# Menards O-Scale Boxcars



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

After conversing with Lee Willis on Menards O-gauge stuff, I looked and they had a road name that I was looking for. I am now the proud owner of ten of these scale sized boxcars, $20/ea. They look pretty good for a brand new $20 car. They don't have the detail of the latest cars from Lionel, but then again they're about 1/3 the price! For $200 I can have three of Lionel's scale boxcars, or ten of the Menards scale boxcars! They have diecast trucks, including couplers, and of course, diecast metal wheels. One curious note, in a throwback to PW design, they do not have needlepoint axles and Delrin bearing inserts, instead they use the straight axle, so periodic lube will be the order of the day.

When they come chugging by, it's going to be hard to spot the difference, so these may be a good bet to fill out your roster for a fraction of the going price for Lionel or MTH scale cars.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

John, those look good, I like them with the green roof, etc. Nice. and of course, incredible price. 

I noticed that this week's Menard's release (posted on their website today) is a weathered Canadian National boxcar for $25, with a volume discount special of eight for $149.95. for what I paid for twelve weathered Up cars, you can get sixteen now. Wow! Still, I will pass since a) I have enough, b) I prefer the non-weathered cars (a lot), c) I don't do CN. but for anyone who needs boxcars, what a deal!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The $20 cars are a deal. It's tempting to get a bunch of PRR cars while they're there, but I'm holding back.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Ihave a new policy that I hope to adhere to of not buy


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Nice car John, I am trying to determine the period this car operated in or are they cars which could be seen riding the rails today? 38' cars, 40' cars or larger??? How long in inches are the cars?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

They're apparently 40' cars as they are exactly the same size as the Lionel VL PFE 40' steel sided reefers. These would be in the 1930-1970 timeframe I imagine. Reading was absorbed by Conrail in 1976.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

I'll emphasize that my new policy not to buy is not due to any concerns about the quality: I am about to run out of shelf space to put new cars in, and I need to back off purchases and husband my budget as I have two locomotives on pre-order for delivery later this year. 

As John says, they are great cars and about 1/3 the price of Lionel and MTH and Atlas scale rolling stock. 

They are really a good size for boxcars for scale applications in the 1930s through 1960s and into even later, fitting in with other scale equipment well. While not the most detailed cars in the world, they have very good and crisp paint and graphics, and are "good enough": these things will not embarrass you when placed right alongside Vision PFE reefers and Atlas's best: someone who leans down to inspect in detail from only about a nose or two away _will _see the difference in the level of tiny details, but otherwise these cars are fantastic - a good size, handsome, and they run well enough. They are available in many rairlway names.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I figure when they go chugging by at our modular shows, nobody will notice the lack of detail, and as you say, the paintwork is quite nice. I needed some Reading cars to fill out my consist, I have several Reading engines that were looking for work.


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## Patstrains (Jun 13, 2015)

Menards cars are hard to beat for the price point. I hope that they add a wholesale network to their distribution in the near future.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Menards prices seem impossible to me, but I'll buy what I need while they offer them. 

I say impossible, because I know how close to the edge/hard-working/low margin/lean and mean Walter Matuch is keeping it at RMT, and he is still not matching Menard's prices. 

So I can't imagine Menards is making much profit. I think that their train products are profitless or maybe even loss-leader come-ons to get people to their stores and website. Therefore, I don't see how they could wholesale them for enough less than their list price to justify a retailer buying and stocking them. 

Patrick - I will e-mail you about tank cars. I need a train of charcoal or black tank cars, but have a limited budget due to overspending so far this year (you should know!). I was hoping Menards would come out with, say, a 20-pack of 11,000 gallon cars for $20-$25 per, but I suspect it's not going to happen. I may have to find a plan B.


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## BobS (Jun 18, 2015)

My feeling is that these are very good cars and certainly worth the investment. My problem remains, where the heck do I run them, store them, and justify, yet another purchase? There is no right answer. It is a matter of personal choice, and I do realize that. But, they do look so good. I have always said, that I love color, and these certainly are colorful. What to do, what to do?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I'd like to see someone come out with some of the cheap 30,000 or 33,000 gallon tank cars. I have a few of these, I'd like more to fill out a really impressive tank train.


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## mikew (Jun 19, 2015)

John,

Those look really great. I can't believe the prices - We have nothing over here EVER at that price point,

MIKE


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Mikew - and unlike me (North Carolina) you probably face a very long wait before you will ever see a Menards store near your home! I guess they don't ship (cheaply at least) across the Atlantic either. 

Gunrunnerjohn: 33,000 or 30,000 gallon tank cars?!!! Those things are huge! About the size of a 15" passenger car. At least you won't need many to make an impressive train. 

I'm hoping to find some good single-done cars in the 11,000 gallon range somewhere, scale or close enough. Still looking


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Shipping across the pond would probably kill the good price point.  I am amazed at the prices in other areas. I've sold a couple of things to folks in Australia, they pay top dollar and then pay the absurd shipping as well. The kicker is they seem happy to do it! 

Lee, I'd like to have about ten of them for a nice tank train. I do have the Vision Line Ethanol set and the matching three cars. I have other modern tank cars, but I just love the look of those big ones coming down the track.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

g. . . have the Vision Line Ethanol set and the matching three cars. I have other modern tank cars said:


> Those big tank are impressive as the dickens, on a model layout or in person: we nearly always see a bunch going through Richmond when we take Amtrak up to Phlly or DC.
> 
> But 30K gallon tank cars are too modern for my layout's 1950s time frame. Still, I am thinking of breaking down and getting a Vision Genset loco (they are just so cool) and I would need something modern for it to pull. A Genset with with a dozen or so of those big tank cars would be an impressive, modern train. In fact, two Gensets with 15-20 would be, well, just awesome . . .


