I'm about to purchase a few z scale items and I was wondering what you guy's think of Pennzee 3 bay hoppers? Anyone have any for sale? I would like to make a small layout with 1 or 2 trains to run on it, possibly 1 BN and 1 CP, headed by MTL GP35's. Does anybody have links to different online Z scale shops?
There are many but this one seems to have a really good Z products in stock. http://www.zscalemonster.com/z.htm
I buy from Z scale monster, fast shipping! And I think PennZee cars are just as good if not better than Micro Trains and they come with MT trucks/couplers
Hi Walt, Welcome to Trainboard! The Penzee hoppers are really great! I like the black BN ones with the big BN on them. You can't go wrong with an BN GP35 either! I had 3 of the BN but I traded one away for an NP painjob for my passenger cars. I still have 2 BN GP35's, and 3 that I modified into BN GP39E's plus 3 CP Rail GP35's too! Great choices!
www.zscalehobo.com www.4nscale.com www.zscalemonster.com I personally purchase from zscalehobo and 4nscale the most, but zscalemonster has a great select and very good prices. Btw, the PennZee hoppers are great.
I personally have well over 100 PennZee hoppers. In many ways, they are why I decided to stick with Z. I can't get enough of them. The BNs are pretty hard to find at stores anymore, but i think there are a couple of sets up on eBay right now. Dan S.
I agree, the Pennzee hoppers are very nice. If I have one complaint, it is the loads. Fortunately, Hay Bros Garage makes incredible replacement loads for them. The Pennzee hoppers may be hard to find. Pennzee only releases items sporadically. Zscalemonster is your best bet to find them. Full Throttle has just released their two bay hoppers which are incredible. Though older cars, the still can be run behind the GP35s. Rob
Rob, what will the coal porter have. I just want request that they have the proper coal profile. Most CSX and NS have the coal shape almost like a loaf of bread. It doesnt have bumps, but it almost have that molded look to it.
John, I am not sure yet on the loads for the coal porters. I know they are designed so you can run them empty. I am sure Hay Bros will create loads for them and they are big for accuracy. Rob
Hi Walt and welcome to the world of Z; I don't own any of the Penzee cars, so i will let the other guys fill you in on their experiance. As for online Z shops and places to buy, head over to zcentralstation.com for a good list of "links" for everything Z. this list is updated regularly by the members, and is always growing. the Z Central site is a great source of Z info, as well as the Yahoo Z group and of course this site here at Train Board. the sites the others have listed are all great, i like zmonster myself. Hope that helps... Keep on Znnn.... Tony B...
there are/were 10 (?) undecorated pennzee 3 bays on Ebay starting at $6 each. even if you paid up to $13 for each, you'd be getting a pretty good deal. dave f.
Hay Brothers has modern "flood" loads for PZ Hoppers as well. I think they have two different types of modern coal loads. For a brief overview of coal loading: <http://www.appalachianrailroadmodeling.com/abcsofcoalloaders.html> Dan S.
Dan, that link is exactly what I been looking for. I do have most of Hays brothers coal load, but its not the coal profile I am looking for, but they do look pretty good.
Try making your own loads. Cut a piece of foam to what ever shape you want and obviously slight variations are desireable. Paint the top a flat black, and nothing fancy. Then take some real ANTRACITE coal that has been beaten to a pulp with a hammer. It takes very light strokes to break the coal into fine granules. Sift these through a screen that comes with most powders the women use. Paint on Elmers at 50-50 on the top of the foam surface. Sprinkle on the sifted coal. Let it dry and do it a second time. Because it is real coal you get very nice reflections off the surfaces so it looks real [Of course it IS real]. If you don't have any coal merchant handy contact Karin as she sells it when asked. Material cost for one hundred cars is in the order of a dollar if you can start off with a lump or two. NOTE: The two original before/after shapes in these photos came with the cars, but do-it-your-self foam cutting works just as well. ...don
Do it John, i've been making my own coal loads for years. Dons technique is identical to the way i do them for marklin gondolas and hoppers. I use Woodland scenices coal sifed, and it also works well. I Like the hammer technique Don. Tony B.
Would love to know if Hays is going to come out with more coal profiles for the 3-bay hoppers - since they have come out with all the new loads for the new UW/FT 2-bay'ers. If so, that might make a lot of people happy.
