Lionel "newly tooled" 1:48 tractor-trailer (6-37850) trailor

Lee take some air out of the tractor's rear tires.

 

Actually I picked up my Pennsy version last Saturday noting the same.  I intended to also drill out the fifth wheel but now see that will only get so far.  Will have to research more.

Nice looking rig I like the 35 foot trailer good job.

The tires and wheels look about right size to me. How is the width of trailer should be no more than 96"

It's a scale 96 to 99 inches wide.  Very good to me.

With your re-engineering, sure looks very good.

I have always loved REA equipment with that distinctive green color.  Excellent improvement Lee!

 

Art

Lee, Your 35" looks great. I wish that when Lionel, MTH or whoever brought out a TOFC, that they would have offered a matching tractor to go with it. I have 3 TOFC with 2 Milw. Rd trailers on each one but not 1 tractor! I found some 1/43 scale tractors at Die-Cast Direct to pull them with. Anybody else have this problem?

Lee....another fine bit of re-engineering.  Looks great!

 

Alan

Looks good. I don't know if people realize but UPS basically put REA out of business in 1975 due to the cheaper price of shipping parcels via the interstate highways rather by the more expensive way of rails.

Hi Lee,  thanks for the post.  I was at my LHS and almost picked one up.  If I do get one, at least I will know what needs to be done to make them fit together.  all the best,

You are a master craftsman, Lee.  Great job! 

I don't think you're being picky in the least bit.  Unless you make the adjustments that you did, the way the tractor and trailer mate up looks ridiculous!  Yet another example of a brand new product getting released with obvious design and/or production flaws.

Is it really possible that the management (or Q.C.) team inspected the pre-production sample and all said "Yeah, that looks good, let's go with it"???  Maybe they wanted it to be a dump trailer with all the 1:48 cargo sliding back to the rear doors for easy unloading!

Frankly, I don't think they checked at all.  I worked at mine for thirty minutes thinking there was some secret to getting it to connect, even using a jewler's loop to look at the partst in detail, before I realized there were two reasons why it would not connect: one the hole in the tractors connection plate was too small diameter for all but the head of the peg(its taper at the end)  to go into (top photo), and once thathole was widened, there was not enough clearance belo for the peg: with a wider hole the peg goes in farther but the end hits a frame brace of the truck below and can't go all the way down.  You need to drill on down into the plastic frame with enough diamter to give room for the peg - then the peg will go in all the way.  And then, it is still just a bit skewed (lower picture in first photo).  In this case, whoever desinged this has their head up . . . well, their own hole.  I really do love Lionel but geez, $90 for a toy truck is a lot anytime - even Speccast doesn't cost that much:

 

http://www.amazon.com/SpecCast...ords=1%3A50+Speccast

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry to differ, but having grown up in the 50s, the original truck (2nd photo after you got things to fit) is prototypical.  I like it because I am trying to model the 50s.

.....

Dennis

Let me flaunt my ignorance.  What kind of trucks/vehicles did REA have prior to WWII?  I collect pre-war American Flyer O gauge and I have tried to keep all of my vehicles on the layout in the years prior to 1941. Does anyone make vehicles representing REA equipment from that era?

I saw this truck at a hobby store last weekend.  It looked terrific, and then I looked at the price tag.  Wow, talk about sticker shock.  Thanks Lee for the heads up on the issues with the connecting pin and your solution.

 

I was looking at these but backed off because of the price.  I would have really been irritated if I had got these and discovered this problem.  Hard to believe someone at Lionel did not discover this and get the problem fixed. This is 2014, not 1976.  Consumer expectations are higher.

I believe that the shorter trailer (adjusted for level towing) with one axle, is more prototypical for the era, especially if it was being used in suburban or intra-city deliveries.

 

Did you happen to put a caliper on the wheels? The wheels (rims) should scale to 20" diameter.  That was the standard size for most tractor-trailer combinations.  There were 22.5" and 24" rims being made then, but you would seldom see them outside of military, construction or exceptionally heavy transport vehicles.  Maybe Lionel "borrowed" the wheel design from some other manufacturer's 1:43 trucks.

 

A true O-scale rim would be 0.42 inches in diameter. A 20" rim scaled at 1:43 would measure 0.465".

Lee, I have to agree with Dennis.

 

When I was a kid living in New England, I lived a block from a freight company where loads from box cars were broken down and shifted to smaller trailers for delivery in the city. When hooked to the tractors, those "shorty" trailers sloped back the same as your modified version in the second picture.

 

I asked one of the drivers about it, because it seemed odd to me at the time too, and got some explanation about the short trailers not having a "sliding bogey" like the dual axle trailers, so the back end sat lower, causing the deck to slope.

 

 

Lee,

   In the late 40's/early 50's the actual truck & trailer combos looked exactly like

your 1st picture, the tractor was actually higher than many of the Fruhauf built trailers built here in Pa.  Infact other than the hole being to small to couple them together the Ford tractor and the Fruhauf trailers when going down the hi-way back then looked exactly like your 1st picture.  In fact it looks very realistic of that era.  Your last picture looks more like a modern trailer joined with an older tractor.

