# Aristo to make 70 ton ore cars / jennies



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Found on the Aristo online catalog by Jim Miller:

*https://www.aristocrafttrainstore.c...y%3B%3B%3B* 


Lewis Polk stated:


Dear All,

The Ore Cars are a major seller in our O Scale line, so I'm having the factory draw up a G gauge version of our O scale car. The drawing is done and we plan to make this in 2012. 

In order to have the drawing made I had to make up a P.O. with a style number that goes into our database and thus shows instantaneously in our data base. I could keep it from appearing, but decided to release this news. I think the early comments were for other items, rather than disliking this choice. 

I'm a believer that this car will sell very well and made the choice.

All the best,
Lewis Polk 


Great, can always use one that is to scale. I do prefer the prototype that has the wheels extending past the end of the car, but these will be a welcome addition since the USAT/Lionel ones are a bit out of scale and not quite prototype, and the MDC ones are 1:32, and the LGB ones are pricy.

Picture of the RMT ones used as a model:










Thanks Aristo!

Greg


----------



## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

I have to ask..Do the manufacturers of large scale trains pay NO attention to what the other ones are doing?? 
I will never understand all the duplication of effort, when there is SO much that hasnt yet been offered! at all! 

sure..maybe these will be "accurate 1/29 scale"..but big deal.. 
I dont think ore cars are in major demand..kind of a "niche" obscure bit of rolling stock used by very few railroads.. 
(I have never actually seen one in my life, and I have been actively railfanning North-East railroads for 30 years) 
(and since I have never seen one, I have no desire to own any in large scale)
and probably most Large Scale modelers who want ore cars already have them..since they *already exist* in the hobby! 
amazing.. 
next up from Aristo, how about a GP35? yeah..thats what we want..


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

It appears that "scaling up" of RMT products is going to be an option, this is not the first time it has been mentioned by Aristo management. 

There might also be the following attraction: The sales of "unit trains", i.e. a large number of cars... I think the very successful 2 bay coal hopper is a good example, many people I know (including myself) are making nice long unit trains of them. 

But I really hear you on duplication... I also heard they are "hot" on the GG-1 again... and the SW-1 (which, though not duplication, is very close to the USAT offering). 

Greg


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg:

The picture in your post looks like an improvement on the USAt ore car, but if Lewis is planning on a Minnesota Iron Range ore car, it isn't. The wheels are incorrect. This was the major flaw with the USAt cars. If the placement of the trucks is correct for the DM&IR and other Iron Range railroads, I'd probably buy some to go with my 32 LGB (DM&IR) iron ore cars. The LGB cars are by far the closest to the prototype so far.


There may be other railroads that used this type of car with wheels inboard of the end sills, but the Iron ore railroads of northern Minnesota were not. Someone once mentioned that cars with truck location similar to this proposed car and the USAt car ran to the iron mines in northern Wisconsin and Michigan, but no one has ever posted a picture of these cars.


Chuck 


LGB cars relettered and with the correct truck location.


----------



## Pterosaur (May 6, 2008)

I for one will buy a boatload of them! 

Lake Superior, DM&IR, oh yah! 

Good news for me anyway.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I agree Chuck, I personally prefer the prototype with the wheels extending beyond the car, but I believe the cars pictured are also prototype, just a different prototype, I found that style modeled in several other scales, N, HO, and O ... 

Of course, one could proffer a very good argument that since the prototype Minnesota Range car has already been modeled in G, then a different model like the RMT one is better and more diversity in the G scale offerings. 

Regards, Greg


----------



## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Greg,

You do know Santa Fe never had any of these right









Should be a nice model though.


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg:

I'd just like to see a picture of one of these cars in 1:1. So far, I haven't been able to find one. Just because someone made a model of it in HO or some other scale doesn't mean it really existed. I seem to recall that someone bought some of the LGB iron ore cars in Santa Fe livery only to later find out that they never existed on the AT&SF. People will buy things, just because they look nice, even though they never existed. I have several LGB D&RGW moguls that fall into that category. I have some USAt streamliners in B&O and PRR livery that look nice, but never existed in the real world. The doors on the B&O combine are not as close to the end of the car as they should be and the Pennsy never had a vista dome. They are generic cars with correct livery. They look nice and I run them without thinking twice about it.

