Bob Nelson
All Lionel all the time.
Okiechoochoo
Pete:
I have a "small fleet" of 42 2400-type cars that I've acquired over the years (don't ask me why, it just happened...) including all three varieties, some post-war 2400's, the MPC / Lionel re-issues, and the Williams reproductions. The Williams cars are virually identical to the best of the post-war 2400's with dual pickups and they run great paired with the post-war 2400's although the interior lights are brighter.
In comparison, the MPC and Lionel re-issues (including some of their recent cars with dual pickups) are gathering a lot more "box" time than rail time. I'm gradually refitting most of the earlier MPC re-issues with newer trucks with dual pickups and adding two ounces of weight to improve their track handling since the cars are very light and the truck rivets are not always as tight as could be.
Haven't seen if there are any changes to these cars since Bachmann acquired Williams, but guessing not. So far have not been dissapointed with any Williams product.
Hope this helps,
Mike
Bob:
I have been tempted to do that as well but was a little leary of putting a rectifier and capacitor in the MPC/Lionel plastic bodied cars with no metal frame (the post-war 2400's are great - as long as the track and the rollers are clean, have no problem with flickering). If the heat is minimal, please let me know and I'll give this a shot on the next few MPC/Lionel 2400's that come up for maintenance. Would a 50 PIV capacitor be the right thing to use or would this be overkill?
I'm not too worried about the internal wiring in the cars burning out since I have multiple track feeders and three 12 gauge bus wires running under the layout (one for variable AC, one for common, and fixed voltage for accessories) - but your point is well taken.
Pete: BTW, missed one of your questions - the Williams cars have metal frames, just like the originals.
Regards all,
steinmike wrote: Pete:I have a "small fleet" of 42 2400-type cars that I've acquired over the years (don't ask me why, it just happened...) including all three varieties, some post-war 2400's, the MPC / Lionel re-issues, and the Williams reproductions. The Williams cars are virually identical to the best of the post-war 2400's with dual pickups and they run great paired with the post-war 2400's although the interior lights are brighter.
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