I have a bunch of trailers from my previous layout. I think I was going to put them on flat cars, but never did. Looking for trucks to haul them. I found a badly chipped pot metal tractor at a train show that I did not think was worth the $20 asking price. I should add, I am modeling the transition era.
Just looked on Ebay and discovered Stoney Mountain Classic Castings. Resin models. Detail painting is not my forte, but the price is hard to beat. Does anyone have their products?
I don’t Henry, but I will definitely look into it[;)]… I love eBay shopping for train stuff as I have a big appetite for it. Sometimes I get a little carried away[dinner]
I’ve always looked for sales for the Classic Metal Works vehicles. They’re not perfect but look pretty good in a pinch. Keep an eye on Trainworld or MB Klein and places like that. Klein will sometimes have an additional discount on vehicles at certain times. Train shows, if you ever get to any, sometimes has them at a reasonable price.
I see that a lot on people’s vehicles on their layouts.
It’s impossible to drive a van straight truck/tractor trailer without mirrors…let alone back up, turn corners, go around other vehicles…whats on your blind side, that’s the passenger side.
Can’t help it…I see it all the time and gotta laugh!
I have several Stoney Mtn vehicles. They are readily available and inexpensive. You also get what you pay for! They are very crude resin castings and require a lot of work to make look good. They can be made into nice vehicles but you will have to work to attain that goal.
They can’t compare to CMW or some others. If you like nice and unusual tractors try Sylvan products. They have a very large assortment of cabs and other vehicles, strucytures, details, etc. They are also resin but are of much better quality than Stoney Mountains offerings.
What are the lengths of the trailers You have…that more or less will determine what kind of tractors You will need…
I have all kinds of suggestions and links to share…but really the bottom line is that they are mostly all kits and You said that is not Your forte. A lot of the CMW Trucks can be made into great models, if Your not afraid of drilling holes and bashing. Just drilling holes and putting mirrors on them, takes patience, but would be worth the effort. I could tell You where to get mirrors or even make Your own.
The GMC is the infamous ''crackerbox", so named for it’s shape.
Also they came with the infamous 238 Hp, in line 6 two stroke Detroit diesel in them…they were known to run backwards at times. Only way to stop them was to shut down the blower manually. The blower was the 671, which many drag strip engines were powered with…671 was also the cubic inches of the Detroit engine. I had one in My 1973 Diamond Reo, that is in My Avatar…so I know for a fact, that it will run backwards…LOL!
What a neat story, Frank! I remember riding on one of the old Fairmont track Speeders before the transmission models came along. You had to stop the engine and crank 'er over the opposite way to back up. If you worked the timing advance and ignition just right you could get the engine to “kick over” in the other direction just before it stopped spinning.
Here’s another photo of a mangled Mack, 1946 thereabouts. Yeah, the mirrors are there but not very big, by today’s standards and, those babies really must have been shaking way out on those “sticks”.
