PWRS Saskatchewan Grain Hopper Cars

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has purchased the great looking but expensive HO Saskatchewan Grain Hopper Cars from Prairie Western Rail Systems. Do they run as good as they look?

2

I own Saskatchewan Grain Hopper cars from both Intermountain and Pacific Western Rail Systems. I thought that the detail and price balance of the Intermountain cars was good, but not good enough to make up for a car whose wheels bind on a curve of radius 30inches or less. So, out of necessity I switched to the PWRS retailer’s own brand (National Rail Car). Their level of detail is fantastic and the build is very good. The axles are ground to a fine point apparently where they rest in the truck which is supposed to result in less friction and better free rolling. In my very un-scientific test, they didn’t seem to outperform the Intermountain cars appreciably in rolling distance. However, they will navigate a curve less than 30inches without binding. Their couplers are replaceable whereas the Intermountain ones are not. The quality is great, but it is hard to get past the sticker shock. Ultimately I like them and will buy more, just wish they were cheaper.

3

CP in BC - I’ve also noticed the binding problem with the Intermountain product. A shame, since the bodies are well executed. My Intermountain languishes in its box.

4

The Intermountain cars have a brake line that runs along one side of the car and then bends under the trucks. The wheels are probably rubbing on these. Just snip a little off of them near the trucks. If you are careful, you will never notice that the pipe is missing above the truck Or press them up against the floor above the truck and glue them in place. That should eliminate the problem. i have done this to at least 20 of these and it has solved the problem.

John

5

I found they easily jumped the track in spots. So I read somwhere to change them to an atlas truck, did that, and I have never had a problem since, look and run great.

6

Hi,

I also found that the Intermountain hoppers jumped the track. So I filed down the inside of the flanges and the issue went away. The other solution would have been to replace the intermountain wheels with P2K wheels. Never had an issue with things binding though.

Frank

7

Prairie Western Rail Systems, Never heard of them. Who can post a link to their websight. I also have several Intermountain cars that I haven’t placed on the track yet. I’ll have to check them out now.

Thanks

Mike

8

http://www.pacific-western-rail.com/main.php

9

Thanks batman. Are these KITS or RTR models? After you type in the link hit the “ENTER” ket to highlight it. To see it you just have to click on it instead of copying and pasting it.

http://www.pacific-western-rail.com/main.php

10

It’s Pacific Western Rail Systems or PWRS : http://www.pwrs.ca/main.php

and they’re RTR.

11

There were two companies that made cylindrical hopper cars in Canada. National Steel Car and Hawker-Siddley. Hawker-Siddley built the grain hoppers for Saskatchewan.

The Intermountain models represent the National Steel Car prototype, and the National Rail Car models represent the Hawker-Siddley version. There are differences in detail between the two types.

The National Rail Car wheel sets are to scale, and they will not roll very well on track with gaps, bumps, or misaligned joints. So if you want to run these cars you better make sure your trackwork is up to snuff.

12

Yes they run as good as they look. This was all new tooling for PWRS and for their very first production car they really did a great job on them. More cars are in the works.