Check out our new Milwaukee Road train set!
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Nice, but like the last one I think they would sell better if a caboose was included. True... modern railroading doesn't use cabooses but... modern railroading does use F-units either.
Great job menards, keep up the good work bringing affordable trains to the market filling a need ignored by others.
Wasn't Milwaukee Road (loco) long gone by the time Burlington Northern (hopper) arrived?
There has to be a Rock Island set and a SOO LINE set coming next.
Andrew
@RadioRon posted:Wasn't Milwaukee Road (loco) long gone by the time Burlington Northern (hopper) arrived?
Huh? The locomotive is still available as an individual item on Menards website?
@RadioRon posted:Wasn't Milwaukee Road (loco) long gone by the time Burlington Northern (hopper) arrived?
I'm guessing that Menards is not really going to hamstring themselves with prototype livery accuracy the way Lionel and MTH do, because I'm 99% sure that the beginner train enthusiasts who these are targeted to are 11 years old and don't care a lick about it. They're just going to be happy to have a big, loud O-Gauge train running circles on the carpet for a few days.
I don't know if this venture is going to pay off for Menards or if it's a money-losing passion project for someone in C-suites, but it's literally the ONLY option for a truly affordable RTR set for about 95% of the middle-income public that is simply not interested in laying out $750.00 for a basic oval set form Lionel. Prototypes and liveries be ****ed. I hope this segment continues to grow for them.
@Jeff_the_Coaster_Guy posted:but it's literally the ONLY option for a truly affordable RTR set for about 95% of the middle-income public that is simply not interested in laying out $750.00 for a basic oval set form Lionel.
I'm not sure where you are shopping for Lionel sets but they are no where near $750 for a comparable set. $429 or less from one of our Forum Sponsors. Menards is certain putting out some nice sets regardless.
If you mail order, pay shipping and can’t use the rebate it’s similar in price to many Lionel sets bought at Charles Ro or some other dealers. Not a criticism but a reality test. Good to see but let us not exaggerate the degree of bargain involved.
@RadioRon posted:I an talking about in the course of true railroad history. A Milwaukee Road loco would not have been seen pulling a piece of Burlington Northern rolling stock
BN was formed in 1970. Milwaukee Road continued to operate until around 85 or 86, so it would definitely be possible to see BN rolling stock pulled by a MILW engine.
Menards has very reasonable shipping rates. You should be able to ship this set anywhere in the Pacific time zone for $10 and $7.50 for the Central and Eastern time zones. That puts this set on your doorstep for around $260 to $265. The cheapest set from Charlie Ro with a remote (excluding the Thomas kids stuff) is slightly more at $259, and If you want a diesel RTR set from Charlie Ro they start at $349. But again, you get to pay shipping if you don't live near their store. If you want to buy the cheapest F series set from either of these vendors for as close of a comparision as possible, you'll need to add a caboose to the Menards set for another $30 which still makes the set $70 less (before rebate) than what is currently available at RO for diesel R-T-R sets.
The good deal at RO only benefits you if you live nearby, and the rebate deal price at Menards handily beats that by about 12%, if you have one nearby. Menards has more locations so if you live in Gillette Wyoming, you are a lot closer to a Menards than the Charlie RO outlet store or (insert your favorite LHS here).
"you'll need to add a caboose to the Menards set for another $30 which still makes the set $70 less (before rebate) than what is currently available at RO for diesel R-T-R sets."
You also might onsider the need to add a higher quality track that doesn't scratch your wood floors or get lubrication on your carpet, which will happen with Menard's tubular track in some cases, but not with Fastrack 
. And don't you need to add another freight car so the number of freight cars is equal? Usually two or three in a Lionel set. Basically a wash it seems to me.
So a good deal but not an otherworldly bargain.
@Landsteiner posted:"you'll need to add a caboose to the Menards set for another $30 which still makes the set $70 less (before rebate) than what is currently available at RO for diesel R-T-R sets."
You also might onsider the need to add a higher quality track that doesn't scratch your wood floors or get lubrication on your carpet, which will happen with Menard's tubular track in some cases, but not with Fastrack
So a good deal but not an otherworldly bargain.
Other considerations are reliability (there's another thread on the forum regarding one that quit working), parts availability (no support that I'm aware of), and inability to run in conventional mode if the remote or electronics fail.
I own several Menards items, and appreciate that they're putting attractive and fun stuff in front of people who might not otherwise see them. But these sets are disposable toys, IMO.
I still have my first bottom-of-the-line Lionel set from 1962, and it still runs. Just sayin'.
