Scale Trains announces Rivet Counters N Scale Thrall-Trinty 42' coil steel car

[Spades]

https://www.scaletrains.com/n-scale.html

They look really nice.  Going on an uninformed glace the n scale cars shown are in fact the n scale car.

Should this have gone in the Product Discussion?

[turbowhiz]

YES!!! So happy to see these, I was hoping they would make the jump from their HO lineup.

They are just perfect companions for the Atlas NSC coil cars for modern outline modelers.

[kscessandriver]

Finally, ScaleTrains is doing the 42' Thrall-Trinity Coil Steel Car in N scale, to go along with the HO one they've previously offered. Looks to be $34.99 or $32.99 if you order 6+. CSX, NS, Conrail, CHTT/UP, CP and IHB in the first run. I'll probably be in for a few, I see these cars quite often these days.

https://www.scaletrains.com/n-scale/n-scale-freight-cars/rivet-counter-n-scale-thrall-trinity-42-single-hood-coil-steel-car.html

[MetroRedLine]

I suppose I'll pick up a couple of these. I don't see the roadnames for the ones they have available that often (though I probably can't lose with CSX or NS). They certainly look nicer than the ones currently made by Atlas. And anything N scale announced by ScaleTrains is a good thing!

I guess the easiest way to gauge future N scale releases from ScaleTrains is to look at their existing HO line. There's probably a 30-70% chance it will be released in N...eventually.

What would really excite me are those boxy coil cars that are on the rails now. To my knowledge they aren't made in any scale yet:

[ljudice]

Count me in....

[Englewood]

Nice cars!  I'll definitely pick up a few.

[central.vermont]

What are they using for couplers?? They look mighty big!!!! 

[Bendtracker1]

What are they using for couplers?? They look mighty big!!!! 

Boxing gloves

[greenwizard88]

Couplers aside, I might have to pick up some of the CSX ones, and a bright red one too.

[Super_G]

Finally!

[ljudice]

Hope to see the G52X and flatcars someday - and of course the AC44C6M's 

[peteski]

What are they using for couplers?? They look mighty big!!!! 

Here is my rant (again).

Just like with all their other N scale releases, they use their own proprietary STBG (Scale Trains Boxing Glove) couplers.    While not as huge as Bachmann, they are quite portly.

Since the Scale Trains founders/management are ex-Athearn peeps, the couplers seem to be based on Athearn/McHenry N scale couplers (which are sinilar to the McHenry H0 couplers).  It is an abomination for a company that prides itself in making superdetailed models with roadname specific details in their "rivet counter" line,  to put those ugly (and not all that reliable) coupler "thingies" on those otherwise super-detailed models.  They have designed (and even reworked once) those couplers from scratch. Why oh why didn't' they make them more . . . prototypically sized?  Boggles one's mind. 

[JoeD]

Here is my rant (again).

Just like with all their other N scale releases, they use their own proprietary STBG (Scale Trains Boxing Glove) couplers.    While not as huge as Bachmann, they are quite portly.

Since the Scale Trains founders/management are ex-Athearn peeps, the couplers seem to be based on Athearn/McHenry N scale couplers (which are sinilar to the McHenry H0 couplers).  It is an abomination for a company that prides itself in making superdetailed models with roadname specific details in their "rivet counter" line,  to put those ugly (and not all that reliable) coupler "thingies" on those otherwise super-detailed models.  They have designed (and even reworked once) those couplers from scratch. Why oh why didn't' they make them more . . . prototypically sized?  Boggles one's mind. 

Maybe it's time the manufacturers come together and discuss revamping a 60 year old standard...like most everything else.. 

Joe

[turbowhiz]

Maybe it's time the manufacturers come together and discuss revamping a 60 year old standard...like most everything else.. 

Joe

^^^^^THIS!

The classic MTL coupler really doesn't have much on the admittedly horrendous looking ScaleTrains coupler. All N scale couplers (except TSC's) look terrible on modern super detailed models. We need a scale appropriate "New Rapido" that all manufacturers would use a common design paradigm for in order to advance N scale, much as the original Rapido did. The existing legacy MTL coupler is not acceptable to many scale modelers, either operationally or in appearance. And anything compatible with it will need to be too compromised to satisfy anyone.

[peteski]

Maybe it's time the manufacturers come together and discuss revamping a 60 year old standard...like most everything else.. 

Joe

That would be most welcome Joe.
The problem lies in making the new coupler compatible with the millions of N existing scale models which have the current (oversize) knuckle couplers.  I suspect that if it's not, it will not gain general acceptance.  While I have no inside info, I suspect that is one of the issues with MTL's TSC (the other being no automatic or even easy uncoupling).

Even the GOEMON coupler, while being the size of current MTL N scale coupler, looked much more realistic.  I bought some but now I'm stuck with them since they need the original MTL original size trip pins, but sometime in the last few years MTL has adopted smaller cross section trip pinis whihc are too loose foe use in GOEMONs.