Menard's Reading Hoppers, First Impressions

Nice review, it's nice of you to save others a little aggravation. I looked at these in the store and didn't care for the coal load or the built by Menards, but you can't beat the price.

I'm guessing with some of the techniques that have been discussed that you could remove the built by logo, not so easy to correct the other flaws.

Jon, the coal load pops out from the top with a small flat blade and some carefull work not to scratch anything. I wish the trucks were not rivited on myself . it would be easy then to change to a better truck from lionel or others.

Hey Gunner,

So, it's evident  that I'm not the only one with issues regarding the new hoppers.   I ordered two of the Norfolk & Western hoppers and I ended up sending one of them back because of a defective truck (the side frame was visibly bent and would not pivot).   I received two of the Pennsylvania hoppers that I ordered subsequent to the N&W hoppers and I'll be sending one of those back as well.  Both of the couplers will not stay closed on one of the hoppers.   After reading your post, I concur with your observation regarding the truck to step clearance.    I'm pretty sure this small problem can be corrected with a little judicious use of a file.   The good news is that I contacted Menards customer service and they took very good care of me!   I received a "Return Shipping Label" via email and the replacement N&W hopper will be here this week.   It's nice to know that Menards stands behind what they sell and correct any problems in a timely fashion!

Chief Bob (Retired)

Hi,new to forum, just got c.n.w hoppers and pick up loaded flat cars, having same issues , derailments so far with hoppers, on 036 fast track curves. my flat cars bottem of metal trucks coming apart, causing shorts at track. very disappointing . have boxes of their track put up for future expansion of my lay out, now concerned what will be wrong with it?. any body know if their track is any good?. thanks really enjoy this forum. cshaf.

John

Good review.

I had some pleasant conversations (by e-mails) with Mark months ago about those the trucks being  rivited letting him know they were going to be problems for some .

I also discussed the truck support plate being  plastic. I had hoped for some improvements. I guess for the low cost some things has to give. He was very nice and wanted to exchange the cars but I worked on them myself  being satisfied.

Just info, I ended up applying  heat....every so lightly and straightened the plastic enough to secure the wheels and straighten them.

Still pretty nice for the cost. I especially chase all the military ones that come out.

Larry

still having fun

I don't argue that they're bargain priced, and overall I'm reasonably happy with most of them.  I was going to see if heat straightened the trucks, but I figured I'd document the issues first.  I have one truck that the screws holding it together are stripped, one that the coupler mechanism is binding so bad that it doesn't work at all, and then there's the lopsided ones.

Not sure what I'll do about the ones that are riveted too tightly, those are a bit of a PITA to deal with.  I really wish they'd used metal plates for the truck mounts, that would have been a much superior solution, but I'm sure also more expensive.  Trouble is, the plastic and rivet combination makes it really hard to get them apart to apply any fixes.

John as soon as I saw the arrow going to the steps and the truck I thought of Lionel and the work cabooses and the metal flats that had the same problem. ( all of this is postwar ones) So it's not anything new to a lot of us. we ended up having to bend the steps up. some just broke them off or they broke off either way. 

John: I do take the coal cover off to add a little weight, just use a hook screwdriver in the middle and it will pop right off. I also have had a little trouble with the trucks, but like you, it's possible to remedy  it. Here's  a video of the all Menards rolling stock and buildings 

Sometimes to determine what is causing a short is to run the trains in the DARK!  You can really see the spark!

Nice bodies.  Trucks not so well.  Screw in or horseshoe washer arangement round be better.

Bad news!  Thanks for the post.  Unfortunately I just ordered a couple other roadnames  to run when playing with two young boys.  The following truck is added free as a promotion to the purchase of some freight cars:

1:48 Union Pacific Box Truck

Model Number: 2793839  |  Menards^® SKU: 2793839

For $19.95 and a free truck, I thought it would be a wise purchase.

As for the truck retaining rivet.....Could you get a very small screwdriver between the truck and mounting plate and twist to open it up some??? I know on older Lionel I bought as junk had no trucks I used small nut/bolt to attach new trucks....could you drill out offending rivets and replace with nut/bolt??

Good luck...thanks for the info.

AMCDave posted:

As for the truck retaining rivet.....Could you get a very small screwdriver between the truck and mounting plate and twist to open it up some??? I know on older Lionel I bought as junk had no trucks I used small nut/bolt to attach new trucks....could you drill out offending rivets and replace with nut/bolt??

Good luck...thanks for the info.

Dave : I have done this, but it takes a lot of patience, and small fingers

I will have to check my new Menards hopper cars and see if anything is wrong or not, just bought 2 Reading Lines hoppers. They were at a great price so I bought them. If the hopper cars are that bad I will see about adding some post war Lionel frames and couplers to them. I don't want to send anything back as I am having problems with shipping stuff out from my area.

