Walthers N Articulated Thrall Well Cars

[nscaler711]

Just recieved the New Walthers Articulated Thralls and while there isnt anything new persay, the wells are the same as the previous versions and it still has the same walkways, but they did get a major upgrade imho. New trucks and couplers! Granted they are of Atlas nature but still a big step up from the ugly walthers trucks.
The paint on the SFLC and TTX cars I have recieved is smooth, and even. The lettering is small and legible under magnification as well.
The truck pins are the same hex shaped (garbage) design as on the previous runs and other rolling stock as well.
Because the trucks are Atlas the cars roll smoothly. So far the cars will navigate a 12" curve with no problems.
I have left a string of them running around a uneven surface (carpet as I am doing this test from my girlfriends house.  ) for about 4 hours now and have not had any issues with the cars coming apart or the Accumate couplers failing. The wells are 48' and I have put just about every manufactures 48' Containers in the cars with no problems.
They are nice and heavy so you dont need to worry about weighting your containers for these cars as they are (still) diecast metal.

I really like these cars even if they are a tad oversize, as in the walls are too thick and possibly too long as well.
They also ride a little high, but some BLMA 100t trucks will help that out, and has on my older ones.

Anyway I took some photos....

[jagged ben]

Now just spend some time with your Dremel and the Gold Medal Models walkway detail set, and they'll look as good as they run.   

An alternative to BLMA trucks would be some modified Kato 125 ton trucks.  It's a little more involved but they are the correct trucks.

[nscaler711]

Yeah thats next on my list!
As for the Kato trucks, i dont see any way that they can be modified without them losing their structural integrity.
So my plan is to use BLMA 100t on the intermediates and 70t with three springs on the ends to give it a more right feel.
As for the wheels, Kato is the only manufacturer i have seen that use 38" wheels, so far no one else makes them. So i would have to use 36" and 33" instead of the 38" and 36" that is on the proto.
But that is perfectly fine with me as I mainly just like watching trains roll around anyway.

[ednadolski]

I remember having given up on these years ago because of the ride height.  But with the BLMA trucks it might be worth re-visiting.  A belt or disc grinder should make short work of taking off the cast-on metal parts.  A bit more ambitious would be to replace the load guides with some 3D printed parts.

And of course, it needs the TSC coupler in Jason's printed coupler pocket 

Ed

[tehachapifan]

I still run my TTX 5 unit set from a way earlier run all the time. Despite being a little basic on detailing, these things look reasonably good and are pretty darn tough! Had a derailment the other day sending a well to the cement floor. The only damage I could find was a slight paint scrape on the top of two of the brake gear details (phew!).

[jagged ben]

...
As for the Kato trucks, i dont see any way that they can be modified without them losing their structural integrity.
...

You remove the upper section of the Kato truck and install some kind of post in the middle with the similar diameter as a typical truck kingpin.  Another thing I'll try to post a pic of if I get some time.  It's not a problem structurally.    BLMA will look about as good though. 

[nscaler711]

Ok so i took some more photos, this time with the old release, to my modified sets and the new release.
First the old release height. Wish i could measure it for you guys...


The new release,




The modified version with BLMA on the intermediate trucks and Atlas/ MTL on the ends (used what ever i had laying around at the time.)





Now a comparison versus the old and modified.




Also the New and Modified.


BLMA shot.


I also used a silver sharpie to bring out the walkways. Kinda hides the screw a tad...



I know there is a lot that can be done to make these look halfway decent, but the BLMA trucks sure do make it look a lot better imho. I also love that i can just run a string of these and the singles empty. Try that with Athearn/Roundhouse or even Kato, and those are metal as well. 

[James Costello]

They're now even more over-priced, and I just can't stomach it. I was buying TT and TTX run-outs from Walthers for years so $100 list / $75-80 street is just outrageous for 20 year old cars with token improvements. Plus GMM upgardes and new trucks and couplers.

FWIW, the comparable DeLuxe Maxi-IIIs were $95 list at last run - complete with body mounted MTLs, etched metal details and an acceptable ride height.

