Moving cars and Faller failure

[johnboy]

Hi, there I'm new to the group, and somewhat new to the hobby, so please excuse my etiquette or lack-of-knowledge..

I just joined the group to ask about moving cars/trucks -- I know that Faller made them, but I also heard they went bankrupt. I also can't find any information about any other company that made them, which seems very odd to me -- after all, I would think that moving cars would be a popular accessory to moving trains...

Anyway, I've never owned a Faller car, but it seems it's still possible to find some on the web. My worry's are that they went bankrupt and that no one ever bothered to compete with them. This means they either did a really bad job in marketing, or that there may have been something wrong with them... Does anyone own one of these cars, and are they any good? I'm guessing that they can't cross railroad tracks, but can they do (slightly) uneven terrain? Were they unreliable? And most of all, should I still consider getting one?

Thanks

John

 

[Littlefoot14]

I believe your talking about the Faller Car System. Yes Faller did file for bankruptcy, and from what i understand, its was from lack of listening to dealers suggestions and continuing using the markups by distributors.

The Faller Car System is expensive, and i havent had any experience with Faller so i cant comment on anything else.

 

[RW&C]

A while back Model Railroader had an article about a museum/layout in Germany (Miniatur Wunderland or something like that) with loads of working HO scale cars roaming around the layout under their own power. I have no idea if these were Faller models or were based on Faller models but it would probably be a good place to start.

 

[LATX]

MRR also had a article on adding a Fuller Bus and Truck to an existing lay-out

 

[julienjj]

A while back Model Railroader had an article about a museum/layout in Germany (Miniatur Wunderland or something like that) with loads of working HO scale cars roaming around the layout under their own power. I have no idea if these were Faller models or were based on Faller models but it would probably be a good place to start.

Im clearly going to miniatur wonderland next time im going in europe, i heard it has 3 floor, fulled with trains, cars and even working boat

-- nice article on the miniatur wunderland car system; WARNING : you may stay flaggerblasted for a few minute after reading all those facts

http://www.toycollector.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=Our-Car-System.html&Itemid=826

 

[johnboy]

Wow, that's very cool. Some of those cars look pretty nice (the fire-truck in particular). I've found some utube footage, but I still haven't found a single person who owns one, or even admits to seeing one... There's no information about them on the web either (except by obvious promoters of Faller). I want to get an idea of how much they're actually worth, whether they have obvious problems with model trains, etc - I'm willing to spend a little extra, but not if they're complete junk. I still haven't found any information about the controllers or cost thereof either.

John

 

[Larry]

Have you checked w/Walthers yet? They were carrying the complete line of Faller Movable/electric street systems. I think it's in the new 2010 catalog.

 

[Rico]

Look for the Feb '10 issue of MR for an article on moving vehicles by Faller.

 

[ianacole]

Walthers identifies that the starter set will be here in May: LINK

Using their advanced search with Manufacturer # 272, Scale HO, and Keyword Car returns a number of various starter sets due in.

 

[julienjj]

Thats your fault !

Since i saw those funny cars, i now must add 1 to my layout !!! :


Must get this

 

[ianacole]

You'll have to rebadge it as an RS6

 

[johnboy]

Except of course that Faller went bankrupt in Nov, so Walthers may never get these, and then you can't get it and it won't be my fault

(I won't mention that you can still find them online, and then you can't blame me for that either...)

John

 

[julienjj]

maybe walters will puchase faller, as they did with many others

 

[UP2CSX]

Faller emerged from reorganization on January 13, 2010. German bankruptcy procedures are different than those in the US. Faller had to make a deal with all their creditors or be liquidated. They only had 90 days to operate in bankruptcy. A rescue plan was put together by some German investors and, by rumor only, Walthers. Faller will survive, but as a much smaller company in terms of product lines. Miniatur Wunderland does indeed use the Faller car system and has been the chief showplace of the system.

I don't know the fate of the car system in the general reorganization but it's certainly unique and may survive if Faller can find a way to make less expensive models and street systems. Moving the production line to China has been one of the things discussed. In Faller's favor, the rapidly falling Euro will make their product much less expensive outside the Euro zone. Within the Euro zone, the falling Euro will make importing machinery and meterials more expensive, so it's a two-edged sword. It's a tough world out there now and I hope Faller can rationalize their products and survive. I know I'd buy their car system if the price wasn't at the stratospheric levels we see now.