# MDC Ore Car



## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Greetings,

I have my eye on an MDC Ore Car over on eBay. As most of you may know, I'm a 1:32 guy. Does anyone know how this car would scale out? 1:29, 1:24, 1:32?

MDC SP Ore Car

thanks


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## suleski (Jan 2, 2008)

I believe they are 1:32 I have a few 2 bay hoppers, but not ore cars.

check this posting
http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...f/23/aft/113812/afv/topic/afpg/1/Default.aspx

Scott


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

As far as I know they are 1:32. MDC cars were made before 1:29 became generally available.

These cars were limited to service on railroads servicing the iron mines in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that they were ever painted for the SP.

Chuck


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow, those are getting pricey.


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## bcer960 (Dec 27, 2007)

I assume you are the person who outbid me on the car on e-bay, thats OK. I have 7 of them so far, as well as a couple of the 2 bay ones. I am in 1:29and while they are a little small, I have them as thier own train, so with nothing to compare them too, there great. Keep you eyes open for the PIKO ones. They are the same car, same mold. I have 3 of these. They were manufactured in 2008. I just got them this past weekend for $24.95 cnd. Too bad he only had the three of them.
As for the diamensions in 1:29 the car itself, less trucks and couplers is:19' 11 1/2" lomg, 9'2" wide and 7'3" high, not including the bay.

Ray


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

The prototype cars were 24' long. So your measurements in 1:29 are about right.

Chuck


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Oops here, corrected response: (thanks Chuck!)


The MDC ore cars are pretty small, but there are not many alternatives, the USAT/Lionel ones are a bit large. USAT used the Lionel ones but spaced them up higher:










The MDC does have the proper relation of the trucks to the ends of the car. It does approximate the prototype well, but in 1:32.


The LGB cars are also closer to the USAT/Lionel ones (USAT bought the molds apparently)

Regards, Greg


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg:

I think he is interested in an iron ore car, not a two bay hopper. 


Chuck


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## bcer960 (Dec 27, 2007)

chuck, 

I measured the car with a 1:29 ruler 

Ray


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Ray:

All I was saying is that the prototype cars for this use are 24 feet in length. This is the length that the original ore docks along Lake Superior were designed so that the cars could dump into the ore bins which then directly loaded into the ships. This length goes back to the late 19th century. At that time the cars couldn't hold much iron ore. As the cars were later designed to carry heavier loads, they went from wood to steel. It was too expensive to rebuild the docks for longer cars.


Your measurement demonstrates that the cars are not 1:29.

As Greg says, they are closer to 1.32.

In my opinion the LGB iron ore cars are the visual best match to the cars used in northern Minnesota, being LGB I'm not really sure what scale they are. All I know is that they are great looking cars and I have a string of 28 relettered for the DM&IR. I would love to see a picture like Greg showed with the USAT and LGB cars end to end. I have never had my hands on either a MDC or USAT ore car, I have only seen them in pictures, but not together. 


Chuck 


PS Here is a link to a previous thread on the LGB iron ore cars. If you go through the whole thread you will see how I modified the cars, including a shorter coupling.
LGB ore cars


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I'll look for more comparison pictures!

The picture below has an LGB on the left, and a lowered Lionel on the right. I agree, the LGB look the best of the 3 in 1:29 in my opinion. 










Regards, Greg


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg:

Thanks for the picture. 

Chuck


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## ZachsPappaw (Jan 3, 2008)

I'm not expert, but when LGB came out with those ore cars, I wrote them and suggested they run some in DM&IR, as I thought they would be a good match and a good seller. 

But we know the rest of the story. 

Jeff


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Jeff:

Thanks for trying. It sure would have saved me a lot of trouble.


Chuck


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## Michael (Jan 6, 2008)

Hello,
The MDC molds seem to have been aquired by the German company PIKO. The boxcars, reefers and ore cars are again available, see e.g.
http://www.piko.de/produkt_db/check.php?page=detail&grand_id=3&parent_id=21&child_id=0&id=38800
Michael


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

The MDC bodies were 1:32 but I think you will find the trucks were 1:24.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

The trucks were also a mess, with broken sideframe attaching tabs, and just generally poor plastic that warped and cracked. 

There is a company in the US that says they have the old MDC molds... and I'm not convinced that PIKO has them either. I'd like to see a side by side of the PIKO and a MDC. 

