collecting tyco

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Anyone think of this? I get the Walthers so called Flyer every month and am I crazy? $39.95 for a 40 ft flatcar just because it is a limited number run!! T he current cost of rolling stock is out of site. I model the N& W

To buy 10 34 ft. hoppers would cost about $350.00!!

My point is maybe some folks buy Tyco rolling stock for $3.00, spend $6.00 for Proto 2000 trucks, add a set of Kaydee’s, weather the car and at 50 scale MPH it performs and looks good. I don’t care how many rivits there are on a car or if all that detail on the bottom is correct. You cand’t see that stuff unless you pick the car up and turn it over. Some of the best pieces of rolling stock were the old Athearn blue box kits.

Like another gentleman said, that’s my opinion and everyone’s go one!

2

First post…No "Hello, my name is [fill in blank]…And it’s a rant. [^o)] Hmmmm…

Oh, well. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.

Tom

3

Heavy Freight,

Wow!! One hour on a new Forum and your first post,is a gripe. Sure hope You have fun!

[#welcome] To the Forums. Hope you took some time to read the Forum Policies. What isn’t high priced,now a days, That’s the new thing,RTR, some people,I am told,don’t have the time to build things anymore! Have Fun!

Cheers, [D]

Frank

4

It is not a build vs RTR thing, we want details and we the price. There are more affordable rolling stock out there like Bachman but most of want detail. Seeing as how I will have my locos and rolling stock for years I am willing to pay a little more for quality.

5

we pay the price, I mean.

6

My dad has some old tyco models, he bought them back when they were cheap, $3 a car I think (may have been less). Now a days to get a car you have to spend over $20s.

7

Why can’t you add the details,yourself, on a build thing? That was really my point.

Cheers, [D]

Frank

8

Heavy freight:

You can get 10 new decent quality 34’ hoppers new for way less than $350.00. Check out Accurail. At their current pricing you can get 10 34’ hoppers for $159.80 plus shipping. Add in a whole $4.00 and you can get renumber decals so no two cars are the same.

http://accurail.com/accurail/

Yes, they are kits and you will have to spend a few minutes assembling them, but that takes less time than rebuilding a Tyco. If you add in metal wheel sets and Kadees you are still only about $22.00 a car.

No, they aren’t quite as well detailed as the $35.00 to $45.00 RTRs, but they don’t look like something out of a toy train set either.

Don’t get me wrong, I have gone the old stock route more than once. I just bought 19 AHM 3 bay covered hoppers which will have cost me about $9.00 each once they have all been converted to metal wheels and Kadees, weighted etc. As I said on another thread, maybe someday I will replace the grab irons and number them individually. I also have a dozen BB cabooses undergoing rebuilds which will ultimately cost me about $25.00 each including the obvious wheels, decals and couplers plus working marker lights and interior lights. I use plastic castings and 0402 LEDs for the marker lights. Using the ready wired ones would double the cost of the cabooses[xx(][(-D].

Now, having said all that, I do admire the craftsmanship that goes into the highly detailed RTR stuff and I do like to look at the details. If I ever win the lottery…Wish me luck![(-D][(-D][(-D]

Dave

9

Tonto, addressing the Lone Ranger:

“Who, “WE,” paleface?”

Speaking strictly for myself, the only use I have for North American prototype rolling stock is kitbash fodder. For that purpose Athearn BB is top of the line. Details? You’ll search in vain for a brakewheel on a '60s era Japanese freight car, and the steps and grabs are nothing like AAR standard.

A few years back I acquired a dozen four-bay hoppers for very little - N&W black, minimum lettering to remove - LL, on sale that month from Walthers. Except for being featherweight, they met my simple needs. They weigh a lot more now, and the split carbodies ride on seven axles.

I have acquired some Tyco junk, mostly from my yard sale addicted sister. A couple of items were kitbashed, others were too far gone for help. All are now history - except for the little power supplies, which are available for accessory power when, as and if. (Power a train with one? You’re kidding, right.)

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

10

[^o)] I guess the "take no prisoners approach" works for some Tom.[swg]

Anyhow heavy freight [#welcome] to the forum, hope you feel better now you’ve got that off your chest. [:D]Actually you’re not the only one here that reworks the cheap and supposedly nasty brands into something better, though I sometimes wonder if one was to put a value on their time how much cheaper it really is?? Still fun in my book.

In this thread here there are some reworked Tycho cars http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/220129.aspx

Cheers, the Bear.

11

In my opinion, the time I spend on re-working cheap cars is the hidden value of them. [swg]

Originally an MDC reefer, bought new and unbuilt for a couple of bucks:

Another $2.00 MDC reefer - this one got a new roof and some better details:

A Varney tank (free) mounted on a Tichy underframe (not free):

Tyco 40’ reefer - a buck apiece - shortened to 36’ and rebuilt with a truss rod underframe:

Athearn Blue Box boxcars - eight used cars, all only a buck or two. New roof, ends, underframe, floor, doors, and trucks, with the sides lowered at the eaves by one scale foot:

LifeLike (Proto-No-Thousand) flat car - fifty cents. Rebuilt with left-over bulkhead ends from Walthers flat cars, and a wooden deck:

Another Proto-No-Thousand car, free - rebuilt with a scratchbuilt roof to represent an ice-service reefer - one of three:

[IMG]http://i23.photobucke

12

Gidday Wayne [bow][bow]

Yes, while I certainly don’t consider that I’m in your league, in that you have a prototype example in mind while mine are more, because I can,[:-^] and don’t have your detail, I must admit that I get satisfaction when asked Who made that car and where did you buy it ???

