So I am back after some many years and am wondering what makes rolling stock so expensive? Some of the cars are 30 bucks & up, how can such a small thing cost so much? Also what is the difference between the mafg? is there really a big difference between them? dosen't bachmann stock roll just as good as microtrains? I was just wondering As I am going to be buying some soon and need to be on the right track. Now I know some are rivet counters and some are not, this can not make them that much more the the other. Just wondering what you think?ยค Thanks Jack B
The quality of the cars has gone up exponentially in the last few years. When it comes to rolling stock you get what you pay for in the quality of the molds, the accuracy of the design, the quality of the paint, markings (decals and paint) car weight, couplers, trucks and wheel sets. Does a Bachmann roll just as good as a MT, maybe. Does it match the prototype as closely, no. I like my Atlas thralls, but they are not as nice as my Intermountain ones. What you need to do is sit down at you LHS ad weigh out the options for yourself. For some people Model Power cars work fine. Some people will refuse to own any. Cheap doesn't always mean good, nor does a high price tag. Compare cars side by side and decide how much they are worth to you.
I've been in N since '72, know what you mean. When I started, Trix was probably the best. MT came on the scene and the world changed. You have to remember that a good set of wheels and couplers costs as much as a car used to. I used to wince about that, but that's a lot of it. Now you'll see etched roofwalks, lots and lots of individual details, some of which matter and some really don't. Modelers (including myself) savage those manufacturers that just can't get it anywhere near right with paint. Atlas is a great example. Their new tank cars are just incredibly good. Put an Atlas tank beside anything Bachmann, Model Power, or anything older than the first MT single-dome....wow, yuck! I don't mind paying when you put them side by side and you go ...whoa....! I've got a few Model Power and Bachmann cars, usually reworked, all converted to MT's. A lot more have been replaced and sold. If you can find an auction deal on a lot of older cars with MT's on, that's a good deal usually. You don't have to spend that kind of money unless you want to. I don't really mind it unless I'm trying to equip some kind of unit train, then it gets really, really painful.
Ya I know your pain. I guess I will have to sit down and compare them. I do remember when the trucks & coupler cost as much as the car. Those days are gone. When you do ad the cost of good trucks & the coupler the body is not too much. I do like to find bargans out there And I guess That it is a good thing that I saved a lot of my old stuff. I have some from most supplyers. And I guess it is in the mold and the ad ons. but when you come down to it just a little plastic & some Metal. So maybe it is the R&D ???? I think I will just get what I like and not worry about it. It is nice to know what you all think.... This is how I learn and finally make my decision as to what to get & what not to get Sure helped with making decisions about locomotives So keep it at it and tell me your opinionsThanks Jack B
One of the other issues is the price of manufacturing in China is also increasing exponentially too. They are becoming a very hungry middle-class wanting higher wages and better working conditions. The manufacturers know they have their customers over a barrel and gouge just like the oil companies and the state of California gouge for everything they can get over here.
remember the day when you could walk into any hobby shopand buy ANY Atlas freight car? I miss that more than paying less.
As mentioned, the quality has gone up incredibly from the days of the Trix and Atlas A1G cars. Beyond that, something that wasn't mentioned and is somewhat of an answer the comment below is the variety is increased 100 fold. It used to be that Atlas made a boxcar and painted it in 5-10 road names and that was it. Those roads were printed and sold for years at a time. They had one box car model, one hopper model, a tank car, a flat, a caboose and a few other car types to offer. They just kept cranking those out over and over with the same paint jobs. They didn't have to do any more research, they didn't have to change the printing pads, they just kept running the production lines. This makes things considerably cheaper when you can run large quantities over and over again. Now they make close to 50 different car bodies with all the variations in details offered. Add that to the increasing number of road names, and multiple road numbers, this leads to a lot of R&D chasing down accurate paint and numbers, and a lot time wasted on the production line changing over from one car to the next. All that detail and variety costs money and keeps the production numbers much smaller. They are digging deeper and finding more obsure roads and variations and because of this there are fewer people that may identify with that particular car so less chance that it is going to be a garunteed seller. They have to hedge their bet a little and make sure there is a price buffer to cover their cost and production numbers are kept low so they don't have inventory left setting on the warehouse shelf. The best way for them to make money is to keep turning over inventory. You can't do that producing the same car over and over again. Once you have a car, how likely are you to buy the exact same car again and again unless you are building a unit train, and then most people want unique numbers on each car, or at least a few numbers so they can mix it up a bit and not notice the repetition. Add to that, the extra etched details, better trucks and couplers and the added assembly time due to all these details and you can see why the price keeps creeping up and up. Word from Craig on the batch of spine cars that came out recently, the assembly was much more difficult than the production facility estimated in the quote. They had to live up to that quote and it sort of sounds like they ended up loosing money on the production run. He has said that the next batch will be substancially more expensive now that the production facility knows what is involved in making these cars and will be charging him more. I don't like the higher prices any more than the next person but as someone that works in a shop, and just priced a batch of the Model Power train cars produced with the old methods still, even at $6 each, they are nowhere near the value for the money that some of these 20 and 30 dollar cars are. I cringed putting them on the shelf, and I know they will sell, but once you buy a quality car, you won't look back and the days of the past.
I just finished building several well detailed passenger cars. To buy a similary quality finished car, from say Intermountain is $40 to $50. How do my cars stack up on cost? Well, let's see: ESMC sides: $23 (Brass Car Sides or Roberto Martari sides are similar in price) American Limited core: $12 (they've gone up, but I've got some stockpiled). Rapido trucks, $8. (Micro-Trains are similar in price, but include the coupler). That's $43 already, and I haven't included couplers (say $2.00), wire, paint, glue, glazing etc. In my view, the cars I build are of similar quality to an Intermountain car, and cost about the same too! Rapido cars may cost a bit more, but I confess they're even better than what I can make. Micro-Trains cars and Kato cars are slightly less detailed, but seem to be a bargain at $20 to $25 (a little less if you find a sale price). If I buy an old car and rebuild/detail it, it still costs me an additional $10 to $15 to do that. The point, for me, is that the cost of a ready-to-run car isn't out of line. I build my own when I can't buy what I want off-the-shelf, and (mostly) because I like building them. The time I spend building a car is a bonus - the whole point of the hobby is to spend time doing something I enjoy - but if there's a ready-to-run car available that I want I buy it and build something different. George
you said it..pure and simple....aint hard to figure out..the rich and powerful run this country...oil companys, insurance companys, and the like....our paid off politicians aint going to touch them......no morals left...just money
I havent read this whole thread....just the posts header question. I will give my reply and then go back and read the rest of the replies. The answer is plain and simple: Some modelers with deep pockets demanded more and finer details and the H_ _ L with the cost. The manufactures listened and decided deeper pockets prevail over the rest of us. The old adage is true: Money talks...all others walk ! JMHO...thnxs
