JLK, your post was locked for some reason. Anyway I have several Accurail freight cars. I like them because they are inexpensive, easy to build, and their finish is dead flat. The couplers they supply are not that great so I replace mine with Kadee #5. Also, the wheels are plastic. I replace them with metal.
What a kit looks like.
Different kit, complete and ready to roll.
I like Accurail too, but I'm not a rivet counter.
In addition to Tashtego's improvements I also check the following:
1. They are a little underweight according to the NMRA. It usually takes an extra ounce or so to bring them up to the RP.
2. They usually require the use of one or two Kadee washers on top of the trucks to bring the couplers up to the proper height.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Accurail is one of the best companies going. Nice kits, unnumbered cars, and reasonably priced custom run equipment if you're so inclined. Might not measure up to a $30 exactrail car, but definitely worth the money.
I've noticed that they hardly ever come up when people bemoan the loss of shake the box kits. It's a shame, because they're far superior to an Athearn Blue Box.
They are the ideal next step up from doing Blue Box kits. More accurately detailed and not really any more difficult to assemble (although those tiny door latch pieces for the hopper cars....). I swap out the plastic wheels and install real Kadees and it's good to go. The detailing cast in, particularly ont he outside-braced boxcars, is really nicely done. I probably have more Accurrail cars than anything, expecally when it comes to hoppers - they made 6 packs, 3 packs, and singles allw ith different numbers and the 6 packs included coupons for a set of decal numbers so you could make even more.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I've got quite a few Accurail cars on my layout, and they're certainly not "Yard Fillers" as mentioned in an older post. They're nicely detailed for their price, and there's quite a bit of variety, especially in their boxcar types. They're excellent for 'filling in' the steam/transitional era rolling stock without breaking the bank, and they look good in a freight consist.
As other posters have mentioned, they perform better with wheel and coupler replacements (Kadee #5's drop right in, and Proto 2000 metal wheelsets fit perfecly). Though I understand they're about 1oz too light according to NMRA standards, I've never had a problem with that--so far--and I run long trains up fairly respectable grades.
There are certainly more detailed and expensive freight car kits still on the market (Intermountain, Branchline, and if you can still find them, the Red Caboose line), but Accurail is just fine in my book.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
I like the Accurail kits too. I just replace the wheel sets with Intermountain or Proto's. and drop in Kadee #5's and adjust the hight and add weights if needed. I have picked up dozens of kits and assembled cars at train shows and the "bay" for great prices.Great cars for the money and plentiful too.
Rick
Santa Fe - All the way! Missouri Pacific - Route of the Eagles!
You can install Kadee roof walks. They already have the corner grabs. Also not too difficult to shave the grabirons off & replace with wire ones. Great kits for the price. I notice they are now offering "Accuready" RTR. Hope that doesn't mean the demise of the kits.
The freightcars I have acquired that fall into this category (Branchline, Accurail, etc) all go through the similar drill: overall visual, truck replacement (kadee), coupler replacement (Kadee#58), brake wheel (kadee), walkway (either kadee or Tichy), and in the case of reefers, a whole make-over; hatches, etc, and also stirrups. They also get completely weathered, as freight cars were not usually candidates for the washrack. I like to really weather out the roofs, as they get the brunt of weather anyway.
Other freight cars-the "craftsman" quality (F&C, Westerfield, etc) all get appropriate trucks, couplers, etc., as they are pretty highly detailed kits. The only cars that I have that require different couplers would be tank cars. To the bestr of my knowledge, Kadee does not make a fine-detailed "F-S" series coupler. I wish they did.
EF-3Yellowjacket
jerryl I notice they are now offering "Accuready" RTR. Hope that doesn't mean the demise of the kits.
I notice they are now offering "Accuready" RTR. Hope that doesn't mean the demise of the kits.
Funny you should ask, Jerry. I had the opportunity to exchange e-mails with Eric Cote (Plant Manager/Artist for Accurail) yesterday about clarification on the correct orientation of the door closing mechanism on their USRA 55-ton hoppers . In the conversation Eric confirmed that they do indeed still plan on churning out kits. In Eric's own words, "Someone still has to!".
