believe a person should be able to state they dislike a product and this ought to be a place to say it.
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This is absolutely not directed towards any individual member. It's merely an explaination.

Within limits. A derogatory remark about a manufacturer or it's products, an individual or other entity can and will be moderated. A factual statement about a particular experiance you have had may not get moderated.

Why? Because the-gauge is a great place, and we're going to keep it that way. A derogatory remark can draw unwanted negative attention to the-gauge and the individual who posted it. This type of attention maybe unlikely, but can come from well funded entities and none of us wants that. This is for fun, and we don't want anyone to get into trouble over it. A derogatory remark can also hurt other members. Most people when hurt, won't tell you they've been hurt. As hudsonelectric mentioned, an individual might not have the cash to replace his product that may be viewed as inferior. That needs to be respected. Also, what you view as a shortcoming in a product may not matter one do-pucky to another member. I for one am impressed, amazed, and respect the level of detail some RTR comes with as purchased, but don't really care what kind of detail a ready made rollin' stock has. To me, it's just background material, and if it's gunna be up front, it gets scratched or bashed. See what I mean? We don't all need $1000 brass locos. And there's nothing wrong with people buying those if they like.

Derogatory examples:

PK Loco's suck. Goobenschneider rolling stock is crap quality. Honkeydory track isn't worth buying.

Factual statements:

I've had trouble with PK Loco's motors burning out. My Goobenschneider rolling stock has sagging couplers. I can't get Honkeydory track to work right because it's out of gauge.

This thread became moderated lightly because it was implied that one manufacturer did not make a quality product, it was stated in a derogatory manner, and there was no explanation or example supporting the statement.

The bottom line:

It's dash10's forum, it's a judgement call, and it's his call. He'll tell you if you are doing something wrong, and if you don't try to push the enveloup, it makes his job easy. Give him a break and respect his judgment. You or I may not agree, but he's doing what he see's as best for all. He has the authority to edit or delete any posts or entire threads in his forum, including my own posts.

Most of all, enjoy the hobby and the-gauge. Many other forums are loaded with people that are full of anger and feel they have to vent. I feel sorry for them. Anyone in that catagory should go else where and vent, then come back when they feel better.

CN1: I have some loco's I'd like to sell you! :D :D :D j/k
 
Ha! Ha! Is it a nice P2K FA1 or FA2? in CN Colors? with Zebra Stripes? with the nice Noodle? with a Decoder installed? With Sound? With Kadees #5? For less then $100.00 including shipping?

P-e-r-f-e-c-t I'll take it :D :D :D :p

:wave: :wave: :wave: :wave:

BTW i got your message thx
 
Oh, wait, you said "nice"
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Nice?........Ok, there are those who define nice as: It runs perfectly right out of the box, is DCC decoder equipped, and has all the sound features, the paint job is perfect, and it is an absolutely accurate representation of the prototype.
To me, however..........nice means: it has all the parts I need for my next kitbash! the rest I can deal with.........................(and it's cheap) :D

Athearn "blue box"? I can fix anything.......where's the duct tape! Seriously, wheelsets can be replaced, couplers can be remounted, and any piece of rolling stock can be made to run well. I've always considered Athearn to be the "best bang for the buck". Not the cheapest, not the best detailed, but reasonably detailed, rugged, and reliable. Kadee, and Red Caboose RTRs, are beautiful, but after dragging them to several shows, most of the detail would be destroyed. Those items stay at home, the Athearn bluebox cars go to show. Intended use, as much as beauty, determines what's the best way to go.
Pete
 
Frankly I was rather suprised by the reactions. Geeze, I just ask a guy to not categorically
dis one of the most sold (therefore most popular) brands of HO products on the market
without qualifying the remark, he gets hacked, and I feel like I have to defend my position.
The key words are I asked nicely, even put in a smilie in the post. I deleted nothing, I
altered nothing, I threatened nothing; I did nothing but ask someone to give me evidence
to support his statement and explained why. Over the years I have received products and
services I was less than happy with, but I don't go around saying all Proto 2000 stuff sucks
because I got 3 packages of wheels that were out of round. But I will tell you to put your
proto 2000 wheels into a bobber caboose and roll it down the track if the subject comes
up. Mine wiggled up and down quite noticabally. After I replaced all the bad wheels it
solved an uncoupling problem that I was blaming at the time on Kadee. FRED
 
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