Micro-Trains releases January 2021

[Englewood]

Last year MT had a bunch of military train releases. This year it'll probably be TBOXes. That's fine, I need lots of them.

[sundowner]

About the TBOX

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[peteski]

I would speculate that the TBOXes are more labor intensive.

Well, passenger cars have body shell, underframe, weight, interior, 2-piece window glass, roof, trucks (4- or 6-wheel), couplers with retaining pin, and diaphragms. That's quite a few parts there.

[kscessandriver]

Well, passenger cars have body shell, underframe, weight, interior, 2-piece window glass, roof, trucks (4- or 6-wheel), couplers with retaining pin, and diaphragms. That's quite a few parts there.

Ever bought an undec of a heavyweight? They don't come assembled, but having just picked up my first few, even the first time I went to put it together, it didn't take me long at all. I'd imagine someone with jigs/tooling to do it could easily put one together in less than a minute (in terms of putting on the windows, couplers, diaphragms and trucks).

[peteski]

Ever bought an undec of a heavyweight? They don't come assembled, but having just picked up my first few, even the first time I went to put it together, it didn't take me long at all. I'd imagine someone with jigs/tooling to do it could easily put one together in less than a minute (in terms of putting on the windows, couplers, diaphragms and trucks).

No, no undecs, but I have taken MTL passenger cars apart many times. I was simply indicating that it has more parts than any standard MTL box cars.  I guess the TBOX requires more labor to assemble?  Still, there is a fairly substantial price hike on the BOX cars from the initial run.

[ridinshotgun]

Yes, that is the MSRP for that 3-pack. That is a bit odd, considering that these aren't weathered/graffiti'd, and the previous run of the 3-pack was $15 less expensive. Also surprising considering that the 5-pack passenger car set from this month is only $15 more than the 3-pack of the TBOX cars. 

And it will no doubt influence purchasing for some.  I know it will for me.  I could stomach it at $30 a car but now it will be pushing close to $35 a car.  Nice models, MT had done outstanding work and I would love to run them but I don't NEED them.  So in all likelihood won't be purchasing at the new price.

Same deal as the IM autoracks.  My purchasing power has not gone up to keep pace with price increases.

[basementcalling]

And it will no doubt influence purchasing for some.  I know it will for me.  I could stomach it at $30 a car but now it will be pushing close to $35 a car.  Nice models, MT had done outstanding work and I would love to run them but I don't NEED them.  So in all likelihood won't be purchasing at the new price.

Same deal as the IM autoracks.  My purchasing power has not gone up to keep pace with price increases.

TBOX will average out to about $33 a car at street prices for the 3 car set. Kinda steep. Wonder what if any of the increase is fire impact related on MT?  Or is it Covid related because materials are more expensive? Either is possible, along with them just realizing that they underestimated demand based on how fast the first run vanished from stores. My purchasing power hasn't kept up with cost increases either, but there seem to be plenty of folks willing to pay a premium these days for new items.

[nkalanaga]

Interesting video.  I don't need any TBoxes, as they're 40(?) years too new for my railroad, but the injection molding section was fun.  We do a lot of that where I work, and I knew the basics, but seeing how the mold goes together is something we can't do at work.  The manual inspection and trimming is very familiar.  We do the same type of work on our vehicle filter and manifold parts.

[CRL]

Good PR for MTL to produce this video of the process going into the manufacturing process of the TBOX. I was surprised at the number of “touches” required to assemble these cars and it’s pretty clear that’s a major driver of the price of each car. The more stations required to attach individual parts, the more they have to charge.

This is highly precise work, and I’m sure frequent breaks are necessary to keep the rejection rate low.

[peteski]

About the TBOX

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For reference, Bryan B. posted that video back in mid-November in https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=50906.0

There is also a current thread about the TBOX model: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=50910.0

[chicken45]

@Ed Kapuscinski @chicken45

Daymn.  That thing is TIGHT!

[wazzou]

Daymn.  That thing is TIGHT!

Not even a greased BB, lol.

[nkalanaga]

CRL:  Not to mention that the tooling isn't cheap either, and the small-part tooling is probably almost as expensive as the big stuff. 

[MetroRedLine]

Dangit, I gotta wait two and a half more months for the Red TTX TBOXes?!?!?! Arrrrrrrgh...

[sundowner]

For reference, Bryan B. posted that video back in mid-November in https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=50906.0

There is also a current thread about the TBOX model: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=50910.0

I am well aware of those two treads, I was just reminding people what it takes to built.