Model Railroading > Athearn offering of Bombardier cars

It seems to me rather funny that Athearn offers these cars as a 3 pack and two singles. Normally not a bad thing but the devil is in the details in as much that the 3 pack includes a cab car but one of the singles also is a cab car. It is fine if they are two different cab car numbers but if someone wants to round out a train by making a bigger consist, they are obligated to purchase the three coach cars through two of their SKU's (inventory codes) and thereby have an extra cab car from it all. The offering of cab cars is completely disproportionate to the coaches. I was looking at the GO cars but it is also the same thing for the Metrolink ones as well.

I strongly suggest they should only offer the Cab car individually and have written as much to them. Has anyone else found this kind of odd?

Seems like a lack of planning on their part. With the SKU's on offer, the only consist one can do is a Sunday consist (ie. short). What if there is a football or baseball game on? ;~)

Is anyone from Athearn on this list who may be able to help? or set me straight?

Rick

Well, just 2 cents here, I think the setup is an ok one. I think they also have to balance pricing for packaging, typical modeling practices, and other factors. They have done a few runs over the years and I'm sure will continue.

I think Coaster has almost a 1 for 1 cab to coach cars. Many 4 unit sets when first delivered I think were a cab car on each end.

I think GO is more unique than most others: Texas, Sounder, Metrolink, Coaster. I know there is a 6 car limit on Metrolink and I think Coaster. It's station based I understand. But the GO pics I've seen are like 10-12 car trains. So yes, more coaches would make sense.

Well Metra frequently runs multiple cab cars in trains, and I think I saw multiple cab cars on metrolink trains when I was in LA in June.
Cheers,
Nick

I was going to say, it's not uncommon to see multiple cab cars on a train. I've seen two cab cars on the Amtrak Surfliners many times...and also on the San Diego Coaster's. Not so much on the Metrolink trains, but that doesn't mean that they won't substitute in a Cab Car if they are short on coaches....



NGotwalt Wrote:
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> Well Metra frequently runs multiple cab cars in
> trains, and I think I saw multiple cab cars on
> metrolink trains when I was in LA in June.
> Cheers,
> Nick

If it is that big of a deal, change the number, I know you know how to do some detailing right?

J_deBroux Wrote:
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> If it is that big of a deal, change the number, I
> know you know how to do some detailing right?

It does strike me as kind of odd that Athearn would offer the same car number in a three-unit set as that of a single car, if that indeed is what they are doing. But if that is true, why not just buy the three-unit set and the single "regular" car if you want to avoid the duplicaton?

I also agree that it's not unusual for a train to have multiple cab cars, obviously with only the one in the lead position in use as such. I've seen that quite a bit on Metro North.

Extra can cars are fine and are frequently run. I know a couple of people you work for the Coaster in San Diego County and they say, you can always run a cab car as a coach, but you can't run a coach as a cab car. In fact if I remember correctly, Coaster has as many cab cars and they have coaches.

Charles

J_deBroux Wrote:
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> If it is that big of a deal, change the number, I
> know you know how to do some detailing right?


As the other fellow mentioned, GO seems to run bigger trains compared to the Cal. trains. I know of no decals to re-number GO trains but if you can help since you are a highly knowledgable "detailer", I would appreciate your help. (tnagorra kcirp) [There never seems to be an absence of an individual providing a useless and diverging comment in a thread topic.]

Thanks to those who provided insightful and knowledgable comments. I was not aware of those practices on Metrolink and other carriers mentioned i.e having multiple cab cars. I only just bought this 4 car set for giggles (to run at the club) since I have always liked those Hawker cars and the GO paint scheme. I have never lived in Toronto but do look at Railpictures.net so maybe I can ask one of the guys who loads up their photos there.

Rick
Melbourne, Australia

Add Caltrain to the list of commuter railroads who run multiple cab-cars in each consist.

Cab car packaging notwithstanding, it'd be nice if Athearn were to offer the welded-side (newer-production) Bombardier cars in HO scale. The current HO ones have riveted sides, yet their N scale ones have welded sides!

Cheers,
Harry

Caltrain-Engr Wrote:
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> Add Caltrain to the list of commuter railroads who
> run multiple cab-cars in each consist.

I've seen all-cab-car consists except for one coach on the MBTA a couple of times. 4 out of 5. The MBTA also has two styles of single-level cars. Only the 500s and 1500s have toilets, and since all of those are located near the engine, you can see a 1500-series car (MBTA cars of four digits starting with a 1 are cab cars, coaches are three digits) behind the engine fairly regularly. At least half of trains have 2 cab cars.

tracktime Wrote:
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> Cab car packaging notwithstanding, it'd be nice if
> Athearn were to offer the welded-side
> (newer-production) Bombardier cars in HO scale.
> The current HO ones have riveted sides, yet their
> N scale ones have welded sides!
>
> Cheers,
> Harry

Hit that nail with a bigger hammer. That road trip* with Tas was more fun than I can ever tell, more interesting than can be repeated, and they used my pics. I'd love to have a baby bullet set (with proper 4 D cell power by Boise) but not with rivets.


TCS - *photo mission to shoot new bomb-a-deer cars for Athearn, much thanks to the Caltrain guys "You get pac-set reception from there? Ours don't even work there ..."

> tracktime Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Cab car packaging notwithstanding, it'd be nice
> if
> > Athearn were to offer the welded-side
> > (newer-production) Bombardier cars in HO scale.
>
> > The current HO ones have riveted sides, yet
> their
> > N scale ones have welded sides!
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Harry

Harry,
I'm surprised you would lobby for anything that doesn't have rivets you can count...;)

PROPULDUDE Wrote:
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> >
> > > The current HO ones have riveted sides, yet
> > their
> > > N scale ones have welded sides!
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > > Harry
>
> Harry,
> I'm surprised you would lobby for anything that
> doesn't have rivets you can count...;)

Rivet Count = probably close to zero on those cars (I'll let the true rivet counters chime in..) Vive Le Difference! lol..

Cheers,
Harry