Is the Railking crane car scale?

It is scale, and a good model. Many RR's used that type - I think that it has a Bucyrus-Erie prototype. I painted/lettered mine for the GM&O. 

Defiantly scale and a nice crane to boot , I lowered and detailed one for a PRR wreck train

Dave Funk posted:

Defiantly scale and a nice crane to boot , I lowered and detailed one for a PRR wreck train

Dave - what exactly did you do to lower your crane?  I'd love to lower mine.  

brr posted:

I'm considering the purchase of the current work train cars from Lionel. Tool, bunk, and kitchen car. The postwar-style crane car would definitely be too small. I don't want a new Lionel remote control crane car either. My layout is Atlas o36, so I would like a smaller, scale crane car. Would the Railking car be a good fit? 

No

RK's are not scale, would look like an o27 next to those L MOW's.

SIRT posted:

brr posted:

I'm considering the purchase of the current work train cars from Lionel. Tool, bunk, and kitchen car. The postwar-style crane car would definitely be too small. I don't want a new Lionel remote control crane car either. My layout is Atlas o36, so I would like a smaller, scale crane car. Would the Railking car be a good fit? 

No

RK's are not scale, would look like an o27 next to those L MOW's.

Not every crane car was a 250 ton lift crane like Lionel's.

http://www.vistadome.com/train...2/bucyrus_crane.html

Rusty

I believe the railing crane is of 120 ton design but to be a bit large when compared to the 250 ton MTH premier crane. However an o scale mag did have an article on converting it to a steam driven crane.

I have a RK crane that I modified and run with my scale equipment.  As they come out of the box they have a "High water" appearance.  The chassis sits too high on the trucks and the cab sits too high on the chassis.  I lowered the cab and the ride, replaced the trucks with Bettendorf trucks, lowered the stack and weathered it.  Now it looks more like a scale model than a toy.

Tom

SIRT posted:

No

RK's are not scale, would look like an o27 next to those L MOW's.

Many Railking offerings ARE scale, so your statement is not true. 

The Lionel TMCC crane car, which most folks acknowledge is scale sized  is 10 3/4" long.  The RailKing crane car is 12 1/4" long, probably because they included the couplers.  I be betting it's actually scale sized, and I'm pretty sure it'll look fine in his work train.

I think the railking crane is scale proportioned.    I have one I 2 railed and run with a baggage tool car and old Walthers crane tender that are both scale and it fits and does not look small.    It is about the size of the brass one that Overland Models imported some years ago.    

120-150 ton cranes were a lot more common that the big 250 ton cranes.   

Most railroad cranes are between 10' and 10' 6" wide  2 1/2" ~  2  5/8" in O scale.    The width varied a lot less than the length.      j

https://www.google.com/search?...q-gBdJOpM:&vet=1

MTH RailKing items are compressed. As stated, the crane is quite high and tonnage is kind of irreverent. MTH assigns a name to many items, and in some cases, doesn't make it so.

Unless you have both models sitting on a track in front of you, guessing is just an assumption, not a fact.

The Lionel true “O” scale MOW cars are quite beefy. If you desire to mix apples & oranges together, go for it. I would stick with MTH Premier for those work cars in order to do it right. Don't forget, you will also have to choose a true O flat or gondola to support a crane as well. Non detailed, compressed RK's wont look right. 

SIRT posted:

No

RK's are not scale, would look like an o27 next to those L MOW's.

Realizing you are referring to this particular item and it is NOT my intent to hijack the thread, I'm commenting about RK more generally because there is sometimes a misconception that ALL RK is non-scale. By way of example, the RK SW1500 is scale:

"1:48 Scale Proportions"

It is indeed a beautiful model. 

Tom Densel posted:

I have a RK crane that I modified and run with my scale equipment.  As they come out of the box they have a "High water" appearance.  The chassis sits too high on the trucks and the cab sits too high on the chassis.  I lowered the cab and the ride, replaced the trucks with Bettendorf trucks, lowered the stack and weathered it.  Now it looks more like a scale model than a toy.

Tom

For comparison, here is a photo of a 150 ton crane at Monon Junction in Monon, Indiana. (My photo)

Tom

SIRT posted:

MTH RailKing items are compressed.

What about all the former Premier models that were rebranded as RailKing?  They may not be as detailed as the current batch of O scale models from MTH and Lionel, but they are still 1/4" scale.   The RailKing Santa Fe and Reading-style cabooses are also rebranded Premier items. 

Granted, most of the RailKing line is selectively compressed or stretched, but to apply this to all RailKing models is invalid.  I will also grant that RK models are adjusted for O31 (or O27) curves and play value, but that doesn't eliminate 1/4" to the foot proportions of some RK models.

As indicated earlier, the RK model isn't based on the same prototype as Lionel's and therefor is an "apples to oranges" comparison in itself.  If the RK model were similar to the postwar Lionel 2460 crane, then you'd have a valid argument. 

If we really want to get down and dirty into the weeds, anything with deep flanges and third rail operation can't be considered as "scale."

Rusty

RailKing as explained by MTH:

https://mthtrains.com/news/286

Rusty Traque posted:

SIRT posted:

MTH RailKing items are compressed.

If we really want to get down and dirty into the weeds, anything with deep flanges and third rail operation can't be considered as "scale."

Rusty

Amen. 

    Back in the early 80s when Williams was coming out with their line of brass locos most dealers referred to them as semi-scale. Basically anything of scale proportions modified to run on three rail and sporting lobster claw couplers. Then along comes Maury Klein calling O-27 size trains "semi-scale which in a purely legal sense may be correct but from then on you had to clearly define what you meant by semi-scale. Thus calling for a new term,  "3Rail Scale".  I like to refer to 0-27 trains as " Toy Scale".    I would even be OK with calling them "O-27 Scale" Getting MTH and Lionel to go along is the key.   I think if there is an organization who could pull this off it is the TCA.  I would like to see them publish a glossary of terms that manufacturers and dealers selling at TCA meets had to subscribe to. MTH in at least some of their catalogs uses the term "Near Scale" I take this to mean 1/4" proportions but missing a little fine detail. Some of these Near Scale locos are very nice and I would not hesitate to mix them with Semi Scale/3Rail Scale. Would prefer the term Semi Scale restored to it's original 1980 meaning to 3Rail Scale as Semi Scale is easier to type.          j