What do you think about the kits on the market today?
I have some Roundhouse (1970’s) Athern Blue Box (1960’s). Ulrich, Silver Streak, Branchline, Accurail and Tichy Trains. Also a Keystone and a Laser kit.
I do not THINK I want to try a resin kit, got a tug boat and barge, no clue how to procede with that one.
Reason for the question is I am working on a 145 to 200 car freight car fleet and would like to see what you all are buying and why.
Some easy kits are good so the club can build them. I am worried about operating session with “DISPLAY QUALITY” cars. Whqt is your experience.
Sorry for the multi level questions but taking a break form the car deal and must get a lot done in a little time with the trains.
After being in charge of rolling stock and operations at my club for a while now, here’s my thoughts:
Athearn bb’s are probably the best in terms of durability.Minimal fussing to get consistent standards thoughout fleet. Also, availibilty of roadnames.In ecomonics, they can’t be beat.
Ditto Accurail kits.
The Atlas and Walthers rtr are good runners, and you step up in detail and print/paint quality-holds up a little better in closer inspections.But, at around $15-20 car, members get less enthusiastic about building the fleet.
I have a nice collection of Genesis, Atlas, Intermountain stuff, but I save that for home. No matter what, the more expensive stuff ALWAYS gets damaged rolling around the club layout.
With the wide scenic vistas, most of the rolling stock looks the same.
During Op Sessions, individual members will bring their “good stuff” to run for that night.
In short, with about 300 cars roaming, and about 600 more to go, I mess with the Athearn/Athearn rtr the least! They just keep racking up the miles.
Resin kits really aren’t that scary - but they do take a bit longer to get right and they need painting of course. It depends on what you need; if its a large quantity of models like you suggest then plastic kits or ready to roll is the way to go. If you are prepared to take a longer term approach (the way I’ve tended to go about it) then building more complex and detailed kits is an enjoyable part of the hobby …
… of the kits you mention here’s [2c]
Accurail - their outside brace wooden boxcars are fantastic and are pretty bullet proof, I am less impressed with their hoppers, in detail terms but they run well - I haven’t tried any of their other cars yet.
Athearn (blue box) - run well and you can’t break them - but the tool moulding is looking its age - that cast on detail just doesn’t do it for me anymore, the one’s I’m keeping will have the cast on grabs replaced in time.
Roundhouse - better than Atheran BB but not as good as Accurail and Walthers
Bowser - about level with Roundhouse
Walthers - about level with Accurail
Branchlines (Yard Master) - probably the nicest looking of the “shake the box” variety kits - but watch the uderframe and especially the bolsters are moudled straight otherwise you can have running problems.
Of the slightly better quality kits I’ve found the Titchy, Intermountain and Red Caboose ones look fantastic but don’t travel or store well - lots of fragile plastic details to break. P2K cars are somewhat better for that, as they tend to use more metal grabs. The Branchlines (Blueprint Series) look nice but can suffer from the same runing issues as their cheaper cousins.
I agree pretty much with what has already been mentioned. Here’s my experiences with kits:
Accurail - Except for the spartan underside detail, I like these kits a lot. As Jim already mentioned, the wood end and wood boxcar detailing is exceptional. In general, very good detailing on both boxcar and hoppers.
Athearn - Good detailing but not as nice as Accurail. However, more variety than Accurail.
Branchline “Yardmaster” series - Nice detailing and look good. Not as nice as the Blueprint series. (Branchline only manufacture boxcars.)
Branchline “Blueprint” series - VERY nice detailing and handsome. Some parts may be a bit fragile for club events.
Proto 2000 - VERY nice detailing. Like the Branchline, some parts (e.g. grab irons) can be fragile. Proto 2000 tankers are exceptional and a challenge to put together the “first” time.
Roundhouse - Dated but decent. My major dissatisfaction with the old Roundhouse kits is that they assume you know certain things about a particular model. Hence, they leave out important information in their instructions for the newbie.
Tichy - VERY nice detailing but they come unpainted.
Walthers - VERY nicely detailed. The main problem that I’ve had with the Walthers cars is that the truck wheels sometime drag or bind on the underside of the body around tighter curves - e.g. 18" and 22" radii. Supposedly, Walthers is addessing (or will address) these issues by retooling.
