G scale train auctions double on Ebay for x-mas I notice that the amount of auctions for G scale trains has doubled for Aristocraft trains and nearly tripled for USA trains as the anticipation for those who are selling them are hoping that people will buy trains for Christams which has been a long tradition. In a sloped economic market, jobs being lost, homes being forclosed on and people in uncertainty that wall street will even climb back up again to fund their retirement you would think you can catch some heck of great deals on Ebay. this is not so, I shopped on Ebay today and noticed a big change in trend of how people sell now. Sellers are now selling their items under a "Buy it Now" only feature, which means there that is the price you pay, no bidding. They used to sell items with a start bid and a higher "Buy it Now" bid, but now noticed 70% of the items I saw were "But it Now" only auctions. To me this is no deal and why would you even bother to list things as only a buy it now on Ebay? I just like everyone likes deals, so I would bid on a auction with a low start bid before I even considered a "buy It now" auction, you just might as well sell it on the internet thru you regular store instead of tieing up Ebay. I did notice alot of Christmas Trains up for auction also. I also think in my opinion the USA Dockside steam locomotive is not moving as well as USA trains hoped it would, I see alot of these on ebay for sale every week, but at a $700.00 price tag I can see why. My suggestion would be to visit a good hobby store on the internet first such as St Aubins trains who would make and have better deals than you can get on Ebay from people who probably already paid a premium price so therefore can't cut you a break on Ebay.
G scale news October 2008 I guess the first news should be, whats up with LGB America? Well, if you remember in the last threads I wrote LGB was sold to Marklin trains, but they only wanted LGB Lehmann of Germany and was not going to honor the LGB of America contract. After that, LGB of America decided to open another branch and thier first purchase was to buy out Hilmans rail clamps. It seems now they have rights to sell other items such as Alpha Force models, Brawa, Bridgewerks transformers, Emek, Just Plain Folk, Motor Art and Noch. They most exciting news is that they are back to selling trains again.They are selling Piko HO and Piko G scale items such as the new Qwik Kit building kits and now G scale trains will be sold and marketed as Piko Trains and not LGB. This also includes Piko track. It looks to be Marklin trains marketed as Piko trains. USA Trains has a whole list of Christmas road named trains for sale this year. USA trains also promises more to come but leave us in suspense as to what. USA Trains is talking about making more Ultimate Series rolling stock from the 50's, 60's and the modern era over the next few years NOTE: USA Trains Facts, USA Trains started producing trains in G scale 22 years ago starting with woodside box cars. USA Trains did not make a locomotive until 1997 which was the EMD NW-2. The new USA Ultimate Series 1/29 scale ratio was intorduced in 1998 starting with the depressed center flat cars. In 2001 USA starting making highly detailed diecast lcomotives in G scale MTH Trains GG-1 is out, but is it too late? USA Trains GG-1 has been out way before, but in 1/29 scale, maybe those who want 1/32 scale will buy this one. Also a 2-8-8-2 trplex with proto sound is due out Bachman celebrates 175 year anniversary and has special box cars out in G, HO and On30 scale for the occasion. Aristocraft is coming out with special edition 100 ton Hoppers in the CSX roadname will be available in 6 road numbers with metal wheels and 6 road numbers in plastic wheels in spring 2009, A Burlington Nothern Aristocraft GP-40 will be out by end of 2008, Aristocraft GP-40 in Rock Island, There will be 2 bay Arsitocraft coal hopppers coming out in the Illionois Central name - 4 road numbers, Great Northern Name - 4 road numbers, and Milwaukee Road - 4 road numbers by feb 2009, USA is coming out with special edition GP-7 locomotive in the Rock Island name and will be out in summer 2009, There is 2 USA trains 4 bay 55ft hoppers coming out in the Golden West Service and Kansas City Southern, both having 4 road numbers each due by end of 2008. Make you calander dates open now for 3 great Large Scale ONLY Train shows. I highly recommend going at least once to the closest one to you. 1) March 27,28 2009 East Coast Large Scale Train Show York Fairgrounds, York PA 2) May1,2 2009 SouthEast Large Scale Train Show Georgia National Fairgrounds, Perry, GA in the Miller-Murphy_Howard building 3) October 2,3 Midwest Large Scale Train show, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Exposition Building, Springfield, Illinois. For more info on tickest and hotel reservations, please visit > www.largescaletrainshows.com Aristocraft will be coming out with a 0-4-0 Live steam locomotive in 1/29 scale ratio Phoenix sound introduces the all new PB9 bigger sound board in the sound department and it's capabilties but is 25% smaller in size than the 2K2 sound board which only needs a 3.6 v nicad battery which is 1/2 the size of the 2K2 battery, supposely the price is also cheaper than the 2K2 setup. Final note, it's getting near Christmas time, lets get a train around that tree this year.
