I got a couple of the RMT scale 36' reefers about a month ago, and I quite like them. They compare decently well with some of my older weaver cars and even some MTH railking models. Great for anyone who wants to build out a fleet of cars on a budget.
The Menards line is like the 0-27 Lionel I received in late 60s as a 6 yr old. It took a beating & was thoroughly enjoyed by a rambunctious boy. I still have it, it still runs. My kids enjoyed it when they were little. I bet the Menard & RMT would play nice with the 60 year old O-27 Lionel. Nice review & thanks for your insights.
If I was the father of a son that had a Christmas layout or the like, these would be good enough! To me, weight and ability to stay on the tracks is the most meaningful aspect of rolling stock. Even though the wheels look cheap, no one looking at your layout is gonna notice a difference.
I agree with everything you said. HOWEVER - I’ve had nothing but issues with Menards couplers. RMT as well. Menards get uncoupled all the time. I usually dab some glue onto the coupler right out of the box. But as you said. For the price , it’s okay.
100% agree, at $35 I would rather save another $35 and spend $70.00 than by RMT. I just bought 2 NYC MTH NIB Premier Covered Hoppers for $75.00 which included shipping. Made an offer of $30 per car, the seller agreed, combined shipping and boom - done
Great Cars for the money. Going down the tracks you really won’t see the imperfections. Also, they are great cars if you want to do some weathering detail on your Rolling Stock.
I bought a Menards Santa Fe engine combo and it had issues…. I do not have a local store so I reached out to Menards 3 separate times via the online contact form (they no longer publish a phone number). Menards never responded to my pleas to facilitate a return. I have never experienced customer service as bad as Menards.
Shout out to Eric Trains.The Trains look well.Iam concerned about the couplers.Are they operating couplers.And how good do they work on uncoupling Track.Are they Plastics or Metal?
It’s great there’s more competition in the affordable o gauge market. I think that RMT rolling stock is more than acceptable for most of us. The price point is great. Spending almost $100 on a single boxcar is difficult for most people to reasonably affordable, especially if you’re trying to build larger consists. Although I feel like RMT has been making these for awhile now. It’s strange how so many folks are just hearing by about them just now. I was in my local hobby shop earlier this year and I found my first piece of RMT rolling stock. It was the US Sugar Woodchip Boxcar for $29.99. I took it home and was pleasantly surprised with the amount of detail and separately applied details. I also noticed that the packing and boxcar clearly indicated that it was made in 2021. Very strange but I’m glad at least now they’re getting some recognition.
You said it Eric, those cars are outstanding! I'm just starting to get into O scale having only 1 engine as well as getting your custome cable car and another one from RBP Trains. I am really considering getting some of these RMT cars to go with them. That would be sweet! 👌 Great video Eric!
A thing to note. the wheels have really nice casting details that were not mentioned. RMT cast a manufacturing stamp on the outside of it and there were nice wheel casting on the inside of the wheels as well. There is a nice load inside the boxcars as well. Eric, You should do a custom run of Appalachian and Western box cars!!
As the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for." If you're a (for lack of a better term) rivet-counting fanatic then there's not much to attract you to the RMT cars. BUT if you're like me and you're in this for the sheer fun of the hobby and not another excuse for a nervous breakdown then certainly, the RMT cars are a great buy! And who doesn't want to save a few bucks? Recently I purchased the RMT-produced Henning's Trains 85th Anniversary car and the quality's excellent! I'm waiting with baited breath for their "Battleship New Jersey" car! One detail I AM impressed with on the RMT cars is the reenforcing ribs on the inside of the truck wheels! That's a detail you don't see often! (If the Jersey was in commision back in the 1970s I'd have joined the Navy instead of the Marines!) I had the pleasure of meeting Walt Matuch of RMT in the Henning's Trains booth at the fall York show. We had a nice conversation, I found him to be a very pleasant man to speak to and he seemed amazed that I remembered him and his wife from the Jersey Central Historic Society magazine from the 1980s. I asked if the "Beep" diesels (I own six!) were ever likely to return but only got kind of a sad smile as an answer which I take as "Not likely at this time." A good and fair review Eric, thanks for posting!
Bought a RMT Strasburg Ore car. Doesn’t look too bad and super nice for the price! I’d say both RMT and Menards have a proper following and can coincide well together.
I recently bought my first ever Menards boxcars. I think they are a great value and 10 bucks cheaper than RMT. The Menards boxcars have excellent couplers and the trucks are metal and roll excellent. You should've pointed out that the Menards boxcars have the tack board signs as well. The ones on the doors indicate BILL OF LADING with a number and the ones on the end indicate DO NOT HUMP. I think it was actually Menards who did it first. Even the Menards Milwaukee Road version you used for this video has legible tack boards
I think it’s great there’s a lower cost option for scale O rolling stock. I always find the semi-scale cars frustrating because a) they look wrong and b) they can’t seem to settle on a single reduction factor! Good on RMT. I would love to see Menards follow suit. Regarding cost vs. reliability, I would think focusing on reliability even at the expense of detail is important to getting people into the O gauge hobby. It’s hard enough to work with O vs. HO/N because of the size. O needs to be as usable as possible so customers see the advantages and don’t get frustrated when the equipment doesn’t work. Cheers!
