A new centerbeam offering: Jackson Railcar

[GaryHinshaw]

Here is one I did not see coming: a new centerbeam offering from Jackson Railcar:



What does the Royal We know about this company?  Is this an arm of Midwest Model Railroad?  I have some of their lumber loads and they are nice enough.

[MetroRedLine]

Ahh, you beat me to it! Was gonna post about this. I assume you got the Midwest email blast too?

Yeah, there's not much background info on Jackson Railcar; their website doesn't even tell us much.

Though it's a different prototype (a Greenbrier centerbeam) than Rapido's NSC version, it appears slightly less detailed than the Rapido, though still much more detailed than the old Red Caboose centerbeams. I'm curious to see how the ride height compares to the Rapido and RC cars. The price point is less than Rapido's, so I'm sure I'll grab a couple of these when they come out. 

[ednadolski]

Hopefully it will take the N-Possible coupler

Ed

[Ike the BN Freak]

Saw a flyer in Midwest when I went in today, but the flyer is lacking details just like the website.

Anyone know the era of the proto? Era of them, looking at getting some TTX but not sure if they were around in the early/mid 90s

[MetroRedLine]

Saw a flyer in Midwest when I went in today, but the flyer is lacking details just like the website.

Anyone know the era of the proto? Era of them, looking at getting some TTX but not sure if they were around in the early/mid 90s

From what I've read, the Greenbrier 73' centerbeam car was introduced around 2001/2002 and still run today.

If you're looking for 1990s era-appropriate centerbeams, the only ones that hit the market in N were the opera window and end-wall models that Red Caboose came out with (I believe the prototypes were made by Thrall?).

[GaryHinshaw]

Anyone know the era of the proto? Era of them, looking at getting some TTX but not sure if they were around in the early/mid 90s

I'm afraid not.  Here are some build dates I was able to find for the road names on offer:

NKCR - ?
WC - 2003
TTZX - 2006
NOKL - 1997
MWCX - ?
FURX - 2005
ATW - 1999
AOK - 2004

Good selection of road names for the modern era though.

[lock4244]

From what I've read, the Greenbrier 73' centerbeam car was introduced around 2001/2002 and still run today.

If you're looking for 1990s era-appropriate centerbeams, the only ones that hit the market in N were the opera window and end-wall models that Red Caboose came out with (I believe the prototypes were made by Thrall?).

The earliest deliveries of the Rapido NSC prototype we're in 1987 (CN) and CP (1988). Rapido's Trailer Train TTZX cars (new release), depending on the car number, date to 1994. One would need to be mindful of the car number however, as some of the upcoming release we're built in 2005.

[Ike the BN Freak]

Thanks guys, looks like an easy skip for me

[MetroRedLine]

Midwest has these in stock now. Soooo, who's gonna take one for the team?

[MILWcoastdiv]

I preordered QTY 3 and got them yesterday (10/6) To me it looks like they share the same truck mounting and coupler boxes as Rapido.  I assume its the same factory based on the similarity and timing of release. The underside details - brake rigging is definitely different from the NSC version.  They lack the coupler cut bars and air hose details that Rapido have but share the same coupler and lid design (even the unused cut lever hole on the lid).  Also the trucks don't have all the brake details that Rapido older runs have.  Both the Rapido and JRC use way too small wheels with oversized flanges.  I have a whole bunch of Rapido center beams coming, hopefully they didn't skim off the details that the previous runs had. 

[GaryHinshaw]

Interesting.  How does the ride height compare to the (1st run) Rapidos?  I have some on order, but it usually takes a few weeks to cross the border...

[MILWcoastdiv]

I'll take a side view pic of both end to end tonight and post.  I feel like there is a bit more space between the sill and the top of the truck on JRC. 

[MILWcoastdiv]

As promised - pics of Rapido (brown) v. JRC (yellow) for comparison

[N Scale Train Boy]

How's the titular center beam itself? I have a friend who picked up some of these and he said all of his beams were slightly warped to one side, so I'm curious if thats something across the board or he just got a bad batch.

[GaryHinshaw]

Thanks for the inputs.   That would definitely be a bummer if the beams were systematically warped.

The ride height looks fine, and I can do without some of the fussier Rapido details.  How is the weight?  Is the floor piece die cast like the Rapidos?