(09/12/17) New! Bus Maintenance Facility from Menards!

Here's a short video for your viewing pleasure!

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

VERY NICE PIECE. Now where can I fit it?

That would make a perfect fire station...

I quite like this piece. It is something that would be a bit unique to see on a layout. 

Just wish it had the Chinatown School buses, but I'll be picking one up regardless. Nice job. 

Menards had better start working on a basement expander kit!  I'm running out of room!

Menards has created an exceptional line of prebuilt structures at affordable prices. And we don't have to wait a year or two to put them on our layouts. Well done. Please keep it up.

Tony

Up on "The D & H Bridge Line"

Smart idea to repurpose the Power and Light building.  That kind of methodology gets us more buildings and at a lower price.  

And this building can be customized to be all sorts of different things.  Gas station, boat repair facility.  Heck, even restaurants and breweries.  So many of these types of buildings have been turned into coffee shops, etc in real life.  

Nice. Who makes an actual school building that would go great along with this?

towdog posted:

Smart idea to repurpose the Power and Light building.  That kind of methodology gets us more buildings and at a lower price.  

And this building can be customized to be all sorts of different things.  Gas station, boat repair facility.  Heck, even restaurants and breweries.  So many of these types of buildings have been turned into coffee shops, etc in real life.  

I love this building and with a little customizing it's going to be the Emergency Service building for my airport.  I'll offer the buses for sale (cheap) since they don't fit my era. It will be based on this building.

luvindemtrains posted:

Nice. Who makes an actual school building that would go great along with this?

Lionel has a building that works as a school.  Check the past couple of catalogs.

Well that's good that it is district 12. It could have been worse... District 9!

As a veteran, (9 years), school bus driver, this is a must have item for me. I just wish they had done a better job on the bus models. What the heck is the purpose of that goofy roof hatch? There is not a school bus in the entire country that has a roof hatch like that. I will look at scraping those buses, and replacing them with something more realistic. The rest of the model is a keeper.

mowingman posted:

As a veteran, (9 years), school bus driver, this is a must have item for me. I just wish they had done a better job on the bus models. What the heck is the purpose of that goofy roof hatch? There is not a school bus in the entire country that has a roof hatch like that. I will look at scraping those buses, and replacing them with something more realistic. The rest of the model is a keeper.

I'm not using the buses either.  The hatch is sort of funky looking.  Wonder where those buses came from.  Anyway the structure itself is great.

The hatches on the buses are starting to be installed in case of accidents. Just another way to get out if overturned or the like.

I have only seen a few here near Philly.

Btw I like the school garage, I may have to get one. 

Dave 

WOW, what a great value.

david1 posted:

The hatches on the buses are starting to be installed in case of accidents. Just another way to get out if overturned or the like.

I have only seen a few here near Philly.

Btw I like the school garage, I may have to get one. 

Dave 

Roof hatches on school buses have been standard equipment for at least the last 25 or 30 years, probably longer. They all have 2 hatches, one near the front, and one near the rear. The hatches are just large enough for an average size adult to crawl through. I have not measured them, but I am guessing about 24"x24" is the standard hatch opening.

 The ones on these Menards buses will probably scale out at 48"x72". Just a tad oversize.

wild mary posted:

towdog posted:

Smart idea to repurpose the Power and Light building.  That kind of methodology gets us more buildings and at a lower price.  

And this building can be customized to be all sorts of different things.  Gas station, boat repair facility.  Heck, even restaurants and breweries.  So many of these types of buildings have been turned into coffee shops, etc in real life.  

I love this building and with a little customizing it's going to be the Emergency Service building for my airport.  I'll offer the buses for sale (cheap) since they don't fit my era. It will be based on this building.

Nick I love your idea! Get 2 of them for all the fire engines! Keep me in mind when it come time to part with the bus!

This is a great building. But with all the German Shepherds that come with the buildings, we will need a pet supply store or a dog grooming shop!

Interesting comments on the roof hatches for the buses. They do look a bit unrealistic, although I think they will blend in a lot better by simply closing the hatches. I may replace them however if I decide to turn it into a maintenance facility for municipal buses. 

It's funny how we can treat different manufacturers differently.

This is not a call for controversy but just an observation.

If Lionel repurposed a building there would be those complaining of the same old thing rehashed.  If Menards does it it's applauded as a way to get more items out at a lower cost.

I like high end products, but I am a big fan of Menards endeavors.  You get decent looking stuff to run at great prices.  I particularly purchase their WWII military rolling stock.

This school bus barn looks great, but not sure what I would do with it (repurpose to a military motor pool building? ).

Alan 

ajzend posted:

It's funny how we can treat different manufacturers differently.

This is not a call for controversy but just an observation.

If Lionel repurposed a building there would be those complaining of the same old thing rehashed.  If Menards does it it's applauded as a way to get more items out at a lower cost.

I like high end products, but I am a big fan of Menards endeavors.  You get decent looking stuff to run at great prices.  I particularly purchase their WWII military rolling stock.

This school bus barn looks great, but not sure what I would do with it (repurpose to a military motor pool building).

Alan 

I think this is because Menards is a new player in the market, and we are happy that they have entered and expanded their offerings. I think there is a tendency (and I'm the worst offender of this) to take Lionel,  MTH, and Williams/Bachmann for granted and to find fault instead of being grateful they are still producing products for our great hobby. I have many Williams locomotives, lots of Lionel operating accessories, and lots of MTH and increasingly Menards rolling stock. Despite any criticism I may voice from time to time when I get cranky, I'm grateful to all these firms for doing their part to make the hobby enjoyable. But I probably need to say this more. 

