# New Bachmann box car



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Today at the Greenberg train show in northern Virginia I picked up new Bachmann box cars. Star Hobby of Annapolis, MD received two of the new D&RGW 3000 series box cars. 

They are very nice looking cars, The graphics are crisp and many of the small parts are very small and delicate. Fortunately, the car box includes a bag with duplicates of some of the smaller parts.

The journal boxes are hinged and operating like the prototype. I've already glued them down.


They come with metal wheels and body mounded knuckle couplers. The car also include step down knuckle couplers that should mate with truck mounted couplers. 


When you open the box, be careful not to loose any small parts that may have fallen off. The doors on both cars had fallen off in transit. It turns out that the block that keeps the door from sliding too far to the right had fallen off. I found it in the box. One of the brackets that holds the coupler lift bar in place also had fallen off. SO. OPEN THE BOX OVER A CLEAN SURFACE SO YOU CAN FIND ANY SMALL PARTS THAT MAY HAVE SEPARATED FROM THE CAR.


They are very good looking cars. I don't have the specs, so I can't say how accurate they are, but for my mind, they are a welcome addition to the Clear Lake Lumber Company RR.

Over all it is a good looking car and it will fit in very nicely on any 1:20.3 scale layout. 







































The couplers are taller than the 1:20.3 Accucraft couplers, but they seem to work very nicely. 


Chuck N 


PS: Both cars have the same number, 3522. It would be very nice if other numbers were available.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Chuck, 

They look like very cars! Crisp detail and graphics. When is Bachmann going to start realizing they have to introduce cars with DIFFERENT numbers!! Are they comparable in price to AMS? Thanks for posting.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Gary:

It's been awhile since I bought my AMS Rio Grande box cars, so I can't remember what I paid. The show price for the car was $120.00 (MSRP is about $210). Whether that was the show price or the regular price I don't know and we all realize that the show price could be a special sale.


Bachmann changed the numbers on the K-27s, and even changed the style of the locomotives and tenders. If they can do that, why can't they put different numbers on cars? I have some LGB cars that came with sets of numbers that could be used to individualize different cars of a similar series. 


Chuck N


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

The first AMS boxes I purchased (over 2 1/2 years ago) were $79, I believe, from Jonathan.


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## Dr Rivet (Jan 5, 2008)

Gary / Chuck

I will have to check out Robert Sloan's "A Century and Ten of D&RGW Freight Cars " to do a true "Rivet Review". The most obvious item is the truss rod across the end of the car shown going back into the interior of the body to attach to the sides. On the 3000 series cars the rod was on the outside all the way across and attached to the metal corner braces, which on the Bachmann model has no provision for attaching the truss rod. On Accucraft box cars that represent the 1924 rebuild, the proper bracket is installed, but the rebuild did not include reinstallation of the rods across the ends.


Overall, it looks like a very credible model; just not sure of the specific prototype. Level of detail looks to be excellent. Photo below shows a scratch built model of EBT #170, a box car that had the truss rods across the end. Note how the rods attach to the corner braces on the side of the car. The original 3000 D&RGW box cars were similar.












As for price, The AMS cars have been as low as around $60-$65, currently appear to be in the $75-$80 range, as most are out of stock. Current MSRP for new deliveries from AMS is $119. The Bachmann MSRP is $210 so typical street prices will be $125-$140. This is consistent with the rest of their 1:20.3 Spectrum cars.


Regards


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Checking my records, my first four AMS D&RGW box cars were $120 (I don't have the year, but it was many years ago). I got them when they were first released (with bricks for trucks). In 2008 I bought two more for $63. The trucks rolled much better on the $63 cars.

Chuck


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

deleted


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## RGSNH (Jan 13, 2008)

I saw these cars at the 30th NNGC this past week. these are not for the rivet counters as there is no specific prototype, just a bash of there previous car. one thig that stoud out to me was the greatly oversized door hangers and door guides on these cars which distract from there overall apearance. overall a good looking car. the D&RG originally had the truss rod midway up the car end, but was removed in subsequent shoppings as not needed.

Al P.


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