In Praise of MTH "Tinplate Traditions"

Must agree, the 1989-1992 classics are always perfect, just found a state set, its flawless. I may be wrong but I think the classics were made in Korea, not China.

The Lionel Classics line were produced by Samhongsa, a Korean company in Korea. The Lionel Classics items I own and operate are first class in paint finishes and overall construction.  I never had to return an LC item nor any of the early TT engines and rolling stock. From my experience the LCT production has poorer QC and the products I received had paint flaws such as chips even on their high end products such as the Proto 2 Brute and Showroom cars!

I had to return a blue and orange 400e due to paint flaking and huge cracks in paint on both engine and tender. luckily My wife purchased from top notch dealer that accepted return and I went with black. it was a gift from my wife.

Getting back to the topic. I do not believe it should matter where the trains are made, as they should be manufactured to MTH specs and standards which should be controlled and monitored by MTH.

Joe Gozzo

I agree:  quality control is very important and can't be handled from afar.  Unless you have someone at the factory monitoring production and ensuring standards are met, you won't have many loyal customers down the road.  Maerklin found that out not too long ago as well, and have moved most of their production back to Europe. 

With that said, I love the Lionel Classics line from the late 80s on:  they were reasonably priced and well built Samhongsa products.  (I even have one of Mike's early Korean-made 260E repros and it still runs like a champ!) 

always wondered why,,imho,that the lti classics are like a boat anchor on prices,,,,,cant give the stuff away at the meets,,i agree they are nice

Terry:

Main reason may be the lack of DCS and Proto Sounds on the LC products?  Personally, I like air whistles in addition to RailSounds and ProtoSounds!

Tinplate Art posted:

Terry:

Main reason may be the lack of DCS and Proto Sounds on the LC products?  Personally, I like air whistles in addition to RailSounds and ProtoSounds!

Agreed

Joe

Once you put Lionel Classics on the track, you'll not go to buy any new stuff....It is that good.  The sound system is a waste, wheels on the rail and ozone is all you really need. Man, they run good.

Ah the odor of ozone and oil is unbeatable. My twin-motored traditional 408E's actually sound like traction motors running.