I have been trying for several years to find a Gilroy Garlic Festival car. Ever since we attended many years ago. I believe I have seen ONE on ebay in over 10 years. It is USAT.
Ted Doskaris said:
Michael Kirrene said:
Scot, thanks. I saw that. The GBDB website is my go-to source for information. It looks like a 40 ft. steel box; I’m just not 100% convinced it’s a USAT car. I’ve never physically seen one - there were only 100 made through a train shop in my neck of the woods that’s now out of business. I know USA Trains made quite a few limited runs, so it’s quite possible that it’s a USAT car.
The GCRR appears to be a USA Trains an American Series “Simulated Steel Box Car” like the example shown below on eBay
The eBay example car above appears to have been fitted with metal wheels and truck mounted Kadee couplers.
-Ted
Thanks, Ted. I’m convinced! I edited out the ? on my want list. That’s a nice car by the way. Same as the fairly rare USAT UPS box car. I see the owner went with a truck-mounted Kadee #831/1831 or #909/1909 coupler over a body-mount coupler. Much less of a hassle to go with the truck mounted coupler, but maybe a little less preferred in some circles…
Lou Luczu said:
I have been trying for several years to find a Gilroy Garlic Festival car. Ever since we attended many years ago. I believe I have seen ONE on ebay in over 10 years. It is USAT.
Lou -
I never knew “All Aboard Junction” in Gilroy even existed until last year. First, the hobby shop was known as “All Aboard Junction”, then in 2013 became “Garlic City Railroad Co”. By 2014, the place had folded. If I’d known about this car back then, I would have jumped on one of them. I’m sure the Qty. 100 went quickly. I’ve never seen one on Ebay.
FYI,
“EMD Trainman” includes a description of the USAT 1/24 scale American Series Simulated Steel Box Car in “USA Trains different series explained”.
-Ted
Yes, these cars are part of the “American” series, not 1:29, and body mounts are not as straightforward as the “Ultimate” 1:29 series.
Greg
Yep! And I also noted that the road number of the US Army car you posted is “2001”, the year of the “9/11” attacks on the WTC.
Body mounting either size of Kadee couplers is not at all hard to do, but does involve cutting, in order to make a great job of it. I have converted many, many of them, and they sure look better than those ugly offset shank, truck mounted ones, which do not look at all like a prototype mounting. I guess it could be said that what looks good depends on the eyes of the beholder…!!!
Here is your chance ends today…
They will never get that price…
I could see $100 each being plausible, but not $200 each.
Scot
They started the listing at $705 on the 18 of Jan and have been dropping it.
You just need to contact and see if you can make an offer. Yeah he is really high but an offer will usually get it done. I always list really high on ebay so they will contact me direct.
Yall did see the add on the previous page for the other car he was looking for…
ty
Landrel Brown said:
You just need to contact and see if you can make an offer. Yeah he is really high but an offer will usually get it done. I always list really high on ebay so they will contact me direct.
Yall did see the add on the previous page for the other car he was looking for…
ty
Thanks!
Michael,
I don’t know if this would help you in your search, or even if they have what you’re looking for, but the other night I was looking at the auctions from Trainz (G Scale auctions) and they have a ton of USA Reefers for sale. Again, maybe not what you’re looking for, but then again maybe! I know there were a LOT of beer themed reefers.
Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask about Trainz! Does anyone here have any good/bad experiences to share? I’ve looked and thought about bidding a few times but the shipping + 18% “Buyer’s Premium” fee has kept me from clicking.
Bill Buescher said:
Michael,
I don’t know if this would help you in your search, or even if they have what you’re looking for, but the other night I was looking at the auctions from Trainz (G Scale auctions) and they have a ton of USA Reefers for sale. Again, maybe not what you’re looking for, but then again maybe! I know there were a LOT of beer themed reefers.
Thanks, Bill. A few months ago I won a USA Trains reefer in one of their auctions on Ebay. I thought the shipping cost was a little high, but I see quite a bit of auctions where the shipping is set too high. I could be wrong, but the way I see it, some of the cars are set at a very reasonable price and they make up for this somewhat lower competitive price by raising the shipping costs. Trainz knows what they have and the rarer cars will be auctioned off. Don’t remember any stuff they sell on Ebay as being set sale. I believe they buy collections and from estate sales.
Dan Gilchrist said:
Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask about Trainz! Does anyone here have any good/bad experiences to share? I’ve looked and thought about bidding a few times but the shipping + 18% “Buyer’s Premium” fee has kept me from clicking.
Trainz is a reputable dealer, and they ship promptly after payment. The shipping cost was a little high. If they’re the only source for an item that you really want, you’re locked into their price. I remember the reefer I bought from them had to be cleaned up a little bit to look like new; other than that their grading system was OK.
Landrel Brown said:
Here is your chance ends today…
After 4 long days of waiting for this auction to end, I’m the proud owner of a USA Trains Gilroy Garlic City RR Box Car! I’m surprised I was the only bidder. Only 100 of these cars were custom made for a train shop that’s unfortunately now defunct. I’m real happy about reducing my want list by one tonight. Thanks for the heads-up, Landrel!
Fred Mills said:
Body mounting either size of Kadee couplers is not at all hard to do, but does involve cutting, in order to make a great job of it. I have converted many, many of them, and they sure look better than those ugly offset shank, truck mounted ones, which do not look at all like a prototype mounting. I guess it could be said that what looks good depends on the eyes of the beholder…!!!
Last year, when I got back into the hobby (mostly collecting the beer reefers), I was going back and forth on whether to convert all my rolling stock to the preferred body-mount couplers (either G or #1). This would not only be for functionality, but primarily aesthetics and realism. Then I talked to a couple of club members and dealers online and they suggested that I NOT do any modifications to the car bodies as the cars would then be devalued. I was convinced, so I decided to take the truck-mounted Kadee 831’s off the cars I’d already converted back in the 90’s and bought new truck frames and re-installed the original hook & loop couplers. Maybe I’m nuts but at least now I have consistency and compatibility with all my rolling stock and engines and feel a little bit better about things.
It just bothers me that I’d have to cut all of the car bodies on these cars, many of which are considered collectibles. I can’t afford to modify them. These wood-sided billboard reefers are getting much harder to find and they’re not cheap! When I check out, I want the little woman to be able to sell them without the possibility of them being devalued because I chopped up the cars.
Why hasn’t anybody (especially Kadee) ever come up with Kadee coupler modification kits for these older USAT & LGB cars? Like styrene mounting pads cut the right L x W x H with threaded holes for 4-40 screws? And a maybe 3 various thickness shims just in case they don’t align perfectly with the Kadee coupler height gauge? But then you still have to cut off the ends of the cars and that part has become a deal breaker for me. USA trains obviously realized what a pain in the butt it is and have made their newer cars easier to convert to body-mount KD’s.