Micro Trains Civil War Sets..

[DKS]

David,
 Which car is it because this shot shows plenty of clearance...

It's neither of those. This is the car with clearance issues:

Dave said some of the wheels were coming off . Maybe one or more truck is wider , that would account for the fall out , and the rod hit . Are these side frames glued to the bolster , and some are not seated all the way ?

The trucks are made the same way as any other typical MTL truck--a one-piece engineering plastic casting. The wheels are on the loose side with some a little more than others, suggesting the possibility of a slight warping issue.

Here's how the cars are assembled:

[robert3985]

I've tried the Panamint woodbeam and Owens archbar trucks:



And, while fragile, look good and run well (probably better with metal wheels but I ain't got none).
You can also get them with different bolster holes: screw, MT pin, etc.
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/panamintmodels?s=36

His link & pin set up looks better, too, though not quite "operational" like MT's.

Hmmmmm....Looks like metal wheels ya got there to me MC.

You'll note the Panamint trucks have brake hangars (prototypical) on the ends of the trucks as opposed to MT's, which are just open.  This greatly increases the strength and prototypical appearance of the Panamint trucks as opposed to MT's. 

Because the trucks are so prominent on the Civil War cars and they sit so high, the missing brake hangar details on the MT trucks really detracts from the overall "look" IMHO.

I haven't had any fragility problems with my Panamint UP "Q" trucks on my cabooses, and they do roll extremely freely with the recommended FV metal wheelsets.

When you go to Panamint's website, you'll note he makes a suggestion how to make his link and pin couplers work, and they look much better than MT's.

[SkipGear]

The wheels are on the loose side with some a little more than others, suggesting the possibility of a slight warping issue.

This seems to be a new trend with MT. The heavyweight passenger car trucks have the same problem. Some are fine, some the wheels fall out if you look at them crosseyed. I think somebody has not figured out how to calculate shrinkage rates of the plastic properly.

[up1950s]

[RWCJr]

Oh dear, have only ordered an Atlas 4-4-0 from Fifer to somehow fit in my transistion era ATSF layout, and here I am checking out Civil War era rolling stock. And right in the middle of working on a model of the ATSF Bakersfield roundhouse. Either too much pizza or Bacardi and Pepsi... gotta be the pizza, right?
Robert

[DKS]

Richie, it's very clear to me that you really, really want to own one of these sets... 

[up1950s]

Richie, it's very clear to me that you really, really want to own one of these sets... 

I already have had vested interest since Nov 2012 Dave and I await delivery with a more peaceful mind now .

4  152-00-010  Civil War Era Caboose: U.S. Military Railroad  $15.05  $60.20 
2  151-00-010  Civil War Era Box Car: U.S. Military Railroad  $15.05  $30.10 
3  153-00-010  Civil War Era Flat Car: U.S. Military Railroad  $14.50  $43.50 
       

[rogergperkins]

Attended a train show on Sunday, 17 Feb. 2013, and thought I might find a dealer with MTL Civil War train for sale.
Saved by the lack of supply. 
Thanks for the post of what I understand are Panamint = Eric Cox's 1850's cars.

[Gozer the Gozerian]

Geeze...how bout checking if the truss rod was pushed in all the way?...obvious looking at the photo it wasn't.  This may have worked it's way out or someone in assembly didn't push it down far enough.  Building thousands of cars, this may happen from time to time.  Link and pin is loose in the box.  If it is too tight then the box is pushed on too tight, this shouldn't happen because we have stops on the jig, but will check to be sure. If it is, just pry the draft gear box up a bit.   Ride hight is a little bit higher than it should be, but not by very much.  We had to be able to meet coupler centerline as best as possible for conversions. 

No, Smithonian did not contribute a dime for the project...we have to pay them for that fancy logo.

Not sure about wheels falling out, but all the ones I have checked are fine.  Doesn't mean that some of the frames may have been splayed out for one reason or another.  If it's too offensive, contact me and I will trade your trucks.  Otherwise you can take the wheels out and bend the frames in a bit and that should do the trick.  All dimensions were checked as are shrinkage rates...still stuff happens.

Joe
MTL

[rogergperkins]

Joe, thank you very much for speaking up!
The entire idea of US Civil War railroad modeling is exciting. 

[DKS]

Geeze...how bout checking if the truss rod was pushed in all the way?...obvious looking at the photo it wasn't.

You're right, it wasn't all the way in. Nor will it stay in; it keeps dropping out on its own. Guess I need to glue it in place? 

[Gozer the Gozerian]

Once you press plastic into a metal "press" fit the pin is distorted, so yes...it won't fit right now.  I will send you more underframes and trussrods so you can have your models "factory fresh"

[Sokramiketes]

Hmmmmm....Looks like metal wheels ya got there to me MC.

Look like shiny plastic MTL wheels to me.  They are gloss black plastic and tricking your eye.

[DKS]

Once you press plastic into a metal "press" fit the pin is distorted, so yes...it won't fit right now.  I will send you more underframes and trussrods so you can have your models "factory fresh"

Um... the pins on the truss rods fit into holes in the plastic shell. They do not attach to the metal underframe.

Just to jog your memory--



No need for replacement parts, since nothing has been distorted; the fit is simply wimpy. I will glue them together. Thanks all the same.

[loco-n]

Thank you Joe, it's good to have someone from MT who reacts and gives some Information (like Paul Graf from Atlas). My set should be on the way to Austria and I'm waiting to see the CW Set from  the South soon.
Franz