Ive been looking around for some well cars for one of my ac6000s and they are not cheap. I see modelers with consists of 40 plus well cars. With the prices im seeing that comes out to about 1,000 dollars. Are people really paying that much? What might the discount at a train show look like?
Thanks, Michael
Check eBay - I’ve seen 5-unit Athearn Blue Box kits and Walthers kits going for about $30-$40 a set, which I think is pretty reasonable.
The containers are not cheap, either, and they are all overpriced, IMHO. You might want to get a few nice containers then fill out the rest with cardboard or foamcore ones you print and build yourself, using something like this:
http://www.igshansa.de/igsdownload.html
or this:
http://home.wanadoo.nl/schatborn/index2.html (scroll down about halfway to the part that starts with the header “Construction plates of 45 & 48 ft containers”
One advantage of print-and-fold containers is that you can weight the cars properly to run empty, and adding the containers won’t change that much.