I got Pats trains custom run WM ps1 6 pack cars. Details hold up to atlas detail! Trucks and wheels not the best but the price is well worth it. Great video Eric!
Eric , you left something out . The RMT has what is commonly called 'whirley' wheels .An EARLY 1946 Lionel freight wheel .Look on the back of the wheel for said design .Real freight cars had this design on them .These are highly desired by collectors .I have a small box of them in my collection .
Hi Eric, best wishes from Scotland to you and Lisa for the New Year. Like your pragmatic take on the product. We all want perfection, 100% accurancy but we want it for nothing. The brands position themselves in the knowledge that their product will sell, but to a different audience. So if you have a gundred bucks in your wallet, go have it, but if you only have thirty bucks in your wallet then you go to that vendor. Its great that you guve an open, honest assessment of all the options. Ine does not fit all and your giving a show case for more affordable options widens the appeal. Happy New Year 🎉
As you said price is right. WIting for my RMT Navel boxcars. Also waiting a year for the upgraded trucks for my defective ore cars. Walter us trying but tired of waiting.😢
I wonder if those are similar to K-Line's box cars. I used to have some MTH Railking box cars and one K line and it was pretty nice. Nice ALCO switcher too!
Nice presentation on the RMT products. To bad that manufacturers of the (almost) true scale cars (like RMT) don't provide the ability of pure O scale (2 rail) model builders to change the trucks, as well as space to add coupler boxes to the body. Hopefully this will also sell more product to the true scale model car/loco hobby builders. One further item, and that is the ability to easily add weights to the cars. This would mean have the suppliers add the ability to easily remove the body from the car's frame. Yes you can add weights by opening the box car door, but securing the weights in a suitable position would be much easier if the body was removable.
RMT has actually been producing Engines and Cars for quite some Time. Way before Menards started. And if RMT and Menards can make their Cars Affordable why can't Lionel? RMTs Quality and Paint Jobs are pretty darn Good.
I agree. RMT rolling stock is more than acceptable for most folks. I’m sure there’s an argument to be made about the sizes of the companies playing a factor but to be honest, sometimes I think Lionel does overprice things such as rolling stock. I mean compare one of these RMT boxcars to a Lionel non freightsounds boxcar and honestly, they’re almost identical and the value should be the same. Hell, the RMT cars has internal details and loads. I understand if rolling stock has special features like freightsounds or some other command features or animated functions that it’s gonna cost more. But for a basic boxcar, $35 should be about the price for what you’re getting.
@kevinmartin9940 I partially disagree. Menards yes, I'll agree with you on them. But RMT to me is just as good as Lionel. Way better Paint Jobs on RMT. Plus, they number all their Cars unless it is a One of One Car like the Cass RR Tank Cars. RMT also improved the Wheel Sets. I can buy 3 RMT Cars for the same Price as 1 Lionel Car. Is Lionel that much better? NO Way.
The RMT Box Cars I have are ok. I do feel they are better in many ways compared to Menards. I am happy with the two that I have. I agree with your company rankings!
RMT might be the future, and yes you get what you paid for, but Lionel will price themselves out of business, can't afford it anymore, for approximately 150 employees the problem is, they're owned by a capital management group, they dont care about anything except the bottom dollar.
Wow! so nice to see this amount of detail and "scale size" for a very reasonable price. Been getting very disgusted with the current prices. For instance, some Lionel scale rolling stock now listing at close to $100. I get the prices a for the boxcars w/sounds or caboose with a camera, but for a car that doesn't do anything? $100 really? Thank you RMT!
I have the same Soo Line boxcar. Luckily, my road number decals were placed straight. My top walkway strip was loose and had to be glued. I have several more RMT cars on pre-order and can't wait for them to arrive. Much better than Menards.
Lionel needs some competition, they’ve been “top dog” in the O gauge “toy train” industry for so long. I found it interesting you didn’t mention Williams trains in your comparisons. Just an observation.
You could correct yourself with the Semi Scale nomenclature with the correct O27 as it was when Lionel manufactured it. The same as O27 track is a different height than O track. Radius is tighter for shorter cars.
Great review! Ironically, I picked up an RMT Delaware-Lackawanna "Phoebe Snow" boxcar at a local shop today. I was shocked at the price for the level of detail. I love that car. Definitely going to look for more RMT items in the future after almost exclusively buying MTH and Atlas items since getting back into the hobby. The only thing I don't like about the "entry level/economy" brands of Menards and RMT is that they print the modern production date and their own brand on the side of the rolling stock, which hurts the authenticity for me. Why not just print it on the bottom of the car instead? I appreciate that RMT tried to make theirs in the same style as American Car & Foundry's typical marking style/shape, but it is a small annoyance for me. I can ignore it or just paint it. Not a huge deal.
