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Post by ctbrimley on Jun 26, 2019 8:45:00 GMT -8
The HO scale Berwick 7440 Boxcars are available to order now from ExactRail! History: With the styling of an auto parts boxcar, these large 70-ton, 60' high-cube beasts are for moving the kind of appliances that pair nicely with dark walnut veneer cabinets, orange formica and freshly raked shag carpet. The cars were built and delivered in 1973 by the Berwick Forge and Fabricating Corporation in the former AC&F Berwick, Pennsylvania plant. Penn Central was the largest owner of these with having a healthy roster of 130 cars. The Illinois Central Gulf & Rock Island also acquired a handfull each. The cars traveled the country far and wide to deliver appliances from manufacturers such as Westinghouse, General Electric and Whirlpool to dealers and distribution centers. Many continued to earn their keep into the early 2000's. Features: Precision micro-tooled Extraordinarily accurate artwork Razor sharp printing ExactRail's exclusive 70-ton Barber S-2 Trucks Kadee #58 couplers CNC-machined 33" metal wheel sets exactrail.com/collections/berwick-7440-appliance-boxcar Chris Brimley cbrimley@exactrail.com |
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Post by ChessieFan1978 on Jun 26, 2019 9:39:37 GMT -8
WOOT, WOOT. Just ordered 6
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Post by TBird1958 on Jun 26, 2019 11:33:15 GMT -8
There's an IC and RI one the way.....Too cool, happy wallet!
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Post by el3672 on Jun 26, 2019 11:39:20 GMT -8
Well ExactRail now that your back on a high- cube roll lately, how about considering
a platinum series 4 & 8 door Greenville / Thrall 86' high- cube auto parts big box?
My fingers are SO crossed!!!
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Post by markfj on Jun 26, 2019 12:30:48 GMT -8
Well I just got my order in for some Penn Central. I’m not going to wait on the sidelines as these sell off and become hen’s teeth. Not sure how often these cars made it through my home town of Reading, PA, but I know I’ll be happy with these cars nonetheless.
Much thanks to ExactRail!
Mark J.
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Post by fr8kar on Jun 26, 2019 15:16:38 GMT -8
I was holding strong, then the email came and I caved....
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2019 23:13:14 GMT -8
They have arrived... and now it's time for me to order... and to wait for the packet !
Pierre BARBE
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Post by el3672 on Jun 29, 2019 9:08:54 GMT -8
Well the four 7440's I ordered (2-PC, 1-IC & 1-RI)showed up on my door step this morning and I'm totally
delighted with these cars. Awesome & well detailed to say the least, but the only thing missing is the freshly raked shag carpet.
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Post by NJT4130 on Jul 1, 2019 8:33:35 GMT -8
Just ordered a few Conrail and 1 ICG. That ICG one is just gorgeous!
-Martin
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2019 7:24:37 GMT -8
They have arrived... and now it's time for me to order... and to wait for the packet ! Pierre BARBE Packet arrived one hour ago and yes, they are BEAUTIFUL. Really.
Pierre BARBE
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Post by simulatortrain on Jul 3, 2019 16:31:23 GMT -8
Got my four today, and they look great (the assembled cars at least!) My PC car's weight has come loose, so that will need to be fixed. The only complaint I have isn't specific to these cars, nor to Exactrail: the plastic brake rods aren't straight and are prone to breakage. I'll replace them with brass.
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Post by brakie on Jul 3, 2019 16:44:06 GMT -8
That CR car is beautiful.. I don't have any industry that could use them.. Maybe a transload appliance distributor?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2019 17:50:25 GMT -8
Got my four today, and they look great (the assembled cars at least!) My PC car's weight has come loose, so that will need to be fixed. The only complaint I have isn't specific to these cars, nor to Exactrail: the plastic brake rods aren't straight and are prone to breakage. I'll replace them with brass. same thing here. One PC car had a loose weight. I think the roof is a vacuum fit...with some glue...but I haven't gotten the roof off to re-secure the weight yet. |
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Post by fr8kar on Jul 3, 2019 19:13:30 GMT -8
The brake rods on my ICG car are bent out of shape, too. It looks like the support nearest the truck on the long end was inserted crooked, causing a compression bend in the middle and forcing the loose end to bent down toward the rails. I'll be replacing this part with something made from styrene rod.
