MT Blows it again... This time on WM camp cars...

[wm3798]

"This 50' troop sleeper is painted aluminum with black roof, black logo and lettering. It was built sometime in 1944-1945 by Pullman-Standard, rebuilt in January 1952, and runs on Allied Full Cushion trucks. Western Maryland purchased a total of 25 troop cars in two batches during 1947 and 1948. 3021 was formerly used as a troop sleeper by the U.S. military during World War II and was converted to MOW service in January 1952. Stenciled with the full Western Maryland "speed" lettering paint scheme over aluminum paint, troop-sleeper 3021 is in Maintenance-of-Way service providing sleeping quarters to crews at the MOW sites."

A $40 investment in the WM Color Guide would have told them that this car should be gray, and that it was used for washroom lobby service...i.e. a port a pot on wheels, not the most hospitable "sleeping quarters"...

Here's what it should look like:


So there will be another MT car that sits collecting dust because people who know better won't buy them.


Lee

[ljudice]

Well, it will look MUCH better in Silver when used as a Christmas Tree ornament...

[Chris333]

I like Lee as a proto nut 

I have said the same type things more than once about how easy it is to find the information...

[wcfn100]

So there will be another MT car that sits collecting dust because people who know better won't buy them.

I doubt MT will miss those 7 people.


Jason

[wm3798]

Heh... I just like stirring the pot over there...  And yeah, I owe most of my points to Chris and others who rant about MT...  I guess it was just my turn!  Of course, you all know I'm not much of a proto nut in general, but I do try to maintain some fidelity with my chosen prototype...  But silver instead of gray?  C'mon.. that's just stupid.

Lee

[sundowner]

They also screw up the CSX Family Lines hopper by painting it white. The best places to post this would be trainboard since Joe from MT hangs out there.

[John]

The best places to post this would be trainboard since Joe from MT hangs out there.

I doubt it would receive a very favorable response ..

[Chris333]

Yeah Joe will just say something like "they are built here in the US so small mistakes should be accepted"

[wm3798]

At least Intermountain can blame the Chinese when they screw something up!
L

[sundowner]

The best places to post this would be trainboard since Joe from MT hangs out there.

I doubt it would receive a very favorable response ..

True, but it could be almost as good as the A HO board MTH bashes.

The sad thing is that the troops cars are really nice.

[wm3798]

Agreed.  The first batch they did in red are very nice.  The odd thing is that the reference photo they used for the red cars is just a page or two away from the photo of the gray car in the WM Color Guide.... :

Lee

[davefoxx]

Lee,

The funny thing is that when they did the C&O camp cars, they must have referred to the "Chesapeake & Ohio Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment," because on page 84 is a picture of two coupled camp cars (Nos. X955 and X859).  I find it more than a coincidence that they are the exact same road numbers as the numbers chosen by MT.  The C&O models are not exact, but they're not bad either. They did do a nice job on the paint and lettering.  I've been tempted to pick up one of the Bachmann C&O Vanderbilt tenders, body-mount couplers on each end, and add it to my work train.

Therefore, I think that it's reasonable to assume that MT probably referred to pictures, but mis-interpreted gray as silver.  You're right, that never should have happened, because one email or phone call to the WM Historical Society would have prevented that mistake.

Dave

[Bob Bufkin]

Wait a minute - you got to give them credit for hiring handicap workers.  In this case they're color blind!

[GonzoCRFan]

So there will be another MT car that sits collecting dust because people who know better won't buy them.

Not necessarily, Lee, as the problem is that most people either don't know better or don't care to know better.

Omigod! It's Micro Trains! Made in America! In the far-off land of Oregon! So it has to be good and right! The box even says it's the "ultimate" in N scale models, and they'd never, ever lie about their products! Buy it buy it BUY IT!!!!!

[Walkercolt]

Usually, the folks at Micro-Trains work from photos or painting diagrams people send them. WM MAY have had a real MOW car painted silver at some time in it's life. A BNSF conductor friend of mine used to work at the old Frisco Springfield Car Shops. Just because the painting diagram shows a certain thing, doesn't mean the shop did every car that way, we've got lots and lots of photographic proof of the BN cars being "wrong". UP's North Little Rock Shops don't paint engines exactly like they do in Omaha, so sometimes, the "foobie" isn't on MT. My Father had a Cadillac with an engine that wasn't supposed to be in a Sedan De Ville, only in Eldorados, but it was in his car anyway. Try and screw 8 12mm spark plugs into 16 6mm spark plug holes.... :