I've been following the numerous posts about the wide range of products being offered by Menards and so bit the bullet and tried a couple myself. First up was their announcement of a scale length flat car. It looked like a natural as a base for projects rather than spending $90 on a Lionel flat car.
First up was a simple one, a load of John Deere tractors being shipped to my local dealership. Staining the deck and making dozens of chocks and the project was done! You can see the dealership in the background.
Next up was a lot more complicated, an equipment car for my wreck train. In this case, all the rolling stock were painted Santa Fe work train silver. So, the Menards flat was disassembled and painted silver and Santa Fe decals added. Then photo research showed a configuration for the side panels. An equipment box hid the screw hole on one end and trucks, wheels and some ties filled the rest of the car. (the box car next door was a Weaver outside truss boxcar which received a similar redo)
Finally, reviews of the Menards autos included a note that they would fit into a Lionel auto carrier car, so when they advertised their bulk packages, I was in. This is simply the auto storage yard part of my intermodal yard. I will be building an unloading ramp to place at the end of the auto carrier car and this project will be completed.
Thanks Menard's!
One of these days I'd still like to see it though.