Williams Front Runners

They might be scale, but I think that the prototypical Front Runner had 2 axles (Atlas made these).

These appear to be copies of K line version.

They're scale in terms of representing a single car out of a spine car unit set, but it's nowhere close to scale in terms of accurately portraying an actual prototype front runner.  If you want an actual scale front runner,  go with the Atlas O model, including the trailers.

Thanks for the responses!!!

Scale or not, at $80 bucks a car (even at places like Trainworld!) the reputation of 'affordability' that made Williams famous is rapidly eroding..  To put it bluntly, that's a rip-off.  I love my Williams trains, and don't usually pay much more than that for their powered locomotives!  No freight car should be above $40, period.  There's just not that much to them to warrant that kind of jack!!

Welcome to the new world of O scale!!!!

I don't like $80 a pop....and will not pay it......but about the going rate for a die cast car and trailer. Weavers plastic trailer on flat car are $70........$10 more for die cast not way out of line. I have the K-Line 5 car set......cost me $20.....I'll stick with them.

I have Williams rolling stock on my layout, but not a fan of their locomotives......

Looks semi - scale. Go for it.......

They are NOT scale. They are the old K-Line.

The 40' Trailers are 1/48th Scale.

 

The Spine Flat Cars that are based on 5-unit articulated spine flat cars are 1/48th scale.

 

Compare them to the Lionel traditional O Gauge sized Trinity ARC-5 spine flat cars that are mostly S Scale in proportions.

 

Andrew

So are these the same size as he old diecast K Line 2 car TTAX sets?   

Yes.

...And this time they actually have roller-bearing trucks on them

 

(Do single-unit spine cars even exist? I don't recall ever seeing a prototype.)

 

---PCJ

http://www.nassauhobby.com/XC4...Williams-RS-Freight/

 

 

Not that I'm aware of.  The only ones I've seen are 5- and 3-units.  Never seen a prototype 2-unit like what MTH has offered with their spine cars for the past several years either.

Again, the Williams model is not actually a front runner.  It's simply a modified, single spine car being passed off as a front runner.

 

In regards to being a  scale proportioned prototype of one car out of a multiple-car unit,  it's somewhat scale, but then since the prototype spine cars are either a 3- or 5-unit, permanently attached set with the middle cars being articulated, Only the A & B (end cars) of the units have couplers (one coupler on the A unit and one coupler on the B unit with the other end of both cars being permanently attached & articulated with the middle cars) then it's not scale.

 

So in essence of it being scale or semi-scale, it's really neither since it doesn't accurately reflect either the frontrunner or spine car prototypes.  I guess you can call it a "Frankenstein" car. 

Here's a visual comparison:

 

Atlas O Front Runner (based on the actual prototype)

 

 

 

 

Williams  (former K-Line model modified from their spine car sets):

 

I posted a question about single-unit spine cars on a previous thread and someone posted that the Chicago & North Western had some. I cannot confirm or deny from personal knowledge. 

The William car looks nice but it seems expensive for what it is. Still though I wish Williams did 3 and 5 spine flat cars.

       
       


I must be missing something,  but all I see is a cropped picture of a spine car that doesn't show both ends.  How can you tell it's a single car or part of a unit set?

At any rate, it still wouldn't be a frontrunner.

You are right it looks like it was cropped.  Yeah the Williams car is not like the Prototype front runner that had the 2 axle trucks.  They almost remind me of European freight cars because of that. The Atlas ones look nice but they are pretty expensive on eBay.

I guess CSX use to have intermodal trains with Front Runners back in the early 90's.

There are photos of several of the CNW spine flat cars in the Chicago & North Western Historical Society's "Final freight car roster" photo book.

 

Check a copy of that.

 

Andrew

Folks of course are free to buy what they like, but to me it looks like the street price on the Williams is about $70, while new old stock Atlas Front Runners seem to currently be selling for about $75.  No brainer, to me, which I would opt for.

 

Jim

 

p.s.

 

I have two of the Atlas front runners and I like them.  At the time, I pick up a pair of them for about $40 each, wish I would have bought a couple more at the time.

Chicago and North Western spine flat car like the O Scale spine flat car.

Thanks to Falconservice for posting the spine car photo. Now we all know that there is or was such a thing as a single-unit spine car. 

 

It seems to me that Williams would be a lot better off calling their remake of the K-Line car a spine car, which it is, rather than a Front Runner, which it isn't. Why perpetuate K-Line's incorrect terminology? But, that's probably too logical for the sort of geniuses who inhabit (or is that infest) corporate marketing departments.