Walthers Budget Tankers | Worth Buying? | Unboxing & Overview 

As was pointed out to me once by an old modeller. Once youre sat back 2 or 3 feet, those little glue marks and such disappear quick. So yeah theyre there but... at the same time, its not that big a deal

I can see what the point problem is. The wagons like going over points, but you have yet to learn the fine art of shunting. When an 08 shunter or small tank engine is shunting trucks or coaching stock, they do it slowly in real life. On a model railway, I'd say 20 to 30% speed is your best bet for a points test. When you test a goods or passenger train going over points, 50% speed is too fast and that's what causes derailments. Here's how to achieve it: run the engine in for an hour in both directions first, and then test the train over points at 20 to 30% speed. You'll get better results.

It’s nice your honest about paid promotions and gifts and stuff like that so thank you Sam!

As a huge fan of Walthers I will admit they do have some duds from time to time. I absolutely love their passenger cars. You will need about 26 inch radius curves and larger if they are an older run car. I just assembled a 12 pack of their older New York Central Pacemaker freight cars, had to buy new bogies for them as the provided are fully sprung but unbuilt, I don’t mess with those. All in all, Walthers has been around for awhile so I will always recommend them. As for these cars I’d give a solid 4/5. The one had some issues and while those plastic axle wheels are decent I’d recommend the Walthers proto metal wheel sets for them.

Fantastic review Sam, quite nice little tankers really!

It was very kind of Walthers to send you 2 tanker wagons free to review them on your channel Sam. I do have to agree with you about the model wagons having visible glue marks on the body and the bodies of the wagons bound to warping because of its plastic construction. The price of the tanker wagons are reasonable and they are bit better than other models from Walthers. Overall, they are pretty good looking models and they have a decent quality from Walthers Sam.

Sam, the comprehensive weight of american car models do serve a purpose beond just the feeling of realism and quality. Given the mammoth length of trains modelled in the states, any light cars are likely to stringline and be pulled off the track by the sheer load of the train behind them. To overcome this, each car have a massive weight fitted inside them, something I've noticed on some of my cars for example.

Sam will you please take a look at the Japanese HO locos on Rails e bay?

GATX is the radio callsign of the General American Transportation Corporation (now just GATX corporation). EBAX is the call sign of the Ethyl Corporation. Very American :) USA wheel profile tends to be RP25 (as is much European HO), much finer than most OO models. They prefer shallower angles on points and curves.

I've had couplers that behaved like this. The solution is simple: remove the coupler from the pocket, lightly file the top and bottom of the proximal end to smooth it out, add a puff of Kadee Grease-em, and reassembly. It should work much smoother.

9:31 It looks like the Glue Monster is back Sam, lol

I love watching Sam’s videos, always informative and such a chill! 😊

Great video Sam! Greetings from Massachusetts. Go Bruins!

Fogged "glue" on blue tank is easy to wash off. Not so much with the extra glue globs....

Awesome video Sam's trains 😊

“Tankers” are boats, in North America, these cars are, as identified on the boxes, “tank cars”.

A fair and even-handed review I thought. Thanks Sam

Hi Sam love the vids keep it up

Would it be worth comparing different brands of points as part of your performance testing? Or Evan maybe a video comparing different brands of track ?

I like the printed decoration. I am not making excuses but, while the glue marks on the blue / orange one are not great, they could pass as weathering / grime. Very few wagons in reality are very clean although I do like smart, clean wagons.

Interesting Sam keep up the good work :) and also I have two suggestions one Hornby one and one Bachmann one. The Hornby one is the Hornby Toy Story train set you could always review that and the Bachmann suggestion is the London tube stock named the S stock but these are just suggestions and thanks and take care :)

I never use cyanoacrylate glue when modeling .. other than tacking for the real glue. I wish those manufacturers would do the same...

I am still waiting. Waiting for the Heljan BR class 28 Review, as well as when Sam’sTrians finally discovers OO9 gauge. Anyways, Great Video Sam. Excellent models.

