Photos of Trainworx NACC PD3000 Hopper

[sirenwerks]

One would think a demo car would be the first car(s) built, since they would be a sales tool.  The fact that the NAHX cars pre-date the demo is a head scratcher to me.

[tom mann]

They appear to be the clones of the BLMA ASF Ride-Control 100-ton trucks.  The contractor in China has been making them available to other customers.

Wow, Craig must be pleased!

[ljudice]

This looks like a nice model and I'm in for a CEFX and PPGX car....

It seems as if it would have made sense to do the roman and stencil NAHX though because that's the car that I see most often.

[bbussey]

One would think a demo car would be the first car(s) built, since they would be a sales tool.  The fact that the NAHX cars pre-date the demo is a head scratcher to me.

I don't know if they are "demo" cars per se, as opposed to "advertising" cars with the company graphics.  There are photos of the cars in the "demo" scheme decades after they were introduced, where it's clear that the deco application on those particular cars is not decades old.
 

[bbussey]

Wow, Craig must be pleased!

No doubt.  The contractor is knocking off the MTL #1015 also.  Some of the cars currently on the market have the clone 1015s, but you can't tell easily by looking at them.  The only difference I've noticed visually is that the trip pin edges are cleaner and the blackening is more even.  I haven't seen a difference performance-wise, although I've been told that they take slightly more push to couple than the MTL originals.  You can tell if the couplers are originals or clones on the models by whether or not there is a gold foil MTL sticker on the jewel box.

[RioGrandeRod]

I think the generic NAHX and Whitewater cars will be in the next run.

[Ike the BN Freak]

No doubt.  The contractor is knocking off the MTL #1015 also.  Some of the cars currently on the market have the clone 1015s, but you can't tell easily by looking at them.  The only difference I've noticed visually is that the trip pin edges are cleaner and the blackening is more even.  I haven't seen a difference performance-wise, although I've been told that they take slightly more push to couple than the MTL originals.  You can tell if the couplers are originals or clones on the models by whether or not there is a gold foil MTL sticker on the jewel box.

Ah China, the land of knock offs that look exactly the same but the Chinese courts will say they are different.  Like the Chinese knock off of the BMW X5, which BMW sued over and lost because its not the same.

[cv_acr]

I don't know if they are "demo" cars per se, as opposed to "advertising" cars with the company graphics.  There are photos of the cars in the "demo" scheme decades after they were introduced, where it's clear that the deco application on those particular cars is not decades old.

Here's a couple of scuzzy ones in the 1990s:

http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=nahx93279&o=northamerican
http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=nahx93334&o=northamerican

[Craig Martyn]

No doubt.  The contractor is knocking off the MTL #1015 also.  Some of the cars currently on the market have the clone 1015s, but you can't tell easily by looking at them.  The only difference I've noticed visually is that the trip pin edges are cleaner and the blackening is more even.  I haven't seen a difference performance-wise, although I've been told that they take slightly more push to couple than the MTL originals.  You can tell if the couplers are originals or clones on the models by whether or not there is a gold foil MTL sticker on the jewel box.

Some assumptions going on here...

The truck in question is in fact a BLMA design made available to other manufacturers.  In the case of Trainworx, Pat isn't acknowledging this fact for whatever reason, but the truck did start as a BLMA product. 

Bryan:  Note that Micro-Trains offers a small discount IF you add their supplied, gold foil labels.  We have never given space to the sticker on our packaging, but we've always used MT's product.  It's not a cut and dry, 'if, then' blanket statement.

Just another day in the business of manufacturing model trains!   

[Kisatchie]

No doubt.  The contractor is knocking off the MTL #1015 also.  Some of the cars currently on the market have the clone 1015s, but you can't tell easily by looking at them....

I wonder if Micro-Trains is aware of that. They ought to have Customs seize the rip-offs and crush 'em with a steamroller.


Hmm... or just let Kiz
sit on 'em...

[sizemore]

No doubt.  The contractor is knocking off the MTL #1015 also.  Some of the cars currently on the market have the clone 1015s, but you can't tell easily by looking at them.  The only difference I've noticed visually is that the trip pin edges are cleaner and the blackening is more even.  I haven't seen a difference performance-wise, although I've been told that they take slightly more push to couple than the MTL originals.  You can tell if the couplers are originals or clones on the models by whether or not there is a gold foil MTL sticker on the jewel box.

I've seen this on the Rapido passenger cars. The couplers exhibited the same issues and I promptly replaced them with Direct-From-The-Mint 1015/16's with no issues since. The coupler box material is also mottled and flat compared to the MT shiny delrin look.

The S.

(*corrected to be PC and not offend with my tongue in cheak name, my apologies)

[JoeD]

Wish we could do that...but stand by, you will be surprised what they are poised to do to the market with knock offs.  Craig has allowed use of his truck, but I understand other manufacturers products are being copied and offered as genuine in other markets where there is less oversight.  Way back in the 80's I worked for a major toy manufacturer and on a trip to China found a second plant across the alley producting the same product with our tooling being sold to the european and asian markets.  I doubt that kind of practice has died out.  As for our coupler, our patent ran out and we are at the mercy of the general market place on our old generation products. I know several manufacturers have abandoned MTL products for these copies and wether or not they have success with them or believe saving a few dollars supporting this practice is worth it has yet to play out.  Obviously I have a personal stake in this, but question supporting chinese knock offs...improvements, sure,  new designs, great...but to take an exsiting product and copy it with nothing more than, as Bryan notes...better blackening on the trip pin...is unsettling.  It's couplers today, tomorrow it may be Bryan's Mill gon, or an Atlas engine or BLMA's Reefer...I've seen this play out in the Toy industry and it ain't pretty...and it's coming.

Joe

Joe

[seusscaboose]

although I've been told that they take slightly more push to couple than the MTL originals. 

interesting.

[Denver Road Doug]

The truck in question is in fact a BLMA design made available to other manufacturers.  In the case of Trainworx, Pat isn't acknowledging this fact for whatever reason, but the truck did start as a BLMA product.

So are you saying that Trainworx has properly licensed the use of this truck's design then?   (and that as such he could state "BLMA Trucks" as a feature?)

[lock4244]

Wish we could do that...but stand by, you will be surprised what they are poised to do to the market with knock offs.  Craig has allowed use of his truck, but I understand other manufacturers products are being copied and offered as genuine in other markets where there is less oversight.  Way back in the 80's I worked for a major toy manufacturer and on a trip to China found a second plant across the alley producting the same product with our tooling being sold to the european and asian markets.  I doubt that kind of practice has died out.  As for our coupler, our patent ran out and we are at the mercy of the general market place on our old generation products. I know several manufacturers have abandoned MTL products for these copies and wether or not they have success with them or believe saving a few dollars supporting this practice is worth it has yet to play out.  Obviously I have a personal stake in this, but question supporting chinese knock offs...improvements, sure,  new designs, great...but to take an exsiting product and copy it with nothing more than, as Bryan notes...better blackening on the trip pin...is unsettling.  It's couplers today, tomorrow it may be Bryan's Mill gon, or an Atlas engine or BLMA's Reefer...I've seen this play out in the Toy industry and it ain't pretty...and it's coming.

Joe

Joe

Wasn't it this exact type of shenanigans, exactly copying an existing product, that lead to MTH vs. Lionel?