We run 70 and 80 year old Lionel stuff, they run just like new. Kids don't care how detailed or scale the trains are. They want to hear the whistle, see the smoke, and watch the side rods. All of our stuff was made in America!
Wonder if RMT still has access to the former K-Line tooling? That boxcar appears to be one of the K-Line scale boxcars. RMT also used the former Marx and Kusan tooling. The Menards boxcars are actually copies of the Kusan larger boxcar that went to Williams and then Bachmann Williams/Kader. But its been documented that Kader is not making the product for Menards. I find the tooling study interesting.
I have a question about O scale. Why do they keep the 3 rail track. Couldn't they modify their locomotives to run on 2 rail track like H.O. and N scale. I never liked the track. Not Lionel, or any of them. Atlas did come out with O gauge 2 rail track in the 80's but it disappeared. 3 rail looks unrealistic.
I had bought the Hennings’s 85th anniversary boxcar about a week ago, I thought it was very good for the price. One of the wheels wouldn’t spin so I had to take it apart to fix the wheel, but for $35, you can’t beat it!
How close are the Menards ore cars compared to RMT in size? I want some scale (or close enough) ore cars, and with Menards ore cars you get two for the price of one RMT. Could Menards ore cars pass as scale?
Very interesting, the one thing you didn't mention was the width of the RMT cars. Are they fatter than semi scale cars? That was one thing that the old Atlas cars from the 1970's stood out from the semi scale cars was their scale width. From the side, at track level and in a train, they hold their own in looks, that's for sure. Very enjoyable video and good news for sure. Cheers.
Ok… here’s something to understand. Box cars of the modern era are not all the same size. There is plate c and plate f, which are 40 and 60 in length respectively. So, the model companies represent those scales in their cars. There is also a 50 foot car. If you look at the heights, they are different as well. The plate f is higher than c, as well as the additional length. So, it’s an accurate representation of actual sizes, not just the model companies being cheap. Hope that helps.
Alright then, you've convinced me to give 'em a whirl. Have one of RMT's "Beep" mini diesels, but no rolling stock of theirs yet. Big fan of Menards for being affordable and no frills, so I'm game for bit better at a still-reasonable price point.
Their quality control is 50/50. I have 2 reefers and 2 tank cars. And one of each has coupler issues. One uncouples constantly. The other has an issue with the geometry (a tightness in the coupler) that causes constant derailment. I plan on reaching out to see if they will stand behind their product
Based on the reviews I've seen those RMT PS-1 boxcars seem superior to Trainman, Lionscale, and RailKing. The RMT interior details, backside wheel detail, and number and decals are not found on a premium Lionel car which costs almost 3x more. Many of the Lionel rolling stock I have purchased recently have paint defects and non articulating couplers that cause derailments.
I’m 0/3 with RMT cars. My boxcar would spark on my Ross switches. Holding them up to any of my other cars there’s definitely a difference in wheel flange size. Not huge, but big enough to cause an issue for me. Problem resolved by using a pair of donor trucks from an old 0-27 flatcar. The two ore cars I bought will do nothing but sit and look nice. They cannot be coupled together properly and will derail one another. The couplers seem too tight allowing no play. I haven’t tried replacing the trucks and couplers, but at this point I think I’m over it.
The Menards box cars are scale O cars. If you look up PRR X-29 box car drawings you see they scale out almost exact. They are small. X-29 box cars were small in real life. I only have a few Menard's box cars as I do not like ladders and roof walks painted in other colors. The RMT cars are nice. I have 3 of the PS-1 BOX CARS, 3 of the wood 36ft Reefers, as nice or better than the PS-1 cars. RMT biggest issue is roller bearing trucks on vintage cars....but they say the fix is coming. Also the RMT Ore cars were originally tooled as Atlas/ROCO cars in the early 70's....or they are cloned from them. Detail he same and size. Thanks
As a non-American, non-Lionel viewer, I wonder if you can tell me wh the Lionel freight cars seem to have third-rail power pickups on the trucks. I can't see that's there's anything powered on the cars.
Those Lionel cars are freightsounds box cars. Meaning as they move on the track, that make screeching, banging noises etc. The pickup rollers power a speaker that’s housed inside the boxcar. There’s also a sensor that next to one of the pickup rollers that detects how fast the car is moving changes sounds so that it matches according. I have several freightsounds box cars and I love them. Really adds a lot to a consist.
i must be a wierdo , but i prefer the size of semi scale , they work well on 31 and 36 curves , I just wish Lionel would make a real commitment to producing a quality semi scale line of Diesel Locomotives engines, like the Lion Master . What i would love to see is American Flyer S Scale (Flyer Chief) that would run on O scale 3 rail track , like the old Marx trains did.
I recently run my menards tank cars on my lionel fast track that i purchased the cars in the last 3 years and they are changing the truck couplers from steel to all plastic. On the first lap the cars came apart, I found out the cheap plastic on the lock under the coupler will not seat all the way up to lock! I ended up using small cable ties to pull them up behind the knuckle. Than you need to put them on the track with them locked-sucks poor quality.
