Egghaulers.com
Prices: see text
Website: www.egghaulers.com
All plastic, eliptically shaped freight cars in bright colors, intended to go with Eggliners; supplied without wheels or couplers. Dimensions (gondola car): length over ends, 7″; width, 4 1/2″; height, 3″
Pros: Well-made whimsical product; fits well visually with Eggliners
Cons: Some details not well defined; screws to hold couplers difficult to screw in
Sent for review was a wheel car ($41.95), a Lady Bug gondola ($39.95), and a gondola kit ($23.03, or $25.95 for custom colors). Wheels and your choice of couplers are extra, and can be added to your order at checkout. Our review samples were provided with USA Trains wheelsets and knuckle couplers.
Each of the cars is 3D printed in colored PLA (polylactic acid) plastic. They are not painted. The basic car is a flatcar, with stakes or gondola sides added. The wheel car, which is printed in brown plastic, comes with a cradle that carries four wheelsets (included). Also included are half a dozen stakes that fit into the stake pockets molded into the base. These stakes have holes in their sides through which cords or chains may be threaded for added security.
The Lady Bug car, printed in black and bright-red plastic, is a gondola car with an additional black insert that represents a load. Glued to this insert are a couple dozen lady bugs. This car matches the Lady Bug Eggliners.
As mentioned above, the cars are 3D printed. These are the first “mass produced” products (as opposed to custom runs) that we have seen manufactured using this process. Components are neatly printed, though the characteristic “resolution lines” of the 3D-printing process are visible. However, they are not distracting. The detail level is acceptable, though it’s a little rough on the axle boxes. For an Egghauler, though, this doesn’t seem to matter.
The gondola-car kit comes with a complete set of instructions, though they hardly seem necessary. The entire kit can be assembled in under two minutes (if you’re slow), as there are just four components (not counting wheels and couplers). On our test sample, the parts fit neatly together. Glue was not even necessary (though the instructions suggest CA cement, if you wish); the parts fit securely together as supplied. Our kit was sent with a pair of wheelsets and USA Trains knuckle couplers. The only thing you have to watch out for is to not use the screws that come with the couplers, as they are too long for this application. A separate set, along with washers, is supplied. I found that screwing in the screws with a manual screwdriver was pretty difficult. The pilot holes were too small. I discussed this with the manufacturer and was told that the situation would be remedied. One of the benefits of the 3D-printing technology is that changes like this, which will improve the product, can be made on the fly. Once assembled, the result is a piece of substantial, though oddly shaped, rolling stock. It rolls freely and couples with its mates or with other non-ovoid cars.
These cars, regardless of their silliness, are well designed and well made. The company offers a wide variety of colors and variations. Check out their website.