The Menards engines have been very reliable for me, have lasted a lot more miles that many of the Lion Chief sets released over the last 15 years in which the gears or electronics have failed on most of them some with limited running. I posted a details in the past. We have run a Menards engine on our garden railway for over a year running all weekend with the remote control on the fence for the kids to control it. Has run in very hot temperatures most days until after a year of very heavy use 7 hours a day on weekends and holidays, finally one of the gears jammed up and I removed the offending gear and motor on that truck and it runs fine on 1 motor now. That engine we still run and added a 2nd new engine. I also have 3 other of the engines that run well. Yes Menards needs to make repair parts available.
This years latest Menards engines the engines start and stop abruptly. The first run engines that were released over a year back had much slower starting and stopping that will have less wear on the gears when controlled by the kids.
If you ever wanted to run it on conventional mode a reverse unit could be installed if the electronics went.
The F7 A-unit diesel engine-electric motor locomotive could be painted in the BURLINGTON NORTHERN scheme with a train of BURLINGTON NORTHERN streamlined passenger cars that have slide and lift opening roofs.
Passenger cars would be filled with character figures.
Andrew
@RadioRon posted:I a talking about in the course of true railroad history. A Milwaukee Road loco would not have been seen pulling a piece of Burlington Northern rolling stock
Huh? I saw it all the time between 1982 and 1984. In fact, Burlington Northern used Milwaukee Road’s River Division tracks on the west side of the Mississippi River in Minnesota for its coal trains.
Burlington Northern existed from 1970 to 1996. Milwaukee Road lasted into the mid-1980s. BN and the Milwaukee Road had tracks in Chicago, the Twin Cities and elsewhere at the same time. It would have been incredibly unlikely that freight cars in any mixed freight consist wouldn’t include equipment from the other.
I haven't seen this BN hopper with the GN goat anywhere other than this set.
Still waiting on a non-powered Bluebonnet engine.
Menards engines and sets are toys at toy prices. What's wrong with that?
Toys usually have no service nor replacement parts support structure. At these prices, if it breaks you can, if you like, just buy another one.
At this point, comparing Menard to other more mature manufacturers, I think is a false equivalency.
Over time that may change.
I hope it does!
@Mallard4468 posted:I own several Menards items, and appreciate that they're putting attractive and fun stuff in front of people who might not otherwise see them. But these sets are disposable toys, IMO.
I still have my first bottom-of-the-line Lionel set from 1962, and it still runs. Just sayin'.
My first bottom-of-the-line Lionel MPC & Lionchief do not run anymore. Grant you that I ran the snot out of those MPC engines until the plastic gears gave up and they were shelved. The early Lionchief stuff was just built really cheap a not meant long long-term & heavy duty use. I've got a large parts box of early LC engines with burnt-out boards, motors, and trucks with shredded gears.
One person's opinion of disposable, rates with the value the product carries with them. I'm sure there are plenty of parents and kids out there who had the same 1962 Lionel set and tossed it out because its value never exceeded that of a disposable toy.
What I appreciate from Menards is their dedication to their shelf displays of affordable O & HO gauge trains, buildings, and tracks in a non-niche environment. Many kids & families who don't have any idea that train catalogs and dedicated manufacturers exist, drive by our hobby shops every day, but can now develop an interest in toy/model trains when Dad takes them to Menards to get something else. Just like the heyday of postwar Lionel when hardware stores displayed trains prominently.
My local Menards sold out of their sets around Christmas time last year, and the reason when I asked the manager was impulse buys from Dad or Grandpa who had trains when they were younger. Kids exploring the toy aisle at Walmart or Target will not find train sets with as much quality as those from Menards. Those train sets from the major department stores are truly disposable as marked by their plastic tracks and cheap appearance.
If you have a problem with a Menards train set, take it back to the store and exchange or refund it just as you would if you purchased a set from a local hobby shop. This boils down to doing business locally where the support is also local. I've had a neighbor who bought a Lionel train set online for a Christmas present, it didn't work on Christmas morning and they waited until February for Lionel to repair & return the set. An LHS or local Menards can service you much faster than mail order vendor.
The Menards sets are excellent values even more so when you can take advantage of the rebates.
I think perhaps we can all agree that Menards has added to the hobby of three rail trains substantially. Hopefully will last for the long term. I have one of their locos and dozens of their freight cars and believe their products represent good value, even without the rebate and with the shipping, etc. Obviously not of interest to those for whom highest quality materials and/or prototype accuracy are critical. Then again, I drive a Subaru, not a Bentley .
@kj356 posted:Has run in very hot temperatures most days until after a year of very heavy use 7 hours a day on weekends and holidays, finally one of the gears jammed up and I removed the offending gear and motor on that truck and it runs fine on 1 motor now. That engine we still run and added a 2nd new engine. I also have 3 other of the engines that run well. Yes Menards needs to make repair parts available.
I wonder if one of the other manufacturers' parts would fit the failed truck and/or motor? An earlier thread about a Williams locomotive resulted in finding a NWSL gear that fit, if I recall correctly.
---PCJ