Normally I have enjoyed RMT stuff for over 10 years. However, I preordered the RMT Ore Cars (Milw) from Trainworld and was dismayed to discover that the trucks/wheel sets were defective and would not stay on the track at all and couldn’t be regained. Been promised 3 times by Walter to provide replacement trucks over a 6 month period and now crickets…he said Trainworld would be providing the trucks but Trainworld knows nothing about this. I am very hesitant to throw RMT more business. Ray at Menards has alway insured things were made right of there was an issue and I have patronized them since 2015 for trains. Just say’in!
This is my first experience with RMT so that sucks you had that problem. To be fair, however, I've had lots of issues with wheels being completely missing from Menards pieces I ordered lol. They did replace them, though, so that was nice.
@Ericstrains Replacing missing wheelsets isn't "nice" -- it's the minimum necessary response. If your quality control is based on occasionally missing parts, you had better be prepared to make it whole.
Great reviews.. Menards couplers are just awful.. Will not buy anymore Menards cars Bought a $25 gondola for grandkids Lionel train.would not couple to the Lionel. And the cheap plastic couplers on this starter set work very well. Will check out these RMT cars..
No offense, but the guy who owns and runs RMT is a very rude and arrogant person. We O gauge folks here in New Jersey have had bad experiences with him. Unfortunately, he's based out of here. His stuff isn't the greatest.
@DynamicDuo795 I'm sorry to hear that. I talked to the young gentleman (lol) who owns RMT (Mr. Walter) and he was amazing. He took some suggestions from me at York 2024 (Fall) for some rolling stock and gave us some information on upcoming projects that weren't publicly posted yet. I think you should give him another shot. You won't be disappointed
He's the guy I'm talking about. He ruined Patrick's Trains exclusive run of their MTH Premier CNJ USRA Mikado. He used the wrong colors for the CNJ logo and lettering. It was supposed to be yellow. Instead, Walter used gold. I don't buy Menards or RMT. Every single thing I own is full 100% scale. No toy like trains for me.
@DynamicDuo795 It's a hobby for relaxation. Not realism. I can understand the frustration of a wrong color but you can't pitch a whole brand out the window bc of mistakes. If that was the case, Lionel should be long gone.
I think your perspective is in the toilet. If something isn't up to your lofty expensive tastes it's no good. You blow your money on your arrogant perspective, I'll save $15 a box car and be happy taping menards couplers shut. You constantly made waffles the entire video. Waffles are fine but you're influencing newbies especially the wrong way. Happy spending on your ego.
What are you even talking about? He’s literally saying that these are affordable and that having more competition in the affordable o gauge market is good. Also Waffles? Wtf.
I got a couple of the RMT scale 36' reefers about a month ago, and I quite like them. They compare decently well with some of my older weaver cars and even some MTH railking models. Great for anyone who wants to build out a fleet of cars on a budget.
Great insight to the differences in manufacturers
I bought my dad a RMT 2102 box car for a christmas present this year! and he loves it!
Thanks, Eric, for showing your SOO boxcar. One of the things I love about RMT cars is every road number is unique.
Your uploads are always the highlight of my youtubing experience Eric, happy holidays to you and your family!!🎄🎄🎄🎁🎁💙
Thanks, and to you as well!
The Menards line is like the 0-27 Lionel I received in late 60s as a 6 yr old. It took a beating & was thoroughly enjoyed by a rambunctious boy. I still have it, it still runs. My kids enjoyed it when they were little. I bet the Menard & RMT would play nice with the 60 year old O-27 Lionel.
Nice review & thanks for your insights.
I have an RMT “Mini-Beep” and love it!
I feel as though it's worth mentioning that the RMT boxcars also have loads inside the car and painted floorboards.
Yeah I didn't notice that until after the video was finished.
If I was the father of a son that had a Christmas layout or the like, these would be good enough!
To me, weight and ability to stay on the tracks is the most meaningful aspect of rolling stock. Even though the wheels look cheap, no one looking at your layout is gonna notice a difference.
I agree with everything you said. HOWEVER - I’ve had nothing but issues with Menards couplers. RMT as well. Menards get uncoupled all the time. I usually dab some glue onto the coupler right out of the box. But as you said. For the price , it’s okay.
RMT still is awful
Agree I was in the military love those cars but like you I've had couplers come uncompleted. Many times. As well as buildings coming apart.
100% agree, at $35 I would rather save another $35 and spend $70.00 than by RMT. I just bought 2 NYC MTH NIB Premier Covered Hoppers for $75.00 which included shipping. Made an offer of $30 per car, the seller agreed, combined shipping and boom - done
If you had opened the RMT box car door, I think you would have seen some interior detailing.
Remember Industrial Rail back in day. I still a bunch and work fine to this day.❤
RMT rolling stock is awesome.
I love RMTs Freight cars and I think they beat Menards Freight Cars. Great Video Eric!
Great Cars for the money. Going down the tracks you really won’t see the imperfections. Also, they are great cars if you want to do some weathering detail on your Rolling Stock.
