These 6 car sets seem to be a great price (around $89 or so). Before I buy, who else has bought these and how do you like them?
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We have purchased a few box and coal cars from Menards. They seem to be fine for the most part. There have been a couple issues where one or two of the cars were jumping the track at a certain point. I put the car(s) in a different position in the consist and the problem went away. This is of course not an isolated problem to Menards cars. Good product for the price.
I bought a 6 car set of Western Maryland Lionel size 4 bay hoppers, plus the singleton. 7 different road numbers. They’re fine. I’m pleased.
I've had a few and they look great and a great price, but the QC can be lacking at that price point.
I just received a 4 car dealer pack and there were two wheel sets on separate cars that weren't turning freely. The stamped metal casting that holds the axles in place was crimped too tight and binding the axle. An easy fix with a flat blade screwdriver to open the slot a little, but had to take off the shell on each car and remove the truck from the floor to get access to it and then re-assemble everything.
As long as you don't mind stuff like that, they're fine.
I bought a pair of Menards ore cars to see if they would match up well with the Railking ore cars I’ve been adding over the last ten years. Even if they didn’t the investment was minimal and they would find a place on the layout. I was impressed with the detail for the price. They have tracked well on my tinplate layout - 031 curves, plenty of 022 switches.
They are far from scale size. They are smaller than my Railking ore cars, and may seem more noticeable if I ran them together. I wanted to, but find that I place a boxcar or flat car between the Menards cars and the Railking cars. Just my preference. That may not be an issue though - The Menards box cars maybe closer to the Railking semi-scale sizing. The loads in the Menards ore cars are not that realistic. I think they look better running with the plastic load “top” removed.
Will I buy more Menards rolling stock? Quite possibly. They offer lots of road names and are solid rolling stock for a great price.
- I have 4 Menards cars. Some come with button type uncoupler, others with straight magnetic. The cars are comparable in weight to MTH cars, but have some variance even in car types. For example I have one of their boxcars that is significantly heavier than others.
They are fine runners and at the price point, I don’t mind letting my 7 year old grandson play with them.
Their track is really good if you like O31 profile.
My Menards box cars (I'll estimate I have about a dozen or so) had problems with the trucks/wheel sets on about 80 percent of them. This included a 4-pack of the same road name where all four had issues. Ranged from relatively minor issues to more serious where they were essentially not able to stay on the track.
I haven't bought any in well over a year now. Just my experience.
I have a bunch of Menards cars and am happy with them. They look great and the price is great too! Hope they keep them coming as well as their buildings and vehicles too!
