I find that the finer the details,the easier they break or fall off,never to be found again,I did put wood decks of my MT bulkhead flatcars and body mounted couplers metal wheels ..I find MT cars to be very durable whereas Scale Trains tend to be rather fragile
no doubt - these cars are fragile - not something i would take to a train show or a club. once my cars hit the layout i try my damnedest not not touch them - equally true for the locomotives. if something needs moved, it gets motive power brought to it and it drives to where it needs to be. if i have to pick it up, it's a conscious thought of where to grab it so as to not damage anything. i've accepted this trade off for the looks/details. MTL cars are nice. i have plenty of them i will not be parting with. they always run reliably, too - though i would like to see more body-mount couplers as opposed to truck-mount from them.
it is a little annoying to have to tinker with a $40 car to make it run correctly but the investment of maybe 10 total minutes for all of them to make a couple adjustments isn't the end of the world, i suppose. i've not had to do that with MTL or Atlas - but at the same time - I've never had a good running Athearn car so - i guess this little fix is nothing new.
Another great review. I agree ScaleTrains makes great cars … I myself like Micro Trains that’s all I have on my layout and only brand I buy. I totally agree that if you see something you want buy it ! You may never have an opportunity to get it again. Thanks for sharing and for the running session…. I like seeing trains running through the different areas of your layout it looks great !
I love the details on the Scaletrains cars. The issues are mostly breaking off details or decoupling in operation. I especially like the low ride height of the bulkhead cars compared to the MT cars. That loooks so much more prototypical. The coils cars looks so gorgeous with the wood planks inside the cars. So far I operated them with 3 coils as it is the closest to the recommended weight. Regarding the Autoracks they are great as well. I fitted all AutoRacks from Athearn, RedCaboos/InterMountain and MT with 28" wheelsets. The MT don't operate well with these small wheels.
the autoracks were the first ST car i purchased. didn't need, but were absolutely beautiful compared to my old Con-Cor version. They're laughable side-by-side. i don't have uncoupling issues - except when those blasted little springs work their way off the coupler. once these cars hit my track, though, i try like hell not to touch them for fear of breaking something off. same goes for the locos. i mean, that's good practice in general but it's intimidating to have to really look at a derailment or a misaligned coupler situation and figure out how you're gonna get in there without wasting $40 bucks on a new car LOL!
i wish n scale had the rolling bearing caps, too. i couldn't imagine the delicacy of them though - probably could do it was a two part frame and some molded on details on the wheelsets...
Hi C Mastracci , those are some nice looking cars.I’ve had problems with scale trains rolling stock also . What they cost we should have some of these problems. But it doesn’t matter what brand you purchase you’re going to some kind of issue . The first thing I do is start checking out the trucks and couplers. And there are some brands I can not stand the couplers . You have to change out the couplers. Some are a very simple fix and others are pain in the butte . Always like hearing what you have to say about a product. Thanks for sharing. Have a good weekend. 😎😎 👍
So, in pricing - i basically got these for the price of MTL's new releases - which is why i didn't want to wait on purchasing them. Athearn is that brand for me. if i buy an Athearn car i also purchase a MTL coupler and wheel set for them. i've had nothing but bad luck with them tracking. My bane is BLI for locos and Athearn for rolling stock LOL!
i suppose it's possible. would be silly to remold but i'm not sure. i wish they would take on something crazy... maybe bring back the RoadRailers that Deluxe Innovations used to have. Or some MOW cars. Some highly detailed box cars would be nice...
Did the Allegheny Northern ever have an HO scale module layout.I remember a club from Pittsburgh Pa that used to setup a modular layout in Altoona Pa in the 1990's.😊
Really nice flat cars. On your layout are you running Bachmann only also can any other manufacture's run on Bachmann tracks im nervous about buying any more kato tracks there turnouts have to many shorts
My layout uses only Kato Unitrack. I don't have any issues with the turnouts, so if you're having shorts you need to look at a couple things. 1) are the wheels of your locos and rolling stock in gauge? out of gauge wheel sets will cause shorts in the powered frogs. 2) if you're running DC, do you have a reverse section that's not protected and controlled by an Atlas Controller or other DPDT switch? If you're running DCC with the same condition, do you have it properly isolated and using an auto-reverser? I have Bachmann, BLI, Atlas, ScaleTrains, and Kato locos and rolling stock and do not have shorts in the turnouts. it sounds like something is either out of gauge or not wired correctly.