Lee Fritz

gunrunnerjohn posted:

I just received my order of Menard's Reading hoppers, eighteen of them.  Initial impression when unpacking them is very good.  The graphics are very sharp and colorful, good looking car.  They added some graphics to the ends, a nice touch.  They are a bit lighter than the boxcars, coming in at 11 oz each, I'd like to see them a few ounces heavier.  Unfortunately, they seem to have secured the fake coal load in from below, it's going to take some work to figure out how to get it out of there to add weight.  The couplers for the most part, worked better than my initial samples of the boxcars, only one problem coupler so far.

All good things must come to an end, and after an initial track test, the not so good things started to show up.

gunrunnerjohn,

I apologize for the troubles you are experiencing. Just let us know how many cars you don’t like and we will get them replaced for you. We will set you up with return labels. If you would be so kind, please put notes on the ones you don’t like and send them to my attention. I will show the cars to our engineers who are coming from China yet before Christmas. Hopefully, we will be able to resolve any issues at that time.

We deeply appreciate your critique and support!
-Mark the Menards Train Guy

That's great Mark, I was going to contact you folks today.   I'll prepare a list of the issues and suggested fixes.

I for one am impressed with Menards response and correction of this issue.

So nice to see a train maker offer to make things right so quickly.

I'm expecting my first purchases (O buildings) and have bought with confidence.

Dave

Menards posted:

 

 

I apologize for the troubles you are experiencing. Just let us know how many cars you don’t like and we will get them replaced for you. We will set you up with return labels. If you would be so kind, please put notes on the ones you don’t like and send them to my attention. I will show the cars to our engineers who are coming from China yet before Christmas. Hopefully, we will be able to resolve any issues at that time.

We deeply appreciate your critique and support!
-Mark the Menards Train Guy

WOW...I'd like to see all manufactures respond like that......

Now, sounds like good things may happen!!     

Larry

Menart's has been great all along, I had no doubts that they'd sort this out.  I sure don't want to see them go away, I've been able to flesh out my rolling stock a bunch since they started in the train business.   It is refreshing to see responses so quickly.

Dennis GS-4 N & W No. 611 posted:

Bad news!  Thanks for the post.  Unfortunately I just ordered a couple other roadnames  to run when playing with two young boys.  The following truck is added free as a promotion to the purchase of some freight cars:

1:48 Union Pacific Box Truck

Model Number: 2793839  |  Menards^® SKU: 2793839

For $19.95 and a free truck, I thought it would be a wise purchase.

 

Thanks Gunrunner.  I was notified this morning by Menard's that my order was successfully cancelled.

Soo Line posted:

I for one am impressed with Menards response and correction of this issue.

So nice to see a train maker offer to make things right so quickly.

I'm expecting my first purchases (O buildings) and have bought with confidence.

Dave

Yes, and even more impressive given that model/toy trains are not even their primary business (far from it, in fact). It's nice to have them around.

Jim

I purchased a string of 8 Great Northern hoppers.  The appearance is great!  The price is unbelievable/unbeatable.  But, I do have sparks fly going through some, not all, of my Gargraves turnouts.  I was able to adjust the switch by gently bending various parts with a small screwdriver.

I did have my very first issue ever with a Menards car on a Ross switch.  

All in all, there's just no way to beat this cars for the appearance and price; even if you do have to work on the a few track switches.

John C. posted:

I purchased a string of 8 Great Northern hoppers.  The appearance is great!  The price is unbelievable/unbeatable.  But, I do have sparks fly going through some, not all, of my Gargraves turnouts.  I was able to adjust the switch by gently bending various parts with a small screwdriver.

I did have my very first issue ever with a Menards car on a Ross switch.  

All in all, there's just no way to beat this cars for the appearance and price; even if you do have to work on the a few track switches.

Same issue with my one and only Menard's car - a boxcar. Fireworks every time it passed through my Ross switches/crossovers. There was no obvious solution so $25 later, I replaced the trucks with MTH trucks. No issues now but I'm not really interested in buying another one. Figure $20 for the car, $25 for the trucks, plus any shipping charges and I might as well go to my LHS and buy a MTH/Weaver/Lionel/Whatever car for the same price or a tad more and a lot less aggravation.

SJC posted:

There was no obvious solution so $25 later, I replaced the trucks with MTH trucks. No issues now but I'm not really interested in buying another one. Figure $20 for the car, $25 for the trucks, plus any shipping charges and I might as well go to my LHS and buy a MTH/Weaver/Lionel/Whatever car for the same price or a tad more and a lot less aggravation.

