Bachmann 52'-6" gondolas have arrived

[prr7161]

These are out and I just received a boatload of 'em.  Overall impression is that they are a good start but need some work to be great.

The base body is a 15-panel design with a wide center panel, a good match for a 1940s-era "Greenville" fishbelly with a wood floor:





The length is a true 52'-6" and the ride height is great, as can be seen in the comparison with a Micro-Trains 50-foot fishbelly:





The underframe is a separate assembly, which appears to be held to the body via a pair of screws (I have not yet tried to disassemble one):



Luckily, between the center sill and the fishbelly sides, there is room to hide some weight, which is needed - they weigh in at only 13 grams as opposed to 31 per NMRA specs.

There are some odd choices here.  Although the wood floor shows plenty of rivet detail, the interior of the sides has nothing whatever.  The molded on detail on the exterior is crisp, but the body was made rotationally symmetrical and so has a retainer line at both the A and B ends.  The truck molding detail is not very fine, and the bottom of the truck sideframe is quite clunky.  The only true performance flaw, however, is that the wide-tread wheels are gauged narrow and bump through turnouts gauged to NMRA spec.

One nice feature is that the coupler box is molded to the underframe, not the body.  So if you want to use someone else's coupler box to replace the boxing gloves, rather than trying to find a drop-in, the Bachmann coupler box can just be snipped off and a new coupler box attached to the body without compromising the ride height or risking damaging the body end.  I'm also intrigued by the choice to model the drop end as a removable part - it slides out and then lays flat in the car as a press-fit, no pivots.  It actually looks a little better than a rotating end once down since it can be flush to the end, and there are no fiddly detents to wear.  But I do wonder about the ends disappearing over time if operated regularly.

With replacement trucks and wheels and some attention to detailing the side interiors, these could be quite nice models.  I was anticipating some work anyway to turn these into P&LE steel-floor cars so I don't mind the extra effort, but YMMV.

[thomasjmdavis]

Thanks for the review. I'm glad to see that even Bachmann has taken to making gondolas to correct scale length. In my own case, I need a 14 panel v. 15 panel, but I will probably buy one or 2 of these if they come out in accurate late 40s/early 50s paint schemes.

As a non-expert when it comes to freight cars, can you (or someone out there) tell me what the 'retainer line' is? ( "body was made rotationally symmetrical and so has a retainer line at both the A and B ends").

Now, if we could just get MTL to "stretch" their gondolas by a few feet...

[Mike C]

  @thomasjmdavis  The retainer is what holds the Air in the lines . Mike

[Chris333]

Who has them in stock? Never mind it looks like I'm not interested in the only 4 road names they did.

[thomasjmdavis]

  @thomasjmdavis  The retainer is what holds the Air in the lines . Mike

Thanks. I probably should have hunted for my freight car references. I wasn't even thinking about it being part of the brakes.

[Missaberoad]

  @thomasjmdavis  The retainer is what holds the Air in the lines . Mike

Kind of, to be more specific the retainer holds air in the brake cylinder.

They have 3 settings,

- Exhaust - allows the brakes to release normally

- High Pressure - Retains 20psi brake cylinder pressure when the brakes are released.

- Slow Direct - Same as exhaust but a slower release.

You'll often see references to setting retainers before decending a heavy grade. The pressure retained in the brake cylinders allows the engineer more time to recharge the brake pipe and avoid taking a brake while in a false gradient. (When the brake pipe isn't fully charged all the way through the train)

For the most part modern locomotives with dynamic brakes and faster charging brake systems have supplanted the need for retainers.
They are still used occasionally tho. We use them when trains go in emergency on Field hill, to have some brakes when the engineer recovers.

[ai5629]

Thank you for the review.  I was very interested if they were a true 52’ 6”.  I plan on getting a few, probably four.  I will strip and decal one Erie Lackawanna and three Conrail as photos are rare (class GE51C).  I am considering another two for Penn Central 829G cars.  There are two examples in the PC MSB Color Guide volume 2.  However, they are steel floor cars.  Might have to put a load in them to conceal the wooden floor as that would be the easiest solution.  I am impressed these made it to market.  Kudos to Bachmann.

Jeff

[Tristan Ashcroft]

I do wonder about the ends disappearing over time if operated regularly.

Sounds quite prototypical.

[bbussey]

I ordered a NYC from TrainWorld today. I think the scheme is too modern for the prototype, or rather, an oddity. But if since the model appears to be prototypical, it will be easy enough to backdate the graphics. Or, I’ll redeco as Erie or DL&W, whichever road had them (since EL inherited them).

There never can be too many prototypical N scale 52’ gondola models. This would make three (BLMA and Prairie Shadows being the other two).

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Would these work for any Conrail class used in scrap?

[ai5629]

Would these work for any Conrail class used in scrap?

GE51C

[bbussey]

Would these work for any Conrail class used in scrap?

In revenue scrap metal service?  I don’t see why not.

[bbussey]

Thank you for the review.  I was very interested if they were a true 52’ 6”.  I plan on getting a few, probably four.  I will strip and decal one Erie Lackawanna and three Conrail as photos are rare (class GE51C).  I am considering another two for Penn Central 829G cars.  There are two examples in the PC MSB Color Guide volume 2.  However, they are steel floor cars.  Might have to put a load in them to conceal the wooden floor as that would be the easiest solution.  I am impressed these made it to market.  Kudos to Bachmann.

Looks like ratchet brakes are needed for the ex-EL cars.

[wazzou]

I ordered a NYC from TrainWorld today. I think the scheme is too modern for the prototype, or rather, an oddity. But if since the model appears to be prototypical, it will be easy enough to backdate the graphics. Or, I’ll redeco as Erie or DL&W, whichever road had them (since EL inherited them).

There never can be too many prototypical N scale 52’ gondola models. This would make three (BLMA and Prairie Shadows being the other two).

Trainworx?

[Mike C]

Kind of, to be more specific the retainer holds air in the brake cylinder.

They have 3 settings,

- Exhaust - allows the brakes to release normally

- High Pressure - Retains 20psi brake cylinder pressure when the brakes are released.

- Slow Direct - Same as exhaust but a slower release.

You'll often see references to setting retainers before decending a heavy grade. The pressure retained in the brake cylinders allows the engineer more time to recharge the brake pipe and avoid taking a brake while in a false gradient. (When the brake pipe isn't fully charged all the way through the train)

For the most part modern locomotives with dynamic brakes and faster charging brake systems have supplanted the need for retainers.
They are still used occasionally tho. We use them when trains go in emergency on Field hill, to have some brakes when the engineer recovers.

  Thank you for the further info ! I knew about setting them before decending grades but just didn't know how to describe that . I did not know there are 3 different settings though .   Mike