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Post by rockymountaineer on Dec 29, 2023 2:17:49 GMT
Word on the street is the new RMT ore cars have defective trucks, axles and couplers. But is it true?
Sadly, I can personally confirm that these ore cars are perhaps the most disappointing pieces of O-Gauge rolling stock I’ve purchased in DECADES. The graphics and rivet detail are magnificent (see attached photo), but the trucks make these cars completely useless.
First, the friction on the axles/wheels is SUBSTANTIAL… with very little if any ”free roll” — even on completely level track.
Second, even on straight track, the cars I tested were prone to derailing as one of the wheel sets would consistently rise above the railhead. And forget about curves — they’re an accident waiting to happen. Downright awful.
Bottom line… I completely understand why Brady’s Train Outlet among other shops have decided to not only return their stock to Emery/RMT — but are refusing to carry the RMT line altogether going forward.
Operationally speaking, these cars are the absolute worst. And they’re perhaps proof positive that importers have lost complete control over products coming out of their overseas factories. There’s just no way these cars could have been examined before leaving the factory. QC/QA is non-existent... PERIOD. Unbelievable!!! 
It's a sad commentary that twice this Christmas Season I have had to return poor quality toy train products to their points-of-purchase: first the Lionel North Pole Central "Sleigh Bell Ltd" passenger train to Nicholas Smith Trains... and second, these RMT ore cars to Hennings Trains. I'll also be cancelling a prepaid, pre-order set of RMT New Hope & Ivyland ore/ballast cars as well also with Hennings. Brady's Train Outlet already provided a refund on their special-run of RMT ore cars, which I opted to use in the form of a store credit to purchase something else.
Arguably, I could have kept the "Sleigh Bell Ltd" passenger cars and fixed Lionel's misspelled YUELTIDE car with an engraved plate covering Lionel's mistake. But why should buyers NEED to do that after spending upwards of $1,400-$1800? But in the case of the RMT ore cars, these clunkers have no future on anyone's layout unless you were to swap out the trucks and couplers, which somewhat defeats the purpose of spending roughly $27 per car in the first place. Buying replacement trucks/couplers essentially makes these a $50 piece of rolling stock, which isn't a very good price/performer at all -- irrespective of how nice the graphics appear.
Sigh....
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Post by firewood on Dec 29, 2023 3:45:13 GMT
Bah…disappointing to say the least. I have a couple of the woodchip cars on pre-order - it’s wait-and-see I guess. I understand that the chip cars are now in production - I’ll hurry up and wait.
Dave
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Post by Spice7 on Dec 29, 2023 15:14:03 GMT
Yes my four had the same problem. One car had a broken coupler, one a floor out but I fixed it and all four had wheel sets out of gauge. I wrote to Walter but received no response.
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Post by rockymountaineer on Dec 29, 2023 15:29:30 GMT
... I wrote to Walter but received no response. It will be interesting to see what you hear -- if anything, because I've heard Walter has sold his interest in RMT to Emery. I'll be returning my 4 Bethlehem Steel ore cars back to Hennings Trains today (Friday). And regardless of what Emery is telling dealers, we've already waited almost two years for these clunkers. So I'm moving on from RMT -- just not worth the hassle, even at their bargain prices.
Brady's Train Outlet really took the right approach, and I applaud them for that: refund/credit the customer's prepaid monies and just move on from this mess once and for all.
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Post by Spice7 on Dec 29, 2023 15:57:15 GMT
I lost my first reply.
My four were defective. One had a broken coupler, one a floor out of alignment and all had wheels out of gauge causing derailment.
I wrote to Walter but he did not respond. He is aware of the problem and is trying to salvage this mess.
I just wrote to Trainworld and see what their response will be.
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Post by Adam on Dec 29, 2023 16:00:46 GMT
No bueno!
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gftiv
Junior Member
Posts: 85
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Post by gftiv on Dec 29, 2023 22:26:45 GMT
I wanted to buy some wood chip cars. NOT ANY MORE !!
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Post by dlagrua on Dec 30, 2023 11:40:33 GMT
The problem with the RMT Ore cars appears to be similar to the one reported on Menards rolling stock. On those cars many hobbyists were able to fix the trucks but when you make a purchase a product it should not be defective right out of the box. RMT has had a spotted history during its life of existence so this should be no surprise.
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Post by rockymountaineer on Dec 30, 2023 17:55:40 GMT
Dec 30th UPDATE: I visited Henning's Trains yesterday (Friday), and they were kind enough to credit all monies I had paid for RMT ore cars -- some delivered (i.e., 4 Bethlehem Steel) and six 2-packs of their special-run New Hope & Ivyland ballast cores (essentially the same as ore cars) which I had intended to run as a nice maintenance unit train. It was a substantial amount of funds tied up for almost 2 years. And since I planned to purchase something else at the store, it made the refund/credit transaction all that much easier.
I will say this. Our toy train suppliers have relationships that run deep and are based upon years -- if not decades -- of working with people. Generally speaking, it's the kind of G2 info we pick up only by talking to people at train shops or train shows IN PERSON. Bottom line: Hennings Trains has talked to Walter about this whole fiasco, and plans are in place to have this line of products FIXED in Easton, PA where Emery resides. Apparently new trucks/wheels/couplers will be installed on the defective RMT rolling stock in Easton. In addition, it's quite likely that Hennings will pick up the Westinghouse special-run ore cars (among others) from Brady's Train Outlet once the cars are fixed and the dust settles, since Brady's isn't gonna carry the RMT line anymore.
As much as I like the entire crew at Henning's Trains, I just didn't want monies tied up any further with RMT goods there. So I opted to apply my funds to another purchase yesterday. And I'll decide if and when Emery/RMT delivers finished products that actually work if any more ore cars are in my future. But no more pre-ordering RMT goods... and DEFINITELY no more pre-paying of goods until products are satisfactorily delivered. This just isn't the time to trust the overseas manufacturing landscape. Apparently, the factory which RMT used for these ore cars was not a "regular" toy train manufacturer, and they've already gone under as a train manufacturing company (can't image why). A new factory will reportedly be building new RMT products. So we shall see...
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Post by runamuckchuck on Dec 31, 2023 0:33:15 GMT
With as much emotional and financial pain as this must be causing our dealer friends/partners it is a wonder we have not seen a dealer uprising of sorts unless the Brady Trains decision to no longer sell RMT products is a harbinger of 2024 train hobby retail. Something has got to give, doesn't it?
I for one have canceled all my preorders for 2024 except fantasy scheme holiday items.
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Post by rockymountaineer on Dec 31, 2023 15:10:57 GMT
... I for one have canceled all my preorders for 2024 except fantasy scheme holiday items. I have a couple of goodies still to be delivered in 2024: the Legacy F-19 Christmas steamer, and a VisionLine D&RGW Triplex... neither of which required a deposit. The Train Loft is offering a N&W Triplex as well to match the color scheme of N&W passenger cars. But they want a $500 deposit, which in this day of manufacturing uncertainty isn't gonna come from my wallet. I'll wait to see what's actually delivered. And if it's a grand slam (like the recent Train Loft D&RGW Big Boy), THEN a purchase decision will be made.
My days of large pre-order lists are in the rear-view mirror. If a significant number of buyers also take the wait-and-see approach as well, then that really puts the pressure on dealers as to whether or not they're gonna gamble by ordering BTO extra's. For many years, locomotives were the prime victims of manufacturing errors. But this year, even basic rolling stock didn't escape sloppy manufacturing practices. So I've gotta believe even the big toy train dealers are gonna proceed cautiously, after so many faux-pas have occurred that have severely undercut our confidence in the BTO business model.
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