I do think Mark's activity on the forum and the frequent new product releases however have led many of us to hold Menards is especially high regard, and I think rightfully so.  Military motor pool building does sound like a good way to repurpose this

PoultryCar posted:

ajzend posted:

It's funny how we can treat different manufacturers differently.

This is not a call for controversy but just an observation.

If Lionel repurposed a building there would be those complaining of the same old thing rehashed.  If Menards does it it's applauded as a way to get more items out at a lower cost.

I like high end products, but I am a big fan of Menards endeavors.  You get decent looking stuff to run at great prices.  I particularly purchase their WWII military rolling stock.

This school bus barn looks great, but not sure what I would do with it (repurpose to a military motor pool building).

Alan 

I think this is because Menards is a new player in the market, and we are happy that they have entered and expanded their offerings. I think there is a tendency (and I'm the worst offender of this) to take Lionel,  MTH, and Williams/Bachmann for granted and to find fault instead of being grateful they are still producing products for our great hobby. I have many Williams locomotives, lots of Lionel operating accessories, and lots of MTH and increasingly Menards rolling stock. Despite any criticism I may voice from time to time when I get cranky, I'm grateful to all these firms for doing their part to make the hobby enjoyable. But I probably need to say this more. 

I do think Mark's activity on the forum and the frequent new product releases however have led many of us to hold Menards is especially high regard, and I think rightfully so.  Military motor pool building does sound like a good way to repurpose this

Thanks for responding to my post.  I agree with everything you said ( but I don't know you well enough to comment on your crankiness.  I'm kind of older, and I'll tell you what gets me cranky: "stupid".

Alan

Looks like I will be ordering my first Menards building to go along with the Greyhound Bus Depot. Awesome!!!

DMASSO posted:

VERY NICE PIECE. Now where can I fit it?

Same here! I have made room for several Menards buildings already, including adding an additional level. Somehow, I just have to fit this one - now to find where!

Alex

mike g. posted:

wild mary posted:

towdog posted:

Smart idea to repurpose the Power and Light building.  That kind of methodology gets us more buildings and at a lower price.  

And this building can be customized to be all sorts of different things.  Gas station, boat repair facility.  Heck, even restaurants and breweries.  So many of these types of buildings have been turned into coffee shops, etc in real life.  

I love this building and with a little customizing it's going to be the Emergency Service building for my airport.  I'll offer the buses for sale (cheap) since they don't fit my era. It will be based on this building.

Nick I love your idea! Get 2 of them for all the fire engines! Keep me in mind when it come time to part with the bus!

Mike at 16 3/4" wide, 2 of them would be as long as the run way.  Can't afford to give up that much real estate.  Guess you'll have to settle for 3 buses.

Just got mine ordered. This is my first time to try mail order from Menards. We will see how it goes.

Now, I need to locate some more realistic looking buses for the scene.

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Well that's good that it is district 12. It could have been worse... District 9!

Or 666!

Menards posted:

School is back in session and it’s the perfect time to introduce our newest O gauge structure! Introducing the School District No.12 Bus Maintenance Facility!

It’s Saturday morning and the Bus Maintenance Facility is alive with action. Even though it’s not a school day, the workers use this opportunity to wash and maintain the buses from School District No.12.

The mechanics thoroughly inspected each bus, making sure the engine, brakes and tires are in tip-top shape. And it looks like all three buses passed the test! Meanwhile, another pair of drivers are happily washing one of the buses outside of the garage. They better make sure to close the roof hatch or they’re in for some wet seats!

Prebuilt, prelit and ready to go! This School District No.12 Bus Maintenance Facility is spectacularly lit with over 45 LED lights. Both the interior and exterior glow brightly, so you can experience every detail. And, with its atrium-style roof, you can get a glimpse of its fully decorated interior from above.

This structure comes complete with a fully landscaped platform, which includes 6 bushes, grass and authentically weathered cement. You will also notice 4 workers, a trashcan, a handcart, a stack of tires and Jack the German Shepherd. And the most prominent feature of this bus garage are the 3 die-cast O scale buses with opening doors and roof hatches.

Bus Maintenance Facility (279-4033) - Learn More!

Dimensions: 9-1/4"W x 16-3/4"L x 5-3/4"H

In case you miss it, I’ve attached our today’s O gauge email. If you want to get these emails in your inbox, click here to sign up!

Thank you,
Mark the Menards Train Guy

Mark is that you standing in the background? LOL

RonH posted:

Mark is that you standing in the background? LOL

Ron,

It's not, but boy that would really be funny!

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

Menards posted:

RonH posted:

Mark is that you standing in the background? LOL

Ron,

It's not, but boy that would really be funny!

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

Please have put photo in the next product the autograph them for a couple of dollars more.
It would be a great selling point on the forum

wild mary posted:

mike g. posted:

wild mary posted:

towdog posted:

Smart idea to repurpose the Power and Light building.  That kind of methodology gets us more buildings and at a lower price.  

And this building can be customized to be all sorts of different things.  Gas station, boat repair facility.  Heck, even restaurants and breweries.  So many of these types of buildings have been turned into coffee shops, etc in real life.  

I love this building and with a little customizing it's going to be the Emergency Service building for my airport.  I'll offer the buses for sale (cheap) since they don't fit my era. It will be based on this building.

Nick I love your idea! Get 2 of them for all the fire engines! Keep me in mind when it come time to part with the bus!

Mike at 16 3/4" wide, 2 of them would be as long as the run way.  Can't afford to give up that much real estate.  Guess you'll have to settle for 3 buses.

3 is better then none! LOL