Track inspection cars in HO & N

[jbaakko]

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 8


Pros: Well built, very clear lens, pre-tapped
Cons: trucks (seller prefers it to be this way so you can pick your favorite)

So, I got this product free, from a member of another forum I belong to, who picked me along with 2 other members, to test it out. It is similar to the ones commercially available from Micro Mark, and other sources, but heck, this one is hand made in the USA!

The seller will be marketing these on eBay soon, after he gets the "kinks" worked out, as he's been doing well selling an N scale version fro some time now. Search for the user "gark60s" on eBay.

As for the product:

-The car is well built, no worries about breaking mine.

-The "bolsters" are drilled & tapped for a #2-56 screw, common in truck mounting use. They are set far to the ends, to allow for more viewing area between them. This leaves the outer wheels exposed, not that it matters any.

-I mounted Athearn Genesis trucks, standing by from a Genesis boxcar I'm working on. They worked out awesome, and pushing the car along, they did not rub anything.

-I've also now tested it with standard Athearn trucks with Branchline fine scale 36" wheels, they worked just as fine. I then switched to Walthers trucks with Walthers wheels, which worked fine, but the plastic wheels were not as prominent on the gaps in the rail. Lastly I tried Accurail trucks with Proto 2000 wheels, and they were just as good as the rest of the metal wheels.

-I'd suggest solid frame trucks with metal wheels. I'd assume Kadee, or other sprung trucks, would absorb more of the bumps, as with the plastic wheels. After all the point of this car is to push it along by hand to find the rough spots.

-The seller recommends not to use couplers, but from the looks of it, one might be able to mount some talgo style trucks, after a little trimming of the bolster to clear the coupler box. I do not have any myself, so I cannot try it.

-Future suggestions (well more of development ideas) to the seller: Add more magnification possibility, maybe make a 2nd style of car? And add the option to make it a "train car" that can be run with a track cleaning train. I.E. extend the area above the trucks to accept a Kadee coupler pocket, and add a spot to weigh the car to NMRA specs. This car could then be towed behind a slow moving track cleaning train, behind the track cleaner car, so that the user can see the track afterwards. Heck, maybe a 90° viewing car for those people who have eye level layouts?

Over all a GREAT product, if you need one, I'd suggest getting this car!

[MasonJar]

Got a picture? I think this is a "clear" flat car, allowing one to see the trackwork as the trucks roll across it? (Or is it a model of an actual inspection car?)

Thanks.

Andrew

[nolatron]

I was curious too, and found the ebay links:

N-Scale:
N scale Track Inspection car slab - (eBay item 140157252412 end time Sep-14-07 18:22:22 PDT)

HO-Scale:
HO scale Track Inspection car slab - (eBay item 140157478822 end time Sep-15-07 11:47:42 PDT)

[jbaakko]

Its a clear flat car, I guess I should have included that, lol.