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Post by cp6027 on Feb 19, 2024 11:09:02 GMT -8
When are we going to get reruns of the PS 4000, 4740 Covered Hoppers and the Bethlehem gons? Rick Jesionowski I thought I recalled a story/rumor that the PS 4740 (or PS 4000) tooling involved some other individual and that Tangent was never quite satisfied with it (or that it didn't meet their current standards). Hence other cars have been re-run more frequently. |
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Post by gevohogger on Feb 19, 2024 11:14:11 GMT -8
Not all of us have the capital or the desire to do that sort of thing (invest in model railroading, and reap the intense profits--better than Bitcoln!). Perhaps you have. And perhaps you could explain some of the pitfalls (and OPPORTUNITIES!). I've got a couple hundred bucks, and I think maybe I'd like to sponsor an NW5. Ed Just pointing out that there are pitfalls for the manufacturers to come out with things that "everyone" wants which may be why they do not produce everything everyone wants. Except for EL cabooses. Those will apparently not be offered under any circumstances. +2
Often, modelers have a very narrow perspective about what they think "everyone wants" based on their provincial view of their favorite local railroad. The Maine Central modeler wants, for example, a MEC wood chip car and can't understand why high-end manufacturers like Tangent haven't made runs of them year after year. Or the Lehigh Valley modeler wants a specific hopper that was unique to that road. Or the KCS modeler wants a certain flatcar that was assigned to one of their industries. In this example, it is a RDG gondola. Those guys want those cars, thus everyone needs them too! Etc, etc. And in the end those guys each buy one car apiece and a year later Tangent has a warehouse full of them and Tangent dumps them at 50% off.
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Post by Baikal on Feb 19, 2024 12:04:29 GMT -8
Often, modelers have a very narrow perspective about what they think "everyone wants" based on their provincial view of their favorite local railroad. The Maine Central modeler wants, for example, a MEC wood chip car and can't understand why high-end manufacturers like Tangent haven't made runs of them year after year. Or the Lehigh Valley modeler wants a specific hopper that was unique to that road. Or the KCS modeler wants a certain flatcar that was assigned to one of their industries. In this example, it is a RDG gondola. Those guys want those cars, thus everyone needs them too! Etc, etc. And in the end those guys each buy one car apiece and a year later Tangent has a warehouse full of them and Tangent dumps them at 50% off.
True.
So then... what are some of "most wanted" freight cars and cabooses in HO scale, provincialism and personal time-frame-ism aside?
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Post by gevohogger on Feb 19, 2024 12:06:28 GMT -8
Often, modelers have a very narrow perspective about what they think "everyone wants" based on their provincial view of their favorite local railroad. The Maine Central modeler wants, for example, a MEC wood chip car and can't understand why high-end manufacturers like Tangent haven't made runs of them year after year. Or the Lehigh Valley modeler wants a specific hopper that was unique to that road. Or the KCS modeler wants a certain flatcar that was assigned to one of their industries. In this example, it is a RDG gondola. Those guys want those cars, thus everyone needs them too! Etc, etc. And in the end those guys each buy one car apiece and a year later Tangent has a warehouse full of them and Tangent dumps them at 50% off.
True.
So then... what are some of "most wanted" freight cars and cabooses in HO scale, provincialism and personal time-frame-ism aside?
Obviously, an EL caboose!  |
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Post by prr 4467 on Feb 19, 2024 15:11:08 GMT -8
Bullcrap, I'll only buy one Reading gondola, I just said above in a recent post I bought 19 hoppers (plus two Tangent boxcars) in the last 6 weeks, and I don't even model IC/ICG as my main railroad, or B&LE, or even Reading for that matter.
I live in Central PA, and Reading stuff still sells. Tangent has not even necessarily done the most popular schemes which have appeared on numerous foobies through the years: The green cars with yellow speed lettering, other iterations of green repainted cars with yellow reporting marks, and the one I mentioned--yellow with green lettering. Admittedly there may not have been too many of the rebuilt green cars, but I have actually seen photos of green repaints of what appears to be the ex-CNJ cars or the earlier actual Reading owned cars. If one searches online, it is actually pretty easy to find stuff. That's all I do.
Bowser sells at least 3 times as many Reading Alco Centuries as they do PRR, so I was informed by the retail store sales manager, at the time of the last rerun of big six axle units. Now whether some may attribute low(er) PRR sales numbers to the bare bones paint scheme having only small Keystones and road numbers on the PRR units versus the neat Reading green and yellow scheme, or the fact that PRR only had them for a few years before Penn Central, I cannot say.
I cannot speak for Tangent's production decisions but selling out of some recent hoppers (B&LE) in 4 hours flat, and those being basically unobtainable (the IC/ICG ones were at least obtainable if one shopped around a little bit), means that their production quantities were a little bit low and they left money on the table. At Timonium I was able to find the IC/ICG cars, too, but not the B&LE as they were gone and dealers I spoke to were not so happy that they couldn't get them at all.