I bought a Menards Santa Fe engine combo and it had issues…. I do not have a local store so I reached out to Menards 3 separate times via the online contact form (they no longer publish a phone number). Menards never responded to my pleas to facilitate a return. I have never experienced customer service as bad as Menards.
That's disappointing to hear.
Not good news !!
Shout out to Eric Trains.The Trains look well.Iam concerned about the couplers.Are they operating couplers.And how good do they work on uncoupling Track.Are they Plastics or Metal?
It’s great there’s more competition in the affordable o gauge market. I think that RMT rolling stock is more than acceptable for most of us. The price point is great. Spending almost $100 on a single boxcar is difficult for most people to reasonably affordable, especially if you’re trying to build larger consists. Although I feel like RMT has been making these for awhile now. It’s strange how so many folks are just hearing by about them just now. I was in my local hobby shop earlier this year and I found my first piece of RMT rolling stock. It was the US Sugar Woodchip Boxcar for $29.99. I took it home and was pleasantly surprised with the amount of detail and separately applied details. I also noticed that the packing and boxcar clearly indicated that it was made in 2021. Very strange but I’m glad at least now they’re getting some recognition.
You said it Eric, those cars are outstanding! I'm just starting to get into O scale having only 1 engine as well as getting your custome cable car and another one from RBP Trains. I am really considering getting some of these RMT cars to go with them. That would be sweet! 👌 Great video Eric!
A thing to note. the wheels have really nice casting details that were not mentioned. RMT cast a manufacturing stamp on the outside of it and there were nice wheel casting on the inside of the wheels as well. There is a nice load inside the boxcars as well. Eric, You should do a custom run of Appalachian and Western box cars!!
As the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for."
If you're a (for lack of a better term) rivet-counting fanatic then there's not much to attract you to the RMT cars. BUT if you're like me and you're in this for the sheer fun of the hobby and not another excuse for a nervous breakdown then certainly, the RMT cars are a great buy! And who doesn't want to save a few bucks? Recently I purchased the RMT-produced Henning's Trains 85th Anniversary car and the quality's excellent! I'm waiting with baited breath for their "Battleship New Jersey" car!
One detail I AM impressed with on the RMT cars is the reenforcing ribs on the inside of the truck wheels! That's a detail you don't see often!
(If the Jersey was in commision back in the 1970s I'd have joined the Navy instead of the Marines!)
I had the pleasure of meeting Walt Matuch of RMT in the Henning's Trains booth at the fall York show. We had a nice conversation, I found him to be a very pleasant man to speak to and he seemed amazed that I remembered him and his wife from the Jersey Central Historic Society magazine from the 1980s. I asked if the "Beep" diesels (I own six!) were ever likely to return but only got kind of a sad smile as an answer which I take as "Not likely at this time."
A good and fair review Eric, thanks for posting!
Bought a RMT Strasburg Ore car. Doesn’t look too bad and super nice for the price! I’d say both RMT and Menards have a proper following and can coincide well together.
The boxcars have a detailed load inside.
I recently bought my first ever Menards boxcars. I think they are a great value and 10 bucks cheaper than RMT. The Menards boxcars have excellent couplers and the trucks are metal and roll excellent. You should've pointed out that the Menards boxcars have the tack board signs as well. The ones on the doors indicate BILL OF LADING with a number and the ones on the end indicate DO NOT HUMP. I think it was actually Menards who did it first. Even the Menards Milwaukee Road version you used for this video has legible tack boards
I think it’s great there’s a lower cost option for scale O rolling stock. I always find the semi-scale cars frustrating because a) they look wrong and b) they can’t seem to settle on a single reduction factor! Good on RMT. I would love to see Menards follow suit.
Regarding cost vs. reliability, I would think focusing on reliability even at the expense of detail is important to getting people into the O gauge hobby. It’s hard enough to work with O vs. HO/N because of the size. O needs to be as usable as possible so customers see the advantages and don’t get frustrated when the equipment doesn’t work. Cheers!
With Menards rolling stock i see them as equivalent to Lionel's O27. Same as equivalent to MTH railking rollling stock.
MTH Railking blows Lionel 0-27, Menards and RMT, and everyone else out of the water.
Agreed
I got Pats trains custom run WM ps1 6 pack cars. Details hold up to atlas detail! Trucks and wheels not the best but the price is well worth it. Great video Eric!
Eric , you left something out . The RMT has what is commonly called 'whirley' wheels .An EARLY 1946 Lionel freight wheel .Look on the back of the wheel for said design .Real freight cars had this design on them .These are highly desired by collectors .I have a small box of them in my collection .
I hope RMT comes into the ''HO'' scale market the company has so much potential.
This RMT stuff has been looking really nice. I've been drawn to the reefers
Hi Eric, best wishes from Scotland to you and Lisa for the New Year. Like your pragmatic take on the product. We all want perfection, 100% accurancy but we want it for nothing. The brands position themselves in the knowledge that their product will sell, but to a different audience. So if you have a gundred bucks in your wallet, go have it, but if you only have thirty bucks in your wallet then you go to that vendor. Its great that you guve an open, honest assessment of all the options. Ine does not fit all and your giving a show case for more affordable options widens the appeal. Happy New Year 🎉
Should read hundred😅😅
Thanks, and Happy New Year!
