AHM freight Cars
- Thread starter Smudge617
- Start date
I've had quite a few over the years. "For their time" they were pretty good cars. Decent detail, good paint. I never really liked their trucks/wheelsets/couplers. Other than that, they were much more than okay. If you offered me one for the same price you were offering nearly any train set car, I'd get the AHM.
Good quality or not, do beware most if not all, AHM locos and cars will have un-realistic 'horn hook' couplers, not knuckle couplers,..and might even be talgo type (truck mounted) to boot, poor for switching moves..They may also have one piece plastic wheel/axle sets as opposed to having separate metal axles (but not 100% sure of that)..
Last edited:
Because of their age, they will have the old X2F coupler. The couplers will almost certainly be truck-mounted, and the majority will have plastic wheels, though some will have metal axles.
Iron Horseman
Well-Known Member
I believe it depends upon the age of the cars. I have some AHM cars I got in the early 1960s. They came in blueprint boxes with clear fronts that had an image of a locomotive on the left side. Box said "True to blue print." There were trays in the box for the cars to sit in. They were wonderful cars, had some metal parts. They had a lot more underside detailing than Athearn. Their metal wheels were the best runners I had at the time. Then time goes on. In 1981 I drove all the way across St. Louis to a hobby store that had an AHM tank car painted for Holly Sugar. When I got there the blue print boxes had gone away. Replaced by solid blue. The inserts were replace by a cardboard holder. The cars inside had very poor rolling plastic wheels, and all detail was now molded on. The paint job wasn't paint. It had became molded colored plastic with just the printing/logos painted on. Yuck. I had known this was happening but that moment is when it really hit me how much things had changed.
And there was everything in between during those years, so you can see why people have different opinions of them, as they were fairly good to junk. Just a matter of time.
Last edited:
boatwrench
Well-Known Member
I have a bunch. My brother is a realtor and as a side hustle clean out rental properties and those that have held estate sales were many things that didn't sell are left. I hang on to every bit of model railroad items much to my wife's chagrin. I figure I can practice stripping, painting or weathering on these shells. If the car is very unique time & parts can be added as an upgrade.
otiscnj
Well-Known Member
These days, they be a far cry from the museum quality models that some companies put out. Back in the day, most of them were fine, for what they were-plastic, not brass, but that's a whole other discussion. Over the years, I did some upgrades, in terms of wheelsets, and couplers, to 'improve the cars a bit, in terms of realism (couplers) as well as functionality(being able to couple to other cars with Kadee's, as well as running better).
I think that many of these cars could still be of great utility for a number of modelers, depending upon how big their layout and collection of freight cars are, as well as how much they have to spend, etc. Some AHM cars were of a very particular prototype car, which no one's made of model of, before or since, that you can find, as easily. In a different case, which would you rather have, a Tyco or an AHM 40's gondola, vs and Athearn blue box 40' gondola?
Many of the ones that are still in my collection, may stay as part of it a while longer, unless something else comes along, which I can replace it with, for not much money, with more detail, etc. Otherwise, I expect it to remain 'in service' a while longer.
I think that many of these cars could still be of great utility for a number of modelers, depending upon how big their layout and collection of freight cars are, as well as how much they have to spend, etc. Some AHM cars were of a very particular prototype car, which no one's made of model of, before or since, that you can find, as easily. In a different case, which would you rather have, a Tyco or an AHM 40's gondola, vs and Athearn blue box 40' gondola?
Many of the ones that are still in my collection, may stay as part of it a while longer, unless something else comes along, which I can replace it with, for not much money, with more detail, etc. Otherwise, I expect it to remain 'in service' a while longer.
TLOC
Well-Known Member
My opinion is that the ones I have seen are toy like. That said, I have a few modeling friends who ran them on their layouts after upgrading the wheels, trucks, couplers, weight added and then weathered.
If you are paying $5- 10? each USD and you like them and know you need to upgrade, go for it. I find better value IMO with Accurail, Kit Classics by Scaletrains and the Mainline series of Walthers. With those for me it’s mainly coupler upgrading to Kadee.
If you are paying $5- 10? each USD and you like them and know you need to upgrade, go for it. I find better value IMO with Accurail, Kit Classics by Scaletrains and the Mainline series of Walthers. With those for me it’s mainly coupler upgrading to Kadee.
Smudge617
Well-Known Member
I can see them being of use to very young MRR's, or if you want to try and get a child interested in the hobby, they are what they are and they obviously fill a need.
But I'm a little too old for them I think, as TLOC said they seem quite "toylike" so they're not a manufacturer I would add to my roster unless, as otiscjn mentioned it's very particular prototype car, which no one's made of before or since, then I'm likely to chance it, but knowing that it will probably need extra weights, couplers, running gear etc. means I know what to expect.
But I'm a little too old for them I think, as TLOC said they seem quite "toylike" so they're not a manufacturer I would add to my roster unless, as otiscjn mentioned it's very particular prototype car, which no one's made of before or since, then I'm likely to chance it, but knowing that it will probably need extra weights, couplers, running gear etc. means I know what to expect.
