what scale is that

what scale is that On3, who makes kits like that in HO, that are reasonably priced  ? ?

The scale is Sn3

@Big Zeke;

The scale is Sn3 (S scale 3 foot gauge)

PBL produces several freight kits. Traditionally, Sn3 does not have a big enough following to mass produce in China, so they produce kits in the US. Although they have made limited runs of ready to run cars in the past few years.

Here is a link to their web site.

http://www.p-b-l.com

If my wife let's me get a 3d

Buy Local and Buy American

traintalk,

I agree. I don't understand the hullabaloo about all of these manurfacturer's shutting down temporarily. Seems like a bad idea to have a single source for all of your products in another country. I also have enough kits and projects to build for the next year or two, and I suspect I am not alone.  

I don't shame people for manufacturing outside the U.S.. Everyone has to make those business decisions. I vote with my dollars though and offer the most support to manufacturers right here in Colorado and the U.S. first, even if it costs more. I shop at the local brick and mortar first, before going online. This improves not only the MR community in the U.S. but also our own communities with jobs, business, and tax revenue. If everyone did a little more of this in all of their consumption, it might just come back around and help you and your work or business...

Well

It's a nice looking kit and it does include trucks and KD couplers.  But it's still $50 (plus paint).  It looks like these are similar to Tichy Train Group. 

But the real issue I think is that most people seem to prefer RTR. 

Paul

Building kits vs. RTR

If we had kits to assemble it would help prevent amassing that HUGE number of cars nearly all modelers have. Of course, we would probably just buy more kits than we could ever build.

Robert

Kits-Save$$$

Price comes from supply and demand.  Kits are out of favor, prices go down.  We have a local hobby shop that acquires stuff for pennies and puts them on the discount rack, mostly kits from old guys getting out of the hobby.  I made a recent purchase of an Intermountain cylindrical hopper for $15.   Not an easy build with all the walkway brackets, but I'm in no hurry.

 "what ever happened to the

The hobby got a lot more sophisticated . Now we build bigger and better layouts using the RTR stuff as parts. There's still plenty of kits around for those who want to regress .......DaveB

Mark me as one that has

Mark me as one that has regressed. I build kits and they do not seem to take that much time to do. I can generally build one in about the same amount of time it takes me to disassemble and rebuild one of the rtrs to get it to run to my standards. I stopped buying ready to run. I enjoy the kit building process so for me it adds to my enjoyment of the hobby. Not everyone enjoys the same things. Some guys love fooling with electronics projects and wiring, I do not.

I do know that if I wish to back my train into the yard it will do so with out issue. A trainload of rtrs, fugetaboutit. This recent supply hick-up will affect some folks more than others. For those of us that are model builders it will not likely be a big deal. For the ones that are model buyers it might be very bothersome till it gets sorted out, although it has not seemed to hit all of the companies it has hit many of them.

I hope things get resolved favorably for all involved and that those folks that are fans of the rtr can pick up where they left off.

I don't agree

I don't agree. There are a lot of people around whose hands are too shaky and whose eyesight is not good enough any more to assemble  highly detailed kits. I used to build them but now I prefer RTR.

If people want built to kits, ok do it. But don't try to turn back time because it fits your personal needs.There are others with different needs.
Regards, Volker

Nice caboose,

Nice caboose, traintalk!

(Don't read that the wrong way...)

I do both...

I do still build kits if I can find something that fits my era and has the detail level I require,my personal preference.I don’t really do the shake the box kits anymore,because I’m not a fan of molded on details and the work involved in removing them to upgrade is rarely worth the effort. I build many of the so called craftsman kits also,FSM,FosScale,SRMW,and others. I also buy the RTR offerings from Tangent,Moloco and the like. The RTR affords me the time to build the kits,along with a model RR. I think there a place for both,but I do miss the kits from Intermountain,Proto,and others,and still buy them when I find them,which is getting more difficult,but not impossible. Of course,if price is similar,I’d go with a RTR car from a quality manufacturer and devote the time saving to models only available as kits,or to the model RR. I still get my fix of model building but do lament the availability of kits like it was. 

Tom

Manufacturers make what sells

It's as simple as that. There's a well known freight car manufacturer from Colorado who used to make kits. They may still put them out without markings. But at some point they stopped selling road named kits. You can still get their kits. I have a number of them acquired when I lived in the Northwest. But they aren't up to date. The wheel sets are plastic. For the covered hoppers, the walkways are plastic rather than metal. The cost of upgrading pushes the model past what the price is for an off the shelf one. Oh, and getting those roofwalk supports installed correctly was never my forte.

Now back when Proto was independent, their kits were a joy to me. Fine detail, easy to assemble. If I find one at a swap meet, I get it.

Then there is the "semi-kit".  When I re-entered the hobby, some locomotives came without grab irons and railings installed. It took some effort to get to that point where grab irons didn't go off into space and had to be tracked down.

