Anyone able to decipher which tank cars are the best? Almost all my freight cars are Micro Trains, but I got rid of all the 56' tank cars due to the high riding height. They also have a glossy look which makes them appear more toyish. I did keep a couple of the smaller micro trains 39' tankers. I purchased several Atlas 25,500 and 17,600 and love them. They look more prototypical. The paint appears to have a flat Matte finish, so they don't look as plasticky. All the other Atlas tank car sizes didn't seem as appealing. I was a little disappointed Atlas didn't revamp their beer tank car. Still too toyish. I was contemplating getting several Athearn tankers, but I've heard their wheels keep plopping out.
no specific commodity. Just ones that look and run great. The Atlas 17,600 gallon and 25,500 are the best tank car's I've seen.
The athearn tankers are pretty dang nice. Comparable or even a bit more pimped out than the recent atlas. I've yet to have any axles pop out on any of the cars that I have.
For the transition era, the MT 39' single dome and 3 dome, IM 8,000 gal and Atlas 11,000 gal tank cars are all pretty nice. I have many of each. I also have several Atlas Kaolin and 17,600 tank cars that are pretty nice for the modern era. I agree, the Atlas beer can / shorty tank cars don't look as good (thick ladders/walkways) and would probably look better with etched or 3D printed detail parts.
I like the Atlas LPG tank cars, with fish-belly tanks. The cryo tank cars from Broadway are very nice too. Lots of detail. Atlas probably has the biggest variety of tank car types.
You can view a lot of them pretty quickly on @Spookshow's site: http://www.spookshow.net/freight/fr...t1=3&sort2=2&sort3=4&compress=1&Submit=Submit
Bachmann! Yeah, really. Tank cars seem to be the most fragile of all rolling stock. This is especially true if you transport them to train shows as Ntrakers do. So, I look for something that can stand up to the rigors of transport. Bachmann and MDC/Roundhouse along with MT old single domes fill the bill. I have others like Atlas but they more or less stay at home.
I like my Athearn tanks the best, followed closely by the Atlas tanks. I've never had a problem with wheels popping out.
You guys, he never said the Athearn wheels ."popped" out. He said the Athearn wheels "plopped" out. There IS a difference! Doug
I really like my Athearn ethanol 33K gal tanks-the ones from a couple years ago and the ones they released this fall. I’ve got one MT tank (the weathered FXE) and it just doesn’t seem as solid or crisp as my Athearns. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Filing the bolsters will lower the ride height some. A shot of dull coat will kill the gloss. A new set of quality brand trucks or wheels would take care of the plopping issue.
