A Teaser (for trucks) from Trainworx

[mu26aeh]

I doubt any from this series will grace the Hanover Sub but hopefully it will help finance getting the parts back in stock and releasing more plain jane tractors.  I don't need any more trailers, well, van trailers that is.  Could use some grain and bulk trailers.

As far as pricing goes, in my opinion as long as items sell out, the prices will remain or go higher yet as there is a demand for the product.  Given how the movie tractor trailer sets went quickly (at MSRP of ~~ $47, street in upper 30's), I see these moving just the same, with some buying to resell at premium on eBay.  At some price point though, people are just going to say yep, that's nice and move on.  What's that point ?  I'm not sure for others, but for myself we're about there.  MSRP of the latest tractors are $39.95 with pre-order from my LHS at $29.95.  That's about all I'm going to pay for something that sits still at a dock or on a highway. 

[sirenwerks]

That, and if there were any other manufacturers putting out the quality and variety that Pat was, then there might be some reason for price point competition. But Pat's alone in the field right now. The only thing that comes close is Showcase and a few Shapeways designers like NScaleAddict 3D Models, but Pat is producing quality RTR models, where those two aren't (not that I am knocking having to do some modeling, even if it is just painting and gluing). I just hope the trucks don't take too much of Pat's attention away from the superb freight cars he's produced. We still need those and more.

[nkalanaga]

The W900 will work for the 1970s, and probably the 1960s, although the grain trailer is definitely too modern for the 60s, and the large sleeper may be.  My question is the length of the trailer.  In the 70s, most were 40 ft or less, although 42 ft flatbeds were common.  Anything over that would say "1980s or later".  Does anyone know, or should I email Pat and ask?

[cfritschle]

The W900 will work for the 1970s, and probably the 1960s, although the grain trailer is definitely too modern for the 60s, and the large sleeper may be.  My question is the length of the trailer.  In the 70s, most were 40 ft or less, although 42 ft flatbeds were common.  Anything over that would say "1980s or later".  Does anyone know, or should I email Pat and ask?

I did not measure the trailers when I took the photos found here:  http://nscalevehicles.org/news.php  (Scroll about halfway down the page.) 

But, I don't think they are more than 42-ft long.  In comparison to the tri-axle 53-ft reefer, the grain trailers are significantly shorter.

[nkalanaga]

Trying to measure from the PDF was awkward, to say the least, as I was using a ruler on my screen, but based on the sleeper being 60 inches long, I also got 42 feet, or close enough.  Artwork isn't always reliable, but since you've seen the real things, and we both have the same impression, I feel more comfortable about ordering one. 

If he sells just the trailers I'll order several.  They'll go with almost any tractor, as farmers didn't always have the newest.

[peteski]

Trying to measure from the PDF was awkward, to say the least, as I was using a ruler on my screen

Couldn't  you have printed the PDF and measure the paper copy?   

[mu26aeh]

Just an FYI, BLW has the new announcement up, at a discount of $45.49

[peteski]

Just an FYI, BLW has the new announcement up, at a discount of $45.49

Funny that BLW totally removed any mention of the line of TWX custom trucks that sold out so fast. Usually BLW keeps the announcements/reservations even if the items are sold out.

[cfritschle]

Artwork isn't always reliable,

I don't think that would apply to any Trainworx artwork.   

Pat's son Lane was displaying the design work for the grain trailers at the 2016 National N Scale Convention in Overland Park, KS on his laptop, and I am reasonably certain the artwork shown on the PDF is an overlay of the actual design file that went to the factory to produce the tooling for the trailer. 

And to assist in scaling the artwork, the actual diameters of the tires are 0.256 inches for the front tires on the tractors, and 0.255 inches for the rear /trailer tires.  That's just under 41 scale inches for the front tires, and 40.8 scale inches for the rear /trailer tires.

So, if you can size the PDF to where the tires measure 0.25 inches in diameter, you should be able to determine the scale dimensions of the model with a scale ruler.

[nkalanaga]

Peteski:  I could have, but it would still have been awkward, simply because I had no labeled dimensions, and didn't know how accurate the artwork was.  Since Carter vouches for the accuracy, I feel a lot more comfortable with my measurements.  Besides, I'm cheap, and printer ink keeps getting more expensive.  No point printing something for a single use, if I can use the on-screen image.

Carter:  That's what I usually use - quarter-inch diameter tires.  That seems to have been standard for trucks for many years, and generally works for photos, but here the sleeper had a stated dimension, so I used that.

[cfritschle]

I just got confirmation from Pat that the Tri-State tractors and trailers are shipping!   

Pat had pre-production samples of the trailers at the 2018 National N Scale Convention in Salt Lake City, which was just before the factory in China shut down.   

Here are a couple of photos I took of the grain trailer at the 2018 convention.

[Point353]

Please see the color flyer for details at the following link:

http://www.train-worx.com/17-8tristate.pdf

Anyone else getting a 404 URL not found error for that link?

[cfritschle]

Here is a compressed jpeg of the 2017 flyer announcing the trucks.



Also, more information can be found here:  https://nscalevehicles.org/news.php  You will need to scroll approximately 3/4 of the way down the page to get to the 2017 announcement.

[peteski]

Interesting to see this thread brought back after it was dormant for 5 years.  Glad to see that Trainworx is producing what they announced.  I still wish though that they bring back their complete line of truck parts back from 2016.  Even if it was just partially re-run.

[cfritschle]

Interesting to see this thread brought back after it was dormant for 5 years.  Glad to see that Trainworx is producing what they announced.  I still wish though that they bring back their complete line of truck parts back from 2016.  Even if it was just partially re-run.

Pete,

I felt it might be more interesting to update this old thread rather than start a new thread.  If I recall what I was told at the convention correctly, these trucks were on the production schedule when the factory shut down.