If you have made purchases with Scale trains, I was wondering what your expierence has been with the relatively new manufacture of trains “Scaletrains.com”. What was their service like ? Warranty on their products ? Qaulity of the manufacturing etc… Looking forward to your responses.
Thanks
YGW
YGW,
I can only speak to their HO “shake the box” kits that are reminiscent of Athearn Blue Box kits from long ago. The kits are reasonably well detailed and painted. For the price, I’ll keep buying them. It is nice to use these to augment all those $50, museum quality cars on the layout. After all, most of us are looking at the reporting marks and car number in an op session!
Just my 2 cents…
Greg
So far, they have released high end Union Pacific GETL ‘Big Blow’ turbines, tank cars, and plug door RBL’s. They just released reefer containers with sound, and have announce SD40-2 locomotives.
A friend bough a ‘Rivet Counter’ turbine and it is a great model - both detail and running qualities. Most everything from them has been ‘direct’ sales. The box car kits have been released through a select number of dealers. I was at the Cocoa Beach RPM 2 weeks ago and they were there displaying their stuff - very impressive.
They basically consist of 4 ex-Athearn/Horizon employees who started their own company.
Jim
I ordered three sets of their 53’ container 3-packs in N scale. Great quality product (They got everything right that Con-Cor failed at (i.e. semi-fictional paint schemes, wrong prototype) for their 53’ containers). The ordering process was as smooth as any online hobby shop. In the big picture, as an N scaler, I think they deservedly fill the “envelope pusher” void that BLMA left when that company got sold to Atlas last year. They seem to have a great, experienced, dedicated team behind them, and I look forward to more from them!
You gotta wanna not worry about ScaleTrains. So far they have produced the GTEL big blow, many modern tank cars, containers, Evans 50’ box car and 2-bay Airslide covered hoppers. So far I haven’t purchased anything since I haven’t needed any of the items yet but the feedback has been universally positive. If you are interested in anything they make, I wouldn’t hesitate to order and buy.
Keep in mind the founders of Scale Trains are former Athearn employee’s and are experienced and know the industry and the hobbyists. They are very knowlegable and trustworthy and excellent character and ethics; they stand behind their products.
What are you waiting for?
James Wright has reviewed several. This search function has picked up both the Brand Name and the term scale trains. Easily figured out by the video title https://www.youtube.com/user/jlwii2000/search?query=scale+trains
Their booth at Trainfest in November certainly got a lot of attention both in 2016 and 2015. This year I was most interested in their two carbon black cars. These were really nice looking models.
Dave Nelson
Thinking of buying one or two of their sound containers and placing them inconspicuously in the yard for the sound effect.
Bought 6 of the RBL Box Car kits through the website. The shipping was really quick (third day if I remember right)and the items were packed well. Assembly went well. I used Kadee #148’s instead of the supplied couplers (my choice, not because there was a problem). One of the cars didn’t have the coupler package and I neede the covers, so I emailed the folks in customer service and they shipped them out same day. Some of the wheels needed adjusting with my NMRA gauge, as they were slightly out of gauge, but nothing serious. Once adjusted, they roll very well. Had to shim some of the cars to raise the coupler height on a couple. Weight is close to NMRA recommendations, but not a problem.
Great cars for the money. I preordered the 3 Illinois Central cars. Run great on the Club layout.
Hope that helps.
Len S
I purchased 6 of the 50 ft RBL 8 ft double plug door box cars, 2 different road names. Love that fact that the car numbers within roadname are all different. Couldn’t beat the year end discounted sale price. Delivery was quick. As others mentioned, these are shake the box kits, so they went together fast. I prefer using Kadee scale whisker couplers, but didn’t have any on hand at the time. Also, a couple cars needed some height adjustment to align the couplers. Oddly, both needed a fiber washer on just one of the bolsters. The trucks roll very smoothly.
YGW -
Go for it! I have a couple of their offerings now, (found on sale), and all of them are spot on, very well done, detailed, and accurate. Even the kit classics are well done, and come with metal wheels.
If they have something you would like, get it!
I thought their tank cars are neat and have purchased 7. The DPRX ones have diifferent truck bolsters which were shimmed with washers that then result in screws backing out while running, causing derailments. This was disconcerting and I removed the washers for safety.
Thanks everyone for the feed back
YGW
With the end of year sale, I bought 4 of the box car kits… haven’t built them yet, but the price was great and shipping was super fast. The kits look fairly detailed compared to other kits from the past. So go for it! I’m considering some of the containers… but not ready for those quite yet.
What does everyone think of the couplers they use?
I like the looks of them, but they don’t operate like Kadees do. I have a couple of their boxcars and if I don’t put them together the car next to it will do the work. I decided to get 12 of the tank cars because I wanted to create a unit train, but I have reservations about breaking it up to get the cars in sidings. Since Kadee won’t fit in the coupler boxes is there something else that will fit and operate over magnets?
What tank cars do you have the rivet counter or the operator i have one operator and it did not come with shelf couplers and i did install a Kadee 119 and i have several rivet counters and since they had shelf couplers i left the Scale train ones on so far i like them.
UPDATE I met with Shane at the Greenberg Train Show this past weekend. I saw and felt the GTEL and the SD 40. First of all they were very nice and answered all my questions about the containers (Unfortunately the battery had died on the sample so I could not listen) but I was able to find out that the sound mechanism can be removed and transferred to my 45 foot Tropicana containers though I will have to build a baffle for the speaker perhaps I will drill a hole in the bottom. He alerted me that they are thinking of building 40 ft containers which would be more appropriate for my waterfront transfer area. All in all very nice and professional I am ordering 2 containers for the Tropicana facility. More than enough sound I suspect.
Do they have any plans of manufacturing any older rolling stock? Would love to see some interesting models from the 30s-50s.
Tom
Put me on that list, too. I’d be glad to support a new manufacturer but their product has to be something I can use [:-^]
Have Fun, Ed
ScaleTrains hasn’t announced any “older” rolling stock so far. The earliest rolling stock includes the 2-bay Airslide hoppers (1960’s), Carbon Black cars (1970’s and later) and Evan’s kit box cars (1970’s). The tank cars and containers are very modern.
Even though I’d like to patronize ScaleTrains, so far there isn’t anything I have really needed. ScaleTrains has offered two freight car types which already had versions on the market I already have such as the Walthers and Tangent 2-bay Airslides and the Athearn and Atlas Evan’s 50’ box cars. If ScaleTrains offers any Airslides in SP, D&RGW or SSW, those I would gladly buy them.
The Carbon Black cars look interesting - might find a reason to pick one up.
ScaleTrains has stated they plan on offering rolling stock to cover a range of era’s but of course we have yet to see “older” rolling stock representing cars built in the 1940’s or 1950’s. It’s hard to say how far back they will go - I’m sure they will want to offer items they feel will sell well, and I honestly don’t know where the demands are highest. Thankfully companies like Tangent, Fox Valley, Accurail, Red Caboose, Intermountain, Walthers, Atlas, Proto 2000 and Athearn offer freight cars for the 1940 and 1950’s