This was the only defect with the car. It's simply beautiful in spite of this. I don't mind replacing it now since it's a vulnerable part I'd have to replace eventually anyway. I consider parts like that to be consumable or wear items, like brake pads on a car. The only way they won't need to be replaced is if the car is never used.
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Post by fcixdarrell on Jul 5, 2019 10:57:57 GMT -8
That CR car is beautiful.. I don't have any industry that could use them.. Maybe a transload appliance distributor? Perfect use! I used to live near the Holman Distribution Center in Kent, WA and these cars were there regularly in appliance service, although they were patched to NYC by that time, between 1999 and when I moved away in 2004. The facility consists of two warehouses. The south warehouse handles (handled?) appliances, box cars unloaded on the south side, trailers loaded on the north side. The north warehouse handled at least food items, probably other bulk items as well. They unloaded box cars on the north side and loaded trailers on the south side of that warehouse. There were good varieties of cars that went through there and seemed to travel in waves. There's be a bunch of CSX-related cars for a while, then a wave of UP cars, then a wave of NS and so on and so forth. I always thought their facility (or one similar, must be 1000s around N America) would make an interesting industry on a layout, since you could justify a decent variety of cars from foreign roads stopping by, and without using a very large footprint. Darrell |
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Post by csx3305 on Jul 5, 2019 17:30:03 GMT -8
Got my four today, and they look great (the assembled cars at least!) My PC car's weight has come loose, so that will need to be fixed. The only complaint I have isn't specific to these cars, nor to Exactrail: the plastic brake rods aren't straight and are prone to breakage. I'll replace them with brass. same thing here. One PC car had a loose weight. I think the roof is a vacuum fit...with some glue...but I haven't gotten the roof off to re-secure the weight yet. This seems to be the great Achilles heel of any of the Exactrail cars that are enclosed. I’ve had two so far with rattling weights, after the slightest of jolting of their packages. One I managed to get the roof off of, and discovered the steel weights are just CA’d in place. Anybody that has tried this knows that CA doesn’t hold steel very well. The other car, I haven’t managed to get the roof off without risking damage. Both are waffle cars. One 50’, one 60’. |
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Post by railfans on Jul 5, 2019 18:03:41 GMT -8
Hi, I know I’m new here but I have been lurking for quite some time. I ordered 3 of these cars after hearing about them here and they just came in today. I ordered a Penn Central one, and one of each Conrail paint scheme (80’s-90’s Conrail is my main modeling focus). Beautiful cars, well detailed, nice paint and decal work. Had the same issue with my Penn Central car as a few others here though, and wanted to share how I got the roof off to fix it. With the weight rattling around inside I just held the car upside down with both hands and gently shook it until the weight knocked the roof off. How did I know the roof came off? One of my conrail cars came out of the box with the roof half unglued. A little disappointed with exactrail’s QC, but at least it’s stuff I can fix quickly and easily myself. It looks like whoever assembled the PC cars should have used a little more hot glue though  . Jamie |
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Post by el3672 on Jul 5, 2019 19:09:09 GMT -8
Got my four 7440's in the other day, no lose weights but as fr8kar mentioned about the low hanging broke rods
Bad one ExactRail, no quality inspections of this flaw before release?? I just snipped off a minor portion of the brake supports and glued it back so it clears any derailment. I'll ignore that and the center compression bend, since no one will notice it anyway. I'm still going to order more if these just because I want more.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2019 19:38:44 GMT -8
They are beautiful cars...that's for sure.
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Post by csx3305 on Jul 5, 2019 20:37:04 GMT -8
What needs to happen is ....the tooling on all enclosed Exactrail cars should be modified to feature a couple of tubular bosses and have flanged-head self-tapping screws that mechanically retain the weight. (Corresponding holes punched in the weight)
Getting the roof off can be a dicey proposition. A couple of mine appear to be CA’d shut, including the Southern waffle with the loose weight I previously alluded to.
