I don’t have a Menards nearby, so I don’t have the luxury of looking at them in-person. I’ve been hesitant to buy any of their trains so far, but the decorations on them seem very colorful, and I may just break down and order a few. Looking at the back cover of CTT’s December issue, I’ve got my eyes on the Morton Hopper, the Santa Fe caboose,the Union Pacific and CSX tank cars.
Is it worth taking the plunge and ordering them?
For those who have bought Menards’ trains, please tell me your experience(s) running them.
Are there any mechanical problems with the wheels or couplers?
Do they have a tendency to de-rail on switches or crossings?
Do the couplers uncouple when they should?
Do the couplers stay coupled when they should?
Do the couplers uncouple consistently with uncoupling tracks
Lionel FasTrack/“O”/O27
MTH RealTrax/RiteTrax
How sharp are the paint jobs?
Can you see any overspray?
Are the graphics sharp?
Is the smallest test legible?
Is the paint evenly spread througout?
Do hatches, doors, and latches work reliably?
Are stickers clear and placed properly on items?
Is rubber stamping sharp and properly aligned?
Comparing the quality of Menards items overall with Lionel and MTH, do they fall short? If so, in what ways?
I have to tread carefully here. Bob Keller gives Menard’s high marks, and in my opinion (with a bit of a play on words) there’s the ticket, think “Marx.”
Vintage Marx versus vintage Lionel. It’s been said Joshua Lionel Cowan made toy trains wildly popular, but it was Louis Marx who made them affordable to all. Menards strikes me as the “Marx for the 21st Century.” As such, they do fill a gap, not everyone wants to spend 50, 60, or 70+ dollars on a freight car or can afford to.
I’ve got some Menards rolling stock. Paint, graphics, construction are all pretty darn good. They do seem to be more lightly constructed than Lionel or MTH cars. I have had some problems with couplers opening on Menards cars if they were on the head end of a long, heavy consist of Lionel or MTH cars but no biggie, I just moved them to the rear.
I run trains on closed loops, so can’t speak to how they perform on switches.
I also have the advantage of a local hobby shop that carries the Menards line. I like to see what I’m buying before I take the plunge and I liked what I saw.
In all, I’m satisfied with the quality of the Menards cars I’ve purchased, and actually I’m looking forward to them coming out with some locomotives. I know it’s not in the works officially, but considering how heavily they’ve gotten into this I’d be amazed if it doesn’t happen. I think there’s still a demand for plain, simple, easy-to-use conventional locomotives (which was filled so well by the now out-of-business RMT) that are much more affordable than what’s out there now.
Hope that answers your questions. For what they provide and at the prices they provide the same I’d give Menards a “thumbs-up.”
To me there a great item. Now with that said there not a Lionel $90 car. They had problems with some off there couplers at first but believe they have fixed that. Also if you order from them ( www.Menards.com ) If you have a problem there quick to address it. I have had to take a picture of the problem/broke piece and they replaced it and told me to keep the broken item. They stand behind there product. I have about 4 of there buildings, now I have never set them up as don’t have layout at present but from what I can see they are great. Now I like the 50’s - 70’s time frame so I removed the truck off the seed and feed building. I’ll put a older Pickup there as that one was definitely 2000 or newer. I have both power type buildings and the Gas staion ( not being offered at this time) thats from like the 40’s.
Now if you happen to hit when they are having a Mystery box ( normally located in the O gauge building area ) for $99.99 its a good deal. You get a Building ( that can be the cost of the box alone) 3 train cars, and 1 or 2 automobiles, and usually a hat or a shirt. Now this is items you may have to fix something on them. But still worth the cost. I have gotten 3 of them so far. One gave me a duplicate in the power building which I sold cheaply to a freind.
But all in all I have no problems buying from them. I like there quality for the price you pay. Now if your a scale person and some one that everything has to be this or that way Don’t bother, Go pay your $ 80 - $110 per car. I pay my $20 to $30 a car and be happy I can get 3 - 4 for every one you get.
I just checked up on RMT. Well, waddaya know? They’re back in business! Cool!
Certainly, not as cheap as they used to be but still a heckuva lot less expensive than others.
I’ve got six of their “Beeps,” don’t ask, it just happened, and let me tell you, put two or more of them together and they’ll pull anything. Quite a little locomotive for the money.
[Y] Everything I have from Menards is top notch. They run well on all tracks and as RT said had some eary couppler issues but now seem fine. 1/2 or less the price of the others out there and make for nice consist.
This train is all menards but three cars and the caboose two cars that are Lionel and one RMT
RMT use to be two packs of cars there now single. There hoppers are $29.95 Menards are $19.95 , There Boxcars are $29.95 Menards start at $19.95 and go up to $25.95 for specialty ones. ( ie military and weathered ) and discount for buying the dealer packs which is like 4 - 8 of the same. And not like the big names they have indivual numbering ( both I believe Menards for sure)
Sure Fife. Do you want the shot looking straight down on the cars as they go over the switch? If so I will do it ASAP.
Here you go. Lionel 027 42R switches. One open and one closed. One slow and one at speed. The third car in the train is a Lionel Railsounds car and the last three cars are a lionel, RMT, and Lionel. The rest are menards.
Thumbs up. They offer nice product at an affordable price. They have also had a few hic-cups but have been quick to address any issues. We have lost Williams as WBB upgraded everything so Menards is a good choice for the tradional size user.
I’m thankful that Menards has put a fresh breath back into the hobby. I tend to think of the rolling stock more as a throwback to the MPC days. I have a couple dozen cars and a few buildings so far. The graphics have been decent. The numbering system is unique so you could have a dozen of the same car all with different numbers. The numbers aren’t prototypical, but I don’t think most people are too concerned. The only issue I’ve come across was a wobbly truck that shorted out on a GarGraves switch on my Dad’s layout. A quick trip to the bench it was good to go. Bang for the buck, you can’t beat them. Folks just need to make sure they’re comparing apples to apples when looking at Menards.