Kadee and Archbar Trucks

Kadee has NEVER made O Scale trucks, as the market is way too small for them.

I fear that the archbar truck market in O is over. Weaver quit making them years ago. I think you, me, and probably 5 other people are interested in late 19th, early 20th century trains in O scale. 

I received a MTH railking 19th century 4-6-0 for Christmas this year from Trainland, because they are on sale. Just got an e-mail ad from them today on MTH blowouts, and the 2-8-0 h3's are on sale. MTH hasn't released much in the 19th century line for the last few years. I fear there just isn't a big enough market anymore. 

I was able to get quite a few archbars from Lionel during their last sale, which are now die-cast, which is nice, although they aren't perfect. Wiseman makes a nice archbar kit with Intermountain wheelsets that are fairly affordable, and the old Athearn archbars are still out there, although the prices are rising on e-bay for them. 

There were plenty of O scale arch bar trucks at the last Indianapolis meet and I would fully expect there to be plenty in Chicago in a few months. 

And, Kadee makes scale stuff I'd predict that your chances of getting them to shift not only to O scale but also to 3-rail are as thin as a homeopathic soup made from the shadow of a pigeon that died of starvation.

I am putting the Lionel wheel sets from this pickle car into "scale" plastic Athearn  archbars, so Kadee would not have to make anything but O scale or tinplate, whichever is the largest market.   Both O scalers and I will correct oversights.   The trucks on all these Lionel pickle cars look way too modern, while prototype photos show Bettendorfs at the latest.  Somebody on here just posted about a book on pickle and vinegar cars in the midwest.  One thing you can usually find relating to railroads, IS a book on most of its facets.   (the book's cover shows a giant pickle on a flatcat with......ta dah!..archbar trucks)   (however, there is no COMPLETE book on all the billboard reefers that once existed)

Well you can do just that and one can routinely find the older metal Athearn (and Walthers and Auel) trucks with 3-rail wheelsets in them. 

Yes, the trucks on the Lionel cars are way too modern but then the list of inaccuracies of the Lionel (and K-Line cars) is endless.

You are better served by getting direct prototype information from the "Pickels in Miniature) newsletters from the now defunct NMRA SIG.

A complete book on billboard reefers would probably be several volumes and years of reading. 

Kadee makes such beautiful trucks I too have wished they would do it in O Scale.  But it is their business, not mine, and they have seen no reason to enter this sparse market.

PSC has lost-wax brass arch bar side frames for cheap.  I use them when I cannot find used Lobaugh.  I dislike plastic, and a lot of Athearn die cast has crumbled, so finding sprung arch bars is difficult for me even on the used market.  If you like plastic, the Athearn are probably the best looking.  All Nation made them in die cast with steel wheels, but they are hard to find.

Bob,

I have several of the metal Athearn archbars new in their boxes; plenty of metal sets at the Indy meet, too. Guess I should bought them all, but I have a file cabinet drawer of them already.

There are also the metal trucks from Yoder and from Bill Davis

Try samc@kadee.com  

There are also the metal trucks from Yoder and from Bill Davis

Wiseman is another source of Archbars.