Cheap and Fun Loaded O Gauge flats.

 O gauge isn't cheap.  Even if sticking with compressed and slightly compressed rolling stock designed for  tight"27-"31 diameter curves it's considerably more expensive than HO.  However, it is possible to get good looking, new loaded flats for $11! 

Here's a a stock Menards loaded flat.   Looks nice and at $19.99 it's a good deal.

The pickup is nicely painted and attached with screws.

However, Menards makes the same flatcar without load for just $7.99  Currently the following 4 road names are available but others have been available in the past and likely others will be available in the future.

Picture from Menards.com

The printing is simple but very crisp, the wheels are metal and while there were reportedly some shortcomings in the couplers on early runs of these cars, my examples all seem to couple well to each other and other Lionel rolling stock.

Bare flats are of course not enough though and here also Menards provides.  They have a  periodically changing selection of die-cast and plastic vehicles for $3.  These are usually displayed in a big bin you can dig through containing vehicles covering construction, military, emergency, regular autos and sometimes even aircraft. 

Here's a Wisconsin Central Railroad loader from that bin on a Flat.  Total cost $11!

  I'm no stickler for line and detail, but I will be picking up the next Menards Wisconsin Central flatcar I find to match this loader.

Rather than using a screw as with the first one, I simply tied some loops of elastic line through the tie-down holes in the flatcar.  You could also use screws, twist ties, string or fishing line, but with elastic line the result is a load that is held scurely and can be removed whenever desired.   

And, you are of course not limited to Menards die-cast.  Resale shops and swap meet are filled with cheap, affordable die-cast.  Here's a load made from a $1 Soldido trailer found in a junk bin at the Great Midwest Train Show.

More elastic line used for tie-down.  Total cost $8.99!

Near as I can tell there is only one minor downside to these flats.  That is that they are compressed in size in line with other classic toy-train style cars .  If used with true-scale O-Gauge items they will seem quite small.  However, if you're already running the more classic styled Lionel, K-Line and other similar rolling stock these will fit right in.

Bargain Hunters Tip: Most large Menards stores stock some railroad items year-round.  However they are not always obviously on display.  To find them, head to the off-season section (usually located upstairs above the patio furniture/seasonal area).  Often times you'll find markdowns on items there.

Here they are making their debut on our Christmas layout. It outgrew it's mat a bit with the addition of an HO loop that magically appeared on Christmas morning.

With a few exceptions, almost all the scenery and non-train vehicles seen here are resale shop finds costing $1-3!

So there you have it, good looking O-Gauge rolling stock that everyone can afford!

-Karl