More train show listings Here are some more train show listings. World's Greatest Hobby on tour > visit www.wghshow.com for more info The Great Train Expo > visit www.gtexpo.com for more info Greenberg Train Shows > visit www.greenbergshows.com for more info Chicago Great Mdiwest Train Show > visit www.greatmidwesttrainshow.com for more info
USA work train series reviewed. Most people don't give MOW equipment a secong thought, you either don't have it and don't want it or you have a couple of pieces that just sit on a siding. Well, I was one of those people until I went to one of many of the East Coats Large Scale train shows and saw one guy actually running a exclusive MOW train. I was really excited about the idea and was going to ebay my USA NW-2 since I had to reduce or elimate many yards. So I decided to run a MOW train myself. So today we are going to review the USA Trains work series which is a American series and is 1:24 scale ratio. The USA NW-2 cow and calf go great with the work series. Most of the earlier work train series came with plastic wheels, USA has started to upgrade these and my Crane and Crane tender have metal wheels. Even so, at only around $50 a piece, for another $12 you can buy the USA metal wheels and still be cheaper than buying a Ultimate series rolling stock. They come in battelship gray paint scheme which is typical of most MOW equipment, the graphics are nice, crisp and clear. The crane really operates with a hand crank, you can move the boom up and down, move the hook up and down, you can also swivel the cab, but doing so takes a little effort and you have to hold the crane down while doing this or it will come off the track, once it is swiveled it will stay there and you can let go. There are detents that you have to move the cab thru and lock it in place which I can understand so it doesn't move in transport, but a little more ease of operation would be nice. The tender comes with storage boxes which actually open and you can store small items in there, the door on this tender actually opens. The cars come thru with hook and loop couplers, but knuckle couplers are provided. There are small parts with all that you must install. All in all these USA work trains series is a nice addition to any railroad, but are now only being produced in one road name which is none other than MOW. I guess so you can put them on any railroad name you may opeerate which isn't really a bad idea. I was lucky and found all of the work train series in the now discontinued Rio Grande road name.
Train Modelers to pay UP royalties With Union Pacific buying up all of these railroads, now they have mandated that all train manufacturers have to pay a royalty to them and get a license to make a model in Union Pacific or in any other railroad they may have purchased such as Missouri Pacific, Western Pacific, Southern Pacific, Rio Grande, etc. which means you will pay more for these models. This in reality may not be a bad thing at all, but wait before you boo and hiss me, read on. I was in the car show world for 10 years and was a diecast collector for 8 years. It was hard to find Chrysler related items. Then one day Chrysler did the same thing as Union Pacific, that put a royalty on everything and you had to apply for a license. The Chrysler people like me were upset and mad, Chrysler actually went after every manufacturer who didn't have a license and shut them down making us Chrysler people even more disgusted. Then a BIG HUGE turn of events happened, there were more diecast models coming out than ever, Chryler actually got involved with each manufacturer applying for a license, checking the quality, the details and what we got as a model was better than ever seen before, especially in correctness. This also elimnated the conterfeit low grade manufacturers from selling us models that weren't best represented by Chrysler. I paid alot more for my G scale USA Heritage series locomotive due to the royalties, but it was worth every penny, the level of detail, the graphics, the paint scheme is awesome and am glad to have it on my layout. So, to me paying a royalty to get a good & detailed product in return is no big deal to me. I will continue on buying Rio Grande and all other related Union Pacific models.
