I only have about 20 of them I bought for under $20 each way back then. Great value and great cars. They've held up all these years with regular running.
I wasn't knocking you Dave. Just didn't look like a Williams car. I always enjoy seeing your projects and with your background, I respect your views on various posts about tooling new products.
And while they probably sell many more model cars: A larger production run can assist (but not guarantee) in a potential lower consumer cost, I absolutely agree with your premise in the train hobby. The new LionScale cars are a good case in point: Though they're from the Weaver dies and Lionel possibly got a good price on them, they still had to invest the money. And they're still more complex to decorate and produce than a typical traditional car. Plus they're being made in the USA with the added investment of the facility modifications and specific expensive equipment to produce them at Lionel. Which goes against what Lionel and all the companies have said, that production in the US would necessitate considerably higher list prices.
And yes, the UMD Industrial Rail cars were also popular with dealers because of their attractive wholesale, meaning they could discount them and still make money.
And on a side note, I wonder if the Industrial Rail tooling wasn't damaged with the problems Atlas had in China. Paul Graf mentioned that much of their scale tooling was damaged during the moves between factories and had to be refurbished. Makes me wonder if that isn't part of the reason we haven't seen any IR cars from Atlas.
No problem sir!! I was posting on the family tablet......should know better...I can't see on that thing!! ( need my 22" desk top screen!!)
And I do understand the 'sell many more cars than trains' thing too. But in my analyst mind.....a much more complex model on all levels was a good example vs a more simple less complex box car if you doubled the price. That was my thinking at the time...and somehow Menard's has done it.....and they deserve the credit. I also reasoned that a $20 box car would sell more numbers than a $60 car that was similar.
Lionel's cars made from the modified Weaver tooling show me Lionel is trying a new route of production too......and I credit them.
Should keep the big sky blue. That is one righteous looking goat. Better than noodles on puke green. Yellow kitties on dark blue work too.
While we are talking about Menards box car colors, there is one thing that has stopped me from getting a case of the Southern box cars.
If you are going so say "Gives a green light to innovations" you need to put the green light inside of the O. I know it is a small thing but they have the technology. Their Rail Box cars have 3 color printing (4 if you count the orange line under the Menards logo.)
That Chessie car looks great. A case of those and Frisco will be ordered soon.
I am glad they seem to be switching to the 4pc box in stead of the 8. The 8 was a little cheaper per car but it is nice to be able to only order 4 and still get a price break.
I also loved Industrial Rail. Atlas had just bought them out when I got in to the hobby. I have quite a few of the pre and post Atlas cars and a few of the Atlas steam engine sets. The steam engines were neat. A little small but came with a die cast tender and whistle and bell sounds. You got a 80 watt transformer (not a power pack) and some of the best rolling stock to ever come in a starter set IMHO. I kept hoping Industrial Rail would come out with a diesel engine and sets but it hasn't happened yet. Atlas doesn't appear to be doing much with the brand. I think the weaker dollar has made it hard to compete down market. That makes the Menards $20 box car an even better deal.
