Kansas City Southern Grain Hoppers

[riverotter]

As I was driving east on Highway 210 this afternoon near I-435 I saw three sidings near the KCT grain elevator that were full of these KCS grain hoppers, looking very clean and new. Gorgeous! I know they've been done in N scale (the pic is actually the model, not the real deal), but does anyone know if they've been done or are planned to be released in HO?

[sgtcarl]

Be nice if they would!

[eightyeightfan1]

Here ya go....
Athearn has them:
Athearn - HO RTR Trinity Hopper, KCS #286003

[riverotter]

Thank you eightyeightfan1!

The blurb on the Athearn website includes this caveat "Based on our popular Genesis body, but with paint schemes that aren't quite accurate for this specific model."

The Horizon Hobby site lists them as "due late May 2008."

It appears only one road number is available.

Stay tuned for late-breaking news ...

[eightyeightfan1]

Originally Posted by riverotter

Thank you eightyeightfan1!

The blurb on the Athearn website includes this caveat "Based on our popular Genesis body, but with paint schemes that aren't quite accurate for this specific model."

Does it matter?

[riverotter]

Quote:
Originally Posted by riverotter
Thank you eightyeightfan1!

The blurb on the Athearn website includes this caveat "Based on our popular Genesis body, but with paint schemes that aren't quite accurate for this specific model."

Originally Posted by eightyeightfan1

Does it matter?

To some people it might, but not to me! I'll just have to figure out how to change the road number to create a fleet of them!

[sgtcarl]

All I'll say on this matter is, Athearn must be doggone proud of them! For $28.95 a pop, they are way out of my league. And for that much money, I'd expect them to be 100% accurate! Caveats are just attorneys wanting to cover the corporate's backsides.

[riverotter]

Originally Posted by sgtcarl

All I'll say on this matter is, Athearn must be doggone proud of them! For $28.95 a pop, they are way out of my league. And for that much money, I'd expect them to be 100% accurate! Caveats are just attorneys wanting to cover the corporate's backsides.

I agree with you about this. I expect to see them through various venues - eBay, internet stores, etc. - at lower than that price after they're released. I'm wondering if anyone else will take a shot at producing these ... correctly, of course. If so, I would wait. But I'm such a KCS fanatic (see my avatar!) that I'll take what I can get.

[jbaakko]

Its a Genesis car, with RTR trucks, the Genesis cars on their own are $33 something ($33.95 at the LHS here).

[eightyeightfan1]

Better-Half and I went to the LHS yesterday for my birthday.
I asked the owner if he was going to get any of those. He told me he's not getting any more Athearn because Horizon is putting the screws to him because he runs his store out of his basement, after seven years of doing buisness knowing he does run his LHS out of the basement. It was from another "all hobbies store" that ratted him out, after the two had a verbal agreement, that my LHS wouldn't sell RC, he won't sell trains.
He was doing $3000.00 a month in Athearn sales. He told me other costumers cancelled all the back orders.......$25,000 dollars worth!, because Horizon wanted them to send the the back order stuff to other stores. All but two said Hell No!

I think maybe Horizon was putting the screws to the other place.....
Sell trains...or go find another RC supplier!

[jbaakko]

Rumor has it (the RC shop down the street claims), Horizon's minimum orders are 150% that of Walthers'. I overheard Jules, the owner bitching because he "has" to order 25% trains, or RC (I.E. no less then 25% of the order can be trains, or RC) with any order. He said he'd prefer to be doing more like 95% just to stiff the RC business (this is a big RC shop too).

Note, this is all hear-say, just what I overhear while browsing the shop.

[sgtcarl]

Yeah, it seems like the big suppliers only want to do business with their biggest retailers. I had a similar run-in with Kodak, quite a few years back. I won the battle, but ultimately lost the war. So it goes...