Micro-Trains Weathered 45-foot Trailer 4-packs

[cfritschle]

When I saw Micro-Trains' announcement for weathered 4-packs of 45-foot trailers in Conrail and Southern Pacific paint schemes, I thought that the Southern Pacific trailers would be too "old" for my early 21st Century modeling time period.  However, some were sold, patched and still in service well into the 21st Century!

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1742981

And of course, some could still be found as "storage" trailers.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4705741

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=726652

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1248072

Or, at least parked on or near railroad property.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2491143

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=41086

Edit:  I forgot to include the link to the trailers on Micro-Trains website.   

https://www.micro-trains.com/index.php?route=product/isearch&search=2303trailers&description=true

And here is a weathered in service trailer from 1995.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=959659

[mu26aeh]

I still see Conrail trailers in storage use alot.  MTL going to have to increase production numbers to cover Ed's needs 😁

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Believe it or not... I'm probably NOT going to end up getting these.

In my era the Trailvans were all still relatively decent looking.

These things look GREAT for later eras though, including up to today.

[mu26aeh]

@MTLJoe , stop the presses !  Tone down the weathering on the Trailvans, repeat, tone down the weathering on the Trailvans

[bbussey]

The CR Trailvans are a wallet-grabber, but they sure do look spiffy.

[Rivet Miscounter]

Believe it or not... I'm probably NOT going to end up getting these.

In my era the Trailvans were all still relatively decent looking.

I have a bit of the same problem, although maybe I could take the cleanest 1-2 of the four and make them work for '89.  Hard to say without seeing the actual end result.   Statistically I only need one Conrail and 2-3 SP but I may give it a whirl.

I wonder if they're going to paint the rims and weather the tires?   Surely they will, right?

Thanks for posting this...hadn't had a chance to look at the MTL monthly releases yet.

[Point353]

Believe it or not... I'm probably NOT going to end up getting these.

In my era the Trailvans were all still relatively decent looking.

These things look GREAT for later eras though, including up to today.

@MTLJoe , stop the presses !  Tone down the weathering on the Trailvans, repeat, tone down the weathering on the Trailvans

Would it be better if MTL released this set of trailers as un-weathered?
Then, the modelers can apply whatever degree of weathering they deem appropriate.

[peteski]

Seems that MTL has found a niche in weathered /graffitied releases (and I might add, they have it pretty much perfected).  But yes, I'm sure there is still a market for pristine models.  Maybe they will run this set later in as-new condition?

[ai5629]

Would it be better if MTL released this set of trailers as un-weathered?
Then, the modelers can apply whatever degree of weathering they deem appropriate.

I would prefer an unweathered set of CR Trailvans for certain.  I would also humbly suggest that you model trailers in the CRZ 235000-235449 series.  These were Conrail’s 45x102 Freuhauf trailers, which is the MTL prototype.  25XXXX are stretched 40’ vans, 45x96.  Looking at the artwork, three of the four are stretched 40’ vans, 45x96.  The easiest way to tell a stretched van is that it was not repainted, and the Trailvan on the side of the trailer is about 6 feet from the rear, since that is where the five foot section was added on.  As built 45x102 trailers have the Trailvan about a foot or so from the end.  Thanks.

Jeff

[bbussey]

Notably, these Conrail and Southern Pacific vans are the first 45' trailers in years so it's nice to see new releases on them.

[James Costello]

I’ve been waiting 30 years for MTL to do the Golden Pig scheme on their 45’ trailer and even sent Joe a bunch of photos last year to try and get these finally done. The weathered release looks great, but I wish we had clean version first.

Hope we see more 45’ers this year - Transamerica, XTRA Lease, Preferred Pool amongst others.

[Rivet Miscounter]

@ai5629 Jeff thanks for the info about those Conrail trailers.   Very helpful, and maybe MTL can even act on that information.

Notably, these Conrail and Southern Pacific vans are the first 45' trailers in years so it's nice to see new releases on them.

Guess Athearn got their attention.   

I will say, it's been a challenge to find 45 foot trailers since my return to N a few months ago...and subsequent focus on building a BN train from 1989 bursting with 45 foot trailers.    So I'm happy to see Athearn and MTL getting things moving forward again.   I'm still trying to learn about the 45s....seemed a little moot given we had Atlas Pines and MTL Freuhauf's--neither of which had recent production nor any indication of such pending. (aside from the Atlas beer trailer weirdness.  )  But now, there are options.   Plus I've managed to grab some decals too so maybe I can at least make an attempt at getting things closer to right.

I can't really criticize MTL for not weathering for my specific year/month,  even though it is a real issue.   I'm sure they'll look incredible...just have to decide if the artwork is overstating or understating what they'll ultimately look like.  It does seem like the trailers stayed relatively clean far past what I would expect.   So...less a criticism, and more of a "coaxing them to err on the side of a slightly less-weathered state that will please a wider-range of modelers".

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Would it be better if MTL released this set of trailers as un-weathered?
Then, the modelers can apply whatever degree of weathering they deem appropriate.

I'm not stressin about it. I have all of the Trailvans I need right now and I think MTL will do well with these. They're definitely cool and, honestly, "ooh, that's neat" sells a LOT of models!

[jagged ben]

I'm inclined to get both packs and put 2 of each up for sale.  I do also 'need' a clean Trailvan or two.   Trailers don't last as long as railcars so they tend to be mostly cleaner.  I hope the artwork sligh exaggerates the weathering.

[Englewood]

I've got about 8 of the Atlas Golden Pig Service trailers, but I really need more. I'm on the fence about the Micro Trains trailers, as the price is quite steep. I do think that they'll be impossible to find upon release, so if I want them I better pre-order at my local shop. I hope non-weathered versions will be available at some point.

Awhile back, JTC did a fantasy 53' Missouri Pacific container. Very nice! I'd love to see the same with the Golden Pig paint scheme!