So what i'm doing is updating all my rolling stock with modern or updated versions as they're available. i'm going to be boxing up the old ones in whatever condition they're in (weathered, unweathered, updated trucks or not) and once i've collected enough of them to justify purchasing a table, they're going to the train show. Old Atlas, Athearn, and MTL that don't have the current details i want will be in the collection.
Probably sounded a lot like my "woah" when i started dumping them into my cart LMAO! Actually, these where about $10 off MSRP - no regrets. they're awesome.
Can you tell me the type of couplers or bogies that are on the first bulkhead flats that you have purchased. I’m still searching for the MTL bogies to put on my Walthers 48’ freight cars so I can run them behind my Kato locomotives. I tried to get in touch with Micro Trains Line, but up till now I didn’t get an answer 😡 A German company advised me the good ones for the Kato’s, but the wrong ones for the Walthers. I anyone else can help me, I can use some good advise
micro-trains.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=trucks&description=true&category_id=63&sub_category=true&fc=113&page=3 i would start with the above link. this is from MTL website and lists all their available trucks (from the menu on left you can change that to search for couplers). The truck type on your car will be determined by age - modern equipment is most likely going to have 100 ton or Barber roller bearing trucks. that's my default. Base your coupler shank length on how tight your curves are - the longer shanks the tighter the curve they can handle BUT too long and your cars will look prototypically far apart. With a 48' car i would think you could get by with a short shank coupler even on 9 3/4" radius track. ok, let's start there and then we can narrow in on your specific cars. The original question, it does not appear ScaleTrains sells their couplers separately - at least not from their website.
No question that ScaleTrains makes beautiful models, but my experience with their "run-ability" has been largely mixed and often disappointing. I bought a bunch of their BNSF covered hoppers a couple of years ago and they were an absolute friggin' nightmare to get running (if they hadn't cost so much I would have trashed them all). I'm afraid I don't really care about details that never show during normal operation, so I tend to stick with other brands (hey, maybe that's why ScaleTrains makes their cars derail so easily, so you can see the air hoses, etc. when they're laying on their sides!!) lol
LOL. well, thankfully with a few minor adjustments i'm not seeing the underside of the car very much - but it's all visible from the side when they're rolling properly! i like the details when the cars are shoved more into the industries and you're really focused on them. it helps make the scene. on the open mainline - yeah, the details just sort of fly by.
$49.99 MSRP Flat cars and you had to fix them to get them run? How many times did you have to fix the Micro-Trains cars to get them to run? Just saying.
the time investment of maybe 10 minutes for all of them isn't really something i'm going to spend much time worrying about. agreed, they should run right out of the box- no questions. the details are significantly better than MTL, of which i'm a huge fan. i paid $39.99 for the ST cars and have a car i don't need to spend hours detailing - so for me, that's a decent trade off. I spend more time trying to get Athearn cars to run right. Interestingly, though, Atlas' newer gold series models aren't too far behind ST and they don't require any work - but they're priced very close to ST.
I find that the finer the details,the easier they break or fall off,never to be found again,I did put wood decks of my MT bulkhead flatcars and body mounted couplers metal wheels ..I find MT cars to be very durable whereas Scale Trains tend to be rather fragile
no doubt - these cars are fragile - not something i would take to a train show or a club. once my cars hit the layout i try my damnedest not not touch them - equally true for the locomotives. if something needs moved, it gets motive power brought to it and it drives to where it needs to be. if i have to pick it up, it's a conscious thought of where to grab it so as to not damage anything. i've accepted this trade off for the looks/details. MTL cars are nice. i have plenty of them i will not be parting with. they always run reliably, too - though i would like to see more body-mount couplers as opposed to truck-mount from them.
great honest opion and gave work around for the issues you found to get them running. THANKS !!!!
it is a little annoying to have to tinker with a $40 car to make it run correctly but the investment of maybe 10 total minutes for all of them to make a couple adjustments isn't the end of the world, i suppose. i've not had to do that with MTL or Atlas - but at the same time - I've never had a good running Athearn car so - i guess this little fix is nothing new.
