This is a known situation where a brand name becomes the name of a particular product. Kleenex is one of these.
Band Aid is another.
Mike Wolf is the closest incarnation, so to speak, of Joshua Cowen in terms of his true, and abiding passion for ALL model and toy trains, with an especial reverence for prewar tinplate. His logo is a Lionel Blue Comet 400E, which speaks volumes! His success, like Mr. Cowen's, rests largely on his hand-picked team of executives and innovative engineers much like Bonnano and Caruso. His development of arguably THE most reliable smoke units and the remarkable UL-approved Z-4000 are just two examples of his iconic contributions to our hobby. Not to mention DCS and Proto 3 battery-less sound and control systems. He has made some mistakes along the way, but overall, has done much to promote this hobby in a most innovative manner, much like the legendary Mr. Cowen!
rthomps posted:PAUL ROMANO posted:My guess is MTH will eventually buy Lionel.
Your guess is probably very wrong. Not going to happen.
The opposite may happen due to some regular business cycles.
Stranger things have happened.............
I don't know if MTH changed the O gauge market but it definitely had a pretty good impact on it. I like MTH and think their equipment is pretty good, however, when it comes to scale equipment, I think Lionel whips up on them. MTH needs more detail on their locomotives and cars. I'd really like to see more details and better quality on some of their parts. I have to thank Mike Wolf for bringing more variety into the O gauge market and I think he has been good competition for Lionel, maybe MTH's entry into the O gauge market made Lionel take notice and they made changes to their product lines.
As for me, I'm happy with the Lionel and MTH items I do have and hopefully after my move to the Dallas area I'll be able to get back into my trains again and pick up the last few items I have listed on my bucket list. Some will be MTH and some will be Lionel.
Great thread, thanks for starting it.
IMO, there is now a healthy competition between Lionel and MTH, which benefits the consumers, including us, in many ways.
Personal preferences determine which company's products the consumer thinks is better.
J.MOTTS - I don't disagree with anything you said, but your statement "and pick up the last few items I have listed on my bucket list" brought a smile to my face because We All Say That! (lol) Then - over time - we change/add to our list because of Lionel, MTH etc. etc. releasing newer versions of engines with more innovative features and details. That quote of yours sounds very familiar to me, but for some reason my list becomes 'never ending'! (hah hah)
Good Luck on your move to Big 'D' and hopefully it won't be too long before you're able to get back to your trains!
