Best N scale freight car of all time?

[GaryHinshaw]

This thread is an interesting blend of Talmudic discussion (what exactly did the OP mean by "best of all time?") and barroom banter ("That Bachmann car with the missile on it.").   ;D

Bryan's description of Kadee/MT's prowess (don't forget their couplers too) illustrates why us N scale veterans are so frustrated by today's MT.  But I still think back to those days in the 70's when you'd pull a string of Kadee beauties with a Mehano SD45.  Talk about slinky effect.  

[TiVoPrince]

Just as there may be some modern-era sitcoms that are considered to be better, "I Love Lucy" is generally recognized as the best of all time for the way it revolutionized the industry as well as for the quality of the show.

Arguably
'The Honeymooners' could be placed in the same category.  Ahead of its time, yada, yada.  Personally I would rather watch grass grow than any episode of "I Love Lucy".  But thats just me.

By the logic presented, championship racing cars of the past may indeed be superior to those of today.  Generally the current crop is more powerful, more reliable, safer, stronger and faster.  With some notable exceptions where innovations have been regulated/legislated out the series, later cars are almost universally 'better' cars.  As much as anything the later products are built on observation/testing/evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the earlier designs.

Similarly I find that the MT PS 40footer is not useful to me personally, therefore I find it difficult to label it 'the best' in the way it has been touted here.  While the model may have been revolutionary for its time, comparing the actual model to the current crop it falls considerably short.  MT may have made a leap with the introduction of the PS 40footer but that benchmark is routinely passed today. 

Time marches on and all things must change, standing still just gets you run over...

[unittrain]

It's is a hard call to make with the great stuff being produced by Athearn, Trainworx, FVM, BLMA !!! and  so forth. If I were to pick one I would say that it would be the Athearn ACF 2970 2-bay hopper or the BLMA and Exactrail PS 4000 hoppers. It really too hard to call with all the recent releases in N hopefully it continues!!!

[bbussey]

Arguably
'The Honeymooners' could be placed in the same category.  Ahead of its time, yada, yada.  Personally I would rather watch grass grow than any episode of "I Love Lucy".  But thats just me. ...

Similarly I find that the MT PS 40footer is not useful to me personally, therefore I find it difficult to label it 'the best' in the way it has been touted here.  While the model may have been revolutionary for its time, comparing the actual model to the current crop it falls considerably short.  MT may have made a leap with the introduction of the PS 40footer but that benchmark is routinely passed today...

Comparing a Model T to the latest BMW leaves the T considerably short, but that doesn't diminish its importance or innovation.  For both my New Haven of the 1950s and my Conrail of the 1980s, I have far less need of the MTL 40' PS-1 than for more appropriate boxcar models of other manufacturers.  But I still recognize its highly prominent place in the evolution of N scale.

"The Honeymooners" definitely is on the best-of-all-time list, no doubt.  But the methods and techniques developed by Desi Arnaz for "I Love Lucy," such as shooting with three cameras simultaneously, are still used to film sitcoms today.  "I Love Lucy" set the standard for others to follow, including "The Honeymooners."

Regarding the freight cars ... if just looking at the best "today" rather than "of all time" -- that's tough because the case can be made that over the last five years or so, more often than not when a new model is introduced regardless of manufacturer, it is the best at that time.  RC auto rack, Kato well car, Atlas USRA and ARA boxcars, Atlas tanks, Athearn tanks, Athearn Airslide, Athearn bay window, Bluford auto parts boxcars, Trainworx auto parts boxcars, IMRC milk car, ESM mill gon, BLMA CD4000 hopper, and others I'm forgetting - at the time any of these were released, you could say they were the best and not be laughed at.  So the best of the moment in the world of N scale will be a moving target for the considerable future, because the technology has reached the point where any new release easily has the potential to be the best.

[Ian MacMillan]

I have more Atlas 90 ton hoppers and Precision Design boxcars than anything. I like em.

[Nato]

  T VO  Hasn't ever viewed the I Love Lucy episodes where they return to NY from Hollywood,they drove out in a 1957 Pontiac. At the end of one episode Ricky books them space on the Union Pacific Domeliner City Of Los Angeles. The next episodes plot is the Racardo's and the Mertez's boarding the train and their trip interspersed with nice shots of UP Domeliners. (Spoiler Alert) Lucy keeps pulling the Emergency Braking Cord and this keeps occurring when Fred is in the diner and he keeps emerging with pie all over his face. The definition of "All Time" is hard to pin down as that covers cars from the beginning of N Gauge(now Scale) to the present. Best of all time might be the Kadee now MT PS1 Box car setting new standards for detailing in its day ,the InterMountain Cylindrical Hopper,setting standards for both kit and RTR cars in its day or it might be any of the new cars from ESM,Fox Valley, Balma, Exact Rail,or even Atlas and Athearn now setting detailing standards for present day. Nate Goodman (Nato). Salt Lake, Utah.

[brokemoto]

The recent issues of Atlas wood/USRA/USRA rebuild boxcars.   They must be the first N scale freight cars that did not appear to be on stilts when they left the factory.

[bbussey]

The Atlas USRA boxcars debuted in 2004.  That probably qualifies as the first RTR model to be at scale height over the rails.  The InterMountain 8k gallon tank is close to correct height, but was a kit first.  The IMRC 60' flat and Pfaulder milk car are from three or four years ago, and the current explosion of prototypical-height equipment started in 2009 with the BLMA Top Gon.

[sundowner]

I don't know what the best N freight car is right now, but the people over at Atlas, Athearns, BLMA, Bluford, DI, ESN, Exactrail, FVM, Kato, Trainworks, etc.... are sure trying there hardest to make sure we all spend money on it. ;D

[Freighttrain]

I vote the aurora postage stamp entire line of freight cars.Close 2nd is the 4 truck super tanker from atlas(Wish they would re-release that thing).3rd would be the super size 89 foot high cube box cars by I forgot who,then the FEMA re-education camp car that was posted above.Oh can't forget to throw in a vote for the Botchmann missile car.oh yea,the opensided postage stamp auto rack also should be mentioned.

[Brakie]

Guys,I don't know but,my favorite boxcar is  FVM 5347 boxcar lettered for Savannah State Docks.

Oddly these cars doesn't look any better then my Athearn,Atlas and IMs boxcars.. ???

[Bruce Bird]

Kadee 40' PS box- period.

Now a really GOOD discussion would center around what was your FIRST N scale car/cars- basically what intially brought you into the hobby.

From my first loop of Atlas track pulled by an MDT switcher:

Atlas 40' Morrell reefer and Pennsy 2-bay open hopper.  I still have both and they are part of my operational fleet on the WM72. 

Bruce
N-scaler since December 1971.

[Rossford Yard]

Frank Lloyd Wright's standard answer to the question about his favorite or most important design?

"The next one.....always the next one."

[DKS]

Now a really GOOD discussion would center around what was your FIRST N scale car/cars- basically what intially brought you into the hobby.