Another great review. I agree ScaleTrains makes great cars … I myself like Micro Trains that’s all I have on my layout and only brand I buy. I totally agree that if you see something you want buy it ! You may never have an opportunity to get it again. Thanks for sharing and for the running session…. I like seeing trains running through the different areas of your layout it looks great !
Thanks! Yes, it's such a shame when you have those months where everything you ever wanted is released but in a few months, it's just gone.
I love the details on the Scaletrains cars. The issues are mostly breaking off details or decoupling in operation. I especially like the low ride height of the bulkhead cars compared to the MT cars. That loooks so much more prototypical.
The coils cars looks so gorgeous with the wood planks inside the cars. So far I operated them with 3 coils as it is the closest to the recommended weight.
Regarding the Autoracks they are great as well. I fitted all AutoRacks from Athearn, RedCaboos/InterMountain and MT with 28" wheelsets. The MT don't operate well with these small wheels.
the autoracks were the first ST car i purchased. didn't need, but were absolutely beautiful compared to my old Con-Cor version. They're laughable side-by-side. i don't have uncoupling issues - except when those blasted little springs work their way off the coupler. once these cars hit my track, though, i try like hell not to touch them for fear of breaking something off. same goes for the locos. i mean, that's good practice in general but it's intimidating to have to really look at a derailment or a misaligned coupler situation and figure out how you're gonna get in there without wasting $40 bucks on a new car LOL!
I have all of these cars in HO.The rotating bearing caps make them look real good.With they done that in n scale.😊
i wish n scale had the rolling bearing caps, too. i couldn't imagine the delicacy of them though - probably could do it was a two part frame and some molded on details on the wheelsets...
Hi C Mastracci , those are some nice looking cars.I’ve had problems with scale trains rolling stock also . What they cost we should have some of these problems. But it doesn’t matter what brand you purchase you’re going to some kind of issue . The first thing I do is start checking out the trucks and couplers. And there are some brands I can not stand the couplers . You have to change out the couplers. Some are a very simple fix and others are pain in the butte . Always like hearing what you have to say about a product. Thanks for sharing. Have a good weekend. 😎😎 👍
So, in pricing - i basically got these for the price of MTL's new releases - which is why i didn't want to wait on purchasing them. Athearn is that brand for me. if i buy an Athearn car i also purchase a MTL coupler and wheel set for them. i've had nothing but bad luck with them tracking. My bane is BLI for locos and Athearn for rolling stock LOL!
@@AlleghenyNorthern I’m with you on that. 😎😎 👍
the hobby smith in OR makes hi end handmade lumber loads
for flat bulk head& center beam flats
thanks. i checked out their website, but seems like they're working on it. i book marked it so i can go back.
I'm wondering if these are the 'Exactrail' bulkhead cars but upgraded by Scaletrains ?
i suppose it's possible. would be silly to remold but i'm not sure. i wish they would take on something crazy... maybe bring back the RoadRailers that Deluxe Innovations used to have. Or some MOW cars. Some highly detailed box cars would be nice...
Did the Allegheny Northern ever have an HO scale module layout.I remember a club from Pittsburgh Pa that used to setup a modular layout in Altoona Pa in the 1990's.😊
nope, always been in n scale and never part of a club.