In this case, however, I would only buy the ore cars if the trucks were correctly placed. This is probably because my family used to go on canoe trips in northern Minnesota and I saw these cars in operation and it brings back real memories. This is the only situation where I would be a rivet counter. I pull the ore train with a B&O mallet and have a B&O caboose on the end. My rationalization is that it was war time and they needed all the power they could get. If Aristo came up with a Yellowstone in DM&IR livery, I'd be the first to buy it, but I don't expect one anytime soon.

Chuck


----------



## rpc7271 (Jan 2, 2008)

As someone who already has 25 USATrains ore care and 40 MDC ore cars I won't be buying any Aristo ore cars at any price or quality. With so many other cars to make that don't already have competition I don't see why Aristo would waist money making any ore cars.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Good point again Chuck... I did make an ASSUMPTION that by seeing them in several scales, a prototype must exist, but an assumption is just that. 

The end platforms on the RMT also look different. I did want a bunch of these cars, purchased the USAT ATSF ones only to find, indeed, they were never on ATSF... drat... 

I love the look of the MDC ones, just a bit small since they are 1:32. 

Regards, Greg


----------



## lvmosher (Jan 2, 2008)

I bought 4 of the USA cars and then gave them to the Grndkids 'cause I thought they were just wrong. When if someone makes some nice ones I'll get 40 to 50...but they gotta look good don't care what RR as I'll paint them for my RR anyway.


----------



## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By chuck n on 19 Aug 2011 02:31 PM 
Greg:

I'd just like to see a picture of one of these cars in 1:1. So far, I haven't been able to find one. 

Chuck 
Singles

http://www.flickr.com/photos/midminnrailfan/3669062048/

And in a unit train...

http://www.johnweeks.com/river_stlo...tlU10.html


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Garrett:

You just proved my point. The wheels on the cars extend beyond the end beam of the car. I am looking for pictures that show the wheels behind the end beam. I have access to hundreds of the pictures similar to the ones you sent.



Chuck 


PS Here is my version of the unit train:


----------



## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By chuck n on 19 Aug 2011 05:13 PM 
Thanks Garrett:

You just proved my point. The wheels on the cars extend beyond the end beam of the car. I am looking for pictures that show the wheels behind the end beam. I have access to hundreds of the pictures similar to the ones you sent.



Chuck 










found some! 

Ore Car 1 

Ore Car 2 

Ore Car 3 

and probably more here:

Big collection of Ore Car pics 

Scot


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Scot:

You got them with the wheels behind the end beam. At least on 1 and 3. It looks like the wheels on #2 may extend past the end.

Chuck


----------



## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Forgot about the BLE cars. Yes Chuck, many in many scales are not right.


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

According to the book "The Missabe Road" by Frank A. King, the car in Scot's image #3 in his above post (Duluth & Iron Range # 163) has a 50 ton capacity. The lettering on the side says that it was built in 1906. King says that the first 70 ton cars began to appear in the 1920s. 

It looks as if the BLE car (Scot's image 1) is a close match to the 70 ton car being built by AristoCraft.

Chuck


----------



## Esppe Pete (Jan 21, 2008)

Although I like the Idea of a different Ore Car with the trucks extended. That said, I have to second Greg's Comment that 1/29 scale and G scale in general, has a terrible history of reproducing things already made and missing obvious market "holes". SD9, Northern 4-8-4, Modern Flat cars, Superliner passanger cars, to name a few!


----------



## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well for you folks wanting a 1 to 1 pic here is one I took a couple of years ago in Ironwood Mich. It' a C&NW ore car that they had many of and ran in Wis, Min and Mich. I for one would like to have one of the new AC in the C&NW road names. I'd buy a bunch.




























I wish the city could restore this car. As you can see its in dire need of restoration. Later RJD


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

That's not the model Aristo is making, your picture is more like the LGB... I still have 2 USAT ones for you if you want. 

Greg


----------



## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well it may not be the type AC is thinking about making but folks wanted to see a 1 t0 1 pic. So there you have it. As I said these cars made for various roads. Later RJD


----------

