I have 3 ho scale cars I bought off of EBAY. These are AMERICAN MADE cars, and seem pretty detailed. Anyone with expeience on these brands? I don't think they are made anymore.... the ROCK
I have two Front Range GP7s and twelve McKeen hoppers, all in Frisco. Front Range has been out of business since about the late 1980s or so- not sure when McKeen quit. I will say the McKeen cars are decent, while the FR diesels suffer from a less-than-sterling power drive (three-pole motor, noisy plastic gears). The shells are decent, though.
I was at a buddies layout on Sat. and he showed me 5 McKean kits he bought at a swap meet for 4 bucks apiece. It was the first time I ever seen that brand. They sure were nice looking kits though. Figures they are out of buisness, I told him I was going to try and find some of them, I thoght they were a new company!
I think we still have one or two McKean Models cars laying around the hobby shop. I'm pretty sure they are 40' box cars.
I have one Front Range car in my car storage shop. I saw the new Front Range loco that was to be produced in 1992 at the NMRA Convention in Santa Rosa, CA. It was an upgrade from the clinky 3 pole motor to a 5 pole motor and the owner of Front Range was at the convention to premote this new product. Had they not gone out of business later that year I believe that the loco could have been a big seller. They were ahead of ther time with the electronics and the looked a little like the Proto 2000 does today. But because the business folded in late 1992 they were never produced in mass. I think they would have given some of todays locos a run for there money. I understand all of the molds for the cars and loco shells were bought by an x employee and are stored someplace. He was ask after he bought them if he intended to continue to produce the models and he said "no". He wanted them so he could keep them from ever being produced again. I don't understand that but what ever. Shannon WP LIVES
