It doesn’t have any way to transport grain! The horror! And I really want to get a nice colourful train of government-owned hoppers.
Problem.
The only ones I’ve ever seen are Intermountain ($$!) and Model Power (Heck, I bought a few of those…then I tried to make a wreck scene out of them but they were too chunky and unprototypical!)
I’ve been making do with a train of post-Beaver hopper cars from Accurail, but there’s a kingpin issue that some may remember, and a train of gray cars just doesn’t do it for me.
Does anyone have any ideas for an affordable rainbow train?
Bachmann also makes some, but they’re not prototypical. On the other hand, they cost half as much as the IM, and probably run…but I’ll get fed up with the lack of prototypicality like usual and send them to the boredwith-pile that includes a few junker engines.
I know for a fact Athearn doesn’t make one, so I didn’t even bother going there, and Walthers told me what I already know. Looking kind of grim, ain’t it?
It would be nice to buy them at my LHS, but they’re $15 more expensive than at Walthers. O__O
Didn’t someone produce a kit a while back that replaced the running boards etc on the Model Power cars making them more accurate? I’m sure I saw an ad for this product in an old MR but I can’t remember the name of the company or how long ago it was. Maybe someone has more information?[:D]
I could not agree with you any more. I would like to create a grain consist with the some of the Intermountain products but the price is crazy. Specially when one takes into account that the non DCC locomotives offered by Kato and Atlas are only about 100 dollars more, if that. These locomotives not only have as many or more applied parts but also gears, motor, light and cicuit boards, etc. This price difference does not make sense.
So I went the same route as you and bought a bunch of Accurail hoppers which now makes up the grain train.
Detailed or not, I wouldn’t touch model power if it was the only brand available! Talgo trucks, bad weight, impossible to open to get more weight in, and, of yeah, they derail like nothing else!
I imagine that motors and printed circuit boards are relatively cheap, and a lot of that price is tooling for the shell and details - Just look at the Trainman line!
=(
Looks like I’ll be in T&S for a few IMs once I get the money. [;)]
Say hi when you get there ( I am working on Tues, Fri and Sat days and Wed evenings)…we have alot of the hoppers in stock. Make sure you compare the IM to the TC versions!
The Intermountain cars are the only way to go. I have around a dozen of them and they truly are pieces of art, the detail is just incredible. I try to pick up one at every show I attend.
I’m in a similar spot! The CN line that goes by my house serves a huge Potash mine that is soon going to get even bigger so I would love to have a few models of the CN gray cylindrical hoppers. The problem is the price as mentioned before, and also the fact that the Potash cars are a few feet shorter than the wheat cars and have different hopper bays on the bottom! I also noticed that the price for the Model Power cars has really risen in the last few years even though they still look horrible.
I agree with David. You won’t feel like you’ve wasted money once you get one in your hands. I can stare at my collection for hours; they are so nice. Their quality and specificity cannot be beat! Enjoy them.
I agree with David. You won’t feel like you’ve wasted money once you get one in your hands. I can stare at my collection for hours; they are so nice. Their quality and specificity cannot be beat! Enjoy them.
Was looking through an old Model Railroader (May 2002) and came across an ad from Pacific Western Rail Systems. The ad shows two CP Hoppper cars, CP Multimark and CP script lettering, the same ones offered at intermountain. I don’t know about the quality or price. Just thought I’d pass it along for something you might like to check out. The address is www.pacific-western-rail.com
PWRS is a slippery slope. Do NOT give them your credit card number as they will send you products that they think you will like (without you knowing it), charge your card then call you to see what you think. They also charge a huge premium on their stock as most of it is custom painted.
My advice would be to avoid PWRS at all costs as it will cost you in the long run.
I 100% disagree. I get most of my stuff from them and have NEVER had a single problem. No harassing phone calls etc… I am a very happy customer, so don’t feel afraid at all. My opinion is good as well as most of my modeling friends. Keep in mind though that others may have had different experiences, but if asked I’d disagree with the above.
