Does anyone know whatever became of the tooling for these? They have never been produced by anyone else so far as I know. Did they get caught up in the Kader Bachmann debacle?
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@rdunniii posted:Does anyone know whatever became of the tooling for these? They have never been produced by anyone else so far as I know. Did they get caught up in the Kader Bachmann debacle?
Like Weaver Steam engines, even new tires?, a mystery as to where they are.
I have been wondering this myself. I used to get the Weaver one's for $45/trailer at my LHS and now people are asking $150/trailer on ebay. Whoever has that tooling could make a killing with the pent up demand.
- Jason
The tooling for these was in the United States.
So a safe assumption would be that Lionel has the tooling, or Weaver was running them on a leased basis from Bowser, and when Joe closed down shop the tooling was returned to Bowser.
I played with the real roadrailers early in my working life and I'd sure like to run a roadrailer train on my layout... 
When Weaver offered these I don't think they sold very well if at all. I kinda remember them being canceled. I don't remember seeing or hearing what tooling Lionel received from Weaver so they could be anywhere.
I bought a bunch of these Road Railers from Bowser when they sold them at York in the Yellow Hall, 2002, 2003 time frame. And for a year after the Orange Hall opened. They were selling them for $35 new and $30 if they had a scratch on them. Didn't see much damage on the ones I bought. I wish I bought a lot more!
Was it ever confirmed if Weaver had bought or leased the RR tooling from Bowser?
I remember a post several years ago when a forum member contacted Bowser and asked about the RR tooling
Bowser claimed that they did not know the whereabouts of the RR tooling
Just curious - Would the trailers be a good candidate for 3D printing?
When I lived in Southeastern PA (15 years ago), I used to visit Justrains in Delaware a lot and spent a lot of money there.
They carried a lot of Weaver product. I know that one day I bought every one of the Road Railers that they had in stock (11 in total). I even picked up some extra couplermates. I don't think I ever saw them again in the store.
For those who may be unfamiliar with the RoadRailer, here are two photos that I took in Dalton, GA back on 19nov11:
I found a pair of the Bowser/Weaver trailers once at a show and picked them up; unfortunately the pair was missing one of the assemblies that the truck mounts to the trailer so I can only run one at the moment. They are are simple design so maybe 3-D printing might be a solution.
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@EMD posted:Was it ever confirmed if Weaver had bought or leased the RR tooling from Bowser?
I remember a post several years ago when a forum member contacted Bowser and asked about the RR tooling
Bowser claimed that they did not know the whereabouts of the RR tooling
Just curious - Would the trailers be a good candidate for 3D printing?
The SMOOTH SIDE ONES ARE! Those are also harder to find as Bowser was the only mfg to make the smooth sides. Weaver models only did the ribbed sides.
FWIW, if someone can print up 45ft originals and 48ft both with the attached rail wheel at the trailer door end, a lot of modelers would be coming!
Call bowser and ask them. I took my own advice and called them. The gentleman, I spoke to said they sold them several years ago. He thought they sold them to Atlas.
3d Printing large flat surfaces is difficult and they usually won't stay that way very long.
Jim,
Many thanks for your work on trying to obtain the whereabouts of the RR tooling
I think NS only has one (or two) RR trains these days, and when the equipment reaches the end of it's lifecycle, that may be the end of the RRs
@jim sutter posted:Call bowser and ask them. I took my own advice and called them. The gentleman, I spoke to said they sold them several years ago. He thought they sold them to Atlas.
Paul Graf from Atlas just wrote me they did not purchase that tooling.
So the larger question remains; who, if anyone(s), purchased all of Weavers tooling? It seems Weaver was the only one who produced anything with the Bowser tooling. Their GP38-2 was the nicest one on the market, where did it go? And their freight cars? Didn't they also make an FA?
It is a mystery.
@rdunniii posted:So the larger question remains; who, if anyone(s), purchased all of Weavers tooling? It seems Weaver was the only one who produced anything with the Bowser tooling. Their GP38-2 was the nicest one on the market, where did it go? And their freight cars? Didn't they also make an FA?
It is a mystery.
Generally the cars that were made stateside want to Lionel, and the overseas cars went to Atlas.
I asked Lionel, it's a secret and you'll have to check their next catalog. What kind of a non answer is that?
If Lionel does have the RR tooling and decides to do a run, they will probably price many of us out
I tried to order the Weaver RoadRailers through L&J HOBBIES in Portage, Michigan.
The RoadRailers were never available from Weaver Models.
Someone is going to need to 3D scan the parts of the existing models to get the 3D data for a computer program that will 3D print the parts of the RoadRailer models.
If someone has the full size, real RoadRailer then they can 3D scan one of these trailers to get the 3D data for a computer program that will 3D print plastic or metal parts.
Andrew
If you can 3D scan the real RoadRailer Trailers then you can use that data to laser cut and engrave parts out of steel or aluminum.
Then the parts of the trailer can be laser welded together.
Andrew
@falconservice posted:If you can 3D scan the real RoadRailer Trailers then you can use that data to laser cut and engrave parts out of steel or aluminum.
Then the parts of the trailer can be laser welded together.
Andrew
I have used 3D scanner at a former job, and they weren't cheap. Are you expecting hobbyists to have a commercial portable / handheld 3D scanner available to completely scan an actual trailer?
I have seen these on RoadRailer trailers in Norfolk Southern, Unit Trains between Decatur, IL & Springfield, IL and these trailers seemed as long as a 53' dry-van, trailer, probably with other large dimensions like 8.5', wide & 13.5' tall. Imagine trying to 3D scan something that large.
These are just my opinion,
Naveen Rajan
I wish Bowser made a couplermate detail kit for O. Seeing the HO kit really left me wanting. Normally it wouldn't be such a big deal, but I jerry-rigged one couplermate to ride the back of the train. That one is very visible. I picked up some brass diesel locomotive handrails which look "okay" once installed and gave it some welcome weight, but I never found appropriate platform steps.
I think if the trailer tooling does still exist someone is missing out on a great opportunity. There are hundreds of paint schemes and they are common as dirt everywhere. I bet there are 1:48 tractors out there somewhere. I bet a Frito Lay or PepsiCo Tesla tractor and trailers would sell well anywhere. I'd probably buy a dozen trailers and several tractors.
