Intermodal Equipment

So far I use Athearn and Walthers intermodals exclusively, so I don't have a gauge on Kato or Atlas, etc.
I only advise that you stay away from Con-Cor.

As far as I know, no two brands will mate with each other without some p.i.t.a. reworking with pins or holes.
For instance, Athearn has round pins & holes, and Walthers are oval. There is no 'Standard'.

Both Athearn and Walthers containers and well cars are good quality. However I prefer Walthers well cars, because they're mostly metal, which adds weight, and tends to stabilize both loaded cars and empties. Athearn cars are lightweight plastic, and can tend to wobble when empty. Walthers well cars are also slightly better detailed, although Athearn cars are pretty well detailed too.
My major issue is with the cost of containers.

spikedrivingblues said:

Thanks for the info.
I could not find any Walthers Proto 3 or 5 unit cars.
Thoughts?

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Walthers Proto well cars are hard to find. Their Mainline well cars are great, (excellent detail) and more prevalent. Like Proto's, they have ProtoMax couplers.
Amazon has Walthers Mainline 40' 5-car set for $112 plus shipping.

deedub35 said:

You would be better off adding weight to the inside of the bottom containers than worrying about the weight of the car itself. Open up a container and glue/tape some weights (lead shot, etc) to increase the weight of the entire well car.

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IMO, it's easier to glue snipped lengths of solder in the car underbodies. Getting containers apart isn't all that easy.

One more thing about Athearn cars...
They all come with McHenry couplers, which are junk.
Walthers Proto and current Mainline come with ProtoMax couplers, which are as good as Kadees

ScaleTrains also offers containers, and at comparable prices.
Although I don't have any, they look superb, and are finely detailed.
I'm not sure however, what their mating arrangement is, or if they're compatible with other brands.

BTW, you can get round mating pins to mate with oval holes much more readily than vice versa.
Round-pin cans can be pushed onto oval holes, but the other way around isn't possible without some drilling and trial-fitting.

spikedrivingblues said:

Late Starter, sounds like you may own a Walthers Mainline 5 unit car. If so I'd appreciate it if you throw a tape on it and let me know how long they are if you get a chance...wondering how many I can fit in my staging.

No hurry since I haven't even started building the layout yet :laugh:

Thanks

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Nope, sorry, I don't have a Walthers 3 or 5 well set...
But I do have individual cars, and I can measure them knuckle-to-knuckle.
That may give you somewhat of an idea.
Right now I'm out of state. Will do when I get back, or someone else may chime in.