WEAVER MODELS is CLOSING

I will sincerely miss Weaver Models. They made a quality product that I will be able to enjoy on my layout for a lifetime. In recent years they created some beautiful and nicely detailed rolling stock, and I especially love the PRR BP20 Shark set that I own. 

 

Lots of luck and happiness to Joe Hayter in the future!

 

Such sad news, this and the death of "The American Dream"  Dusty Rhodes in the same day.

You assume:

 

1) Atlas would want to or is in a position to buy Weaver.

 

2) Atlas still has injection molding machinery stateside.

 

If there is a plan for someone to buy Weaver, we (meaning the OGR forum) won't be party to any of those discussions.

 

There is a big difference in what we would like to happen and what will actually happen.

 

Rusty

This is an excerpt form an email I got from one our the club car committee members from another forum. We have been doing a Weaver Club Car for over 8 years.

 

"Yes, this is not welcome news. One of the things, as you well know Donnie, that kept the Club Car viable, was the 100 car minimum. That simply does not exist elsewhere. That is unless business is so tough that Atlas or MTH would step up.

But for downright friendly service and going miles out of their way accommodation, Weaver will be hard to beat."

 

"OK, time to stop talking past tense and hope for a good tomorrow. “The sun will come out…..tomorrow.”

 Don

 

 

A very big loss , I wish all of them well. I hope the employees will remain in the industry somehow.

Maybe one of the industry leaders will buy them up. there must be a ton of tooling to use somehow.

"If there is a plan for someone to buy Weaver, we (meaning the OGR forum) won't be party to any of those discussions."

 

   They are probably missing out on their best chance at a purchase  by not offering it as shares to the model railroaders of the country :> Who else would take their dividends as product? .....DaveB

Originally Posted by AMCDave::

 

Molds are only worth more as scrap if Legal proceedings push the price too high or they are somehow ruined. 

 

From the folks I've heard from in the model market (mostly wargames, but still,)The cost of a mold is tens (sometimes tens of tens) of thousands of dollars each.  Here's to hoping someone picks up the molds and tooling, even if they do have to get shipped overseas to get back in production.  I wouldn't be surprised if your prediction is correct, that behind-the-scenes deals are being negotiated for the molds and tooling.

 

Who else would give the new management the most headaches? 

Mine may have been one of their last shipments.  I received a freight car from them this past Monday. 

I shall treasure it.

Timbo

i wish Joe all the very best in his retirement or whatever he chooses to do. Weaver will be missed. Of all the model train manufacturers, Weaver was by far the most responsive to the customer's needs and input. Joe and Gary were a great team. It was pretty clear that Weaver's market niche was shrinking and the company was winding down. I'm just glad that they made those Milwaukee Road ribside boxcars before they shut down, and that they made them here in the U.S.A., proving that it is possible to make a better-quality train product domestically. I've got 15 or 16 of them, on top of all the other Weaver stuff I have. 

 

Good-bye, and thanks for all the fish.

To all at Weaver Models:

Thank you all for your kind assistance through the years in answering my questions and accepting my requests.

Your products were well made, finely detailed and of course made right here in the good ole' U.S. of A.

Sincerely,

Ralph

The Mechanical Refrigerator Cars and the PS-2-CD 4740 CU FT 3-bay covered hoppers are great models. They need to have accurate graphics applied for more railroads.

 

Andrew

Somebody can produce the cars in their Injection Molding factory someplace on the East Coast.

 

Atlas O would be more likely to have the access to the correct data and library of accurate images and patterns for the correct data and graphics on the O Scale freight cars.

 

Andrew

Well......there is more to it than what the powers of OGR would want us to get into here. But after working in the plastic model hobby biz since the 1980's and my family at one time owning a plastic model manufacturing company......I am well aware of what molds are worth and what affects their value. 

 

No matter what the 'value' of a mold......if no one wants them, no matter what the potential of said tooling, they are scrap.....in fact I've seen some bought and scrapped only to keep the molds out of circulation! 

 

I'm not saying ANY of this pertains to the Weaver assets. NO ONE here has first hand info they can disclose.....just a general discussion of what I know about the biz end of plastic models....which is what the vast majority of Weavers items are. 

If there is anyone out there interested, contact Joe soon.

Don

 

Yes wishful thinking on my part, but in a perfect world the molds would be warehoused somewhere until such time some company or person came forward for some or all.  Once the molds are gone they're gone.  Sure they can be recreated, but then cost even more than if they were retained.

But as I said, wishful thinking.  Hard business dollar and cents will always over rule the sentimental heart as it were.

True unfortunately......

Even in storage molds cost money. A mold for a O scale car with multiple parts can be the size of a dishwasher and weigh so much only heavy equipment can move it. And if they are not maintained they can corrode and cams freeze......everything just stops working.  Then all that time in storage is for not. 

 

As I said none of this has anything to do with Weaver....I too REALLY hope someone who understands what's there will pick it up. 

Add in the masking for paint, painting equipment, and the pad printing machinery. Don't forget the equipment needed for producing the printing plates, which includes special cameras and acid etching. 

Don

Very sad. I only own a couple Weaver cars, but I really do think they are the "Quality Craft" they're cut out to be, and I hope to acquire quite a bit more. 

I love my Weaver 20" passenger cars.  Here are a few videos of them in action.

 

 

 

 

 

Good luck in your retirement Joe and going to miss you guys and i have several weaver cars and they all been great cars and one engine. You all was great to talk to and deal with.   

Re the discussion on Weaver dies/molds....

 

This thread may be the best opportunity to affirm or deny my understanding of Weaver's former production of the E8 diesels....

