MTH Premier line passenger cars. How nice are they?

It depends on the exact models, but all the makers make some good looking cars.  Atlas cars tend to have some great detail, but it also tends to be fragile.  My passenger cars are about 40% Lionel and 60% MTH Premier with a few MTH RailKing ones like the Aerotrain cars.  I find the MTH Premier cars easier to work on.

My only gripe is the overly lonnnng diaphragms between the cars, they don't couple that close and theres still a fair gap between diaphragms.  I switched from MTH to K Line cars for this reason.

Having said that,  MTH  still makes a good passenger car thats typically more reasonably priced than the competition.

I prefer the MTH cars.

i like to buy the versions with the clear windows without the figures and add the figures myself to save money 

I had just purchased the Premier Reading Blue Mountain and Northern set from MR MUFFINS trains.  Got the 10 car set for a great price when pre ordering and now awaiting the R&N Pacifics that are suppose to be coming in March?  These are real nice cars 18 inch and have people inside.  They are lit using LEDs and I have had no problems with them.   

I now only buy MTH cars because, for the money, MTH is the best. Of course, the "other" major company that I buy engines exclusively nowadays have great passenger cars, but at more $ than the MTH, I'll save my money and put it elsewhere.

Like anything in this hobby it depends on your interests and goals for your layout or operating preference.  MTH does make a nice car, but many are shorter than prototype size.  That doesn't bother some people and that's perfectly fine.  In my case I prefer scale length cars which are not made by MTH in some cases.  Most of my passenger cars are K-line and Golden Gate Depot.  I have some Atlas and really like the newer production MTH head end cars as they are competitively priced and well detailed. 

I just picked up eight of the MTH Woodside passenger cars for Strasburg RR with LED lighting.  My only complaint with their LED lighting is they didn't bother to regulate it or add a capacitor to avoid flicker!  I'm adding capacitors to all the cars to at least control flicker, I can't believe a 20 cent component would have broke the bank!  There is even some convenient holes in the PCB for the capacitor, I just pop out the light circuit board and add the cap!

laz1957 posted:

I had just purchased the Premier Reading Blue Mountain and Northern set from MR MUFFINS trains.  Got the 10 car set for a great price when pre ordering and now awaiting the R&N Pacifics that are suppose to be coming in March?  These are real nice cars 18 inch and have people inside.  They are lit using LEDs and I have had no problems with them.   

These are the type of cars I am looking at. Two questions - do the lights flicker and is there an on off switch for the lights.

Well Said   GG1.

   The MTH wood side cars are sweet now if some one would make an E2 or E3 to pull them brass maybe.    An accurate Yellow Kid would get my money.

  I have strange tastes and generally have to build what I want some years are involved.

2356 posted:

laz1957 posted:

I had just purchased the Premier Reading Blue Mountain and Northern set from MR MUFFINS trains.  Got the 10 car set for a great price when pre ordering and now awaiting the R&N Pacifics that are suppose to be coming in March?  These are real nice cars 18 inch and have people inside.  They are lit using LEDs and I have had no problems with them.   

These are the type of cars I am looking at. Two questions - do the lights flicker and is there an on off switch for the lights.

Hi 2356,

  There is not an on off switch on these cars.  My lights don't flicker but I am not running them over switches so I don't know if they will flicker over the switch.  I run my passenger cars in a big oval.

Essentially all 3RO equipment these days - and for the last 20 years - can only be described as "nice", or better. You can't really go wrong with any of them.

MTH passenger cars are nice, if you want a good quality car with a fair amount of detail. If you want a prototypical, scale car, with the correct paint scheme on the correct type of car, look elsewhere, namely Atlas and Golden Gate Depot. If you're just looking you have fun running some nice trains, then get the MTH cars, but if you want a highly detailed, scale portioned, accurate train it won't be the best option. 

2356 posted:

laz1957 posted:

I had just purchased the Premier Reading Blue Mountain and Northern set from MR MUFFINS trains.  Got the 10 car set for a great price when pre ordering and now awaiting the R&N Pacifics that are suppose to be coming in March?  These are real nice cars 18 inch and have people inside.  They are lit using LEDs and I have had no problems with them.   

These are the type of cars I am looking at. Two questions - do the lights flicker and is there an on off switch for the lights.