Sam, I'm not sure what your obsession with a square running plate. I've just been to Portugal and many of thr steam locos in their national railway museum had very uneven/bent running plates. Prototypically correct!

Very nice surprise from walthers based on the price they would probably be around 30 euros here in Ireland but nobody stocks them I would certainly pick up a few for running around at that price there fine 👍

Nice video Sam very good camera work as usual I am really looking forward to seeing your next video review bye for now Philip

nahhh the couplers aren't a bug, they're a feature! They're more realistic! On real trains if the knuckles don't line up you get to kick them with your boot until they do. Here you just get to nudge it with your finger!

Your the reason i want to get some model trains

Great. You were honest. Donations in kind is a form of remuneration..

Same I will say get kadee couplers for your units and rolling stock I haven't had a issue with mine after installing them I typically use 118s and 119s both shelf design which helps keep manifest together when going over uneven track and has good retention to it

A quick blast of wet silicone lube spray thru a tissue with a small home to direct spray, top and bottom, solves the coupling problem.

Hi Sam love your videos you should make a video where you buy second hand locos and fix them and improve them

I like the models, they are an excellent choice for low budget and medium budget modellers. A bit of a model with a little bit of adjustment, finer details and maybe a little fettling, and hey presto. I do like walthers models, but never see them in’N’ gauge. A shame really. Did have a Brighton Belle in ‘N’ gauge but that was another manufacturer I believe (American ) . Good video.

Yes I absolutely love to assemble a nice Walther PPK, although the PPK/S does have its pluses.

good vid thanks lee

Heck yeah! More American stuff! I’ve mentioned them before and I am very much at risk for sounding like a broken record but have you considered the Walthers GP-15 or the EMD F7A? Both are really reasonably priced and I think you’d really enjoy them! GP-15 is super low budget, the F7A is pretty high quality but it’s not super pricey.

FIZZLIN' FIREBOXES & WOWSERS, WHAT A SPECTACULAR VIDEO STRAIGHT THROUGH FROM START TO FINISH WITH EASE DESPITE SOME ISSUES FOR SURE!!

The guaging is probably the issue, typically with the walthers cars you can adjust it on the fly. I've never had this exact issue with Walthers cars specifically but I've had to adjust my Athearn Bombardier bilevel coaches as they are usually all over the place out of the box

Happy Surprise Day, Sam!

I'm getting a candy color vibe with the orange and blue tanker Sam, lol Cheers Jasper & Willow

So, the GATX/EBAX thing: Those are the reporting marks for the car, a (usually) three-to-four-letter code signifying which company ultimately owns them. This is legally mandated under the transportation laws of the US, Canada, and Mexico. GATX means the car is owned by General American Transportation, a private company that leases railcars out to whoever needs them. EBAX is the reporting mark for the Albemarle Corporation, though cursory research shows that they're the contemporary owner of the reporting mark and most likely inherited it from another company. The "X" at the end indicates that they're not in "Common Carrier" service (meaning that they are not owned by an actual railroad), which is a reason why reporting marks for the CSX Corporation, one of America's major rail companies, is "CSXT" and not "CSX", and why Ferromex uses the reporting mark "FXE" instead of "FMEX".

Great review Sam. Really enjoy your videos, as I am a closet BR fan in the USA. (Becoming a big fan of Class 37's, but it goes back to seeing the Flying Scotsman scream past at speed in Birmingham, AL. I have a question involving your layout. Where is the peak of Gordon's Hill? I watched the Walthers Tankers descend from the curve in the corner...so I'm guessing the peak is there and descends back to ground level as it passes the station platform until the scenery ends? Thanks, again, love your reviews!! Have a blessed day! Chris Howard/USA

Ethyl is nasty stuff. It was the marketing name for the lead compound used in leaded petrol/gasoline! GATX and EBAX are reporting marks. In North America, reporting marks are 2- to 4-letter abbreviations that denote the true owner of a wagon, regardless of the decoration. The last letter X means the rolling stock is privately owned, usually by a leasing company.

Great and honest reporting , just what the doctor ordered. Thanks Sam, looking forward to the next reveal.P

You should try the proto87 stores knife edge bearings and kadee sprung bogies. They usually improve performance massively!

