(06/06/23) New! Caboose Coffee Shop from Menards!

That is really cool!!! Thanks!

I love that even the backside has stuff going on!  It means you can place it anywhere, not just along a wall.

that's great

I love it! ☕

The short order cook is really cooking up a storm by the looks of the steam pouring out of the exhaust stack.

He must have been formally a fireman working on a mallet before he took up cooking.   

Hope those fries aren't fried to a crisp.

The accessory is great looking and definitely different from what others have offered in the past and can be used anywhere on a layout.

Love it!

Nice.  Good choice using a bay window caboose for the drive through.

Looks great! Please consider a release of this in HO if possible! Even without the smoke it would be a neat building addition.

Until I read the disclaimer about NOT using train smoke fluid (distilled water only), I was going to order it.  I used to own an MTH tanker (Isaly's coffee) that smoked so I bought coffee smelling train smoke fluid.  I sold my collection shortly thereafter and still have  a bunch of that fluid.

Would have been nice to be able to use the fluid,

Still, it's a really nice and different piece

walt

Could that steam cause moisture problems on layout?

The blast furnace has to go, they need to tame the smoke!

@Bill Grafmiller posted:

Could that steam cause moisture problems on layout?

I doubt it's going to have much of an effect, you probably output that much moisture breathing.

The product video shows a lot of steam coming out of it.  Seems like you would need to add water quite often.

I have to wonder whether Starbuck's is going to raise a complaint about trade dress.

I really like this, and especially the use of a bay window caboose as a shack. I didn't recall Menards having bay window cabooses in their lineup...maybe I haven't been paying attention. This one's for me...thanks Menards!

I like it.  It's clever and plausible and very Fifties.  It doesn't quite fit the era I'm collecting for, but I like it anyway.

I also like the Rocket restaurant, even though it makes me twinge every time I see it (I think it's a clever building, but I still miss the old Rock Island)

Way to much velocity on the water vapor.  Reminds of Old Faithful Geyser.  Otherwise a nice model.

@CAPPilot posted:

The product video shows a lot of steam coming out of it.  Seems like you would need to add water quite often.

@Patrick1544 posted:

Way to much velocity on the water vapor.  Reminds of Old Faithful Geyser.  Otherwise a nice model.

I suspect that, if you craft a restrictor of some sort, both the velocity of the 'smoke' and the water usage will be significantly reduced.

All the momentum of the mist is produced by the transducer's direct action on the water (some of which is transferred to the air molecules that get sucked along) rather than from pressure like a fan- or bellows-driven unit, so restricting the 'target' opening will reduce both the volume (indirectly reducing the water consumption, since any mist not making it through the smaller opening will just condense and fall back into the water supply) and speed of the mist plume. At least that's my takeaway after playing around with such a transducer to generate my campfire smoke simulation. I'd like to hear confirmation from someone with hands-on experience with one of these units, though.

I've considered adding another transducer-powered 'smoke' generator to my layout, using it it to provide 'smoke' to the chimneys on two adjacent Plasticville houses I've had for a while. Dunno if I can get enough useable volume through the necessary splitter and tubing, though -- stay tuned . . .

@jay jay posted:

I really like this, and especially the use of a bay window caboose as a shack. I didn't recall Menards having bay window cabooses in their lineup...maybe I haven't been paying attention. This one's for me...thanks Menards!

I was about to observe that this might mark the first time a piece of Menards rolling stock debuted as a piece of rolling stock before it's body was used as the basis for a scenic accessory. Their FP9 locomotive has only been released as part of an extremely limited beta-test program, the subsequent diner using its shell was a general release item, but I'm not counting that since the locomotive has been in an extended beta-test phase.

The caboose itself has seen a general release as rolling stock in early May.

---PCJ

This thing is great.  I already have the Menard's Starbucks but I prefer this - it's timeless!  I would not worry about the humidity.  When my kid was a baby, he had his trainset on his floor for a year with a humidifier running about 12 hours a day and it was fine.  The track accumulated a lot of the white mineral buildup you get from humidifiers, but that was it.

@Mark Holmgren 110217 posted:

This thing is great.  I already have the Menard's Starbucks but I prefer this - it's timeless!  I would not worry about the humidity.  When my kid was a baby, he had his trainset on his floor for a year with a humidifier running about 12 hours a day and it was fine.  The track accumulated a lot of the white mineral buildup you get from humidifiers, but that was it.

. . . and, if you use only distilled water, you won't even get the white mineral build-up.

Now they need to make a sandwich shop out of a box car body.

@Steve Tyler posted:

. . . and, if you use only distilled water, you won't even get the white mineral build-up.

Yes, definitely a good tip. Especially if you’re filling a toy train accessory that barely uses any water. If you have the time, energy, and patience to keep a room humidifier stocked with distilled water, you’re a better man than I!

@Mark Holmgren 110217 posted:

Yes, definitely a good tip. Especially if you’re filling a toy train accessory that barely uses any water. If you have the time, energy, and patience to keep a room humidifier stocked with distilled water, you’re a better man than I!

Well, no room humidifier, but since I use a CPAP machine, the distilled water is already right at hand!

OTOH, the bare cherry wood block I used to hold things in place has imparted a distinct (but pleasant) aroma to the water, and so I'm reasonably sure the once pristine distilled water has picked up a few "hardwood notes" that might leave a bit of residue anyway . . .