For the amount of work involved to turn these into something decent, I think I'd rather start with a blank slate and wait for the forthcoming release of the N Scale Kits products. I have enough of these stashed away that already will require far too much work. The NSK kit will also be easier to do the 40'/48' SFLC version that it would be nice to have in the roster....

[nscaler711]

You remove the upper section of the Kato truck and install some kind of post in the middle with the similar diameter as a typical truck kingpin.  Another thing I'll try to post a pic of if I get some time.  It's not a problem structurally.    BLMA will look about as good though.

I just looked up the 125t truck on Kato parts... yeah $7 per truck and like $14 shipping... have 5 sets at the moment, so thats 4 trucks per set which is 20, multiply that by 7 and I get $140... yeah theres no way Im doing that, atleast when the bulk pack of blma 100t 10 pairs comes out it'll be closer to $60. Lol

I would still like to see how you have done it though!

[nscaler711]

They're now even more over-priced, and I just can't stomach it. I was buying TT and TTX run-outs from Walthers for years so $100 list / $75-80 street is just outrageous for 20 year old cars with token improvements. Plus GMM upgardes and new trucks and couplers.

FWIW, the comparable DeLuxe Maxi-IIIs were $95 list at last run - complete with body mounted MTLs, etched metal details and an acceptable ride height.

For the amount of work involved to turn these into something decent, I think I'd rather start with a blank slate and wait for the forthcoming release of the N Scale Kits products. I have enough of these stashed away that already will require far too much work. The NSK kit will also be easier to do the 40'/48' SFLC version that it would be nice to have in the roster....

I paid closer to $30 to the old runs, and $60 each for the new ones. As far as the DI ones go... not a chance. I have one and i absolutely hate it. It comes in a huge box, you can not take the cars apart to even swap out the trucks as they ride just as high as the stock walthers, and if you look at them wrong the metal parts fall off, or the joints break.
Those are not worth my time. I am better off using the metal details from those cars and modifying them to fit the Walthers. Speaking of which, this is about the Walthers Thralls not Gunderson Maxi Stacks...

[James Costello]

Speaking of which, this is about the Walthers Thralls not Gunderson Maxi Stacks...

That are both R-T-R 5 car sets, hence the price comparison..... 

[nscaler711]

That are both R-T-R 5 car sets, hence the price comparison..... 

Whats to compare? Thats like apples to oranges. Thralls Vs Maxi Stacks. I needed Thralls.
A better comparison would be between Kato Maxi Stacks and Deluxe Innovations. Even then you would only be comparing the 53' Maxi IV.

[GaryHinshaw]

Here is how I adapted a Kato truck for use with non-Kato stack sets:



I haven't converted a Walthers Thrall set with this technique yet, but this method will work.   Here is how they look on an N Scale Kits Gunderson set though: (still need to paint the adapter...)



I suspect jb has a similar concept in mind.  I agree that it's not cheap, and the Kato 38" wheels have pretty wide tread, so this is a bit of a mixed bag.

-gfh

P.S. I hope these photos show up from my old Picasa account...

[nscaler711]

Here is how I adapted a Kato truck for use with non-Kato stack sets:



I haven't converted a Walthers Thrall set with this technique yet, but this method will work.   Here is how they look on an N Scale Kits Gunderson set though: (still need to paint the adapter...)



I suspect jb has a similar concept in mind.  I agree that it's not cheap, and the Kato 38" wheels have pretty wide tread, so this is a bit of a mixed bag.

-gfh

P.S. I hope these photos show up from my old Picasa account...

They did show up, and that looks relatively easy to do.
I had thought about using a nut and bolt system on them as well just to be on the safe side, but i cant figure out what size to use... and a sleeve for the trucks to protect them from wear and tear... those NSC kits look good btw. I definitely do not have the patience to decal them though, so i have never picked them up.

[peteski]

Ok so i took some more photos, this time with the old release, to my modified sets and the new release.
First the old release height. Wish i could measure it for you guys...

That is where a Harbor Freight nineteen-dollar-digital-caliper fifteen-dollar-digital-caliper comes in handy.  No half-serious modeler should be without this very affordable and indispensable tool.  If you have a HF store around where you live then you don't even have to pay shipping.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=digital+caliper