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Post by Baikal on Feb 19, 2024 17:05:08 GMT -8
Bullcrap, I'll only buy one Reading gondola, I just said above in a recent post I bought 19 hoppers (plus two Tangent boxcars) in the last 6 weeks, and I don't even model IC/ICG as my main railroad, or B&LE, or even Reading for that matter. I live in Central PA, and Reading stuff still sells. Tangent has not even necessarily done the most popular schemes which have appeared on numerous foobies through the years: The green cars with yellow speed lettering, other iterations of green repainted cars with yellow reporting marks, and the one I mentioned--yellow with green lettering. Admittedly there may not have been too many of the rebuilt green cars, but I have actually seen photos of green repaints of what appears to be the ex-CNJ cars or the earlier actual Reading owned cars. If one searches online, it is actually pretty easy to find stuff. That's all I do. Bowser sells at least 3 times as many Reading Alco Centuries as they do PRR, so I was informed by the retail store sales manager, at the time of the last rerun of big six axle units. Now whether some may attribute low(er) PRR sales numbers to the bare bones paint scheme having only small Keystones and road numbers on the PRR units versus the neat Reading green and yellow scheme, or the fact that PRR only had them for a few years before Penn Central, I cannot say. I cannot speak for Tangent's production decisions but selling out of some recent hoppers (B&LE) in 4 hours flat, and those being basically unobtainable (the IC/ICG ones were at least obtainable if one shopped around a little bit), means that their production quantities were a little bit low and they left money on the table. At Timonium I was able to find the IC/ICG cars, too, but not the B&LE as they were gone and dealers I spoke to were not so happy that they couldn't get them at all.
What post/who are you replying to?
The "quote" button (upper right) lets your audience know. Otherwise readers may assume you are starting a new conversation or yelling at clouds.
It's simple. It works. Try it.
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Post by prr 4467 on Feb 19, 2024 22:49:02 GMT -8
...In this example, it is a RDG gondola. Those guys want those cars, thus everyone needs them too! Etc, etc. And in the end those guys each buy one car apiece and a year later Tangent has a warehouse full of them and Tangent dumps them at 50% off.
Baikal-- I was replying to this post not far above. Also, excessive use of quotes can and does make threads needlessly long. I thought it was pretty clear what I was replying to. If I like something I don't buy just one of them. And perhaps I'm mistaken, but I don't think Tangent has ever had to do a 50% off sale? |
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Post by Colin 't Hart on Feb 20, 2024 1:19:22 GMT -8
And perhaps I'm mistaken, but I don't think Tangent has ever had to do a 50% off sale? That's largely a business decision. Tangent is sitting on more and more inventory. It seems to be that they're content for them to sell out slowly along with new releases when people place (quantity) orders. Other manufacturers may want to clear their warehouse space for new, incoming inventory. |
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Post by lars on Feb 20, 2024 3:42:23 GMT -8
Excess Tangent inventory can be seen out there. Some 4750s have been on deep discount at Lombard for over a year and the once-hot 86’ Greenville’s are now well discounted.
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Post by gevohogger on Feb 20, 2024 5:25:14 GMT -8
I cannot speak for Tangent's production decisions but selling out of some recent hoppers (B&LE) in 4 hours flat, and those being basically unobtainable .... Still in stock at Lombard Hobbies.... |
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Post by unittrain on Feb 20, 2024 5:47:28 GMT -8
Just checked Lombard there's only one B&LE left I was going to grab a few more but it's the road number I already have 😁. The problem with the Greenville sales is that there is too many roadnumbers per car like really only need at most three of any given scheme usually to make a realistic train they're not like coal cars or covered hoppers where there's lots of repeaters in a train. I'm hoping Tangent does some 8 panel 2 bay coal hoppers like NYC and C&O had, those would be nice, there's also a need for a shallow bowl autorack flat with some Whitehead and Kales partially enclosed racks on them! A Tangent model like that would be awesome.
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Post by gevohogger on Feb 20, 2024 5:53:48 GMT -8
Just checked Lombard there's only one B&LE left I was going to grab a few more but it's the road number I already have 😁. That was quick. I may have touched off a flurry of purchases! |
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Post by lvrr325 on Feb 20, 2024 9:18:57 GMT -8
If they ran the gon with 70s era Reading schemes I'd buy a few. I have slowly been buying the LV covered hoppers; all 12 at once is a big step.
I would like to see X65 boxcars (NYC, PC, LV, CR) but they're visually very similar to the X58 previously done. Some of those did not sell particularly fast, so they haven't been re-run.
I also would like to see the green LV USRE rebuild 40' boxcars but I've never looked into the specifics of these to see if it would be feasible for someone to make a run that could cover multiple roads at the same time. If I were a manufacturer going to do these I would also look at what stretched 50' cars I could do from some of the same tooling parts.
