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Post by desrailway on Dec 11, 2023 20:20:29 GMT
I just caught up on my emails and see Brady's are returning all of their new arrival RMT Ore cars due to shoddy trucks.
Our order from Trainworld is en route. Checked in with them, and they say the issue is with some, but not all cars, and we will have to test ours out - and can return the defective ones.
Questions: 1. Has anyone experienced these bad trucks? 2. Do Lionel, Atlas or MTH trucks work on RMT ore cars?
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Post by david1 on Dec 11, 2023 20:51:32 GMT
I don't have any RMT products but what are the problems? Couplers, wheels, trucks?
Diecast, plastic?
Dave
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Post by rockymountaineer on Dec 11, 2023 22:51:19 GMT
I was just gonna create a thread about this, as I just saw an email from Pat's Trains this afternoon. This is Pat's Trains email:
***
For those that have pre-ordered the Bethlehem Steel (all location versions), Milwaukee Road, Burlington Northern, and Genessee & Wyoming road name ore cars, this message is for you.
Unfortunately, these ore cars have an issue with their trucks and are being recalled to be fixed. Once these cars are corrected, they will then be shipped out.
Thank you for your patience for these ore cars. The paint jobs looked phenomenal on them.
***
The irony? I was just gonna open 4 Beth Steel RMT ore cars I purchased at Henning's Trains late last week and post photos of them here. As Pat indicated, the paint job is indeed phenomenal on these cars. It's just a darn shame that something as basic as "trucks" are flawed. Beyond what's in the email, I don't have any additional details. Henning's is closed on Monday, so I'll check in with them tomorrow, and I'll check the trucks on the ore cars are just brought home.
This is awful news regardless of how "minor" the defects might sound. Why am I losing patience with this stuff? Because I pre-ordered AND pre-paid (something I seldom IF EVER do) for SIX 2-packs of Henning's special-run of New Hope & Ivyland ore/ballast cars OVER TWO YEARS AGO!!!
There is nothing on the RMT website (yet) about this. Sounds like select dealers are alerting their customers. Bravo for their being up front about this defect. That's MUCH MORE than Lionel did with the recent screw-ups on its YUELTIDE North Pole Central passenger coach and the awful NYC Dreyfus colors.
What I'm wondering here is whether this RMT truck defect ONLY affects the ore cars that just recently arrived at dealers from Emery (the new owner of RMT). According to the RMT website, the blurb on ore cars dated Nov 27 indicates additional liveries will be arriving "starting in January 2024". Note the wiggle-word "starting". Will these 2024 shipments have the same truck problems, since they have presumably already shipped from the factory???
On a related note about pre-order/pre-pay... and in the spirit of complete transparency: The other pre-order/pre-pay arrangement I made in 2022 was for this forum's TOFC's, which have the blazing trailers on the flatcars. MTH has been jerking us around with these cars for months now. I think we were told almost a year ago that they were "on the water". Yet here we are in Nov 2023 with nothing to show for our pre-paid dollars. As I understand things, once our blank trailers arrive Stateside, they then go to the painter for custom decorating/decaling. So I doubt we'll even see these on our doorstep until 2024 at the earliest.
Bottom line... it's becoming painfully clear that US importers of toy trains have lost complete control over their Asian factories.
Having said that, I have no doubts that the two entities I prepaid (i.e., Henning's and OGF) will make good on the products. Both parties are top-notch with high ethics. However, these kinds of scenarios make it difficult to move forward with pre-ordering via pre-pay in the future. It's just not worth the hassle.
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Post by desrailway on Dec 11, 2023 22:51:48 GMT
From Brady's
Important notice regarding preordered RMT cars
We recently received and began shipping out the long-awaited RMT ore cars.
However, several customers who received them alerted us to the fact that they wobble on the tracks, uncouple at random, and the wheels scrape the underside when going around curves.
After a close inspection of the cars on our own test tracks, we do not feel the RMT cars are acceptable to send to our customers.
