(09/19/17) New! York Hotel Royale from Menards!

I'm not sure which Menards buildings you have, but most of Menards' recent buildings have been made of MDF, including the hobby shop and the Red Owl. In fact, the only plastic buildings I can think of were the ones made by Woodland Scenics for Menards several years ago. Menards also has produced some resin buildings. 

That's neat.

Maybe next run could have some walls & roof on the insert so it can stand alone too ?  

Menards posted:

IRON HORSE posted:

Sweet!  Love hotel's bing bang for the small footprint -- makes up for my Red Owl store square footage.   I will probably add it on to my order for my new basement bathroom sink outside my train room online as I take advantage of their their famous 11% off sale this week.  Can anyone confirm that the new 4.5 volt transformer needed is the same as the Lemax 4.5v? 

Iron Horse,

Truth be told, the Lemax 4.5v power source doesn't have enough juice to power the York Hotel. You will need a 4.5-volt power supply with 5,000 mA for this structure.

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

When you order this will Menards provided an immediate link and/or recommend the appropriate power supply chord?

When I bought my American Power Plant on a rare visit to Indiana, no one in the store was going to say anything and I would have gone home to Pennsylvania powerless. It was only due to the fact that since it was their LAST one I asked them to try the lights that we determined a separate power supply was needed. Menards should sells these as Building PLUS Power Supply. They can price it accordingly. To do other wise is, in my opinion, a tiny ( I did say tiny ) bit deceptive. Imagine a kid on Christmas morning opening his train set only to find that there was the train, track, and accessories, but no power supply included. We would all find that unacceptable. It is kind of the same thing with these buildings. Still, I think it is a GREAT buy!

Adriatic posted:

That's neat.

Maybe next run could have some walls & roof on the insert so it can stand alone too ?  

I think the parking garage insert would be great to fit in between two buildings as an access to underground parking.  Maybe put a cell phone tower, radio tower, billboard, etc on top.  You see that type of thing all over NYC, etc.

Michael Hokkanen posted:

Menards posted:

IRON HORSE posted:

Sweet!  Love hotel's bing bang for the small footprint -- makes up for my Red Owl store square footage.   I will probably add it on to my order for my new basement bathroom sink outside my train room online as I take advantage of their their famous 11% off sale this week.  Can anyone confirm that the new 4.5 volt transformer needed is the same as the Lemax 4.5v? 

Iron Horse,

Truth be told, the Lemax 4.5v power source doesn't have enough juice to power the York Hotel. You will need a 4.5-volt power supply with 5,000 mA for this structure.

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

When you order this will Menards provided an immediate link and/or recommend the appropriate power supply chord?

When I bought my American Power Plant on a rare visit to Indiana, no one in the store was going to say anything and I would have gone home to Pennsylvania powerless. It was only due to the fact that since it was their LAST one I asked them to try the lights that we determined a separate power supply was needed. Menards should sells these as Building PLUS Power Supply. They can price it accordingly. To do other wise is, in my opinion, a tiny ( I did say tiny ) bit deceptive. Imagine a kid on Christmas morning opening his train set only to find that there was the train, track, and accessories, but no power supply included. We would all find that unacceptable. It is kind of the same thing with these buildings. Still, I think it is a GREAT buy!

 

When you order it online, the power supply is automatically added to your cart.

I think you're mixing up Woodland Scenics buildings (those made for its own branding as well as for Menards) with Menards' own designed products. Menards (as a manufacturer) didn't have an Italian restaurant, a cobbler store, a gas station, a motorcycle building or an apartment building.

The Seed and Feed is resin, not plastic, as are several others. (You can tell which are resin by weight alone -- they are very heavy.)

The Power & Light building is MDF, as is the recent bus maintenance facility and others I mentioned earlier.

As for those you listed as brick, Menards has been embossing a brick finish on MDF (medium-density fiberboard) for a while now.

To my knowledge, Menards has not used plastic construction for its buildings since it discontinued its relationship with Woodland Scenics several years ago. All of those earlier structures were merely existing WS structures rebranded for Menards. One example: WS's Harrison Hardware building (produced in three scales, including O) was repackaged for Menards circa 2012 and was called Menards Hardware.

PJB, if you check the Menards site, you will see the buildings which are specifically made by Menards as Jim stated. It is you who is wrong and quite nasty I might add. I bought the same gas station that you are stating, but I had to purchase it through a different vender. They were a part of Woodland Scenics with a Menards sign. You will not find a gas station on the Menards website. You should really complete your research before barking at a response that was very cordial and informative. If Menards repaired something for you, it just is a statement about their customer service. If you check all of the folks who have bought their buildings, they will attest to their quality. As for the brick, I cannot say.

Rick

Hi Paul, $106.79 with rebate. Just click on "LEARN MORE " link at the top of the picture on the opening post. 

I don't think anyone is going to be willing to help you. You've run into similar fights with other people in your other thread on the value of toy trains. Let's see what the moderators think. 