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have the NS genset, and it's a very cool beast. It has pulled a tank car train at one of our modular shows, it's a good fit for the job. 

I have lots of East Coast steam as well, and I probably lean a bit more that way. However, I like the modern stuff as well, just finished up an upgrade on an Amtrak Genesis to pull my Amtrak passenger train. It fills in when the AEM-7 isn't in service.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

The box cars are now sold in sets of 8 for $130.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

That's cool. I just looked at their site to check what they are offering this week. Not much else new. $130 doe weight is a great price. I think Menards saw a lot of orders for four and six and decided to offer an incentive to buy even more. Beyond that, the things are shipped to them in boxes of eight, so like the flatcars, they don't even have to unpack to ship a set. Brilliant. 

My only bone to pick with the Menards boxcars is the weathering. I'll avoid that in the future: too uniform and heavy-handed for me. I repainted the set of ten weathered UP cars I got and they look much better, I think.

I love all of mine (around 24 of them now). Great cars. Great price!


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## njrailer93 (Nov 28, 2011)

john how do they compare to railking size? would they fit in semi scale?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The Menards boxcars are pretty much scale sized, but many of the RailKing cars are close as well. When compared to my new Lionel Vision Line PFE Reefers, the only difference in dimensions was they were a tiny bit narrower, about 3/32". Unless you were there with a tape measure comparing the cars, they're right on the scale sizes of the premium cars.


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## Marklx200 (Jun 14, 2015)

njoffroader said:


> john how do they compare to railking size? would they fit in semi scale?


I don't know about newer rail king box cars as I only have an older rail king rugged rails box car but I do have a Menards Santa fe box car and will give you the measurements. End to end, the sides measure Just a hair over 10 1/8". Measurement across the ends is 2 3/8". From a solid surface (not sitting on a track) it measures just over 3 3/8". I hope this helps.

Mark


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The Rugged Rails cars tend to be smaller than the RailKing models. Here's a 40 foot RailKing Woodside Reefer compared to the 40 foot Menards boxcar. They are virtually identical in size.


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## Marklx200 (Jun 14, 2015)

GRJ

Yes, the rugged rails are tiny. I got in an auction not knowing how small it was. I will probably use the sprung trucks for something in the future since I only gave $6 for it.


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## njrailer93 (Nov 28, 2011)

wow this is incredible i can build up the fleet with saving some cash!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Yep, they look fine rolling past on the layout, no need for all the tiny details. Menards is selling the eight car boxes for $$130, that's $16.25 for a car. Not bad for scale sized cars.


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## BigAl56 (Dec 14, 2011)

*Menards clearance*

In my newspaper today a clearance flyer, they are selling all their boxcars and flatcars at 1/2 off, $14.99 (after rebate). Get them while they last.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Apparently not on-line Al, the prices are still the same.


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## Todd Lopes (Nov 11, 2015)

They look great John. Great purchase!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

My minor complaints with the Menards cars is they don't have the needlepoint axles, so they have more rolling resistance, similar to post-war cars. The other gripe is about 10% of the couplers need to be tweaked to prevent them from popping open. That requires you to take the trucks off.


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## rogruth (Mar 6, 2012)

CTT is hinting at a new type of car from Menards in January.

I am one of those close enough guys and the Menards stuff is just fine for me.
I have not yet had any coupler problems but did have a few trucks that were
not in alignment and were pinching wheelsets. A little bending fixed that.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

When I put the Reading cars in a consist, I found the coupler issues. Also, I have a little test I do now for a long consist. I hook all the cars up without the locomotive. Then I gently shake the first car back and forth to "exercise" the couplers. This usually picks out the weak couplers that need work.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

rogruth said:


> CTT is hinting at a new type of car from Menards in January.
> 
> I am one of those close enough guys and the Menards stuff is just fine for me.
> I have not yet had any coupler problems but did have a few trucks that were
> not in alignment and were pinching wheelsets. A little bending fixed that.


Last year I gave up hoping they would come out with economical tank cars and bought a bunch of Railking. On reflection, I should not have been spruprised: tank cars, even simple ones, require a number of parts: railings, frame and tank, etc.: they are hard to well in one-piece castings or with only a few parts. , like flatcars and boxcars. 

I would not be surprised if Menards brings out some gondola cars. Like the boxcars, they came make them pretty much in a one-piece casting, and there is a good deal they can do beyond the base empty gondola to offer different loads and etc. to widen the offerings of their gondola cars, etc. I'd probably end up getting at least a dozen, maybe more . . .


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## BigAl56 (Dec 14, 2011)

I went to the store last night to get first dibs. Surprisingly they were not labeled for close-out. I put on my glasses and carefully looked at the ad and in smaller type the add says the sale starts Sunday 12/20. The 'Really' last minute gift sale, not to be confused with the 'last' minute gift sale.

I'll go back Sunday morning. The limit is 4 cars, I'm not sure if I really need them but still not a bad price for rolling stock.


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## BobS (Jun 18, 2015)

So Al, are you going to set up your pup tent, and camp out to be first in line?


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## BigAl56 (Dec 14, 2011)

A Lot of train collectors live in the N/NW suburbs of Chicago. My local Menards must be the only big box retail store in the Midwest that has O scale trains and accessories piled onto an endcap with a big sign. It's kind of a throwback to the 1950s the way they promote O scale trains around the holidays.

I'm waiting for the year they go all-in with a whole display and need seasonal sales help to run the layout.


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## rogruth (Mar 6, 2012)

Maybe passenger cars? Not too many pieces.


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