We pride ourselves on offering quality trains that we can stand behind, and these cars simply do not make the cut. They are not the level of quality advertised, and we will be returning them all to our distributor.
If you placed an order for RMT cars, we will be contacting you soon to arrange a refund. We apologize for this issue, but we do not want to send these cars out given their defects and inferior construction.
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Post by firewood on Dec 11, 2023 22:56:50 GMT
I have a couple of the woodchip cars on my list at Trainworld, but no mention of problems. There’s a FB post from another dealer mentioning the ore car issues. It's wait and see, I guess.
Dave
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Post by runamuckchuck on Dec 11, 2023 23:34:10 GMT
Bravo to those dealers who not only stand behind the products they sell but in front of them as well.
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Post by harborbelt70 on Dec 12, 2023 0:02:51 GMT
I have a couple of pairs of recent RMT tank cars. The paint schemes are very well executed; the frame construction is, well, rickety, including the trucks, so I am not surprised at these issues. Very unfortunate that some of these cars have turned out to be badly built but I guess that's to be expected at the absolutely minimal price point.
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Post by lionelllc on Dec 12, 2023 0:32:11 GMT
I was just gonna open 4 Beth Steel RMT ore cars I purchased at Henning's Trains late last week and post photos of them here. As Pat indicated, the paint job is indeed phenomenal on these cars. It's just a darn shame that something as basic as "trucks" are flawed. Beyond what's in the email, I don't have any additional details. .
Hennings posted on their Facebook page about these cars. You should go to their Facebook page and you'll get some answers. Stu
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Post by rockymountaineer on Dec 12, 2023 1:39:55 GMT
Thanks, Stu. I called Henning’s today to inquire, but they were closed. Never thought to look at their FB page. Lots of ways to communicate these days, and every dealer has different preferences. Tough to keep track!!!
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Post by desrailway on Dec 13, 2023 12:18:30 GMT
Anyone else’s trucks fit under these cars?
Paint work on the cars is great. Can’t find some of these rail lines elsewhere - and if I return them not sure I’ll get replacements
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Post by sdivtim on Dec 13, 2023 12:28:37 GMT
I believe RMT started using the same trucks that are on Menard's cars.
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Post by desrailway on Dec 13, 2023 15:03:49 GMT
Message from RMT
RMT is having replacement wheels produced by another vendor and delivery should be in about 30 days.
RMT has been in the toy train hobby business for over 20 years. The owner is a retired railroad conductor and all RMT products embrace a true railroading history.
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Post by Craignor on Dec 13, 2023 15:36:34 GMT
You get what you pay for.
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Post by 4dogsinjersey on Dec 14, 2023 0:50:57 GMT
I just wonder why the defective cars were sent from RMT to the distributors without any quality control inspections. Drop shipping from China?
It seems a logical step (quality control inspection) is being skipped by most train manufacturers…
Tom
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Post by dlagrua on Dec 14, 2023 17:16:29 GMT
My 60 years in the hobby finds China is in control so Walters 30 days might be 3 months. Get what you pay for, not so much these days. Other suppliers items are expensive. MFG's Quality control if any is poor. I weather customers new and old products every week. Last week I found the MTH stock car door guides floating around in the unopened box, also one missing. Same for brake wheels and loose grab irons. A ladder on a gondola had cracks in it. This was brand new stuff still in cartons. Small support wheels fall off MTH pup trailers. Shown to VP’s several times, still an issue. Had a box car door installed upside down and the list goes on. Lionel's S-4 and other engines heavy trucks snap off due to weak bolsters. MTH & Lionel don’t care, just want your money for items that are now three times the price they should be. These guys are close to retirement and are trying to make it to the end. The Chinese have had a stranglehold on model train manufacturing since the late 1980's. They utilize unskilled cheap labor, ship everything and there is never any waste. I would not hang my hat on the 30 day delivery of replacement trucks by RMT but Walter has the opportunity to make things right. For businesses who returned shipments; does anyone know if they received refunds?
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