Pete, how old are you? I don't know Jim at all other than what he posts here. I judge folks by what they write here and their demeanor. Nothing in Jim's post was being judgmental nor derogatory. And your acronym is truly not called for. Childish.

Here is an old post concerning the gas station: https://ogrforum.com/...n-is-available-again

OK guys.....lets be more respectful to the original purpose of this thread....to introduce a new structure from Menards.  Honestly....I don't know why it seems lately some folks get "testy" quite quickly....even when someone is genuinely trying to help.  

Thanks Mark for continuing to keep us updated with your offerings and interacting in a positive way with our members. 

All the best....

Alan

OGR Ad Man posted:

OK guys.....lets be more respectful to the original purpose of this thread....to introduce a new structure from Menards.  Honestly....I don't know why it seems lately some folks get "testy" quite quickly....even when someone is genuinely trying to help.  

Thanks Mark for continuing to keep us updated with your offerings and interacting in a positive way with our members. 

All the best....

Alan

Agreed.  A couple of quick notes:  1.  Both my Morton Salt building and the American Light and Power building appear to be made of plastic.  Is this just a really good paint job on MDF?  2.  My Red Owl store has definite MDF but the brick sides and back have the look and feel of plastic, too.  Further inspection makes me wonder if they are mdf, too. (attaching photo)  3.  Menards currently does not have the O Gauge stuff in their stores.  I'm in their home state of Wisconsin and only see them during the build-up toward Christmas and slightly thereafter into January -- so don't go out of your way to see them today. Their web site has very accurate photos, though.  4.  There is an excellent thread here on how to make your own plug that allows you to run these buildings on track transformer power.  I've purchased the material on ebay, just haven't hooked it up yet.  I would love to see Jim Barrett do his version of this with comments.

I own the power plant....very well done MDF.

I have 6 of Menards and all very well done with MDF.

All but 4 on the website are mare of MDF. As a cabinet maker, I work with this type of product every day. My hotel will be here Tuesday and will follow up with full details and pictures.. Bob

Ok Bob, no turning it into a brothel!  I have heard stories about you mid west guys! LOL

IRON HORSE posted:

OGR Ad Man posted:

OK guys.....lets be more respectful to the original purpose of this thread....to introduce a new structure from Menards.  Honestly....I don't know why it seems lately some folks get "testy" quite quickly....even when someone is genuinely trying to help.  

Thanks Mark for continuing to keep us updated with your offerings and interacting in a positive way with our members. 

All the best....

Alan

Agreed.  A couple of quick notes:  1.  Both my Morton Salt building and the American Light and Power building appear to be made of plastic.  Is this just a really good paint job on MDF?  2.  My Red Owl store has definite MDF but the brick sides and back have the look and feel of plastic, too.  Further inspection makes me wonder if they are mdf, too. (attaching photo)  3.  Menards currently does not have the O Gauge stuff in their stores.  I'm in their home state of Wisconsin and only see them during the build-up toward Christmas and slightly thereafter into January -- so don't go out of your way to see them today. Their web site has very accurate photos, though.  4.  There is an excellent thread here on how to make your own plug that allows you to run these buildings on track transformer power.  I've purchased the material on ebay, just haven't hooked it up yet.  I would love to see Jim Barrett do his version of this with comments.

I was fooled too when I first got the Red Owl building. All those buildings you mentioned are MDF. Confirmed in earlier threads. (And I did a subtle scratch test on the Red Owl brick just to convince myself fully.)

Mike, all those stories you heard about Midwest guys were started by Midwest guys! LOL

play trains posted:

Mike, all those stories you heard about Midwest guys were started by Midwest guys! LOL

Good point, I did not think of that!

OGR Ad Man posted:

OK guys.....lets be more respectful to the original purpose of this thread....to introduce a new structure from Menards.  Honestly....I don't know why it seems lately some folks get "testy" quite quickly....even when someone is genuinely trying to help.  

Thanks Mark for continuing to keep us updated with your offerings and interacting in a positive way with our members. 

All the best....

Alan

A well worded post - GLAD you chimed in - sometimes the "children need a dressing down!

This is a neat looking building.

My concern, like with all Menards structures, is their use of white bright LEDs, which makes some of them glow unrealistic. Will be interested to see what this one will be like because I can use it in my downtown area.

Paul Kallus posted:

This is a neat looking building.

My concern, like with all Menards structures, is their use of white bright LEDs, which makes some of them glow unrealistic. Will be interested to see what this one will be like because I can use it in my downtown area.

Paul,

I agree, sometimes brighter isn't always better. I believe there are other threads where folks have dulled down the lights using a few different techniques.

The York Hotel interior is subdued and we believe it to be very realistic. I'm sure we will start to see photos pop up in the coming days as they arrive.