A dealer also said to me at a train show that I attended a couple of weeks ago that Accurail's RTR haven't sold well since their release (I think he used the phrase "Lost their shirt") so they will be sticking with their bread 'n butter - kits! And that's perfectly fine with me.
And, for those interested in up-to-date instruction sheets for any of the Accurail rolling stock, here's the direct link on their web site:
http://www.accurail.com/accurail/instruct.htm
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
So exactly which way are they supposed to go? It's too small to compare to the actual picture of a 55 ton hopper I have that has the same type of door lock. I'm sure at least half of mine are upside down or somehow rotated.
Randy,
Here's the .pdf link of the updated instruction sheet for the 55-ton hopper:
http://www.accurail.com/accurail/INSTR/2500.pdf
The new detailed view at the bottom does help clear up the orientation of the door closing mechanism. However, the door beam orientation is still a bit nebulous, IMO.
A solution would be to either include it with the detailed view that's already there or with the written instructions. It's hard to tell whether the flat side of the door beam points up to the underside of the hopper, or points down toward the track.
I've always been a fan too and except for the thick steps, they're great as is. I replace the wheels and couplers too. Intermountain and Kadee are standard of course.
Another line of simple kits I really liked for a long time is Bowser, though I wish they'd use some dull-coat on their boxcars as that finish is just to shiny.
Alvie
I loves me some Accurail. For all the reasons mentioned above.
I agree about those hopper doors. The March 2011 issue of the C&O Historical Society magazine has an article about the USRA twin-bay 55-ton hoppers that includes large drawings and a couple close-up photos of the door hardware that I found illuminating. They might be able to hook you up.
Sean
HO Scale CSX Modeler
I like Accurail kits. Sure, not all of them are exact matches to prototypes but they are economical and good looking kits and easy to build and upgrade. About 12 years ago I was going to work on a kit bash of the CF4600 3-bay hopper because with conversion to 4-bays it would make a nice stand-in for the Rio Grande CF5200 plastic pellet hopper and match it in many imporant ways. Eric Cote was kind enough to provide some parts to me for this project. Unfortunately my marriage took a dramatic turn for the worst and I had to pack up all my things and move out, and tear down my layout which was being built. So the project was never completed - my apologies to Eric Cote if he is reading this.
Now that we are seeing an unprecidented rise in new model prices (yes along with detail and accuracy) I wonder if Accurail kits will see a new popularity. Many of us have become statistics and fallen on hard economic times. It is ironic that while prices of new HO models are skyrocketing while our disposable income is plummetting. It makes me feel like the "golden age" of the hobby lasted for about 15 years ending in 2008. Anyway, again, I think models like Accurail will possibly experience rennaisance if we wish to fill out rosters and can't afford models at a price of $25-35 a pop on a very limited income.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
tstage Randy, Here's the .pdf link of the updated instruction sheet for the 55-ton hopper: http://www.accurail.com/accurail/INSTR/2500.pdf The new detailed view at the bottom does help clear up the orientation of the door closing mechanism. However, the door beam orientation is still a bit nebulous, IMO. A solution would be to either include it with the detailed view that's already there or with the written instructions. It's hard to tell whether the flat side of the door beam points up to the underside of the hopper, or points down toward the track. Tom
Oh, some of mine have that update sheet with the detail view - I still have at least half of them upside down. Even with the magnifier lamp it's hard to tell what is the square part that the wrench would get applied to.
Pretty sure the flat side of the door beem goes up. The Accurrail ones are asymmetrical, one of the other kits I have, I think Stewarts, just have a piece of L beam. I guess if I was trying to build a contest-quality model I'd worry about it but I need too many open hoppers to detail each one to that level. ANd for my next project I will need even more - there is no kit available for the early Reading covered hoppers so I will need to build them the same way the real railroad did - add a roof to a 55 ton open hopper. There are era-appropriate covered hoppers for many other area roads but none for Reading, and I can;t have every car in my cement plant be from a foreign road.
