New enclosed Auto Carrier from Menards

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

That would be great Chris, but I don't have the car, so I posted the only picture I could get.

Oh no John that wasn’t a stab at you picture I was just making a general statement in that I can vision size better when I see it next to something else. 😉

The end doors don't open so I can't add these car-to-car ramps I 3D printed.

These were made in 2016  ugh!; I can do a much better design and print today.

@SIRT posted:

Again, 5" high?  Someone goofed

Atlas O Hy-Cubes are fine adding 1/8" wood under portal feet without roadbed using G.G. to 036 fast track.

Hope you don't have any standard tunnel portals...

My scale corrugated auto racks from MTH Premier are about 5-1/16" high.  Lionel's version is about the same.

I have a bunch of Lionel Tunnel portals.  I build up the bases so the opening is at least 6" above rail height.  That way scale stuff and post-war style operating cars with things sticking out the top all go thru.

AlanRail

Do you sell those 3D printed ramps?

I would like two of them.

With the introduction of these, I am thinking we can kiss goodbye to Menards making any more bi-level auto carriers with die cast vehicles included.

Even without the non prototypical era Buicks or Sandford & Son Ford trucks included, the bi-level cars look nicer empty and are closer to scale than these new enclosed ones.

NYC 428

send me a private message, can't sell from a thread request. OGRR Rules.

I just came from Menards in Wausau, WI and found the new 1957 Dodge trucks. They also have 1958 Plymouth Furys in different colors. I found the trucks on the website, but I did not see the cars there.

Truck is 4&1/4" and car is 4&3/8" long.

Can someone who has one please photograph it next to an MTH Premier auto carrier or an HO scale auto carrier?

Andrew

@cabinet Bob posted:

Did you notice Menards didn't  announce  them in this forum ?

As a toy-train operator (NOT a "scale modeler") I would appreciate still getting the announcements here, though I know Menards gets a lot of grief from certain members over some stuff not being scale etc.

Out of curiosity, what curve radius looks good (not exorbitant overhang etc) with a 17-18 inch car?  Are these cars ideal for O-31? O-36?  I know our Lionel 15.5" passenger car overhangs our O-31 track to some extent.

Thank you!

I imagine nothing less than O-54 would look good. I would think they would have trouble negotiating switch stands on any lower diameter curve, too. I had to modify some Fastrack O36 switch stands for some 15 1/2" well cars I built, but then they sit lower than these auto rack cars.

Terry

If anyone gets theres, can you post photos here for us to see?

Thank You

@Micro posted:

As a toy-train operator (NOT a "scale modeler") I would appreciate still getting the announcements here, though I know Menards gets a lot of grief from certain members over some stuff not being scale etc.

Out of curiosity, what curve radius looks good (not exorbitant overhang etc) with a 17-18 inch car?  Are these cars ideal for O-31? O-36?  I know our Lionel 15.5" passenger car overhangs our O-31 track to some extent.

Thank you!

I have found that by subscribing to their trains email list, I am better able to get train items that sell out quickly, rather than wait to see an announcement here

Here are a few pictures of the last few that came in

I bought 20. Thanks for the photos. Cabinet Bob.

@cabinet Bob posted:

Here are a few pictures of the last few that came in

I would have preferred if Menard's would have originally made the bi-level cars a bit longer like the new ones.  I think they still look better with the sides half way down below the trucks and not as roller skate like.

It is a vacation week for some people, so there are less posts.

@SDIV Tim posted:

I bought 20. Thanks for the photos. Cabinet Bob.

Whoo...! 'Dat be a lotta 'racks.

Guess I better move up my next Menards purchase, seeing as I already missed out on the UTLX frameless tankers and doublestack cars.

<consults wishlist>

---PCJ

I found the Youngstown Steel patent on the side loading auto loaders. It has some detailed drawings on the car and loading apparatus.

The Menards Auto Carriers are cheap enough to experiment with.

One thing I noticed is they do not have the operating railroad logo on them, i.e., BNSF, CSX, NS, etc. All the real world cars I've seen have not only the leasing company logo (DTTX, etc.) plus they also have the operating railroad logos on them.

@paulp575 posted:

One thing I noticed is they do not have the operating railroad logo on them, i.e., BNSF, CSX, NS, etc. All the real world cars I've seen have not only the leasing company logo (DTTX, etc.) plus they also have the operating railroad logos on them.

Yeah, I noticed that too. Surprised Menards didn't include sticker sheets like on their open bilevel. I could see someone coming up with decals to "correct" the DTTX reporting mark to something actual autoracks wore (DTTX is for spine cars), as well as roadnames to fit the blank panels. Should be do-able with standard inkjet decal paper or even inkjet adhesive paper.