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

PJB posted:

Mark,

I'm a big fan of the Menards structures and have bought many.  I've been asking for years for someone to please offer true city buildings, and voila!  This appears to be a good one - I really hope it's the first in a series.  You say it's made out of MDF.  I tried zooming in on the website photos of this building to see the brickwork detail, but the photos aren't high enough resolution.  

Any chance to get some close-up photos of the brickwork and building corners posted here?  

Thanks.  

Peter

Hi Peter,

I agree, the zooming on our website leaves something to be desired. With hundreds of thousands of products online, we are reduced to 1000px x 1000px images. The good news, however, is I am happy to post images.

Thanks for asking!
-Mark the Menards Train Guy

Hey Mark, the Menards Train Guy.  I just received my Hotel. It is great. Thanks for another excellent structure.

However, I do have a small problem. I am missing (1) window frame on the front facade....

How do I get a frame to fill the void? I do not want to send the whole building back. 

I looked for an email to contact you off the board but could not find one so I need to "ask" in this thread.  

I could steal one from the back but the Hotel will be viewed from all (4) sides.

No pic attached but if needed let me know.

Thanks for any replies.

Donald

3rail 2 posted:

Hey Mark, the Menards Train Guy.  I just received my Hotel. It is great. Thanks for another excellent structure.

However, I do have a small problem. I am missing (1) window frame on the front facade....

How do I get a frame to fill the void? I do not want to send the whole building back. 

I looked for an email to contact you off the board but could not find one so I need to "ask" in this thread.  

I could steal one from the back but the Hotel will be viewed from all (4) sides.

No pic attached but if needed let me know.

Thanks for any replies.

Donald

Hi Donald,

I'm glad to hear you like the building!

I'm sure we can get a new window frame for you. If you would email guest@menard-inc.com, they will be able to assist you further. Customer service may ask you for a photo of the missing frame, so please include one if you can when you send the email.

Thanks!
Mark the Menards Train Guy

Thanks Mark.....will do.

Now that is first class customer support!!

Donald

Back to the subject. It's a great building but it doesn't fit on my layout. But I have to show you this. In Hudiksvall, Sweden, the trains still run trough Hotel Statt, https://commons.wikimedia.org/...Hudiksvall_Statt.JPG

Berra posted:

Back to the subject. It's a great building but it doesn't fit on my layout. But I have to show you this. In Hudiksvall, Sweden, the trains still run trough Hotel Statt, https://commons.wikimedia.org/...Hudiksvall_Statt.JPG

 

that's awesome

thanks for sharing !

Paul Kallus, A way to dim the bright white LEDs to a warmer tone is a dab of Tamiya Color acrylic paint X-26 Clear Orange.  Works well to give a more incandescent glow as opposed to fluorescent or LED blinding white.

OK....I just had to have this one.  Ordered it a little while ago and it had a promo with tonight's order...a 6-pack of trees.  Now I am going upstairs to start doing some "urban renewal" (translated as gotta figure out where the heck I am going to put another building in my city!).

Alan

Alan

I know what you mean  good luck!!

Alan

Menards posted:

PJB posted:

Mark,

I'm a big fan of the Menards structures and have bought many.  I've been asking for years for someone to please offer true city buildings, and voila!  This appears to be a good one - I really hope it's the first in a series.  You say it's made out of MDF.  I tried zooming in on the website photos of this building to see the brickwork detail, but the photos aren't high enough resolution.  

Any chance to get some close-up photos of the brickwork and building corners posted here?  

Thanks.  

Peter

Hi Peter,

I agree, the zooming on our website leaves something to be desired. With hundreds of thousands of products online, we are reduced to 1000px x 1000px images. The good news, however, is I am happy to post images.

Thanks for asking!
-Mark the Menards Train Guy

Mark - thanks. 

The new MTH Canadian Pacific Holiday Train would look really cool passing through the building!!!

I wish my layout was larger because I love this building.

Picked mine up last night and despite the 2 hour round trip to my nearest Menards had to take it out of the box and try it out before going to bed.....WOW is all I can say.  Of course while I was there had to look around in the store and found some additional diecast vehicles and used old 11% rebate cards to pay for them which was a bonus.

Bryan in Ohio posted:

Picked mine up last night and despite the 2 hour round trip to my nearest Menards had to take it out of the box and try it out before going to bed.....WOW is all I can say.  Of course while I was there had to look around in the store and found some additional diecast vehicles and used old 11% rebate cards to pay for them which was a bonus.

Bryan, we got ours last week. Put it on our layout. Looks fantastic. It's just that with our layout, it looks small. I think you understand.  Thanks.  Tom Sr.

Tom, 

 I know how hard you guys have been working to get it up and running.  After I get this newest rental property up and running I will have to take a drive out there and see you guys and the layout and see how you incorporated the Menards Hotel into it.

John Pignatelli JR. posted:

New York Central!????

New York Central!!!

Get a rope.

People, you could not find a PRR engine?  You are better than this.

I used the tunnel part to access the power plant on adjacent track makes for a cool visual. Emptys are stored on track under hotel. conrail john