Accucraft and AMS product announcements Hi, although Accucraft narrow gauge models are sold and marketed as "F" scale, I thought this to be such a gray area for the G scale section, but since we are now under the Gauge #1 section and narrow gauge "F" scale does run on #1 gauge track that I would announce new products coming out in both Accucraft G and Fn3 scale. For those who aren't familiar with Accucraft products Accucraft = 1:20.3 scale ratio Fn3 scale Accucraft AMS = 1:32 scale ratio G scale Accucraft AML = 1:29 scale ratio G scale 1) AML will be coming out with a USRA approved 0-6-0 switcher in 1:29 scale ratio in either electric or live steam, available in Burlington, Central of new Jersey, Pennsylvania, Union Pacific, Canadian National, B&O and undecrorated. Available winter 2008 2) AMS will be coming out with a Southern Pacific 2-10-2 steam engine in 1:32 scale ratio in either live or electric version, delivery winter 2008 3) Accucraft Rio Grande T-12 4-6-0 Steam locomtive in 1:20.3 scale ratio Fn3 scale in either electric or live steam, available summer 2009 4) Accucraft Mogul 2-6-0 steam locomotive in 1:20.3 scale ratio Fn3 scale available in live steam version only in the D&RG #27 paint scheme available spring 2009 5) AMS EMD GP-9 locomtive in 1:32 sacle ratio due out 12/08 6) AMS Allegheny 2-6-6-6 in 1:32 scale ratio is due out in 12/08
USA Trains promises new types of trains There for a while years ago, Aristocraft made the same products with the same railroad names over and over again. USA Trains saw the need for new products and road names. Aristocraft finally followed along after they saw the demand get higher for such new products and different road names. USA Trains promises more new Ultimate series rolling stcok from the 50's, 60's and modern era. What will it be? Thats a secret, USA Trains likes to suprise us and they have done a good job at it in the past. I can only imagine what could they be making projects on next, I can only put together a wish list. The first two items I would like to see them build is a EMD SD-9 locomotive and then a Cylinder hopper car that Aristocraft promised us, but never delivered. I would also luv to see a modern era trailer train car, but it would probably need to run on 10ft diameter track. I think a 2 bay center flow hopper car would be neat too, you could run those on a 4ft diameter curve. I could go crazy thinking of what I would like to see being produced by them, I guess we have to wait.
Accucraft getting more competitive in 1/29 ratio Accucraft seems to be getting more competitively priced in the 1:29 scale ratio G scale market. Right now it's only been USA Trains and Aristocraft who have pretty much tied up the 1:29 scale ratio G scale market, but look out, here comes Accucraft. Accucraft just opened up a division called AML or American Mainline for short. The AML series is being produced in 1:29 scale ratio, basiclly made of plastic construction, but with brass and metal details. They are coming out with a EMD GP-60 in 7 road names in the AML 1:29 scale ratio, but with a price of only $230.00. This puts Accucraft right into the comepetitive market with USA Trains and Aristocraft. The USA Trains GP-30 for example goes for around $200 and so does the Aristocraft GP-40 for another comparison. If Accucrafts AML division is just as dependable as their main division, they should be a great competitor.I would love to see Accucrafts GP-60 in the Rio Grande name. Accucraft AML also already came out with PS-1 box cars in 1:29 scale at a cost of $79 which really isn't bad compared to USA Trains Ultimate series 40ft box cars at $75 each. The Accucraft AML PS-1 box cars are again mainly plastic construction with metal wheels and high details. The 1:29 scale ratio market has definately taken off do to it's low cost and great products available while the higher cost brass products still seem to be made in 1:32 scale ratio
Trainboard now has a no vendor post rule Train board now has a no vendor post rule due to past problems. The only exception to the rule is you can post a vendor who advertises on train board. I have personally deleted all of my vendor related links and threads in all of my G scale sections. I unfortunately had to delete my EMD Trainmans resource thread. I will however continue to post the manufacturers links and names in my threads and posts. Please do not post any vendors or related vendor links unless they are a trainboard advertiser. Examples or maufacturers and NOT vendors would be USA Trains, Aristocraft trains, etc. Anyone who wishes to know what vendors sells what G scale trains can give me a pm (private message) and I will let you know that way. My private message mail box is open to everyone and I do respond