As you said price is right. WIting for my RMT Navel boxcars.
Also waiting a year for the upgraded trucks for my defective ore cars.
Walter us trying but tired of waiting.😢
I wonder if those are similar to K-Line's box cars. I used to have some MTH Railking box cars and one K line and it was pretty nice. Nice ALCO switcher too!
Great video 😎🚂💯👍
Those RMT cars are what I call "5/75" jobs - from five feet away under a 75-watt light bulb, nobody can tell the difference!
I tell Ya, This is Incredible.
Nice boxcar Eric!!!
Nice little shout out to Mr. Muffins Trains of Atlanta Indiana.
Hummm… well this is a great FYI! Didn’t know they even existed so thank you much. Have to look into them.
Nice presentation on the RMT products. To bad that manufacturers of the (almost) true scale cars (like RMT) don't provide the ability of pure O scale (2 rail) model builders to change the trucks, as well as space to add coupler boxes to the body. Hopefully this will also sell more product to the true scale model car/loco hobby builders. One further item, and that is the ability to easily add weights to the cars. This would mean have the suppliers add the ability to easily remove the body from the car's frame. Yes you can add weights by opening the box car door, but securing the weights in a suitable position would be much easier if the body was removable.
How does the weight on the different cars compare to nmra standards
These comply to NMRA standards
After seeing the boxcars in person at York, I have to say that they look great. From a distance they pretty much look like Premier boxcars.
RMT has actually been producing Engines and Cars for quite some Time. Way before Menards started. And if RMT and Menards can make their Cars Affordable why can't Lionel? RMTs Quality and Paint Jobs are pretty darn Good.
I agree. RMT rolling stock is more than acceptable for most folks. I’m sure there’s an argument to be made about the sizes of the companies playing a factor but to be honest, sometimes I think Lionel does overprice things such as rolling stock. I mean compare one of these RMT boxcars to a Lionel non freightsounds boxcar and honestly, they’re almost identical and the value should be the same. Hell, the RMT cars has internal details and loads. I understand if rolling stock has special features like freightsounds or some other command features or animated functions that it’s gonna cost more. But for a basic boxcar, $35 should be about the price for what you’re getting.
You’re comparing apples to oranges. RMT and Menards can’t hold a candle to Lionel, Atlas or MTH. Quality is way, way below the 3 Top Tier.
@kevinmartin9940 I partially disagree. Menards yes, I'll agree with you on them. But RMT to me is just as good as Lionel. Way better Paint Jobs on RMT. Plus, they number all their Cars unless it is a One of One Car like the Cass RR Tank Cars. RMT also improved the Wheel Sets. I can buy 3 RMT Cars for the same Price as 1 Lionel Car. Is Lionel that much better? NO Way.
The RMT Box Cars I have are ok. I do feel they are better in many ways compared to Menards. I am happy with the two that I have. I agree with your company rankings!
RMT might be the future, and yes you get what you paid for, but Lionel will price themselves out of business, can't afford it anymore, for approximately 150 employees the problem is, they're owned by a capital management group, they dont care about anything except the bottom dollar.
Wow! so nice to see this amount of detail and "scale size" for a very reasonable price. Been getting very disgusted with the current prices. For instance, some Lionel scale rolling stock now listing at close to $100. I get the prices a for the boxcars w/sounds or caboose with a camera, but for a car that doesn't do anything? $100 really? Thank you RMT!
They all do the same thing roll around the track. So buy what makes you happy.
35 is cheaper than the $70 ore cars and other rolling stock I get from my local train stores.. it’s a highway robbery. I’d gladly spend 35 dollars!
Great information 👍
Regarding Menards, this season, their offerings have been quite sparse!
How does the weight of the cars compare to the weight of the others?
I have the same Soo Line boxcar. Luckily, my road number decals were placed straight. My top walkway strip was loose and had to be glued. I have several more RMT cars on pre-order and can't wait for them to arrive. Much better than Menards.
If ya squint, it’s mint. That’s my rule of thumb 😂
What's the difference between semi-O scale and O-27?
Lionel needs some competition, they’ve been “top dog” in the O gauge “toy train” industry for so long. I found it interesting you didn’t mention Williams trains in your comparisons. Just an observation.
You could correct yourself with the Semi Scale nomenclature with the correct O27 as it was when Lionel manufactured it. The same as O27 track is a different height than O track. Radius is tighter for shorter cars.
Im suprised eric dont go to either kadee or those proto brass couplers. Like norm charbonnau did.
Great review! Ironically, I picked up an RMT Delaware-Lackawanna "Phoebe Snow" boxcar at a local shop today. I was shocked at the price for the level of detail. I love that car. Definitely going to look for more RMT items in the future after almost exclusively buying MTH and Atlas items since getting back into the hobby. The only thing I don't like about the "entry level/economy" brands of Menards and RMT is that they print the modern production date and their own brand on the side of the rolling stock, which hurts the authenticity for me. Why not just print it on the bottom of the car instead? I appreciate that RMT tried to make theirs in the same style as American Car & Foundry's typical marking style/shape, but it is a small annoyance for me. I can ignore it or just paint it. Not a huge deal.
