Thinking about purchasing the pair which is how Walthers bundled them (going out of production). Any of you have them? Detail quality, rolling or any other issues/problems?
Jim
Thinking about purchasing the pair which is how Walthers bundled them (going out of production). Any of you have them? Detail quality, rolling or any other issues/problems?
Jim
Jim,
I don’t have any of the Walthers reefers, but I do have a couple of their 46’ gondolas and and two of their cabooses. The detailing is very nice and they roll very freely on straight track. However, the one problem I’ve had with them is that the truck wheels on the cabooses will bind slightly with the backside of the stairs when going around 18" and 22" radius curves.
One remedy is to carve away part of the inside of each stair that makes contact with the wheels. This results in an improved but not completely smooth running car. The gondolas have similar but less problems with the truck wheels binding.
I had heard a year or so ago from a guy at one of my LHSes that Walthers was going to be retooling their cars so that, in future productions, this would no longer be a problem. Jim, I don’t know if that is still in the works or not.
Hope that helps…
Tom
P.S. Jim, I forgot to mention that the extra detailing (grab irons, hooks, etc.) should come inside the box and will need to be applied by you. Everything is there though.
Tom:
Yea, I noted on their website and also on e-bay (where I just purchased the pair) that the grab irons, etc. come in the box and have to be applied. Since was reasonably priced and came in my road name(Frisco) I went ahead and made the purchase. Thanks for the info–my mainline(planned) will be broad curved at 30 and 32 inch radii, but that turning issue could come in to play in my yards–will keep an eye out for that.
Jim