Most ridiculous...

[Anonymous]

I'm engaged in an academic discussion, and would love additional input: In your esteemed opinion: What is the most ridiculous 027 novelty car ever made? IE - what makes even the esteemed aquarium car seem like a reasonable piece of rolling stock? The sillier, the more outlandi***he better...

[dougdagrump]

One man's trash is another man's treasure.
When you play with "toy trains" nothing is silly or outlandish, it's whatever floats your boat. [2c]

[nblum]

The King Tut car, which I have running around our Christmas tree has got to be way up there amongst the ridiculous and thus best such cars ;).

[Craignor]

My vote goes to the K-Line "President Bush on horseback chasing Osama Bin Laden on a Magic Carpet" car.

Whatever your politics, and I don't care to know, this was an extremely silly car.

Ni![:)]

[Kooljock1]

As has been noted before, the LIONEL Acquarium Car is based on a real-life prototype used by a Cleveland area attraction.

My vote would have to go to any of the AEC cars with the "goop" floating around inside. That, and the dump cars of radioactive isotopes from the Nuclear Reactor accessory!

Jon [8D]

[Jumijo]

K-Line alien cars. Let's hope we've seen the last of them.

Jim

[FJ and G]

Craig,

Surprised U didn't mention the acquarium car the Trackers use with real fish. I used to have a photo but can't find it and it's not on their website anymore.

[kopeck]

How about Lionel's Fort Knox car? Some how I doubt they tranfered the gold behind those big glass windows in real life. [;)]

[Craignor]

Dave,

You think the operating homemade aqarium car, with live gold fish, and a trailing flat with an airpump powering the airstone bubbler is ridiculous?

I think its very clever...and the visitors...both kids and adults get a kick out of it.

here are some pics I found:

[Anonymous]

I did not mean to pass value judgements on "silly cars" - I myself have just "invested" in the LGB "Finding Nemo" car (Aquarium car-like with Nemo and Dad jumping out of the top) and the LGB "Bubble" car... Trust me - I'm a firm believer that if it runs on rails, it has merit! I was simply curious as to which cars elicited a response from folks....

I had forgotten the alien cars... They're up there on the list, that's for sure.

[daan]

As mentioned before, the cars with floating aliens, and second the chasing saddam car. (Which I think is political incorrect, war shouldn't be a subject when talking toytrains)

[wrmcclellan]

I personally am quite happy with my new MTH SpongeBob brakeman car!

I am looking forward to when my MTH SpongeBob acquarium car arrives! Excellent!

[1688torpedo]

I think the Alien Cars are also silly as is the Elvis Boxcar!

[pbjwilson]

Come on, the alien cars are great. My kids always want the Area 51 set when I set up the trains. The colors and graphics are great.

The aquarium cars are all great. The halographic aquarium car is one of my favorites.

[Frank53]

THE OGR Hurricane Katrina car gets my vote. Yeah, lets have a car on our layouts commemorating a thousand or so peole dying and hundreds of thousdands displaced due to natural disaster. The intent was good, the method lousy. Morons.

[laz 57]

The Pennsylvania Fish Commision use to stock fish from railroad cars.Access the area by rail and then net the fish out to be stocked into the streams and lakes. The car was similar to the aqurium car but without the glass.
laz57

[Anonymous]

IMHO the most #65279;ridiculous car was the K-Line “Osama bin Laden” car.
BillFromWayne
www.modeltrainjournal.com

[Anonymous]

Gee Whiz, Bill.

When the Osama car was first listed I just HAD to order it! It fits my warped sense of humor to a "T". While I haven't run it yet I am proud to have one. Besides, ole "W" ketched him!

Tony

[Anonymous]

I do second the motion for the Katrina car. Nothing funny that I could find in it.

If I could figure out how to edit my previous opinion I wouldn't have to post again. Any help guys?

Tony

[Frank53]

there should be an "edit" button at the top of your specific post - along with "delete" and "quote"

[Anonymous]

Be glad that you have silly train cars and not just a boring list of container, waste and hopper cars.
I think that this what some Europeans (like myself) like in Americans. Creating, producing and actually selling makes the US.
I would state Silly Cars are an essential part of Americana culture.

When I first got a Vlasic Pickle reefer car in the 80's, I thought that that was the most extreme level of stupidity: who is running a car on his layout with advertisments on. A year later I got the "Old grand dad reefer" and was stunned that in the US they actually put the picture of a grand-pa on a train. Later I received catalogs with aquarium cars, mint cars and started to enjoy this typical American phenomena.
May be some suggestions from my side for future innovations:
-a Bill Gates self enrichment mint car
-a congressional passenger car with an exploding feature for your president candidate of choice that you do not like
-a Enron jail car
...

[FJ and G]

Thx Craig; I'm downloading the photo this time for keeps. People who see it are pretty amazed; and fish seem to enjoy the ride.

[Craignor]

Dave,

You are welcome.

I always wondered what became of the fish after the show...lunch???

Have to contact PETA.[:D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tonyh

Gee Whiz, Bill.

When the Osama car was first listed I just HAD to order it! It fits my warped sense of humor to a "T". While I haven't run it yet I am proud to have one. Besides, ole "W" ketched him!

Tony

Osama is still on the loose...it's Sadam who's bin ketched. Some flying carpets have stealth technology.

Bruce Webster

[palallin]

I've always felt the vaious cop-and-hobo cars were silly, especially the ones witht he truss mounted on top.

OTOH, I love the military cars. Every layout needs a defense force! My son and I have been known to fill gondolas and flatcars with troops, and pelt them with rolled socks as they run by us.

[Anonymous]

I recall the "Greendale" set generating a bit of heated discussion here:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=-1&TOPIC_ID=19832&REPLY_ID=182605#182605

Picture window boxcars transporting giant-sized football helmets? Please!

Actually, there was a prototype for the picture window boxcar. I once ran across an ad in a 1950's TIME magazine, featuring such a boxcar that Southern Pacific used for employee training purposes, to demonstrate that the railroad carefully handled customer's shipments.

As for the space and military trains, I think that TMCC was made for the reissue Missile Launch Sets of the past few years (with the add-on sound car, of course!) Nothing like firing those missiles from the CAB-1!

Lou ("we have target.....Fire!..Fire!)

[Cthetrains]

this reminds me of an article in Model Railroader about a decade ago..about Union Pacific..(I hope I don't get sued for posting their name)..attempting to use magnetic uncouplers on their real-life rails..it was an April-fool joke, of course..but whoever wrote it made sure it was so realistically detailed, it made a GREAT read..LoL

HEY..is that aquarium car still being used somewhere?..WHERE?...also..what ever happened to the eploding boxcars?

[FJ and G]

Well, the Capitol City Trackers did it again; this time in the renovated Roundhouse in Baltimore. In addition to the aquarium car, they had a rat in a gondola (perhaps representing a pachyderm????)

(wonder if the rodent was sedated? Ditto for the female guests)

[Brutus]

I love the silly cars! I bought two baked bean vat cars for my eventual layout - I intend to have them parked next to a gas station! One represents me and the other a friend of mine - the two of us once cleared a room after a meal involving refried beans etc.

Did anyone ever do a Crapsman Tools train car? That would be perfect to represent another friend of mine.

How about an apple sauce car? I have another friend who lives on the stuff.

[1688torpedo]

Hello Dave- Never seen a Rat in a Gondola. They must have bribed him with some Cheese or maybe Peanut Butter![;)][:P][:)].