Since I have a large layout and need a large fleet to operate the way I want to, I use some RTR but I am trying to build the fleet with low cost but still reliable equipment. I have found that Athearn BB and Accurail offer me the best value in the low end market. I used to have issues with coupler height with Athearn BB until I discovered that this was due primarily to the metal weight which is often not flat but can easily be straightened. I am fortunate to have a LHS that has the space for both Athearn and Accurail although sometimes the selection for my era (1950s) is somewhat limited. That’s why I also get moderately priced RTR freight cars as well. I used to love Roundhouse freight cars but it is my understanding they offer oldtimer equipment now. Everything I see on the Hornby website shows early 20th century rolling stock. When Roundhouse was absorbed by Hornby, my LHS had a clearance sale on their existing stock and I built my caboose fleet from all the cabooses they had available for my era. It didn’t matter which road since they are all getting repainted and relettered.
Perfect answers, that is what I was asking! I am working on coal cars and have about 35 to do. mostley Roundhouse and Atherns BB.
Box cars are the next batch. I am working also with some VERY OLD Roundhouse kits of the 36 ft type, side door and wood cars.
Again thank you for the feedback. Will get some for the club members to build so they feel happy. This is a private layout that I am supplying the space, materials and $$ so thay have some place to run.
It appears to me that the MDC kits are released as Blue Box kits if they do not have a prototype but are released as RTR if they do have a prototype.
The most detailed kits I have bought are the Branchline Trains Berwick boxcars and Eel River Models Pacific Car and Foundry RBLs. The latter are now made by Railshop, Inc. One hing to be aware of with the Berwick cars is that the grabirons are metal, so they will need to be painted. The stirups are plastic. The interesting thing about these is that they include two nuts (the kind that goes on a bolt) for the weights.
Don’t forget Walthers kits. They just released 4-bay, open top hoppers; GSC flatcars; and FGE RBLs. I would say that Walthers kits are slightly better than Athearn and some MDC.
My recent freight car kit purchases have included Athearn 57’ reefers, Athearn FMC double door boxcar, Athearn ACF Center-flow hoppers, Athearn 54’ Pullman Standard covered hoppers, MDC FMC boxcars of various door configurations, Accurail ACF Center-flow Hoppers, Walthers FGE RBLs, Walthers 4-bay open top hoppers, Bowser 3-bay open top hoppers. If I can find any MDC modern tankcars (I know they have no prototypes), MDC coal gondolas, or MDC modern gondolas I will probably buy them. I also plan to buy some Railshop RBLs soon. They reason why I have bought or will buy this is that they have prototypes (unless noted), are of the era I am modeling, are fairly cheap, are kits, and are at least fairly good models.
Thanks brakie for the address for branch line. Did anyone go that site and if so did anyone notice the “plooper”? Hint, it’s in the picture of the single boxcar. Ken
In my freight car fleet you can find the following:
Athearn makes up the most of it. I guess I just like them because you can get a fairly decent looking car together in about 20 minutes
Accurail would be my next choice. They have alot of Road names and types of cars to choose from. I think that they are on the rung above Athearn. Also good people to talk to. Will answer all questions eather by phone or email. Man I ran into them at the Chicago Hobby show accouple of years ago and talked their legs off. Good people to deal with.
Then I would hit the Branchline cars. These are a neat line to work with, cause you have different levels of cars. You could have a shake-a-box if you feel like one or you could get a museum quaility one. They also have alot of road names with numerious numbers.
Next would be Roundhouse cars. They are a little more work but produce a good looking car in the end.
I agree the kits are cheaper however the new Athearn ready to roll versions of the older coal gondolas are MUCH improved and ‘worth’ the extra money to have them upgraded for you instead of doing them yourself to me [2c]
“If I can find any MDC modern tankcars (I know they have no prototypes), MDC coal gondolas, or MDC modern gondolas I will probably buy them. I also plan to buy some Railshop RBLs soon. They reason why I have bought or will buy this is that they have prototypes (unless noted), are of the era I am modeling, are fairly cheap, are kits, and are at least fairly good models.”
If you want a good urethane kit, the X79 boxcar from Railyard Model is a good place to start. The parts are cleanly cast, and there’s very little parts cleanup required. It’s a bit more expensive, about $32.00 than plasti…but it’s well worth it.So far, that’s the only kit from them I’ve built.
I like the Athearn BB kits because assembly is a no brainer. 10 minutes tops and considerably cheaper than their RTR. The end result is the same. I think it is true the selection in BB kits is much more limitedthan the RTR, at least at my LHS.