EMD Trainman opens up new albums Hi, I just thought I would let everyone know I opened up 3 train albums right here on train board. So, please take a look back about every week as I try to update one or the other. Album #1 is my scrap book of rail fan trains, these are photos that I took of real trains in my on going adventures, you can visit it here > www.trainboard.com/grapevine/album.php?albumid=244 Album #2 is reposted pictures of Rio Grande from the Rail Blazer site post right here on train board with permission of Mike the site owner, you can visit his site here at > http://trainweb.org/railblazer/ You can visit this wonderful photo album I reposted here at > www.trainboard.com/grapevine/album.php?albumid=248 Album #3 is my G scale collection which is also on going of being added to weekly. You can visit that album here > www.trainboard.com/grapevine/album.php?albumid=232
USA Trains billboard reefer cars reviewed Hi, today we are going to review USA Trains simulated woodside billboard reefer cars. These billboard reefers are USA Trains oldest production line and are now called the American series which is a 1:24 scale ratio. These are suppose to be modeled after the 32ft reefer car back from the day, but don't hold that to scale. If you buy one of these or more, plan on about 15 minutes worth of work, they are not really ready to run. You have to install ladders, grab rails which there is alot of and steps. These reefer cars come with plastic wheels, but are alot less than the USA Ultimate series which comes standard with metal wheels. The cars come thru with hook and loop couplers, but knuckle couplers are included. The graphics are sharp, crisp and clear. USA has a huge selection of woderful themed reefers with equally great graphics. These reefer cars actaully have working hatches if you want to put them under a icing station and real working doors unlike some of the Arsitocraft items. I believe in if there is a door or hatch on a model train, it should work, especially if it's big like G scale. These cars will run on a 4ft minimum diameter curve with no problem, but if you intend on running a string of 10 or more, you better consider going to 5ft minimum diameter curves as the locomotive will litterally pull the string right off in the 4ft curve section, especially in a half circle situation. All in all these are a great, very reasonable priced with good graphics reefer cars to add to any set, especially if you don't have alot of room. You can buy the USA trains m,etal wheel seperately. For more information of what billboard reefer cars are available, visit > www.usatrains.com
Review on Aristocrafts Gondolla car Hi, we are going to review the aristocraft Gondolla car which is 1:29 scale ratio. I own the first version which has the brass hand rails, the later ones now have black plastic rails. The cars come thru standar with black plastic wheels and Aristocraft knuckle couplers whic by the way will not hook up into any other manufacturers knuckle couplers. The Gondolla I purchased was originally a covered Gondolla. I took a boring gondolla, took the covered part off of it which was easy to remove and put a scrap metal load in it which makes it look more realistic. I also did not care for the raod numbers that Arsitocraft used which were the stock numbers for this particular model. I also wish Aristocraft wold come out with diffferent road names rather than making the same one every two years. I would really like to buy a Rail-Gon gondolla car, I think they are neat. All in all though this is a very reasonble buy and you can buy Aristocraft metal wheels for it extra. Aristocraft is the only manufacturer to make a gondolla in the 1:29 scale ratio G scale right now. In reality, no model train layout is complete without a gondolla, even if it's only one like what I have. I recommend running this on at least a 5ft minimum diameter curve