Unless MTH did something different in the other Premier models with LED's, they will flicker.  You might not see it until either the track gets dirty, the rollers/wheels get dirty, or you go over switches, but it's there.  At least they don't gulp power like the incandescent lighting does, but they only did half the job.

Contract that with what Lionel did, they went for overkill!  Their new LED lighting stays on several minutes after power is removed!   IMO, that was an unnecessary expense, but better than not having any flicker resistance.

My stuff is over at my new house right now, but I thought the Woodside Premier cars had a light switch.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

I just picked up eight of the MTH Woodside passenger cars for Strasburg RR with LED lighting.  My only complaint with their LED lighting is they didn't bother to regulate it or add a capacitor to avoid flicker!  I'm adding capacitors to all the cars to at least control flicker, I can't believe a 20 cent component would have broke the bank!  There is even some convenient holes in the PCB for the capacitor, I just pop out the light circuit board and add the cap!

Jon I never got around to you first post about this issue and I was quite surprised when I saw it.  I had just purchased my first LED passenger set around 1-2 weeks before your post about light flicker.  I have the MTH 20-65265 (NS 5 car 70' )and the lights stay fully lit and steady at all speeds.  In comparison ALL my other conventionally lighted passenger car sets flicker or go out when crossing the  back to back switches on my outer loop.

Maybe they skipped it because these were a couple of inches shorter.    All I know is, I opened one up, no capacitor.  After adding the cap, they didn't flicker at all.  Just have seven more to do...

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Maybe they skipped it because these were a couple of inches shorter.    All I know is, I opened one up, no capacitor.  After adding the cap, they didn't flicker at all.  Just have seven more to do...

What are the specs on the capacitor you use?   Would that be the same for incandescent bulbs?

Thanks,

Alan

The LED light strips already have DC, so I just add the capacitor, I used a 330uf cap.  The incandescent lights use AC, and they are drawing MUCH more current.  Even if you rectified the AC to power them with DC, You'd need about a 10,000uf capacitor to make a significant difference, that's huge and expensive.

Better to consider a conversion to LED.

I prefer the MTH Premier passenger sets as they are 18" and a good compromise between the scale length 21" cars and the shorty 15/16" ones.  Most of us have limited real estate and sharp curves and cannot accommodate the scale cars.  MTH has also made dozens of different road names so most people should be able to find a set they like.

18" is often prototypically correct - especially for coaches and baggage cars.  I would love to see more photos of those cars - some closeups and broadsides.

MTH Premier PRR 18" car.

A full dome I installed LED lighting in for a client.

A couple of other MTH PRR Heavyweight 18" cars I installed LED lighting into.

bob2 posted:

18" is often prototypically correct - especially for coaches and baggage cars.  I would love to see more photos of those cars - some closeups and broadsides.

Baggage cars, yes. Coaches no. The vast majority of coaches, diners, and sleepers were 85' or 21" in O scale. 

ATLAS.  But don’t take my word for it.  Go to a hobby shop or train show and ask to see an Atlas California Zephyr car.  Then take as long as you want to find something better.  If you do, let me know.  I’ll be waiting.

Jim, that's one Atlas set, they're not all built to that standard.

Might be time for the OP to chime in and tell us if he can run 21" cars. That might narrow down the choices.

Pete

gunrunnerjohn posted:

I just picked up eight of the MTH Woodside passenger cars ....

I'm going to chime in on this car too. They are 64' scale and IMHO the prettiest passenger cars MTH has ever produced.

I have also had (and sold) MTH Premier 72' N&W Heavyweight and smooth sided cars. They're "OK", but generic.

Here are some comparisons.  But like others have said.  Consider your layout size, curve size as well as your storage track length.  6 MTH Premier cars are very different from 6 MTH Railking cars.  Let me know if you want to see that picture.

MTH Premier (The reflection is my phone, sorry)

MTH Railking

MTH Rugged Rails

Atlas (Had to back the camera up for this one... It's long)

Atlas Semi Scale

Lionel (They are my only ones... Meant to tease and be funny, not mean)

MTH Premier... Again (Because they are just so flippin' cool)

Good Luck and Have Fun.