On an American spree eh Sam? As a viewer from the states I love to see the American locos and rolling stock on a primarily European channel!

Great Video! Where is the best place to buy American HO products in the UK? I’ve looked at Trainworld in the US but the shipping to the UK is huge $ 😂

It’s a shame their gondolas didn’t do so well, oh well. Although, once you do get a big boy locomotive, I’d love to see it pull all of your American cars!

Question: Sam, did you turning them around and try them though the points again to see if they would derail?

Not a lot of British outline to review at the moment 😂

I'd give the tankers either a D or C grade. They have a good base but need a little more work to be either a C or B ranking (better axles on the trucks, better centering springs for the couplers, fix the warping issue, fix the glue marks).

Good video here Sam, a rake of tankers is something I would like to look at but for me it would be British tankers instead of American ones.

Like the video. Have you looked at the uncoupling pins under the couplers, these can hang too low and catch on the switch points causing derailments , by the way I snip these off as I do not use magnetic uncoupling. I weather all my trains so some glue mark normally do not cause me too much concern if the price is right.

5:14 lol good one Sam ;)

I actually like these, the livery is cool.

R.E. The couplings, have you tried Kadee's coupling lubricant the silicant (I think!) powder they used to recommend for their couplings?

Sam, a set of points on my layout stopped conducting, I have spent the past hour or so fixing it, managed to get it working 2 minutes before your upload. I see this as an reward, the only downside is I now have ruined nails and superglue on my fingers. 🤣

The couplers are a clone of the DADEE #5 metal coupler. The instructions for the KADEE #5 is to take “Grease’em” (a powdered graphite product from KADEE) and burnish the coupler shank, after removing casting burrs, as well as the pocket cover and the centering spring plate. Replace the pocket cover, be sure not to over tighten the screw. For me a #2 pencil works really well for this treatment. The wheelsets court be replaced with Proto Wheelsets, these have metal wheels on metal axles, and would more than likely help with the issues you’re having. These come in scale diameters, for freight cars a 33” hound work out well. Hope this helps, although these cars fall in the “bargain” or beginner side of things, they deserve to perform “as advertised”. Good luck.

These started out as Proto 2000 kits under Tyco. When Walthers bought them out, they were repurposed into Walthers' standard line, with the only changes made were the couplers they came with (Walthers line then was a paradox). This is the third iteration with the Mainline and Trainline range, with the walkways on the top being new and the detailing being almost 3 times as thick as the old ones. This is an improvement since the old ones were infamous for having fragile parts. The one I own had parts falling off just from running down the track. The old ones are still fairly common to find.

Great video. Americans over here tend to have a different standard for detail than do OO gaugers. Possible the different approach to the hobby in general.

Although given to you, they still do go through a very fair reviewing style Sam. In all honesty... Walthers should have a close look at what European continental model train companies can do for the same money, referring to PIKO and Roco. Enough said actually. I can understand the budget price here but they are shockingly facepalming leaps behind in terms of sharpness, finesse and total quality in design, engineering and manufacturing compared to the aforementioned at the very same price... Pity really. Cheerio.

I had to re-watch in slow motion, the tankers as they derailed on the turnout/switch. It's rolling off the rails where the rail joiners are. perhaps maybe the track just needs a tiny bit of simple adjustment??. I did notice a small gap between the rails there.

Budget rolling stock would be the Walthers Train line. I have a lot of the Train line cars and they do well.

So amazing

To make coup the couplers move better squirt a little graphite like used in locks into the coupler pockets

They looked good but like you said the derailing could be the gauging on the wheels but overall it would be a mid range in the ranks.

I think the sub frame under the tank may be realistic in there appearance. These frames in real life get bent by the simplest of impacts. On larger, later era tanks they do not have this full frame. The tank is the wagons(cars) structure. Your derail looked like a possible lift on the point frog or the inner protection rail pushing the wheel flange on top of the rail. Like you say, wheel sets not quite right.