But too many folk over the years have decided "I don't have time to build it myself when I want to have my layout up and running". There's a good argument for that; but then again, it all depends on what you want from your hobby.

I do agree (with Rob)

I, for one, would be interested in more kits...    More interested in passenger than freight, now.

The problem is that the number of RRs that had passenger cars is large... the number of paint schemes is enormous, and the number of 'interested' manufacturers is NOT.

Thus, the Outside chance that someone will produce a car I'm interested in is minuscule ....  so, I have little-to-nothing to build.

Also, I see Volker's point...  still, it's not a reason to ignore the kit market Wholesale!  Let's get the young crowd into the hobby in a way similar to how we got here... options.    RTR is fine for the deeper wallet.     And I feel I will exit the kit market someday for the reasons Volker listed... Not Yet!

BTW- the OP's caboose interior would be of interest to me in HO... lovely photos, good work!

I'm an operator first and foremost

I wonder...

3 things really happened in the 1990s (when I was barely modeling) that brought major changes to model railroading:

1. The end of the kits, beginning of quality RTR

2. The move to China for production.

3. DCC allowing multiple trains and easy consisting to be run without very complex block wiring.

1 and 2 have an obvious relationship, I wonder how much of an impact #3 might have had on #1 - since it really freed modelers up to operate, which called for more cars to put on more trains.

I really wasn't around in the 90s - I was in Germany for the first half, mildly modeling in 96-98, and then in college from 98-2002.

What he said...

I'm all about operations. Everything else is an obstacle to be overcome in order to get to operations. 

Randy 

Passenger Cars

Actually the problem with passenger cars is there are a lot of different floor plans and the designs tend to vary and often be unique to a particular railway. So you can make a model of an ATSF such and such series coach and paint it up in paint schemes from every railway out there, but it's only truly accurate for ATSF (and anyone that may have bought any of those specific cars secondhand).

(The number of railroads that had freight cars is just as big... Of course again, certain designs were widely sold, and some are unique to a particular railroad, but passenger cars tend to be more unique...)

Branchline passenger car kits

The Branchline passenger car kits must have sold very poorly since you could find them for about $15 or less and now that Atlas has taken over they will be RTR cars.  Alco models offered the PRR P-70 coach as a kit in the 1980's and you can still find them at train shows but the BLI P-70 coaches cost many times more and are even more detailed.

Robert

Here is something to think

Here is something to think about for the kit proponents. Arrowhead Models announced their first model, the "Committee designed" hopper: https://arrowheadmodels.com/collections/shop

The painted RTR model costs $48.95, the undecorated kit $48.50. The $48.50 is a typo it should have been S48.95 to. So RTR painted and kit undecorated unpainted the same price.
Regards, Volker

Go back?

Some of us never left.  I especially like building the early HO rolling stock and structure kits, adding newer aftermarket parts to enhance the models.  For my era there are several kits that fit the bill but not as much RTR so that's a bonus.

Still, I agree with the comments that RTR engines and rolling stock has enabled folks to build larger layouts and focus on operations or other aspects of the hobby they enjoy more.

The great leveler comes, however, when it is time to build scenery.  There's no such thing as RTR creeks, rivers and lakes.  Sure, there are precast rocks and premade trees so a person doesn't have to be an artist in all respects, but most scenic work is done from scratch.

Woodland scenics and maybe even Digitrax et al have made wiring plug-n-play, so we don't have to build circuit boards.  I usually skipped the electronics column when I was an MR subscriber unless I finished the issue quickly and didn't have much else to read before the next one came out.  I know there are some folks who turned there first, however.

And benchwork, thanks to Sievers and Mianne can be kit-built, or custom built for the right price.  But custom built layouts - scenery and all - are for the wealthy among us who prefer that option.

I know this hobby is broad and deep and there's room for all types of builders and operators.  But I still tend to think of it as a craft involving skills learned the old fashioned way, through trial and error and mentoring, whether via magazine or in person.

Galen

I do sometimes miss putting a

I do sometimes miss putting a nice kit together like a Tichi kit.

I'd also like to see some RTR models available as a kit because sometimes the RTRs have QC issues such as printing askew, poor assembly, and warped parts to name a few.

Physical Therapy

I style myself as an operator, and find ready to run ideal for my purpose. I also have a stockpile of kits from the late '80s and early '90s, that I am gradually building. I exhibit all the reasons that Volker cites for ready to run, but I feel that as long as I force my hands, eyes and brain to continue to function.

Boris

Quote...

Volker said:

"If people want built to kits, ok do it. But don't try to turn back time because it fits your personal needs."

Nor word their kit building preferences so it sounds condescending toward those that choose to allocate their time toward other elements of model railroading instead of having to allocate the majority of their available hobby time to bulding kits/scratchbuilding/etc.

Andre