review on Browser spine cars

[ModernBNSF trains]

I have some unit trains. Am thinking of building spine car unit. I was wondering if anyone can give me info on Browser spine car sets. Can't seem to find any reviews . Are they durable? are they detailed enough? How do they trailer down track? etc etc

[7j43k]

I've got a bunch of them.  I have yet to run them "in train".  But I did take them out and set them up.  They are very nice looking, though the deck that goes under the trailer wheels tends to come twisted, somehow.  I haven't figured out how to fix that, yet, but I will.  I noticed it when I saw that the trailers didn't all quite "line up".

If you want 53' spine cars, they are your choice.  Your only choice, so you have to deal with the above problem.  Or ignore it.  If you want 57's, Athearn is your choice.  I think Walthers did 48's, back in the day, but not lately.

 

 

Ed

[maxman]

ModernBNSF trains

I was wondering if anyone can give me info on Browser spine car sets.

Possibly if you search for BOWSER on the internet, you might come up with some opinions, such as http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,2818993 and http://mrr.trains.com/news-reviews/staff-reviews/2011/02/bowser-ho-scale-trinity-spine-car and a video of them in operation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMKiG8laXVA.

 

If you search for bRowser, I think you'll come up with things like Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome, and so forth.

[riogrande5761]

For what it's worth, if your into 80's operations, Athearn offered blue box kits of the Itel manufactured Impack spine cars, which were sold to railroads such as Trailer Train, Cotton Belt, BN and others in sets of 4, 5 and 8 units.  The platforms originally could handle 40 and 45' long trailers, and were later modified to handle 48' trailers in the late 80's IIRC.  

You can still find these regularly on Ebay and also at train shows.  I recently acquired several sets for my Rio Grande Railblazer, which used spine cars along with the Front Runner and 89' TOFC flat cars.  The Itel Impack cars were used well into the 1990's according to what I've read.

Of course if you are late 90's through present, you'll want the Bowser spines, and there were IIRC other more modern designs offered by other manufacturers too.