PCRR/Dave

I can't dispute what Dennis or Len2 claim the prototype trailers actually looked like when connected to the tractors (I was born in the mid-60's): however, the issue being overlooked is the fact that Lee had to spend a considerable amount of time modifying a $90 model to make it look prototypical--as it supposedly does in photo #2.  Come on manufacturers, pay at least a LITTLE attention to detail on the items you're bringing to market!!

Dennis, I think maybe what seem like overly large wheels were prototypical, but I have checked lots of photos or tractor trailers from the 1950s and can't find any with that much angle (even the lower of the two - after I opened up the hole with a drill).  Now, I can't find any pictures of REA trucks, but what I find - the trailers look pretty level to me?

 

Edit: by the way, I find lots of pictures of models of REA trucks from other toy/model companies like Speccast or whatever, all with level trailers.  This, of course, is not really meaningful since they could be non-prototypical models just because it looks better.

Looks nice Lee. The tractor looks to be a 55 or 56, I think they shared the same grill both years. Here is a 56 double axle.

 

 

During that era, the big three manufacturers of trucks used the same dashboard, windshield, cowl, doors, and roof line for everything from the half-ton pickups through the big tractors. That policy resulted in what you see in both the model photo and the real red truck. Since the top of the cab is the same size as a pickup, it makes the wheels seem oversized for the truck by comparison.

I'm not referring to wheel size or know anything about why there was a slope, but I recall there was often a slope to the trailer and that the trailer was short.  Your efforts and skills are under no criticism.  My comments were because of your criticism of the slope: ". . . but even so you can see (bottom in photo below) it does not sit perfectly straight even then. Now, I love Lionel, and maybe I'm being picky, but this is $90 list price" 

 

My thinking is that they made it correctly for the period.

.....

Dennis

Even toy maker "Tonka" made them that way.

 

 

Here's the 1st Gear Fords that I have. The Lionel's are based on these but lack opening doors, mirrors, windshield wipers and hood to show the engine. I use my Athearn Ford C trucks to haul the trailers. The 1st Gears are around $39.00 when I purchased them. REA typically used Internationals and Fords as the trucks of choice. Also known to use GMC, Chevrolet, AutoCar and Electric trucks too.

 

At $90.00, I can see were "O" scale will be for the "Rich and Famous" only in the future. What the suggested retail price of the new BB, matches the price of a new Mustang in 65. Does that mean in 50 years, a BB engine will cost 24,000.00?

 

That wouldn't surprise me at all.  Until you mentioned it, I had not occurred to me to make such a comparison.  I paid $2300 for my first new car - '68 Camaro.  Now toy train locos cost that much. 

Yes many trucks from that era went down the road with sloping trailers. Not uncommon at all.

But a big thumbs down to Lionel for releasing it without the proper fit. And @$90.00 too.

I will stay out of the tire size issue.

 

Hello Lee

 

I like the changes in the truck, looks good.

There was and is a lot of variables in semi trucks and trailers. I drove trucks and trailers of  all brands of that era. If you want more information let me know. 

PS. that chrome bumper on trailer should go.

Clem

Here is one idea for you Lee if your thinking of converting an REA truck for your streets. This is a Weaver trailer paired up with a Corgi REA Mack that I added mirrors and horn to. The last time I checked Weaver still had these in stock. It sets level with the truck and you may have more room to work with to power it through the trailer.

Lee, I was just looking at the tractor/trailers on the Die-Cast Direct site and there were several "sloped" trailers attached to their tractors. They were listed as late 40's early 50's trucks. The prices ran from about $15.00 to about $50.00. Anyway, as I posted earlier, I wish these companies, Lionel, MTH and Weaver would include a tractor with their TOFC trailers. As I stated, I have 6 Milw. Rd. pups with no tractors.

We often saw those 10 wheelers running for Mundy Motor Lines[gray trailers with blue lettering] during the wartime 1940s and early 1950s.

 

Carolina's early 10 wheeler,powered by a 1936 Mack, was level and all square.

You can use any cartage tractor with your trailer. Even put your own name for the cartage company.    

Trucktrain7, where did you get the mirrors and horn for the for the Mack B Model. I have several of them that I would love to detail like that just don't have/know a source for the parts.

 

Are these trailers available seperately? 

Went to my LHS yesterday and got a good look at those new Lionel tractor trailers.  Even at $67, they are a little too pricey, IMO.

This model is a Mack B61 Maxidyne. Most likely it has a 5 speed main transmission and a 4 speed secondary transmission. Some had a 3 speed secondary transmission.  By the time I drove one in the early 70's power steering was standard, but Air Conditioning was still a long way off.  Shifting the two gear shifts was a learned skill not to be forgotten.  Missing is a large exterior mounted Air filter.

The Maxidyne diesel was introduced in the mid 60s.   B-series Macks used either Magnadyne flat head engines, Thermodyne overhead valve gas engines, or Thermodyne diesels.  The gas engined model numbers(B-42, etc.)  usually ended even; the diesel models numbers(B-61,etc.)  usually odd.

  The B-model Mack pulling the Weaver REA is probably a B-42, since there is no air cleaner.  Yeah, it's a gas model.