 

I was told that the Weaver tooling of this engine (superstructure) was sold to MTH and became the basis for their subsequent run/release of this engine.

 

Yes?  No? 

 

If yes, then I would think it speaks to Weaver's desire to seek a good future home for tooling where there might be a negotiable deal.  And that would be a more positive way to view the future of this situation, perhaps?

 

KD

I heard the same of the E8 and the SD40-2

I hope the 53' Trailers get picked up by Bachmann Williams

 I remember being told a long time ago that Mike Wolf bank rolled Weaver on the E8 molds and the also the SD40s. I believe MTH is now in possession of both sets.

 

Chris

LVHR

Actually Quality Craft Models (Bob Weaver had it back then) and Steve Horvath are the main reasons I got into HiRail. I still have my very first Weaver car which I bought at an auction many years ago. They made quality products at reasonable prices and stood behind them. I will miss them.

 

Enjoy your retirement, Joe!

 

Chris

LVHR

My first set of scale passenger cars were by Weaver.  I have many of their freight cars, passenger and couple of engines.  They all run beautifully.  This company will be sorely missed by all.  Wishing the best to all at Weaver and hoping all the best for the future to include some of Weaver's products to be carried on by someone else.

Just starting in the hobby -  been buying weaver left and right to start my collection.  Disappointed to hear there will be no new Weaver available.  I've been impressed with every Weaver purchase - real pride taken in the workmanship.  Enjoy retirement!

About 10 years ago or so I bought a Weaver tank car from my LHS. When I got it home and opened the box, I discovered one of the handrails had been badly damaged. I contacted Weaver to see about a replacement. Unfortunately, the car was already somewhat dated and there were no parts to be had or leftover cars in inventory. End of story, right?

 

A few days later, I got a call from Weaver saying they would fabricate a part for me and just needed a piece of the damaged part so they could mix a batch of paint to match. Two weeks after that I had a new handrail fabricated and painted to match my car perfectly.

 

Up to this point I had spent much of my career working in a service-related industry and thought I knew a thing or two about what it took to exceed high expectations - or so I thought. My encounter with Weaver was customer service on a level I never even imagined could exist in any industry, let alone manufacturing. 

 

Weaver is a class act of a company in my book and I am sorry to see it go. I wish Joe and his team the best of luck in the future.

Testors discontinued production of their line of Railroad paint.

 

The Scale Coat paints could be spun off to another company.

 

If not, there will be a giant hole in the model railroad paints in a year or two when the supplies are gone.

 

Andrew

I don't know anyone from Weaver but I wish them well in the future.

I have numerous Weaver freight cars on my Railroad (to many to count!) I have always liked them because we handle the cars off and on the BRHRR many times during a session and they stay together.

I have just managed to buy four US Army boxcars direct from Weaver last month most of my cars I bought from them direct and the service was superb never had a problem with them that is important for me as I live in West Australia you don't want any stuff ups with an order!

I'm really sad to see them go.

With the moulds it can be very expensive to store them not only the cost of floor space but they must be thoroughly protected from the slightest moisture contamination on the mould surface themselves otherwise if rust gets on the surface it shows on the item being moulded many moulds have been scrapped because of this.

Anyway Congratulations Weaver on a job well done over the years it's not always been easy but what business is.

Neville from West Australia

They never put the Central Vermont white and dark green scheme on the 50' Plug Door Box Cars. This means that I would have to purchase 5 undecorated plug door box cars.

 

Andrew 

There ya go!!  That's a good harbinger for the continuation of their products!!! 

 

KD

Recently there were a couple of other threads started about this same subject.

 

Please...let's keep the discussion of Weaver in this thread so we don't have several threads on the same subject posted.

 

Thanks.

I just now called them about ordering some telephone poles....but they are now sold out. Is there another source for assembled telephone poles.

 

If you are thinking about getting something from Weaver, you better call the now, or yesterday would be preferred to get your items.

That was around 15 years ago, I don't remember exactly. 

 

The model railroad and business landscape has changed since then.

 

Rusty

Good news on my defective engine.  Heard back from them and Joe said If I can get the engine back to them ASAP. They'll take care of it for me.

Definitely true.

 

I inquired about a few reefers and the Wash Away paint remover... all sold out.

 

-Dave

I wish the folks at Weaver the best in their retirement and/or other endeavours.

 

I do have, and enjoy, some Weaver on my layout as well, most notably a Reading G1 Pacific (thus far, I believe that no other manufacturer has made a scale Reading G1/G2), a B&O 2-6-0, several troop cars (I still love them dispite the warped frames), and several other pieces of rolling stock.  Still hoping to get a secondhand Reading Crusader set.

 

IMHO, Weaver offerings in locomotives (especially steam) has been pretty slim the last couple of years.  Maybe they have had trouble competing with 3rd Rail, Lionel, and MTH? 

 

Jim

Very sad news!  I took the OGR-sponsored Weaver tour more than once.. & even took my family there separately.  They were always accommodating to train fans who just showed up to tour (or made a courtesy call ahead).  I have to wonder if this is simply a "retirement" move.  As some have observed, one would think the business would have been offered for sale first.  Perhaps it was & there were no deals pending.  We can only speculate... but really shouldn't.  I feel the worst for the fine people employed there in  the manufacturing & front office areas.  They are just regular working class Americans trying to earn a living.  And, I agree... when I heard that Gary had left to do landscaping, I had to wonder.     We will miss you...  Loved your USA-made products folks!  

 

It is really sad when a hobby shop/train store closes,however this is a tragic loss for our hobby.  I am very sorry to see Weaver close.

I too called for paint and telegraph poles--all gone.  I should have ordered them years ago.  I wish the very best to the people at Weaver !

 

Norm