Had a walthers turntable engine shed was totally incompatable with our turntables and track track quality was ok

How can a model railroad not loves the classic tank car Even though these ones look a little bit cheap

Hi have you got any gwr tank engine locomotive suggestions Great vid

I quite like to see the variety in the US stuff, quality looks a bit "made in Hong Kong" to Uk eyes though? I guess its all chinese ultimately, Sam is there a US brand offering quality too? If so any chance of a review? That said, i think i like the orange and blue tanker enough to buy a couple 😊

hi sam. can you please do a review of the tt120 peco wagons. thanks

Cars that have had glue on them will not be a problem. It encourages weathering of them. Not a bad thing…

The smudging and slight warping isn't much to worry about; to make them truly prototypically American, they should be worn out, rusted and covered with graffiti lol.

Thing is companies can only rectify things if people tell them its not right. If you kep it to yourself then they would not find out and not be able to do anything about it on future models

I have a question Sam’s trains, when will you do another live stream this year?

Would randomly located, "mini rerailer" made with four strips of curved plastic attached to ties, keep any rolling stock moving ?

going on the price these tankers would probably be ideal for someone practicing their weathering skills

I have a walthers hopper car and tank and they have good detail have you ever checked out atlas abd athearn rolling stock sam?

Could be the coupler hoses might be to low, if they're made of metal then you can bend them up a bit

One reason why the Athearn tankers were more expensive is probably that they're modern tank cars which are paradoxically harder to find than these older 50s and 60s models.

me and my dad own a couple of walthers tanker cars and several others

Cheap works just as well as expensive as far as rolling stock is concerned especially when you're looking to build a consist that is realistic because tank cars and hoppers tend to be hauled separately, just a statement of fact, and that said perhaps Walthers sent you the tank cars to see if there was something that needed fixed

Would you should try to do for bad rolling stock is the 3d print new versions that work better

Hey sam the orange and blue tank car appears to have a slightly bent coupler

Hay sam I would love it if you review some american steam locomotives like UP big boys or challenger locomotives.

Cool

Which train would u recommend for 20 or 30 DOLLARS Is it even possible?? + i don't HAVE a train layout but the train is constantly stopping and moving. So do u think is the engine's wheels problem or the TRACK problem Tysm Edit: do u also know if there is some good trains in eBay as the shipping price for me is alot i REALLY like steam locomotives ❤❤❤

Are you selling any of your dmu locos or railcar locos

What hoppers are those?

It looks weird seeing an American train on a British themed layout

Hi Sam, how's the weather over at your end? :D

They seem quite acceptable for the price.

i wonder if any model maker dose something like a livery stickers for models, say water stickers(no idea how feasible that'd be but i recall those were pack in for kits of plane models) packed in with plain running stock, especially if selling bulk sets that could be fun way to help customers tinker with their vagons, get acquainted with maintenance and maybe engage more actively with the hobby. Couple of odd coupling vagons... i wonder (since i see spring in there and never had any models of trains) what could possibly cause the misalignment in the first place? or is that spring unrelated to the function of centring. I see so smarter of the two vagons looks better to me, i guess i like subtle colour palletes, or maybe just enjoy stripes.

Would IPA on a cotton bud remove the glue? I've had some success with this cleaning method. Good review, though . I'll give them a look.

Perhaps the weight of the tankers corresponds to the NMRA standards.

For my birthday my friend got me a dark green fuel tanker, and the bogies fell off. Do you know if there’s any way to fix the wheels back on?

This is in no way a criticism but you tested them on two points and they only failed on one. I think it’s unfair therefore to say they are bad on points, they are bad on that one set of points. I’m building my first lay out still and in my dock scene where I’ve got 7 sets of points I had one set that my wagons derailed on. I swopped it out and I’ve not had any further issues.

Hi

I assume that if a company sends something for review they pick good examples of the item? Yet these still have two major problems - they don't couple, and they derail on points. So I don't see how they can be recommended at any price, let alone between 20 and 30 quid - that's a fair chunk of pocket money for something that doesn't perform two of it's basic functions correctly!