Review on the Aristocraft Flat stake car This is a review on the Arsitocraft flat stake car which is a 1:29 scale ratio. I pretty much have the same complaint on this flat car as I did on the Gondolla, Aristocraft used the models stock number as a road number. This also comes standard with black plastic wheels, but Aristocraft does have metal ones they can sell you for extra. This flat car by far is the cheapest piece of rolling stock you can add to your lay out. You will notice I never installed the stakes on mine, rather I installed a wood tie load for my MOW train. This car comes standard with Aristocraft type knuckle couplers. I also recommend using 5ft minimum diameter curve due to the length of this car. TIP: Here is a kitbash idea for you G scale modelers out there. At the Pennsylvania Railroad museum you will find a military 6 axle flat car there which was used for hauling heavy tanks. I think some of you experienced modelers might be able to take this Arsitocraft flat car as a start base model, extend it out some and then maybe install Arsitocrafts 3 wheel heavy weight passenger trucks under this baby to create a replica of the US goverment 6 axle flat car. Aristocraft does sell 3 axle heavy weight trucks seperately as the new Aristocraft passenger cars come thru with regular 2 axle trucks due to many complaints from people who say the 3 axle trucks were not reliable enough. This means if you buy a new Aristocraft heavy weight passenger car and you want relism, be prepared to buy the correct set of trucks for it seperately, but that is for another story.
USA Catalogs hot off the press USA trains just came out with a new 2008/2009 product catalog and let me tell you it's thick. I just got my copy today and it is well laid out. I will hightlight a couple of new products, first USA has a set of 25 different road numered Pacific fruit Express reefers to go with their new Prestiege series Big Boy which those who don't know USA products, the Prestiege Series is a new series developed 4 years ago and that series is mainlymade from diecast, but still 1:29 scale ratio. USA Makes the biggest Big Boy steam engine since it is a 1:29 scale ratio and the other manufacturers are only 1:32 scale ratio. The USA Prestiege series Big Boy measures 57 icnhes long with the tender and let me tell you they thought of every thing on this Big Boy, the butterfly on the fire box even opens up. Lets not forget they also make the biggest diecast GG-1 locomotive and even have one in the Penn Central road name, these GG-1 locomotives even have motorized pantographs that really has overhead power pickups in it. For you Penssylvania Railroad lovers, there is a real nice Congressional Limited passenger set which has 8 cars in a set, but you do need 10ft diameter curves minimum to run these big passenger cars. USA trains also came out with speeders for those who run small layouts. There is a Santa Fe PA-PB set coming out in the Santa Fe chrome paint scheme and also a Delaware & Hudson PA-PB in a chrome paint scheme. There will be a New York Central, Reaiding, Soo Line and BNSF road name paint schemes coming out on the GP-30 locomotive product line up. There is a Bangor & Aroostook, New York Central, Maine Central and Missouri Pacific paint scheme road names coming out on the GP38-2 locomotive product line up. There is one new road name for the GP-9 and that is the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo There is a few new road names coming out for the new S-4 switcher, Gret Northern, Western Pacific, Lehigth Valley, Boston & Maine, Milwaukee Road and Maine Central. Good news for those who love Canadian road name trains, USA has you covered big time this time around. There are 12 different Alberta 4 bay grain cars available alond with 4 different road names in Canadian National, CP Rail, Canada, CPWX and Canadian Pacific all in the 55ft hopper cars. These hopper cars will run on a 8ft minimum curve even in a long string with no problems, I know I run them. There are some new container names coming out for those neat articulated intermodal cars which need a 10ft curve minimum. There is Pacer Stacktrain, Scheneider, Sinotrans, CMA/CGM, NOL, NYK, Hamburg, CN intermodal, P&O Nedlloyd, and CP Ships. There is a Union Pacific Express 50ft double door box car coming out Don't forget the all New American series Ore Car was relased this year in 1:24 scale ratio available in 4 raod number for each road name and there is 20 different road names available including 2 Canadian road names USA also has reissued a Crane and crane tender in the Pennsylvania, Sata Fe, New York Central and Great Northen road names, take advantage now if you want one, they never last long, trust me. I left the biggest news for last, a whole new entire product coming out. USA plans on a Center Cupola Caboose and so far have 23 different road names planned for it. TIP: Remember, don't be upset if USA hasn't made the train you want yet if you don't take the time to fill out the surveys that come with their products. They rely heavily on these surveys on what the next product they make should be, so get involved and fill them out. For those who want their own catalog can request them here at > www.usatrains.com Please remember, they are not free unless you are a big customer.
