I have a question for some of you concerning club cars (or special run, whatever term you would like). OKNRail has been considering getting a special run car to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Southern Plains N-Scale Convention. We have been having some lively debate on the path to take and were wondering if there are any pitfalls that have been found by other clubs in doing this. Getting stuck with several thousand dollars worth of cars is a concern of myself and others within the club. Any suggestions/warnings/ etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for all of the input. Happy holidays!
Depending on who you order your cars from, I know you can order far less than 1000 cars. For example, LBF has a minimum of about 400 cars. I think Intermountain's limit is about the same. Micro-Trains' minimum is a bit higher, I think. I don't remember what Red Caboose's minimum order is. You probably want to get your costs lined up, and then determine what price you want to sell the cars for. The higher the price, the more likely you'll be selling the cars for a long time. Also factor in the lead time needed to get the artwork set up, because it will take longer than you think. Plus, the manufacturer has to schedule your project into their production schedule. For example, MTL gets a lot of requests for special run cars. Still, special run cars are a good way to raise money for your club. Good luck! Pat
Our club figured that we would do a historic prototype car instead of some fictitious paint scheme to mark the occasion being celebrated. That way the car will sell to folks who may not have any connection to the event. Especially if it is a car that has never been done by anyone before.
MT has a mini of 350 cars, also MDC. Atlas is 300. Bowser is only 100, which was great for me since I did the VARR hoppers, and made what I had "orders" for plus some extras. Be prepared to sit on some of them for a while. It also takes time to get the word out, the forums are great, but you want to be in the mags like NSR.
It may depend on where the market is for these cars. Collectors? Then Micro-Trains would sell best. If this would be a box car, you might also check with DeLuxe Innovations. They show basic info on custom runs at the web site. It's hard to imagine a prototype RR name that hasn't already been run by someone. If it's somewhat obscure, I'd think runners would not buy many. It would likely appeal more to collectors. Boxcab E50