Ron

I have found the MTH Premier Amfleets to be excellent models.  I have collected all of the chrome-plated models in Phase 1 paint, and I am quite happy with them.  The blue is a little too dark, but it matches the MTH AEM7 perfectly, and makes for a nice consist with the people figures already inside.  I took some quick photos, but they are not the typical quality I strive for.  I just wanted to offer my $0.015 expediently.

Sorry about this one below, the focus on the D40 was acting up.  You get the idea.

I didn't have a the tripod handy for the lit shots.  I have plans to convert these to LED with caps, but other projects abound at the moment.

It does irk me somewhat that they are not 21", but 19" is a good compromise, and I am pleased with them, especially the chrome finish and included figures.  I always use gloves when handling them, and with care.  If money was no object, I'd go reserve 10 or 12 of the scale models from Golden Gate Depot.  Sadly, money is an object, and the budget is limited, but that is OK.

I also added an MTH RPO to the consist.  Again, it seems a bit weird for the baggage/dorm to be the same length as the coaches, but sometimes compromises are unavoidable.

  RPOs became baggage / dorms on Amtrak, and showed up on occasion for a few years on longer distance corridor trains.  I believe the one below is in Sunnyside under the wire, so they had to traverse the corridor at some point.

The increased distance between the doors and the bar/handles in front of them suggest a former RPO in the shot below.

Thanks for looking.

MTH Premier Pax car sets are nice but keep in mind they are for the most part "cookie cutter" with different paint schemes. The Streamline sets are either smooth or ribbed and all have the same window patterns . The Heavyweights again all the same windows when comparing heavyweight sets. IF that doesn't bother you then you have a pleathora of Passenger sets to choose from.

Norton posted:

Might be time for the OP to chime in and tell us if he can run 21" cars. That might narrow down the choices.

Pete

 

First: Thanks to all who replied to this thread.  The pictures and comments are great.  I am currently a carpet central runner.  My layout is about 12 x 16 feet.  I have 084 and 072 loops.  I like the looks of the 18 inch cars.  I have seen the 21 inch cars in action on a large layout and they were just too long for my taste. Thanks again for your input.

Nicks Trains posted:

I now only buy MTH cars because, for the money, MTH is the best. Of course, the "other" major company that I buy engines exclusively nowadays have great passenger cars, but at more $ than the MTH, I'll save my money and put it elsewhere.

Wait till you see the price on Lionel’s 18” cars in the coming catalog! Cowabunga! Long live the MTH cars.

2356 posted:

First: Thanks to all who replied to this thread.  The pictures and comments are great.  I am currently a carpet central runner.  My layout is about 12 x 16 feet.  I have 084 and 072 loops.  I like the looks of the 18 inch cars.  I have seen the 21 inch cars in action on a large layout and they were just too long for my taste. Thanks again for your input.

OK, for 18" cars I think the MTH Heavyweight cars made in the last ten years have the best detail. They couple a bit closer than Lionel and ends include buffer plates on the diaphragms and anti rattle bars. Lionel and K-Line's are close though. All of these heavyweights are close to the same dimensions and can be mixed and matched.

For streamline cars I like Lionel's with K-Line second mainly because they are metal. Also they are based on both Budd and Pullman Standard cars. MTH's newest cars have nice detail including the end detail similar to their heavyweights but all are based on ACF cars regardless of prototype. 18" streamline cars from different manufacturers don't mix well as they all seem to vary in height and width enough so its noticeable.

Pete

gunrunnerjohn posted:

The LED light strips already have DC, so I just add the capacitor, I used a 330uf cap.  The incandescent lights use AC, and they are drawing MUCH more current.  Even if you rectified the AC to power them with DC, You'd need about a 10,000uf capacitor to make a significant difference, that's huge and expensive.

Better to consider a conversion to LED.

Thanks,

Alan

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Maybe they skipped it because these were a couple of inches shorter.    All I know is, I opened one up, no capacitor.  After adding the cap, they didn't flicker at all.  Just have seven more to do...

I stand corrected. My humble apologies.  Ran the cars through a different route last night and got the light flicker.  Capacitor time lol.

I'm waiting for the MTH Premier UP 70 scale ' 5 pack from the 2017 Volume 2 Catalouge.  I'll make a video review of them, post here.  They suppose to ship next month.  We will c.

If you like Amtrak stuff, MTH makes decent Superliner IIs.