Reviewed: USA GP-30 Hi, I'm going to review the USA EMD-GP-30. The USA GP-30 is the Ultimate series 1:29 scale ratio featuring lighted detail interior and full lit number boards along with the exterior lights, It also has constant voltage lighting for slow operations. The details and paint graphics are great and the 2 units I bought ran great right out of the box. These units also feature traction tires and pick up shoes whcih I think has a great advantage for picking up track power. One of these locomootives will handle around 30 to 50 cars depending on the weight, but don't stress it out constantly like that, go ahead and run a double header. There are buttons to turn the lights off, or to just turn the motor off and to turn off the smoke units and the other is for sound if so equipped. The USA GP-30 looks just like the real thing, although there may be a few variances between railroad names as how close it is to the real thing. I have GP-30 Rio Grande locomotives #3014 and #3017 lashed together, imagine my suprise to find a picture of these same two lashed up together on the internet. Special Note: Rio Grande GP-30 #3014 was in a wreck in 1968 and rebuilt by EMD. Rio Grande #3014 still survives today on Cimarron Valley railroad, it is now in a blue paint shceme, but still has Rio Grandes unit number of 3014 on it.. For those rivet counters that complain that 1:29 scale ratio is not a approved scale ratio to NMRA in G scale, it sure has won the Model Railroaders readers choice award. This means to me, it might not have NMRA aprroval, but that people in general liked it and since they are the buyers, I always go with the public people since they work hard for their money. USA EMD GP-9 > Awarded Readers Choice by Model Railroader
Reviewed: USA Center Beam car Hi, I'm going to review the USA Center Beam car. The USA center beam flat car is the American series which is a 1:24 scale ratio. But even at that, don't bother getting your protractors out to see how close it comes to a real 89ft center beam car. USA made these center beam cars with the G scaler in mind knowing not everyone can run 20ft diameter curve track and made these to negotiate a 5ft diameter track. However, they look just like a real center beam car. The pallet wood load is available seperately in a few manugacturer names, but be warned, loading these cars up with the USA pallet load makes them real heavy. If you are running a suspended ceiling system I highly recommend not loading them at all. You have to install the little wood strips under the load which is a pain because the nails are so small. The pallet load does not stay in place when the train is in motion, so I glued mine to the floor. The cars come thru with hook and loop couplers, but come with a knuckle coupler kit inside each box. These also come thru with plastic wheels, so add another $12 to convert to metal wheels which USA does sell seperately. All in all I really like these cars, although not prototypical to scale, they look real enough to me and thats all that matters.
Reviewed: USA Pipe load flat car Hi, This is a review on the USA Trains Pipe Load Flat Car which is a American series 1:24 scale ratio. Again, don't bother with your sale ratio conversion card and protractor as this is not to scale. The purpose of USA making this series is to have a realistic looking piece of rolling stock, but without it's long size so the average G scaler who runs 8ft diameter curves or less can run such rolling stock with no problems. This particular car is based on a bulk head flat car, the pipes are real PVC plumbing pipe that is used which is chained down.The cars come thru with plastic wheels, but metal wheels are available seperatly thru USA for around $12 to convert the entire car. They also come thru with hook and loop couplers attached, but knuckle couplers are included in a kit bag. You have about 10 minutes worth of work installing grab rails, other than that you are ready to go. These cars will negotiate a 5ft diameter curve with no problem. These are real nice looking and sturdy cars.
