ScaleTrains N scale bulkhead flats

[amato1969]

Good think I find strange enjoyment in COTSing cars...

Agreed, it's details like COTS and ACI plates that set the era for our trains.  And they are much easier to add with decals than remove!

  Frank

[nkalanaga]

I agree!  If the car wasn't equipped with ACI or COTS plates when it was last painted, leave them off, and I'll add them.  It's much easier to add them to a car that didn't originally have them, than to remove them from a car that shouldn't have them.

Unless it's a model of a car at a specific time, like ESM does.  In that case, if it had them at that time, they should be there.

I have some MT GN Center Flows.  Nicely lettered, in the pre-Big Sky Blue gray, with 2-panel lube plates.  Those were a pain to remove, without damaging the paint.  The prototypes didn't yet have them in mid 1974, and certainly didn't have them in the GN era.

[Mark5]

Preordered some in brown and yellow for my 1975 era. Been waiting a long time to see these in N!

[ljudice]

Waiting for the next run and more modern schemes....

[Mark5]

I received notification from ST that these shipped, along with the F68BH Finger Rack Flatcar that I ordered.

So if you are in the market, they should be at the ST "retailers" soon.

Mark 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Agreed, it's details like COTS and ACI plates that set the era for our trains.  And they are much easier to add with decals than remove!

  Frank

Yep! And they're nice fun "snack size" projects to work on.

That being said, having them already on models IS a handy cheat to figure out the era appropriateness for cars and schemes that I don't know much about.

"Is this BN scheme appropriate for the late 70s? Well, it's got an ACI label and two box COTS so I should be good."

[Rivet Miscounter]

I received notification from ST that these shipped, along with the F68BH Finger Rack Flatcar that I ordered.

So if you are in the market, they should be at the ST "retailers" soon.

Mark, thanks for the heads-up.   I always seem to miss their e-mails to me.   They are a little e-mail heavy which doesn't help.   

I've had two on pre-order and trying to get them to add one of the finger rack cars to get the shipping break.

[bbussey]

I didn’t reserve any when announced, then saw the samples of the bulkheads in Bethlehem and wish I had. The TT yellow were fully reserved. I’ll find one somewhere on the market if everyone honors their reservations.

[milw156]

got mine yesterday, opened them up today and did some basic weathering and took a few pics. not a huge fan of the boxing gloves, but they seem to work. the cars have laser cut wood between the metal risers on which i used some brown panel line wash, and india ink. the stake holes go all the way through to facilitate load strapping. Nice and heavy too, pretty nice car, now for some loads.....

[nkalanaga]

The "boxing gloves" compare very favorably with old (1970s) KD/MT 1025s in size, and couple with MT as well as two MT couplers do.  The current 1025s are actually bigger.

They do not particularly like to couple with Accumate or McHenry, apparently because those are too thick.  They will couple, and work well, with Accumates, with a little extra push.  They won't couple with the McHenry on my Athearn 2-bay Center Flow without manual assistance, and then won't STAY coupled, if there's any jostling.

The ST couplers even couple perfectly with MT Z couplers, every bit as easily as with my 1025s and 1015s, so I'm quite satisfied with them.

If they're available separately, AND will fit Athearn's McHenry pockets, I'd buy a few dozen pair.  I really don't like the McHenrys! 

I'm not fond of Accumates, but Atlas pockets will accept 1015s if I get tired of them.

One "quibble" on lettering:  The prototype of my yellow car, at least, came from the factory with ACI labels.  ST didn't put them on.  But I have a lifetime supply of ACI decals, and Evergreen strip is cheap.

[jagged ben]

The "boxing gloves" compare very favorably with old (1970s) KD/MT 1025s in size, ...

Are you joking?

[peteski]

Are you joking?

My thought's exactly.
I have to dig out one of my early Kadee M-T trucks with the original 1023 coupler (which was slightly larger than the current MTL coupler) to compare it to the Scale Trains coupler.  I also think that while Scale Trains and McHenry N scale couplers are *HUGE*, the 'boxing glove" moniker belongs only with the largest and the original boxing-glove: the Bachmann knuckle coupler.

To me Scale Trains coupler is basically a clone of McHenry. Probably because the Scale Trains guys originally came from Athearn, so they just probbaly just aped the design.

[jagged ben]

...

To me Scale Trains coupler is basically a clone of McHenry. ...

Yes except it's longer, which makes its proportions look wrong.  The McHenry is a decent model of a coupler, just too big for scale accuracy in N.  (Also earlier releases didn't function well, but IME it seems they fixed something and more recent production is better.)

[peteski]

Yes except it's longer, which makes its proportions look wrong.  The McHenry is a decent model of a coupler, just too big for scale accuracy in N.  (Also earlier releases didn't function well, but IME it seems they fixed something and more recent production is better.)

That is correct, but I still don't care for McHenrys or Scale Trains ones.  Visually and operationally. Who is IME?  Doesn't Athearn own McHenry couplers?

[C855B]

...Who is IME?...

It's texting shorthand: in my estimation. Yet another TLA.