Lifelike, body mounted Kadees, wire grab irons, Proto trucks and wheels, brake details- surplus Tichy parts and styrene scrap.

Shortened MDC covered hopper, from donor similar to car on left, scratch built hatches and grab irons, and reworked roof walk incorporating tips from doctorwayne, any lack of execution is mine alone.

Joeuf OO European styled depressed center car, free,(rescued from rubbish bin), reworked with a bit of a nod to the PRR F29 cars, added brake wheels, scratch built air tanks, stirrup steps, grab irons, body mounted Kadees, Proto trucks and wheels. and extra weight. (Even if I had access to Buckeye trucks, I’m not sure that they would fit.?)

13

First, heavy freight, [#welcome]

Gentlemen, Gentlemen!

Heavy freight COULD have been a “lurker” for while before deciding to join to make his point. He also declares "every one has one and this is his".

If he is happy with his Tycos, let him be a Tyco Tycoon!

HOw MANY other threads have been about the “high cost of MRRIng” have we endured?? That seems to be his theme here.

I am all for the “less expensive” but:

Personally I DON’T like TYco or even the Bachamnn “trainset quality” cars.I measured the edges of a gondola once with my scale ruler and scales out to be ONE FOOT thick! {granted I am NOT SURE of the brand at the moment}. THAT seems a bit excessive on the plastic.

I DO have several Bachmann cars and all but one of my 14 engines are Bachamann {both regular and Spectrum}. I do with what I can afford.

I DO find that $59.95 {and UP} for a single Kadee box car, for example, is a bit excessive for the piece, and have yet to purchase one though I find many interesting.

I DO have a few kits from others who are more expensive but cheap as a kit {I have yet to put together} that offer the detail I think I now require. THEY JUST LOOK BETTER to me. SO I will pony up the cash for the price asked…

AND WHO has to see them all the time? ME. SO I LIKE the better detailing. MY opinion.

I am also aware that some detailing gets LOST when scaled down to certain sizes! I care NOT to “count the rivets” on an N scale box car for example…Too small for my eyes to comprehend now, BUT I WILL take the newer more-to-scale-sized microtrains knuckle couplers on Nscale THAN the OLD “Rapido” HUMUNGOUS couplers!

As I can afford them, I add the more expensive replacements to my fleet,one at a time and keep only the cheapy ones that are “near and dear” to my heart.

.Each to his own and this HOBBY D

14

Hi everyone. I am new also to this forum, but have been lurking around over a year now.

Galaxy… You are so dead on with reply. I’m with you 99.9% ( only because I like the Bachmann Silver Series cars).

This has to be the best forum I signed up for. You guy’s are great.

Jerry

15

Or attend train shows and get those 10 34’ hoppers for $50.00 (@ $5.00 ea.) on the use market.

16

Did anyone think of what?

Buy old junk cars cheap and upgrade them? Not a new idea.

After you get over ten hoppers at a cost of $350, then consider the new 10-car Walthers San Francisco Chief. The ten passenger car consist at retail will cost you $785.

Rich

17

I assumed that “we” amounts to you and the mouse in your pocket? [swg][(-D]

Enough of my foolishness already.[:#]

I wanted the details as well but,I never expected the prices would keep soaring with each new release including the cars that nothing more then built kits.

Nor was I expecting to fine stirrups and other fine to be laying in the car’s tray.[:(!]

18

Oh no, not another newbie with a “versus” post…

Gotta add my opinion… Instead of Tyco, get the Athearn Blue Box kits or built up kits off of Ebay. The Athearn cars were easily adaptable to KDs and Intermountain wheelsets. Add some mild weathering and a spray of Dull Cote and the result will look good standing still.

I have a few hundred of them (not an exaggeration), some of which are 50 years old. And yes, they have been more reliable than the some of the expensive RTR cars I reluctantly bought.

ENJOY!

19

Yup, several ridiculously easy to assemble kits available, which you cna probbaly pick up at train shows for $5 or so. Accurail has ben mentioned, and they’ve offered singles, 3 packs, and 6 packs, all with different numbers - plus in the 3 and 6 packs they include a coupon for a set of number decals to renumber them. Athearn - singles and 5 packs.

Gonna need a lot more than 10 to model N&W. I’m up to around 40 Reading 34’ hoppers, only 4 of them did I pay more than about $10 for, those being the 4 Kadee ones I have. The rest are all Accurail, Athearn, and Stewart kits.

–Randy

20

Lately, I’ve been putting together kits from Tichy, Bowser and Accurail. They all build up into nice models, and the price tags won’t break anyone’s budget.

These are “new” models built from current-day kits, but I’ve also got a lot of “old friends” from my teenage layout a half-century ago. Some might call them junk, but I have a nostalgic appreciation for them. I’ve lovingly restored a group of Athearn F7s from the rubber-band-drive era, and my consist of 10 Tyco “clamshell” hoppers have been cleaned, weathered and upgraded with Kadees, new trucks and Intermountain wheelsets.

I’ve got a number of brand new, highly-detailed Proto models on my tracks, too. But, when they go rolling by, can you guess which ones bring the biggest smile to my face?