I’ve been looking at rolling stock and just like anything else there are tons of manufacturers. Now I’m not trying to “start” anything with this question, but can you more experienced people give us new guys some info on freight cars especially? Like how would you rate them, pro’s and con’s, cost, operability, who’s considered top of the line, mid and bottom?
I know there’s, Athearn, Walthers, Atlas, Proto 2000 and so on but can anyone fill us newbies in on the what’s what of who makes the best what? Should you stick to one manufacturere to assure ease of use and compatibility? As with most people I have to pass most purchases by “The Committee” [:-^] for approval before buying so I want to get the most for my money.
I guess for my own personal question I would say most of the modern era for now, anywhere from 60’s and 70’s mostly. I’m a PRR and Conrail person myself so I think that fits. Is there anything else I"m missing or not understanding?
I printed this out and decided to build up some Athearn Blue Box kits using the hints and tips in this article. Most of the items, I do on my own through experience. I did pick up a few items with this and the 5 cars I put together this weekend came out very well.
I have a selection of Kits. I guess for price, it’s hard to beat an Athearn BB Kit with “CONCOR” paint/details. I do like the challange of the Proto 2000 kits or some of the Branchline kits.
Why not purchase one of each brand and decide for yourself which is best. Based on the brands you list, I assume you’re inquiring about HO scale. For simplicity of construction, Athearn kits are probably the simplest to put together, but I always change the wheels and couplers that come with them to something better.
Kits are getting harder and harder to find, since most manufacturers today seem to prefer fully assembled models.
Since the Pennsylvania is your primary interest, Bowser makes more kits than anyone else for that road name.
Oye!!! I forgot all about Kit building. I think that’s the way I would like to go. Kind of a the more you do the learn type of thing. Great article BTW.
First I envy you for living in Altoona Pa one of the best railfanning area in Eastern US.
You can’t go wrong with any of the brand names you listed above. Athearn blue box are easy kit not much details. Their Ready to Roll line is all built up, finer details but more expensive. Athearn’s top of the line is their Genesis serie, ready to roll and expensives.
Atlas most of the line is ready to roll these box cars are very sturdy, they roll well and details is fair, they are priced mid range. They also have a less detailed Trainman line not expensive, cast on details, sturdy and good rolling.
Walthers is hit and miss some very nice cars some not so good, it is not a low end line and not a top line either.
Proto 2000 very nice cars well detailed, assembly needs steady hands. They can also be obained ready to roll, they are pricey but worth it.
They will all work well together, stay clear of low end offering with couplers on the trucks (Talgo mounted couplers).
By the way there is a model railroad club in Altoona, you could pay them a visit.
The brands you mentioned make very good models. Especially in their Ready-to-Run (RTR) lines. The fierce competition between manufacters has driven up quality to the nth degree . Some of these can be rather pricey if bought at the local hobby shop. If you can talk the “Committee” into a trip to a local train show, there you will usually find venders there who are selling cars and locos (and everything else) for a fraction of the list price.
If you can’t make it to one of these shows, You will find a few other manufacter’s who make some great looking (and running) models for a more reasonable price. As mentioned above, Bowser/Stewart, Accurail, Athearn (Blue-Box Kits), MDC/Roundhouse, and a few others can be found for less. Somewhere between $7.50 and $15.00. These kits are simple to assemble.
If you can swing it, try hard to get a NMRA gauge, and a coupler gauge from Kadee. By getting these two tools early, you will eliminate most of the causes of derailments. These are not real cheap, but worth every penny. I use them on every car I build and most of the RTR just to check them.
Hope this helps you out. Even us in the hobby for a long time still like to save money and still get what we want. And yes, alot of us still need to ask for someone else’s blessing. Have Fun!!!
Hi, and Welcome to “The World’s Greatest Hobby” [#welcome]
I like the Athearn blue box kits and the Accurail kits very much, They are inexpensive, assemble easily and look good. The NMRA wheel & track gauge should be about $10.00 and the Kadee coupler gauge should be around $4-5.00, both are money well spent (ONLY IF YOU USE THEM!!) Another tool that is a good investment is called “The Tool” it is used for fine tuning plastic truck journals. I recommend tuning the trucks with the tool, then replacing the axles with appropriate Kadee axles, the rolling difference is a noticeable improvement. Another advantage to the Kadee axle sets, is that the metal wheels also seem to keep the track cleaner, for some reason the plastic wheels that come with many cars seem to leave a deposit or something on the rails, requiring more frequent track cleaning.
Also the Kadee couplers, while a little more finicky to install and set up, are worth the extra money. Again, use the coupler gauge as You build each car, it will only add a few minutes to each car and will go a LOOONG ways towards trouble free operating. Something else that I haven’t seen posted yet is the importance of PROPERLY weighted cars. The NMRA standard (For HO) is a starting weight of one ounce, then half an ounce for each inch of car length (not including couplers) I found a very nice digital scale at OFFICE DEPOT for about $30.00. If the cars are to light (VERY COMMON, You may have to add weight) they may string line on curves (ESPECIALLY if there are heavy cars further back in the train) and they also may not like turnouts, especially being pushed through them such as switching a yard or spotting at a spur. But don’t go too heavy either, the NMRA put a lot of research into finding the best weights, trust them on this.
Also, You didn’t ask, but take plenty of time on your track work, do
For the money, you can’t go wrong with Athearn and Bowser.
Just my [2c]. I’d get some Kadee couplers and Proto 2000 (P2K) wheel sets to put on them as I built them. It ups the cost of the car about $3-$4 but you’ll save that in Rogain and hair plugs.
Rail Yard Models makes a nice Penn Central X79 boxcar kit in resin. It’s not cheap, but excellent quality. Take your time, and it builds into a nice model.
AthearnBB kits are plentiful on ebay. Quality is okay as it has been said you need to replace couplers and wheel sets for really easy use and realistic operation. I have had issues with coupler boxes staying together which I am working thru. And I am learning how to put Kadees in these. Eventually they will be good pallets for learning how to weather.
Roundhouse same level as Athearns.
P2000 seems to be the next step. Have not put my recently recieved kit together yet but it appears to be the next step.
Branchline Seems to be the most difficult with extreme levels of detail (at least the Blueprint series that I did). At the beginner level much more than I should have attempted, came out very well but alot of hair pulling. Needs new wheel sets since I have a derailment problem that appears to be caused by the wheels binding up.
Buildings: Cornerstone I have not assembled yet sitting on my desk.
Bar Mills easiest level was fun to build and informational as far as learning about how to build wooden kits.
When I was real young the Wood SHed on Logan Blvd use to have kits and railcars but this was a long time ago
For rolling stock, I have sampled just about every brand out there – kits and ready to run. As others have mentioned, almost everything being produced today is of very good quality compared to years ago, and brands are certainly compatible with each other. Occasionally you may get a car that doesnt couple, roll, or stay on the tracks properly… and part of the fun is the challenge of correcting that.
Having said that, I must say that I’ve had failures with every brand I’ve bought EXCEPT Atlas. Never ever been disappointed in any way with any Atlas car. It’s my favorite hands down.
Bowser kits look pretty decent and priced very reasonably. My favortie Bowsers are their 2 Bay Hoppers. When assembling one, though, you may be tempted to fly through the process.
Take your time and carefully check to make certain you file down any plastic burs where parts are joined together.