Thoughts on Walthers 5 Car Double Stack Set


T

traingeeks

New Member
Any one out there that has the Walthers 5 Car Double Stack Set? How do you like it compared to the Kato Gunderson Maxi IV? Do the cars attach seperately or is it one big piece like the Deluxe? :confused:
 
I'm not sure, but I'm willing to bet, compared to HO versions, the Walthers will be 5 separate cars.
 
traingeeks said:
Any one out there that has the Walthers 5 Car Double Stack Set? How do you like it compared to the Kato Gunderson Maxi IV? Do the cars attach seperately or is it one big piece like the Deluxe? :confused:
Click to expand...

I don't know about the Kato's, but I have the Walthers and I like mine. I got them years ago. I'll post some pic's for you give me a few minutes......:D
 
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I used to have the set, and they are splined, like in Chris's photos. They work and look well, but they cannot handle tight radis curves or switches. When I rebuild my layout, I plan on making a whole train out of these.
 
I can't compare to the Kato, but I have Deluxe Innovations and Walthers sets.....I've found good and bad with both. The DI set is a great runner, and very solid, but it's all plastic and all connected....because it's plastic I've had some breakage problems at the joints (during handling, not while running)...fortunately it's been a "come unglued" problem at assembly points, so it's been an easy repair . The Walthers set is metal, the first car has 2 trucks, then each car after has a single truck. The truck pins are extra long and the cars "hook" on the pin of the car in front.Always seemed a weak point to me (it doesn't look very secure) but it has never been a problem and I run my set at the front of a 20 to 30 car consist. What DID give me problems there's a plate on each car that the next car rides in (like a bearing surface) and a few of mine had some casting imperfections on them that made the cars lean to one side....a few minutes with a file fixed it , but also removed the paint...fotunately it's between the plates and doen't really show.A few of the plates aren't perfectly flat either and ossasionally a container will shift and the car will lean slightly. I also have a 5 car set by intermodal models.....It's metal and all one piece, but the cars are screwed together rather than glued, so it's been very durable My only problem has been that the pockets of the cars are very tight, and a lot of containers won't fit. I guess I still haven't found the perfect set....and I've been afraid to try the Kato based on the cost.....but if I had to choose, I'd take the Walthers set.
 
I have 3 sets of Walthers, 1 set of something else & misc. cars from diff. mfgrs. I like the Walthers & 1 set that are metal. I had to file down the coupler pockets on the sides to get them to track on tight curves. The wheels were hitting the pockets. On the lite weight plastic cars I added thin weights & that really helped. I have a set of the ones that are screwed together, but I don't use them because I can't find any containers to fit them. In all I have about 40 that I use all the time. I bought mine over the past 4 years at train shows & the most I've paid for any of them are $3.00 ea. I have about 20 spline cars that I also like.

Larry
 
The walthers set is very affordable compared with the deluxe set, but isn't as good looking. The orange brake wheel just kills it for me, but I plan on painting it black or something. If money isn't an option go for the deluxe set!
 
i just got my set today and looking over the cars all my wheels
have mold lines and a little nub on the rail face:eek: any idea
for a wheel set for these??
 
I have 5 of the 3-Unit NSC 53' Well Cars in the TTX paint and 1 set of Walthers NSC 53' Well Car 3 Pack (3 single wells).

I also have all 3 sets of the KATO Maxi-IV TTX well cars. Both the Walthers and KATO are AWESOME!! I love them both, but i got to give it to KATO in the detail department and Walthers in the weight department

As soon as i get some money, i will be getting all 3 sets of the KATO BNSF Maxi-IV's + the 11 sets of Intermountain BNSF Maxi-IV's (there are 12 sets in the Intermountain's total but KATO and Intermountain decided to do the same road number on one of the sets lol) and the 6 sets of Intermountain TTX Maxi-IV's :D

Now thats a lot of money, but im an intermodal modeler/collector (at least thats what i think hehe) so these are a must have :D

I just noticed this is in the N scale forum, im talking about HO scale models here, i dont have any N wells lol
 
I like the walters 5 car sets,only thing was I hated there pin system I took care of that by drilling out the hole to accept a 250 screw and nut and replaced the walters wheels with MT's.Once I installed the screw and nut I ran them on the track and then adjusted them and added some TTX yellow paint this does two thigns sort of hides the screw head and "locks" it in place. The deluxe well I sold all mine and the Kato nice but the price for a three car set is a wee bit overboard I think:D
 
I have every one of the Kato's that have been released as well as everyone of the Walthers 5-unit that has been released plus doubles. The Walthers aren't bad out of the box but with a little help can be made great. First is using gold medal detail parts to make them look better from there it is a matter of filing down the pieces at the articulated joint. I file them down to half of what they were from the factory. This is for two reasons, 1: to lower them a bit, 2: to allow for the use of MT trucks and the MT bolster pin. When you use the MT bolster pin you need use a small dab of glue to hold it into the one car. BTW I use 1036 trucks. I then body mount 1023/1025 MT couplers on the end cars and after that they are ready to roll or a little weathering depending on your taste. I find they roll even better with the MT trucks vs. the Walthers and the body mounted couplers help in stopping any shoe stringing on curves.
The Kato's are beautiful, well detailed and out of the box are 99% perfect. Only issue which I've found with all Kato cars is you can't run them directly behind an engine. The sprind Kato uses is a little tight and going around curves will pull the trucks off the track so I put something with MT's in between them and an engine and they are perfect.
One other suggestion if you aren't affraid of kits is N-scale kits. Excellent models, some that aren't produced in rtr yet like the cut down 40' well cars for one. Here's their site for you to look around at. http://www.nscalekits.com/
 
i also have a set of the rebuilts... i wish i had read the listing better
i thought i was buying a rtr 5 car set:eek: now i need trucks,couplersdecals
and paint... who makes a yellow for ttx???
 
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