USA Trains gets awards for products Congradulations to USA Trains for a job well done. Although the NMRA won't approve of 1:29 scale ratio in G scale, common people like me and you have showed appreciation towards the USA product line up. Below listed USA Trains have all won the Readers Choice Award from Model Railroader USA J1e Hudson Steam locomotive in the Prestiege Diecast series USA EMD GP-30 in the Ultimate Series USA EMD GP-7 & GP-9 in the Ultimate series USA Aluminum Passenger Car in the Ultimate Series USA 70 Ton 3 bay coal hopper in the Ultimate series USA 10,000 gallon tank car in the Ultimate Series 40ft Refrigerator car in the Ultimate Series Again, job well done for USA Trains Now for I want to give out my own EMD Trainman award to one of USA locomotives. My EMD Trainman Award pick for best USA locomotive is the USA EMD F-3. The reason why I picked the USA EMD F-3 is because I think USA trains captured the shape and the looks of the F-3 well. Although some would say it's too delicate and fragile to handle, well it is, so leave it on the track, if you need to lift it up, follow the instructions or buy a locomotive caddy. I bought my USA F-3 locomotives brand new in 2000. You want to talk about a dependabilty test, how about 5 years of 10 hour weekends every week, the next 3 years of 10 hour weekends every 6 months and the locomotives still have all the original parts on them. The USA F-3 locomotives were the first to have constant voltage lighting in the history of G scale period. I own 2 sets of AB Rio Grande locomotives and they perform so well, I can leave them alone and not have to worry about a break down. Out of all of the F units I like the EMD F-3 best. EMD Trainmans locomotive award winner > USA EMD F-3
Reviewed: USA Piggyback flat cat I'm going to review the USA piggyback flat car which is the American series 1:24 scale ratio. You don't need your protractor or scale conversion card to see this is no where near prototype, but again USA makes the American series cars for those G scalers who can't have 20ft diameter curves. The USA piggyback flat car will negotiate a 5ft diameter curv e with no problem. It comes with plastic wheels, but metal ones in either silver or black is available from USA trains. There is working ramps, a retractable 5th wheel and a high detailed trailer. The trailer is modeled after a 50's era 40ft box trailer which you will notice a round front and round wheels on the landing legs. Todays trailers are at least 53ft long, have flat front ends and flat feet for landing legs, I should know since I have been a truck mechanic for 20 years. The trailer itself has real rubber tires and doors that actually really open. It would have been nice if USA made a tractor to go along with these seperately. This piggyback flat car is very well balanced I must say when the trailer is on board, I never had a mishap with a trailer tiping over. All in all this is a nice addition to any G scale layout. TIP: I have see kitbashers take 2 of these USA piggyback flat cars and make on piggyback flat like the prototype, but be warned, 20ft curves are needed if you do so. It does look neat when they are done however to see a G scale piggyback with 2 full size trailers on it. TRIVIA QUESTION: Where did the word 5th wheel come from? ANSWER: The word 5th wheel came from all the way back in the late 20's when Ford took the Model T and put a round attachment plate on the back frame rails to attach trailers with. The truckers who drove them nick named those plates a "5th wheel" because the model T have 4 wheels and it look like it had a 5th one on the back since it was also round. The name has stuck since.
How well do the GP30's run? Are they power hogs?? Have a set of Aristo GP40's, Airwire/sound that run great. Use an MTH Z-4000 for power. Run straight AC, but also have a 12 amp bridge rectifier for DC ops, as needed. Have not had problems yet! I've been thinking of getting a set, Rio Grande of course! And eventually converting to Airwire control and sound. Gonna run the GP40's with freight train and a USA Rio Grande ALCo PA-1 next Sunday. Taking part in the BMRC - Boulder Model Railroad Club - 31st annual train show. Thanks.