We run 70 and 80 year old Lionel stuff, they run just like new. Kids don't care how detailed or scale the trains are. They want to hear the whistle, see the smoke, and watch the side rods. All of our stuff was made in America!
Wonder if RMT still has access to the former K-Line tooling? That boxcar appears to be one of the K-Line scale boxcars. RMT also used the former Marx and Kusan tooling. The Menards boxcars are actually copies of the Kusan larger boxcar that went to Williams and then Bachmann Williams/Kader. But its been documented that Kader is not making the product for Menards. I find the tooling study interesting.
I have a question about O scale. Why do they keep the 3 rail track. Couldn't they modify their locomotives to run on 2 rail track like H.O. and N scale. I never liked the track. Not Lionel, or any of them. Atlas did come out with O gauge 2 rail track in the 80's but it disappeared. 3 rail looks unrealistic.
I had bought the Hennings’s 85th anniversary boxcar about a week ago, I thought it was very good for the price. One of the wheels wouldn’t spin so I had to take it apart to fix the wheel, but for $35, you can’t beat it!
Not a fan of RMT. The quality is absolutely terrible. The trucks don’t stay on the track. I dumped all mine
How close are the Menards ore cars compared to RMT in size? I want some scale (or close enough) ore cars, and with Menards ore cars you get two for the price of one RMT. Could Menards ore cars pass as scale?
I had a RMT beer tanker 4 or 5 years ago. Going around the layout no one could tell me high prized or low prized car. I had all 3 levels.
Very interesting, the one thing you didn't mention was the width of the RMT cars. Are they fatter than semi scale cars? That was one thing that the old Atlas cars from the 1970's stood out from the semi scale cars was their scale width. From the side, at track level and in a train, they hold their own in looks, that's for sure. Very enjoyable video and good news for sure. Cheers.
Yeah a little wider
What happened to the box car number on one of the sides? It’s all messed up.
Ok… here’s something to understand. Box cars of the modern era are not all the same size. There is plate c and plate f, which are 40 and 60 in length respectively. So, the model companies represent those scales in their cars. There is also a 50 foot car. If you look at the heights, they are different as well. The plate f is higher than c, as well as the additional length. So, it’s an accurate representation of actual sizes, not just the model companies being cheap.
Hope that helps.
35 bucks is an absolute bargain for scale detail.
Alright then, you've convinced me to give 'em a whirl. Have one of RMT's "Beep" mini diesels, but no rolling stock of theirs yet.
Big fan of Menards for being affordable and no frills, so I'm game for bit better at a still-reasonable price point.
Eric you should check out the RMT woodsided reefers they are fantastic too
Their quality control is 50/50. I have 2 reefers and 2 tank cars. And one of each has coupler issues. One uncouples constantly. The other has an issue with the geometry (a tightness in the coupler) that causes constant derailment. I plan on reaching out to see if they will stand behind their product
The couplers on my ore cars are so tight they derail one another when hooked together. I might try using a file or something to get some slack.
30 year O gauge collector operator here. I think closer to 30 would be better... It would be worth 30 bucks.
Do you and idea if ATLAS or MTH trucks are swappable to these cars for improved reliability?
Based on the reviews I've seen those RMT PS-1 boxcars seem superior to Trainman, Lionscale, and RailKing. The RMT interior details, backside wheel detail, and number and decals are not found on a premium Lionel car which costs almost 3x more.
Many of the Lionel rolling stock I have purchased recently have paint defects and non articulating couplers that cause derailments.
I had a large layout as a boy ,Lionel box cars were $9.95
Are the trucks and couplers on those cars die cast? The couplers on the ore car looked like they could be die cast.
Where do you get the RMT cars? If it's by mail, what is the shipping cost. For me, Menards is free. I pick them up at the store.
I was going to pick one up at york ,none where $35
The number on the RMT box car is diagonal,on one side.
I’m 0/3 with RMT cars. My boxcar would spark on my Ross switches. Holding them up to any of my other cars there’s definitely a difference in wheel flange size. Not huge, but big enough to cause an issue for me. Problem resolved by using a pair of donor trucks from an old 0-27 flatcar. The two ore cars I bought will do nothing but sit and look nice. They cannot be coupled together properly and will derail one another. The couplers seem too tight allowing no play. I haven’t tried replacing the trucks and couplers, but at this point I think I’m over it.
The Menards box cars are scale O cars. If you look up PRR X-29 box car drawings you see they scale out almost exact. They are small. X-29 box cars were small in real life. I only have a few Menard's box cars as I do not like ladders and roof walks painted in other colors.
The RMT cars are nice. I have 3 of the PS-1 BOX CARS, 3 of the wood 36ft Reefers, as nice or better than the PS-1 cars. RMT biggest issue is roller bearing trucks on vintage cars....but they say the fix is coming.