Yes I have the MR article on doing this :D. I'm trying to find an easier way - like maybe adapt the roof from a Bowser covered hopper to a Bowser/Stewart open hopper. Hmm, would be nice if Accurrail did a kit of this.... hint hint.
Hi!
I had a number of the older kits, including some "3 in 1" from years ago. The problem with them was the "stirrups", which were too thin and brittle and thus were often broken before I even opened the box. So, I sold off most of them. The newer Accurail kits are better, and more substantial, and with some KDs and wheelsets and a little Dull Cote and minor weathering, they look pretty good. Oh yeah, they do need some weight added.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
The only "3 in 1" kits that I recall are those from MDC/Roundhouse, but I too like the Accurail cars, as many are suitable for my late '30s era. For those unfamiliar with them, here are a few examples.
Stock car:
USRA 55 ton hopper:
USRA 55 ton hopper re-built with panel sides:
Canton 55 ton hopper:
9 panel single sheathed boxcar (these come with wood or steel ends with either wood or steel doors):
Standard Car Company (a division of New England Rail Services) offers a kit to convert the 9 panel cars to door-and-a-half cars, a common option in the '20s, '30s, and ''40s:
Here's their seven panel single sheathed car (also available with the steel/wood door and end combinations):
And the same car kitbashed to a double door version:
They also offer a very nicely-done version of the USRA 50 ton double sheathed boxcar:
An AAR 40' doubledoor steel boxcar (with a modified roof):
A USRA 40 ton double sheathed wood reefer (the icing platforms are from Tichy):
While it's technically too modern for my layout, this 1941 AAR gondola looks generic enough to make a suitable stand-in:
And finally, a car too modern for my layout, but built for a friend who's modelling more modern times, a 50' exterior post boxcar:
While the hoppers shown are pretty-well stock, the gondola and most of the house cars have had the steps and grab irons replaced with metal parts and have some added brake rigging. Some cars are factory paint and lettering, while others were painted and lettered to suit.
Wayne
All the ME&O freight cars ( except the Ore Cars )-55 ton hoppers--70 ton hoppers-40 ft steel boxcars--40 ft wooden box cars--stock cars --40 ft gondolas --40 ft reefers are Accurail
You can see them on my site on the freight page
51% share holder in the ME&O ( Wife owns the other 49% )
ME&O
rrinker tstage: Randy, Here's the .pdf link of the updated instruction sheet for the 55-ton hopper: http://www.accurail.com/accurail/INSTR/2500.pdf The new detailed view at the bottom does help clear up the orientation of the door closing mechanism. However, the door beam orientation is still a bit nebulous, IMO. Tom Pretty sure the flat side of the door beem goes up.
tstage: Randy, Here's the .pdf link of the updated instruction sheet for the 55-ton hopper: http://www.accurail.com/accurail/INSTR/2500.pdf The new detailed view at the bottom does help clear up the orientation of the door closing mechanism. However, the door beam orientation is still a bit nebulous, IMO. Tom
Pretty sure the flat side of the door beem goes up.
That's how I have them - i.e. with the end notches facing down.
The only other thing I do, aside from the afformentioned couplers and wheelsets, is replace the pin for the trucks with a screw. Too many times that thing has worked it's way loose on the layout and caused a wreck. The odd time it doesn't you are left hunting it down when you pack the cars away after a show.
Trynn_Allen2 The only other thing I do, aside from the afformentioned couplers and wheelsets, is replace the pin for the trucks with a screw. Too many times that thing has worked it's way loose on the layout and caused a wreck. The odd time it doesn't you are left hunting it down when you pack the cars away after a show.
I run quite a few of the ACF covered hoppers, every once in a while someone finds that pin on the tracks and I have to pull up the cars to figure out which one it is! From where the pin was to where the car is can be an obstacle course of mediocre trackwork, yet the cars never fall off the trucks. They'll all get screws once I get a round TUIT!
John
If everybody is thinking alike, then nobody is really thinking.
http://photobucket.com/tandarailroad/