Rant: Why no currently produced N scale crane cars?


JeffH

Well-Known Member
I have been looking for a long time. Every one of the existing crane cars that I find have the old Rapido style couplers. And the trucks are 3-axle.

I have found several manufacturers like Con Cor, Bachmann and Minitrix, but they all have Rapido couplers.

MTL doesn't make a direct truck replacement as far as I can tell, and to date, I have not been able to figure out if one can swap couplers on the older trucks.

Seems like a company would sell quite a few of these if they made them again, but with modern trucks & couplers.
 
Try these


Google TOMIX they may have what your looking for too

Or this guy

 
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I have been looking for a long time. Every one of the existing crane cars that I find have the old Rapido style couplers. And the trucks are 3-axle.

I have found several manufacturers like Con Cor, Bachmann and Minitrix, but they all have Rapido couplers.

MTL doesn't make a direct truck replacement as far as I can tell, and to date, I have not been able to figure out if one can swap couplers on the older trucks.

Seems like a company would sell quite a few of these if they made them again, but with modern trucks & couplers.

How are the Rapidos attached? Are they through an NEM box? You should be able to swap couplers easy if through an NEM box (and many are that way). (Especially the Trix stuff I would think)
 
Yeah, the Titchy kit is the only viable solution I can find, other than to try to kit bash one of the older models to accept currently produces 3-axle trucks... perhaps a passenger car truck would fit? Not sure I want to buy all that stuff and end up disappointed.
 
I don't know what a NEM box is... Please educate me


Various Googling can help you find more info. Basically a standarized system of pockets and couplers so that various brands can all work with the same couplers. I would expect at least the Trix stuff to use them, as trix is German.
 
Normal European Modelling Standards

It's a universal coupling system that allows you to use whatever coupling you want.

Basically it's a Kadee gearbox, which you've assembled and fitted, but you've forgotten the coupling, then you buy the coupling you want, Kadee's, tension lock etc. it allows you to swap them out, fit longer, shorter, overset or underset and you never need to take the box apart, you just pull the coupling out and push the new one in.

I can fit a NEM pocket to one of my EMD's and have it pull my UK stock, (all tension lock couplings) and 5 seconds later pull my US cars which are all Kadees.

The only downside to these is, they have a tendency to allow the coupling to droop after a while, but is a simple fix.
 
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Various Googling can help you find more info. Basically a standarized system of pockets and couplers so that various brands can all work with the same couplers. I would expect at least the Trix stuff to use them, as trix is German.
Check first, some brands will have their own version and are not interchangeable, also you will find, not all manufacturers have the same standard for height, or position for the coupling so it's a good idea if you are making a rake to have all the cars from the same brand, or you may have to fiddle with some of them so their all the same height etc.
 
The AHM crane car I bought online arrived in great condition, considering the age of these things. Nothing broken, the red thread is still in good condition.

I ordered some MTL trucks, but they appear to be lost in the mail since the 23rd... Departed a USPS facility and has disappeared in the USPS system. Go figure, lol
 



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