Really nice flat cars. On your layout are you running Bachmann only also can any other manufacture's run on Bachmann tracks im nervous about buying any more kato tracks there turnouts have to many shorts
My layout uses only Kato Unitrack. I don't have any issues with the turnouts, so if you're having shorts you need to look at a couple things. 1) are the wheels of your locos and rolling stock in gauge? out of gauge wheel sets will cause shorts in the powered frogs. 2) if you're running DC, do you have a reverse section that's not protected and controlled by an Atlas Controller or other DPDT switch? If you're running DCC with the same condition, do you have it properly isolated and using an auto-reverser? I have Bachmann, BLI, Atlas, ScaleTrains, and Kato locos and rolling stock and do not have shorts in the turnouts. it sounds like something is either out of gauge or not wired correctly.
Nice video, you mention your “Selling Block”
Will I’ll go through your selling process? I need some guidance…
So what i'm doing is updating all my rolling stock with modern or updated versions as they're available. i'm going to be boxing up the old ones in whatever condition they're in (weathered, unweathered, updated trucks or not) and once i've collected enough of them to justify purchasing a table, they're going to the train show. Old Atlas, Athearn, and MTL that don't have the current details i want will be in the collection.
1:12 I made an audible "woah" seeing all those boxes😂
Probably sounded a lot like my "woah" when i started dumping them into my cart LMAO! Actually, these where about $10 off MSRP - no regrets. they're awesome.
Can you tell me the type of couplers or bogies that are on the first bulkhead flats that you have purchased. I’m still searching for the MTL bogies to put on my Walthers 48’ freight cars so I can run them behind my Kato locomotives. I tried to get in touch with Micro Trains Line, but up till now I didn’t get an answer 😡 A German company advised me the good ones for the Kato’s, but the wrong ones for the Walthers. I anyone else can help me, I can use some good advise
micro-trains.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=trucks&description=true&category_id=63&sub_category=true&fc=113&page=3
i would start with the above link. this is from MTL website and lists all their available trucks (from the menu on left you can change that to search for couplers). The truck type on your car will be determined by age - modern equipment is most likely going to have 100 ton or Barber roller bearing trucks. that's my default. Base your coupler shank length on how tight your curves are - the longer shanks the tighter the curve they can handle BUT too long and your cars will look prototypically far apart. With a 48' car i would think you could get by with a short shank coupler even on 9 3/4" radius track. ok, let's start there and then we can narrow in on your specific cars. The original question, it does not appear ScaleTrains sells their couplers separately - at least not from their website.
@@AlleghenyNorthern Thank you very much. I will keep you informed. Do you have an email address that’s easier than RUclips.Bert
@@bertvanmook3698 sure do. the channel email address is: TheAlleghenyNorthern.Nscale@gmail.com
@@AlleghenyNorthern What is your first name?
No question that ScaleTrains makes beautiful models, but my experience with their "run-ability" has been largely mixed and often disappointing. I bought a bunch of their BNSF covered hoppers a couple of years ago and they were an absolute friggin' nightmare to get running (if they hadn't cost so much I would have trashed them all). I'm afraid I don't really care about details that never show during normal operation, so I tend to stick with other brands (hey, maybe that's why ScaleTrains makes their cars derail so easily, so you can see the air hoses, etc. when they're laying on their sides!!) lol
😂
LOL. well, thankfully with a few minor adjustments i'm not seeing the underside of the car very much - but it's all visible from the side when they're rolling properly! i like the details when the cars are shoved more into the industries and you're really focused on them. it helps make the scene. on the open mainline - yeah, the details just sort of fly by.
$49.99 MSRP Flat cars and you had to fix them to get them run? How many times did you have to fix the Micro-Trains cars to get them to run? Just saying.
the time investment of maybe 10 minutes for all of them isn't really something i'm going to spend much time worrying about. agreed, they should run right out of the box- no questions. the details are significantly better than MTL, of which i'm a huge fan. i paid $39.99 for the ST cars and have a car i don't need to spend hours detailing - so for me, that's a decent trade off. I spend more time trying to get Athearn cars to run right. Interestingly, though, Atlas' newer gold series models aren't too far behind ST and they don't require any work - but they're priced very close to ST.