It took a while to unravel the Lionel/USAT thing. 

Regards, Greg


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg:

Since you seem to have at least one of each, LGB, MDC, and USAT, ore cars would you give us the outside measurements (length, height, width) of the box part of the car. It looks like there is a small lip at the end of the USAt car, don't include that in the measurement, or give the measurement with and without the lip.


Can that lip be easily removed or cut off. Without that lip it could pass as a DM&IR car. The wheels would then stick out, not as far as they should, but at least they would stick out a little bit beyond the end of the car.

Chuck


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

The trucks on the Piko 2 bay hopper are identical to the trucks that came on MDC 2 bay hoppers. 

I'm sure they are the same trucks used on the ore cars. 

Randy


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Unfortunately, since those photos, I sold all of my MDC cars, hoppers and ore cars. I only have the USAT ore cars left (which I am selling). 

I found that Santa Fe never had the little ore cars, to my dismay. I really wanted to have an ore car drag behind my mallet. 

I am very happy with the new Aristo hoppers, very close to scale and have Kadee mounting pads, so I have standardized on this. 

Regards, Greg


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg:

Thanks, it was worth a try. 

Chuck 


PS The pictures of the Aristo hoppers really look nice. I may have to add some to my mallet. I'm glad that they come with a coal load. Getting a car without a load is a real bummer. I have made loads, but I'd rather not.


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks guys for all your help, I won the auction, and have metal wheels on the way, and I think new trucks as well.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

There is a company in the US that says they have the old MDC molds 
Greg, 
Some confusion here. Midwest's website says: 
"The model train division of Midwest Companies, Inc. just announced that they have struck a deal to purchase the remaining G-Scale production inventory of MDC". 
and then 
"Mainline America will be assembling, decorating and selling the G Scale inventory that has been purchased, and will eventually go into full production with new updated tooling over the next 2 years." 

Links on the other thread http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...fault.aspx


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Right, I got an email to that point, but it's clear that the statement you quoted is more explicit.. thanks for the clarification... 

So, Piko apparently has the ore car and 2 bay hopper molds... 

Regards, Greg


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## rwjenkins (Jan 2, 2008)

The MDC cars are 1:32 in most dimensions, but are a couple scale feet too long. This was apparently done to accomodate their standard Bettendorf style trucks, which have a 5' 10" wheelbase and 39" wheels in 1:32. The oversized wheels also mean they sit a little higher than they should. The prototype cars are 24 feet over the couplers, and were designed to align with the 12-foot centers of the ore dock pockets, which in turn were designed to align with the 12-foot or 24-foot centers of the ore boat hatches - basically everything was done in multiples of 12 feet. The trucks have a 5-foot wheelbase and 33" wheels, and this is where most model manufacturers that have done ore cars over the years have compromised, because most Bettendorf trucks have a 5' 6" wheelbase, and like MDC they used the truck tooling they already had rather than making correct trucks for these cars.

I have equipped my MDC ore cars with 5-foot wheelbase trucks from Ozark Miniatures, with 33" metal wheels from AMS and body-mounted Kadees. This helps to lower the car and allows them to be coupled much closer together, which does a lot to improve the appearance. Unfortunately, fixing the body length is a bit tricky because the extra length is in the slopes at the ends of the car (the ends have a shallower slope than the prototype), requiring some major surgery to fix. If they had added the length to the middle of the car, it would be quite simple to cut out a couple scale feet and splice it back together. If I was building an ore dock and ore boat (a dream of mine back when I was in HO scale), I'd be more concerned about the length. I calculated that without selective compression, DM&IR dock #6 in HO scale would be over 26 feet long! Needless to say, I won't be doing that in 1:32!


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

I think the MDC ones look to squattie and make them not look correct. I also bought the USAT cars and for me they worked and look fine made up as C&NW cars. Later RJD


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## du-bousquetaire (Feb 14, 2011)

Piko seems to have redesigned the trucks which now are in nylon or delrin and much sturdier. They are the same dimensions though as the MDC trucks. These do not have springing.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes, they had to, the original ones usually fell apart. I believe it was the plastic, not the actual design. I had a number of them until I got 1:29 hoppers and got rid of all my 1:32.

For people reading this and wondering why a 12 year old thread was revived, he forgot to mention that Piko bought some of the MDC molds.

Greg


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