Intermodal trains (new to freight)

[simsuper80]

First of all, keep watching those Freight Train Production videos!

Second , I’ll piggyback on what Gary is talking about. There’s a big difference between the domestic and international trains in terms of containers. That would be the first decision I’d make. Still a lot of fake bonnets on the BNSF getting used in intermodal traffic. We also see a lot of NS on the BNSF getting used.


Jason

But as far as the actual well cars, I guess those are a bit limited? As long as the cars themselves are close enough it works for me. I'm not necessarily looking to do 3d printing or any custom work lol. Just anything that is available, even from ebay!

[GaryHinshaw]

But as far as the actual well cars, I guess those are a bit limited? As long as the cars themselves are close enough it works for me. I'm not necessarily looking to do 3d printing or any custom work lol. Just anything that is available, even from ebay!

Sadly, yes.  The #1 item, by far, on my current top-5 freight car wish list is 3-unit, articulated, rib-sided 53' well car set: either NSC, Thrall, or Trinity.  A similar gap exists in the 40' offerings.  Jacksonville Terminal is planning to produce a 3-unit drawbar-coupled set of NSC 53' cars, but those are visibly different from the more common articulated cars (and fairly easy to make from their single-car offerings).  I keep hoping they will take the plunge on the articulated set because their stuff is so nice.

Another thing to notice with the domestic traffic: these movements are governed by contracts.  At the moment, JB Hunt and Amazon Prime work with BNSF while EMP and Hub Group work with UP.  There are a number of other smaller carriers, but thse are the dominant ones.  UPS and FedEx tend to show up on both railroads.

[simsuper80]

Sadly, yes.  The #1 item, by far, on my current top-5 freight car wish list is 3-unit, articulated, rib-sided 53' well car set: either NSC, Thrall, or Trinity.

I know they may not be available but do they look like this?

http://www.nscalekits.co.uk/RWG33.html

[Scottl]

I sure wish Jacksonville Terminal would come out with more cars.  A 40' version of their NSC cars would be low hanging fruit as would the articulated NSC cars. 

The N Scale Kits 53' Trinity 3-unit is a nice kit, but my pewter castings are both bowed and show 3D line artefacts. Their version also seems to be a hybrid of the different phases of the car and the articulated joints are not lined up in a way that leaves the cars even or level with each other.  The decals included were so poor that I discarded them and made my own.  So I have a set of painted bodies on my workbench that are very unsatisfactory.  My previous experience with the 40' Gunderson 5-unit and the NSC 53' stand alone cars was positive, but as Gary mentions, the status of the company is uncertain.

However, the etches that come with the Trinity kit are very good (as are all of their etches) and I am now finalizing a 3D design for the Trinity car that will replace the pewter body with resin print.  The brake rigging is a mystery to me and I can't find any useful photos

After that, I hope the NSC and Thrall versions will be forthcoming but my first plans will be 40' 5-unit sets for international trains sea cans than 53'.  Stand alone Thrall 40' are my priority now that I have a viable 3D model and some Gold Medal Model walkways.

[James Costello]

Hmm interesting. Is it any different along the puget sound?

7idea have started putting up full versions of their awesome Blurays on YouTube, here's their take on Puget Sound:
https://youtu.be/Kwbf0TbtD30?si=8OITbxOTuT7e1mO8

[DirtyD79]

First of all, keep watching those Freight Train Production videos!

Second , I’ll piggyback on what Gary is talking about. There’s a big difference between the domestic and international trains in terms of containers. That would be the first decision I’d make. Still a lot of fake bonnets on the BNSF getting used in intermodal traffic. We also see a lot of NS on the BNSF getting used.


Jason

And on the flipside a lot of BNSF locos end up in NS intermodal trains too. Also in addition to the containers I've seen a mix of 53 foot and 28 trailers being used too. I'm an HO guy though so I'm not really sure who is making decent spine cars in N scale.

[pmpexpress]

I'm an HO guy though so I'm not really sure who is making decent spine cars in N scale.

Although the last production run was in 2018, utilizing the ex BLMA tooling, Atlas has previously produced Trinity 53' 3-Unit and 5-Unit Spine Cars.

While they can be pricey, the BLMA produced models can be found on eBay.