Menard's new flatcars

Great news. When everything works exactly like its suppose to do, it makes a person fill good inside.

Grampstrains posted:

I have made comments in the past of my displeasure with Menard's metal trucks and vowed to buy no more.  The new REA and Pepsi flatcars really got my attention.  I was hoping the new plastic trucks would be an improvement.  So I stuck my neck out and ordered them.  I waited until the rebates were over and opted for the free truck  ( My grandson likes them).  I am impressed with the plastic trucks.  They look a lot like Lionel's but the couplers snap open a lot better.  Good job Menard's.

no pictures?

Heres some pics of my Santa Fe gondola(no flats) and the new plastic truck they works much better then the metal ones.

One knock on the plastic trucks.  While I'm sure the couplers work great now, they have those cheesy plastic springs on the knuckles, they won't be working for long!  I have lost count of the number of those I've replaced with cast knuckles and real springs!

Another problem with plastic trucks is they reduce the weight of the cars, I like the metal trucks as they give some much needed weight to the cars.

I never had any real issues with the Menards metal trucks, couplers and all on 30+ pieces. Never saw the need to move to plastic.

bmoran4 posted:

I never had any real issues with the Menards metal trucks, couplers and all on 30+ pieces. Never saw the need to move to plastic.

I’ve had the same experience with my Menards rolling stock, probably about 50+ cars.  I’ve even replaced some plastic trucks on my Lionel rolling stock with Menards diecast trucks with no issues.  I was disappointed when these new gondolas and REA & Pepsi flatcars came out with plastic trucks.  I’ve decided not to buy them.

I have 3 of the gondolas and so far they track well, the couplers have worked well and they look great. 

Now if the couplers do not keep working as well as they should you could always use a small cable tie or a drop of super glue to keep them together.

now in saying that I have a bunch of Lionel hi cubes from 1976-77 and all the plastic couplers still work along with the plastic trucks. I have run them allot and they still work. 

So I would buy any Menards car with plastic trucks and couplers without fear, they work better then the diecast ones they were using. 

Dave