 

 

That's precisely why I cancelled my Menard's freight car order from yesterday.  IMHO, when you are buying new,  a great price is only a great value if the product looks and runs well.

I looked at my Menard's hoppers and they have an issue with the trucks as well. The plastic step ladder sticks down too far on one side and hits when the hopper car goes through a curved section of track.

Lee Fritz

Yep, I'm sure it's a standard design feature, I doubt different road names have a different design.

Just printed out a FEDEX Return Shipping Label that was provided by Menards Customer Service.   It will be on it's way back to Menards tomorrow and a replacement hopper will be sent back to me (No Charge).  I must say that Menards Customer Service is "Blue Ribbon" and "Top Shelf"   BTW, I'm pretty sure that careful removal of the rivet holding the truck in place can be accomplished with a bit of "Precision Drilling" taking care NOT to create excessive heat which will destroy the plastic mounting plate.   After which, the truck clearance can be increased with a small (thin) washer in between the truck and the plastic mounting plate.   A small machine screw  (or a small shoulder screw)  and nut can be used to re-attach the original truck.   Problem solved.  Hey, some of you guys are willing to "Fix" $1000.00 locomotives that should NOT need to be fixed at that price, so, at the price Menards is charging maybe a little "kit bashing" could be in order.   For the money, these are nice cars!  Just sayin'

Chief Bob (Retired)

If they had steel truck mounting plates, I'd undertake the fix at it would be quicker.  However, spending the time to fix 18 hoppers is not in my schedule.  It take some time to drill them all out, and no matter how careful you are, the plastic may be damaged.  Then I have to come up with the proper sized hardware to mount the trucks after I get done drilling them out...

gunrunnerjohn posted:

If they had steel truck mounting plates, I'd undertake the fix at it would be quicker.  However, spending the time to fix 18 hoppers is not in my schedule.  It take some time to drill them all out, and no matter how careful you are, the plastic may be damaged.  Then I have to come up with the proper sized hardware to mount the trucks after I get done drilling them out...

Gunner,

Heck no, I'm not saying to fix 18 hoppers, and yes, it will be time consuming.   However, for the guys, like me, that only purchased a few cars, it's not gonna be a problem.   You are extremely busy with all of the stuff you're into.   Me, I'm just retired lookin' for stuff to do (don't tell my wife I have nothing to do).

Chief Bob (Retired)

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Yep, I'm sure it's a standard design feature, I doubt different road names have a different design.

I hope Menard's makes the appropriate fix over time.  I would sure be willing to purchase their product if and when it regularly runs well out of the box.  Personally, I'd rather spend the time working on the layout -  or running trains - rather than repairing new items.  Such repairs can be expensive, time-consuming and, oftentimes frustrating for some of us who prefer to have a repair shop work on many of our non-working trains.  (I suspect that is one of the reason some brands have authorized repair stations, since many repairs are made out of warranty.) Unless you have the time, and the experience, making such repairs can become challenging.

I really like the way Mark stepped up and is looking to tell his partner's/manufacturers what the problem is and to work on a solution.. we NEED more of this in our hobby.

Yep, I sent him my list, I'm interested in getting the response.

E-UNIT-79 posted:

I really like the way Mark stepped up and is looking to tell his partner's/manufacturers what the problem is and to work on a solution.. we NEED more of this in our hobby.

AGREED......I kinda feel we are piling on Menard's right now.........

But the fixes are easy for a manufacture to correct.  Make the truck plate from metal or even a good engineering plastic like a nylon or delrin derived plastic that will not warp. (it may even just be a mold cooling issue) The to tight rivet is also very easy to fix DURING manufacturing. I'd have the wheel gauge double checked too.....another easy on for manufacture.

I only have box cars....found NO ISSUES with them. And the fact they are nicer than the WbB versions.....still a deal.

AMC Dave Posted:

"I only have box cars....found NO ISSUES with them. And the fact they are nicer than the WbB versions.....still a deal."

That's great to hear.  I'll give them a try as they are very handsome.

No matter how cheaply priced the cars are, they are not a 'good deal' if they don't work, or need to be fixed to run correctly.  Eighteen cars into it, it's hard to go back.  Remember the jingle as it should be sung.

Get ripped off on quality at Menards...

Got a Pennsylvania NS hopper today.  Looked great nice graphics ànd details.  When I put it on the track one wheel was about 3/8 of an inch off   the track.  Did some exploring and found the wheels were not in the holes on inside of the truck.  Pushed the axel in and tried to bend the outside of the trucks in a little.  Also did some cutting on the steps to negotiate curves.  Still not a bad deal for  $19

Marty

I've already come to the conclusion that I'll probably have to lop off the steps.  It's probably not that noticeable anyway.