Best coal car and coal load by manufacturers

I prefer Atlas cars.  Master line is great, but Atlas Trainman line works and looks just as nice for quite a bit cheaper than the master line.  There is also Weaver which made very nice cars but definitely not as detailed as the Atlas line.

Those are the two brands I operate on my layout.  

Happy railroading!

I like the Weaver two-bay the best; very affordable and when operating in a train, have nothing to hide. Note: I once found four of them at a scale-oriented train show for ONE dollar each complete with Weaver trucks and couplers!

I agree with Dave (PRRMP54). Weaver two Bay hoppers. And for coal loads I like loads Don Kane makes........Paul2

My favorite are the Postwar Lionel operating coal dump cars and #97 coal elevator. You can see them in this video:

Thank you for the responses.   I was finding the same opinions on the atlas cars.  Also the weavers do look more affordable.  

For the coal loads any of them have the best looking / most realistic out of the box?

St. Charles makes several coal loads for just about every manufacturer's hoppers.  A Seach in the Forum will bring up several threads about coal loads and St. Charles.  John

Weaver two and three bay coal hoppers were always my favorites.

"best" is not easy to determine.   It is very subjective.    The choice is also very dependent on what RR you want to model.

Atlas O makes/Made a very very nice PRR H21.    it is probably as nice as a brass model.     I think maybe Virginian and N&W may have had some similar cars.   No other RRs that I know of had that particular but in my opinion it is the "best" H21.

The Lionel GLa hopper from the first few runs is the Best PRR GLa model available outside of brass.   there were some roads that had them, and a few private coal companies.

The Atlas USRA 55 ton car is a very nice model of that car and a lot of roads had those.

The MTH Fishbelly is a good model and I think is a good model for Western Maryland and N&W fishbelly cars.   Probably some others too.

there are other more modern cars that don't fit my era, so I don't know about them

Another thing to consider in terms of detail is the "3 ft rule".   If a train of the cars you like looks good from 3 feet away, it is probably plenty good enough for the layout.

@rattler21 posted:

St. Charles makes several coal loads for just about every manufacturer's hoppers.  A Seach in the Forum will bring up several threads about coal loads and St. Charles.  John

Their site is showing no results on searches. Not sue what is up?

If I were interested I'd call Terry.  John

@rail posted:

Their site is showing no results on searches. Not sue what is up?

To my knowledge, they are out of business

Mine are Weavers. They are a good balance between detail and price. They are hard to find since Weaver has been out of business for a few years.

Also nice are K-Line diecast coal hoppers.  They are heavy but roll very freely.  Have real coal loads which look.good.

Thanks again for the responses.  I do like that k line are diecast and real coal loads

@Sparty1225 posted:

Thanks again for the responses.  I do like that k line are diecast and real coal loads

Some have real coal, not all.

@jim sutter posted:

Weaver two and three bay coal hoppers were always my favorites.

I just ordered 2 3-bay hoppers (2-rail / Clinchfield) from Beth Marshall. She's got a lot of Weaver rolling stock at great prices.

The best coal load is homemade

Beth Marshall is a great source for Weaver freight cars.

I prefer the MTH coal hoppers and usually in good supply on eBay and at swap meets. As for the cal loads the plastic loads that come with the trains are poor at best and need enhancement with added coal or make your own loads.

Be careful on the Atlas 2bay H21 hoppers. There was a production run of them a few years back where zinc pest rotted out the frame where the trucks are attached to the frame. I had two of the cars and all four trucks rotted and fell off. I believe Atlas is now aware of the issue and has replacement parts. (BTW these are the most intricately detailed)

I just ordered some two bay k Line cars and will see how I like them. Thanks for all the suggestions and help.