I’ve cooled off on buying Exactrail boxcars for this reason.
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Post by markfj on Jul 9, 2019 4:57:54 GMT -8
Hello Group, Here are a couple photos of the one car I bought that does have slightly bent brake rigging. In the photos you can see that the one lever is bent inward slightly. I don’t consider this a significant problem, but thought it was worth the effort to post a few photos since others have commented about the issue. If I were to try and reposition the bent lever, I guess I would try some debonder on the glue joint to loosen the part without breaking the mount.   The parts probably fit perfectly unpainted, but if a thick coat was applied the assembler probably had trouble fitting the parts together. For me, this isn’t a deal breaker or anything like that; I think the cars are beautiful and will likely get more. Regarding loose weights and removing the roof to fix them: I noticed that the roof on my car is “spot” glued in about six places. The weights are secure in my car, but if I need to remove the roof I would try placing the car in the freezer overnight to weaken the glue bonds. The roof should pop off with some gentle prying at the glued areas. Thanks, Mark J. Reading, PA |
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Post by sp8234tim on Jul 9, 2019 5:45:25 GMT -8
Hi All
Are the trucks (3 piece) the same as other ExactRail cars? I am wondering if there is a new factory that they may have changed the way the trucks to a 1 piece design. I have been using there trucks on other cars as they make a difference in tracking.
Thanks
Tim
Hanesworth
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Post by craigz on Jul 9, 2019 7:04:39 GMT -8
A couple of my 7440s have rodding that's distorted and hangs low enough that it's going to snag on turnouts, grade crossings, etc...
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Post by fr8kar on Jul 9, 2019 8:00:58 GMT -8
I have the same issue with mine, Craig. I think Mark has the right idea, so here are a couple photos of mine:   Again, I don't mind replacing these parts. Over time they will get damaged anyway. But it sure looks to me like improper assembly has caused damage to the parts either before they went into the box or during their trip in the box. Since others are having the same issues maybe the remedy is for ExactRail to send replacement parts. |
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Post by sd80mac on Jul 9, 2019 9:13:33 GMT -8
Got mine yesterday, 5 Conrail versions. Very nice cars, just as nice as my Exactrail 60' Greenvilles.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jul 9, 2019 11:23:10 GMT -8
Easy for me to say, since I'm not getting any of these, but those plastic rods look pretty fat.
I'd slice them off and replace them with wire.
Especially rather than replacing the bent plastic parts with NEW plastic parts.
Ed
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Post by kpack on Jul 9, 2019 15:42:23 GMT -8
Easy for me to say, since I'm not getting any of these, but those plastic rods look pretty fat. I'd slice them off and replace them with wire. Especially rather than replacing the bent plastic parts with NEW plastic parts. Ed I routinely replace plastic brake rigging with wire. It takes all of 2 minutes to do. Doesn't matter who the manufacturer is....Athearn Genesis, ExactRail, Atlas, Walthers, etc. Ends up looking better and is much more stout to handling. These cars look great. I wish I could use them but they are too old for my era. -Kevin |
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Post by ICG1411 on Jul 13, 2019 13:28:38 GMT -8
I just picked my two up from my LHS yesterday, and one had a loose weight. Carefully pried the roof off and secured it with GOO.
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Post by riogrande on Jul 13, 2019 14:10:08 GMT -8
The loose weight thing apparently usually is not a problem. I had a PC&F 6033 ExactRail box car with a loose weight. ExactRail recommended I turn the boxcar upside down and shake it and it will force the roof loose. Well, it worked but there was a bond tight enough that it ripped a piece of the upper side will out along with the roof. That left damage to the area near the top of the roof. ExactRail replaced the boxcar. Apparently what happened with my example wasn't very common.
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Post by wp8thsub on Jul 13, 2019 21:01:00 GMT -8
Remember, these cars use the same underframe as ExactRail's previous Berwick 7327, so the same fixes would apply to both. As with any such model using plastic brake rods, you can usually bend any low-hanging rods back into place with pliers. As Kevin already stated, replacement with wire is fast and easy if you decide to do that instead.
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