Also the RMT Ore cars were originally tooled as Atlas/ROCO cars in the early 70's....or they are cloned from them. Detail he same and size.
Thanks
As a non-American, non-Lionel viewer, I wonder if you can tell me wh the Lionel freight cars seem to have third-rail power pickups on the trucks. I can't see that's there's anything powered on the cars.
Those Lionel cars are freightsounds box cars. Meaning as they move on the track, that make screeching, banging noises etc. The pickup rollers power a speaker that’s housed inside the boxcar. There’s also a sensor that next to one of the pickup rollers that detects how fast the car is moving changes sounds so that it matches according. I have several freightsounds box cars and I love them. Really adds a lot to a consist.
You missed commenting on the fact your RMT box car has the car number on it misaligned on the one side.😮
i must be a wierdo , but i prefer the size of semi scale , they work well on 31 and 36 curves , I just wish Lionel would make a real commitment to producing a quality semi scale line of Diesel Locomotives engines, like the Lion Master . What i would love to see is American Flyer S Scale (Flyer Chief) that would run on O scale 3 rail track , like the old Marx trains did.
I recently run my menards tank cars on my lionel fast track that i purchased the cars in the last 3 years and they are changing the truck couplers from steel to all plastic. On the first lap the cars came apart,
I found out the cheap plastic on the lock under the coupler will not seat all the way up to lock! I ended up using small cable ties to pull them up behind the knuckle. Than you need to put them on the track with them locked-sucks poor quality.
I am not one to favor too much in detail on the car--just running it down the track is more important..
Normally I have enjoyed RMT stuff for over 10 years. However, I preordered the RMT Ore Cars (Milw) from Trainworld and was dismayed to discover that the trucks/wheel sets were defective and would not stay on the track at all and couldn’t be regained. Been promised 3 times by Walter to provide replacement trucks over a 6 month period and now crickets…he said Trainworld would be providing the trucks but Trainworld knows nothing about this. I am very hesitant to throw RMT more business. Ray at Menards has alway insured things were made right of there was an issue and I have patronized them since 2015 for trains. Just say’in!
regauged !!
This is my first experience with RMT so that sucks you had that problem. To be fair, however, I've had lots of issues with wheels being completely missing from Menards pieces I ordered lol. They did replace them, though, so that was nice.
Regauged !!
@Ericstrains
Replacing missing wheelsets isn't "nice" -- it's the minimum necessary response. If your quality control is based on occasionally missing parts, you had better be prepared to make it whole.
That is not uncommon with RMT stuff. I refuse to spend money on low end items that are known for truck problems.
Most of Menards stuff is not so good
People say it’s ok cause it’s cheap
It’s not ok if it we’re Lionel at any price point
People would be complaining
Rmt’s stuff seems ok I’ve seen them they look ok
I don’t hav any of them
Great reviews..
Menards couplers are just awful..
Will not buy anymore Menards cars
Bought a $25 gondola for grandkids Lionel train.would not couple to the Lionel.
And the cheap plastic couplers on this starter set work very well.
Will check out these RMT cars..
What about atlas trainman
Just bought my first RMT car from Mr muffins trains, and i love it!! Impressed with the detail.
How many have spotted the defect on the RMT box car? Once you see it You will know what I am referring to.
A hint numbers. :)
No offense, but the guy who owns and runs RMT is a very rude and arrogant person. We O gauge folks here in New Jersey have had bad experiences with him. Unfortunately, he's based out of here. His stuff isn't the greatest.
@DynamicDuo795 I'm sorry to hear that. I talked to the young gentleman (lol) who owns RMT (Mr. Walter) and he was amazing. He took some suggestions from me at York 2024 (Fall) for some rolling stock and gave us some information on upcoming projects that weren't publicly posted yet. I think you should give him another shot. You won't be disappointed
my experience with Walter has been pleasant, so issues for me. That's too bad. And why would I be offended lol?
He's the guy I'm talking about. He ruined Patrick's Trains exclusive run of their MTH Premier CNJ USRA Mikado. He used the wrong colors for the CNJ logo and lettering. It was supposed to be yellow. Instead, Walter used gold. I don't buy Menards or RMT. Every single thing I own is full 100% scale. No toy like trains for me.
@DynamicDuo795 It's a hobby for relaxation. Not realism. I can understand the frustration of a wrong color but you can't pitch a whole brand out the window bc of mistakes. If that was the case, Lionel should be long gone.
@@DynamicDuo795Why would a guy from RMT have considerable influence on a MTH product… that isn’t RMT
No because they been closing for good for yrs just to keep selling stuff
Stick with original Lionel products, old and new.
I think your perspective is in the toilet. If something isn't up to your lofty expensive tastes it's no good. You blow your money on your arrogant perspective, I'll save $15 a box car and be happy taping menards couplers shut. You constantly made waffles the entire video. Waffles are fine but you're influencing newbies especially the wrong way. Happy spending on your ego.
What are you even talking about? He’s literally saying that these are affordable and that having more competition in the affordable o gauge market is good. Also Waffles? Wtf.