---PCJ

The correct reporting marks for a flat car with a Bi-Level auto rack are

TTGX 

The reddish car could have logos and names for Missouri Pacific, Southern Pacific, CONRAIL, NORFOLK SOUTHERN, The early 1980's SOUTHERN , the early 1980's NORFOLK AND WESTERN lettering, C&EI

The UNION PACIFIC yellow car would of course need decals for the UNION PACIFIC, CN, CSX, TFM, KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN, BNSF, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway circle-cross, CANADIAN PACIFIC CP, Ferromex, Chicago & North Western

Andrew

Falcon Service

Mine arrived today, have to work so will try to post more pictures later.

I wonder how they visually compare with O gauge and O scale flat cars and automobile carriers from other companies.

Andrew

The reddish cars can also have logos for 1990's Santa Fe and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Circle-Cross and the SSW  COTTON BELT, perhaps even WP WESTERN PACIFIC.

Andrew 

Here are photos of a plain automobile carrier for NKCR

The TTX flat car has TTGX reporting marks

Andrew

Some comparisons since somebody was asking:

With Williams SD90 and MTH Railking auto rack

031 curves:

042 curves

Compared to most traditional sized cars, theses are huge!

"During my floor-layout days I never had issues with the MPC trilevels tipping over, but I always ran them empty. Fully loaded, these cars were (1) very heavy, and (2) very prone to tipping over if you didn't hold your speed down on those 027 curves. Probably explains why virtually all of the post-MPC reissues of this car were bilevel."  I've got the Great Northern MPC open side tri-level.  I tried several different type of autos hoping to be able to run it loaded.  I thought those plastic Dime Store Dreams would do the trick but they were too wide.  I finally found some Hot Wheels Extremes Volkswagens that fit.

The two vans and the Beatle had to ride the top level, two Variants and a white Karman Ghia in the middle and two hatchbacks and the black Ghia on the bottom.  Weight was definitely a problem.  I couldn't figure out how to disassemble the auto rack so securing the cars was an issue.  Center of gravity was a big, big issue, especially with those loose trucks.  Train speeds needed to be kept very slow.  I've got 3 of the Lionel screened autoracks from the 90s.  Never did try to load those.

@Darrell posted:

Mine arrived today, have to work so will try to post more pictures later.

Imteresting! It appears Menards mfgs are using an old [original] MTH Premier Autocarrier frame sans the metal weight plate!

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Imteresting! It appears Menards mfgs are using an old [original] MTH Premier Autocarrier frame sans the metal weight plate!

We have all seen the original photos.  Why do some folks need to copy them over when commenting on them?   

i want some in autotrain,,,,lots of them !!!

Are these body's the same size as the mth ones?

@milnyc posted:

I just came from Menards in Wausau, WI and found the new 1957 Dodge trucks. They also have 1958 Plymouth Furys in different colors. I found the trucks on the website, but I did not see the cars there.

Truck is 4&1/4" and car is 4&3/8" long.

What is the scale of these?

@Lionelzwl2012 posted:

Are these body's the same size as the mth ones?

The MTH Auto Carriers are 20.5" long.   

Menards are 17.5" long.   

@PRRMP54 posted:

What is the scale of these?

Menards says the Dodges and Plymouths are1/48. They both are about 17 & 1/2 scale feet long.

A 58 Plymouth Fury was 204.6 long overall, divide that by 12 and you get 17.05 feet

They're darn close.

Doug

Here is a UNION PACIFIC rebuilt auto rack on a TTX flat car.

Decals need to be made to apply to the auto rack and flat car of this Automobile Carrier.

Andrew

@RailRide posted:

They look like a stretched and widened version of the Lionel 027 autoracks. At 17.5" measured over the couplers,

Here are some photos comparing the new Menard's Auto Carrier and the Lionel traditional sized Auto Carrier. The Lionel car is orange Rio Grande and the Menard's car is brown.

Being longer, wider, and greater height, the Menard's car is much larger than the Lionel car.

The MENARDS version of the Auto Carrier can be used as a transition between MTH Railking and Premier freight cars.

Andrew

If you have the decals for CONRAIL you can apply them to the reddish auto carrier.

Andrew

@falconservice posted:

The MENARDS version of the Auto Carrier can be used as a transition between MTH Railking and Premier freight cars.

Andrew

Mmm...I'd intermix Menards with the MTH Premier cars. The size difference is less noticable in that use case. The RailKing cars are significantly different being short open bilevels, and would be a better match for the Menards open bilevel cars.

The MTH Premier cars would be a transition between Menards and the upcoming Atlas O Gunderson cars

---PCJ