Menards Milwaukee 4 bay hopper, same as Lionel?

[ADCX Rob]

Boyd

... I wonder if they were made from the same mold?

Different tooling, but, the family resemblance is no mistake.

The Menards car is a clone of the Kader/WBB/Williams car, which in turn was a clone of the Lionel car. Williams used to be "Williams Reroduction Ltd.".

[JTrains]

KRM

Agree, how cool would it be if Menards picked up the RMT line-up?? They could have motive power for all of the other offers they have as well as a great base to sell from. A layout in every store as soon as you walk in the door for the kids and big kids to look at and sell from. Kind of like the old days at Sears and JC Penny’s back in the days but they would not be getting them from a third party and would have more skin in the game.

I 100% agree - that would be an amazing way to attract attention to their products, and the hobby in general.  Would take some coordination to ensure it is set up correctly and is maintained - but I think it would pay for itself if properly merchandised.

[KRM]

Agree, how cool would it be if Menards picked up the RMT line-up?? They could have motive power for all of the other offers they have as well as a great base to sell from. A layout in every store as soon as you walk in the door for the kids and big kids to look at and sell from. Kind of like the old days at Sears and JC Penny’s back in the days but they would not be getting them from a third party and would have more skin in the game.

JMHO

 

[Boyd]

When I ordered my Menards Milwaukee Road 4 bay hopper I opted for the free ship to store option. I paid for it last Thursday and it arrived at the store Sunday. I even got tracking info through an email. I picked it up today. No side tabs on the couplers like most Menards cars though. Nice orange color that's not too bright like some Lionel's. I compared it to one of my Lionel BN 6101 green covered hoppers and the dimensions look identical. I wonder if they were made from the same mold? Menards has me hooked. I have 4-5 empty flat cars that sell for $7.99 each,, Blue Alaska flat car with lumber load,, Wisconsin Central, Feather Route and CN box cars. The offerings are getting better. I've signed up through Menards to get emails when new Lionel compatible trains are released. My local store said they would probably leave the trains and toy section up another 1-2 months. The prices of these cars are much better than other brands. 10 years ago my mom had a new in the box "Carport" from Menards that she never used. She told me i could return it and get whatever I wanted with the store credit. I got a Lionel Wisconsin Central steam set that had been marked down after Christmas. And that got me to get my trains out of storage and build a layout again. I'd love to see a DM&E Midwestern railroad type set with an SD40-2, green PS2CD high side C&NW hopper cars and mixed freight cars like I saw go through Rochester in the 90s.