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Post by dti406 on Feb 20, 2024 10:02:03 GMT -8
I actually want some undecorated kits as I have a bunch of decals to use up, Dave has never done the WABASH Bethlehem Steel Gons that they purchased from the CNJ and used in coil steel service in the Detroit Area for Ford Motor. _IMG_0950.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds) And I still have some Lehigh Valley and Reading cars to paint and decal also. Rick Jesionowski |
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Post by champagnetrail on Feb 20, 2024 19:43:21 GMT -8
Funny, I had recently gotten an old proto 4427 kit in the pilsbury scheme and over my long weekend I was thinking about opening it and seeing what I can upgrade with tangent parts on it, then they went and did the work for me. Those CPAA cars showed up at a feed/fertilizer receiver that was adjacent to the engine terminal in warwick, NY on the LHR so the choice is obvious. Good thing I hung a lot of OT this week, by the time the check lands lombard should have these in stock. I'm a sucker for covered hoppers of all kinds so a whole grip of these will be headed my way. I've got three of the CPAA cars in the EL wheel reports. All three appear to be used for chemicals and not grain.
-pat
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Post by prr 4467 on Feb 21, 2024 22:37:25 GMT -8
Just checked Lombard there's only one B&LE left I was going to grab a few more but it's the road number I already have 😁. That was quick. I may have touched off a flurry of purchases! I cannot count the number of times that I have checked Lombard's website for them over the past few weeks, only to find them gone. Perhaps somebody had a layaway and changed their mind. I was able to get two of them a few weeks ago. |
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Post by prr 4467 on Feb 21, 2024 22:40:13 GMT -8
I totally missed out on the Tangent "Wabash repaint" brown gondolas. I didn't pick one up fast enough at the time and have not found any since.
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pjm20
Junior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by pjm20 on Feb 22, 2024 5:06:27 GMT -8
I think another suitable Tangent open hopper candidate would be PPLX's Bethlehem 3418 cuft hoppers. Long lasting, repaints/purchased by other notable roads, another chance to use that great Cortan paint.
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Post by riogrande on Feb 22, 2024 5:22:15 GMT -8
Tangent did some black Wabash gons - i was tempted but didn't get one.
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Post by typhoon on Feb 22, 2024 7:24:04 GMT -8
I cannot speak for Tangent's production decisions but selling out of some recent hoppers (B&LE) in 4 hours flat, and those being basically unobtainable (the IC/ICG ones were at least obtainable if one shopped around a little bit), means that their production quantities were a little bit low and they left money on the table. At Timonium I was able to find the IC/ICG cars, too, but not the B&LE as they were gone and dealers I spoke to were not so happy that they couldn't get them at all. As a buisness owner, I would rather sell out and leave some money on the table (as long as you cover your costs and make a profit) over sitting on a bunch of unsold inventory. |
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Post by prr 4467 on Feb 22, 2024 9:48:09 GMT -8
Obviously yes, but my point is that Tangent has not generally ever sat on much inventory at all. It is most always a fast sellout, with a few current aberrations in that they have some 86' boxcars remaining.
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Post by prr 4467 on Feb 22, 2024 9:49:07 GMT -8
Tangent did some black Wabash gons - i was tempted but didn't get one. Tangent originally did the mid-60's Wabash repaint (brown) gondolas, years ago now. They went quickly. It's easy to forget all the stuff that they've done that was a fast sellout and then subsequently got removed from their website, almost as though it never was. Just like now you can't find some relatively recent Athearn production including items Athearn actually imported only a couple years ago. They are completely gone from the retired model listings. Tangent either does or did have retired models available on their website, with photos of some, but I'm pretty sure that list is not or was not all-inclusive. |
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Post by 12bridge on Feb 22, 2024 11:54:29 GMT -8
Excess Tangent inventory can be seen out there. Some 4750s have been on deep discount at Lombard for over a year and the once-hot 86’ Greenville’s are now well discounted. Lombard has quite a few piles of deep discount Tangent stuff. I think the market for the high end 86' box cars got flooded way too quick. |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Feb 22, 2024 12:19:07 GMT -8
It's easy to forget all the stuff that they've done that was a fast sellout and then subsequently got removed from their website, almost as though it never was. Tangent either does or did have retired models available on their website, with photos of some, but I'm pretty sure that list is not or was not all-inclusive. You can find above the UP 4740, from long ago--pretty much the first ever Tangent run, I believe. Ed |
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Post by typhoon on Feb 23, 2024 7:45:25 GMT -8
Obviously yes, but my point is that Tangent has not generally ever sat on much inventory at all. It is most always a fast sellout, with a few current aberrations in that they have some 86' boxcars remaining. It sounds like their business model is working. |
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Post by unittrain on Feb 23, 2024 8:06:18 GMT -8
They probably figured the 86' boxcars would level off in sales but would sell over the long hall. You don't need for instance 8 Chessie 86' boxcars of the same lot in a train combine that with the fact a whole train of these was probably rare and when you did have a good number of them in any one train you have roadname variation along with builder variation. So yeah 8 conrail quad doors ect ect is probably not common in a train.
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Post by lvrr325 on Feb 23, 2024 10:55:53 GMT -8
I didn't think I needed any 86' boxcars until watching some DVDs of old movie footage and one comes by. Even then the footage was so dark it took a while to figure out what road it was. So I got one - a Tangent, although I got it from a discounter.
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