Lincoln Logs moving back to the USA from China

That's just awesome!!!!     

George

Great news!!  All the Lincoln logs my kids had were made in the USA.  Yes, I'm old, why do you ask?

Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Erector Sets, and Lionel Trains............... What more could a kid ask for...................

For the most, American ingenuity is best!

Give our people jobs and bring America back to being the world leader, again!!!

Ralph

If they make Lincoln Logs in Maine does that mean we'll be able to tap them for maple syrup on Christmas morning?

Lionel already has moved "some" manufacturing back to the U.S. Check out the Presidential Boxcars.

I had Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys as well as "Constructioneer" in the 1960s.

I heard those made in China Lincoln Logs were made with industrial waste.

I had tons of them as a kid, but I cannot think of Lincoln Logs anymore without thinking of Bill Bryson's Thunderbolt Kid and the white Lincoln Logs he took to school for show and tell . . . funniest book I ever read!

That is good news.  There was already a line of wood toys, very much like Lincoln Logs made in eastern Maine.  They are called Roy Toys, nice wooden building toys that have only been made in Maine.  Also Jotul wood stoves is moving production to Gorham, Maine. The labor costs here are much less.  Doesn't that sound like a familiar reason to move production elsewhere?   

That is great news! I believe that Frank Lloyd Wright's son created Lincoln Logs. (A little trivia). I played with them as a kid along with my Lionel and Erector Set. What a grand, entertaining, imaginative and learning simple life! 

What baby boomer could not remember Lincoln Logs? I had a small set that was packed in a cardboard tube. There were enough logs and corners to build a nice log cabin and I would spend hours playing with them while my dad took his turn to watch the 19" Dumont Console TV set that we had. There were few distractions back then. One telephone, one B&W Manual TV set, one radio, a small phonograph and that was it. Good to see Lincoln Logs coming back where the customers are. I wish that all manufacturing would return to the USA so that everyone would have a job and be able to buy more trains.

I can only think of one more thing...American Plastic Bricks...

In 2007 my 5 year old son set his eye on the Lionel Polar Express for Christmas.  He received that set and the Pennsylvania Flyer from Santa. Along with those sets came two Lincoln Log sets. I purchased several of the 30" straights. We had the two trains running against each other in loops. We built several log cabins in the loop, set up the telephone poles from the sets. All on the rug besides the Christmas tree. I was hooked and now I have a garage layout and a wall full of engines. So began my venture back into trains.

It may not be the funniest I have ever read, but it's right up there! I was very disappointed when I went to the library and checked out two other books by Bryson. A pretty serious author for the most part.

I too am happy about this news. I can't remember the brand name, but there is a similar product that never left the shores. They're made by Roy Toy. I received a set of these for Christmas a year or two ago (I asked "Santa" for it...)

J White

That really is good news.  Wouldn't it be nice if it was the beginning of a new trend.

Art

go to youtube and type in Lincoln logs.

there are several woodworkers that show you how

to make your own Lincoln logs.

This was a big story in Maine this week. It will add about five jobs to the local firm that will be doing the manufacturing. Nice to see we can take our own business back to our shores.

In terms of quality. Not to worry, this firm is know for their quality control.

A lot of things can be considered "industrial waste." Such as, cutoffs from anything from full-sized logs to kiln dried lumber from any number of manufacturing processes.

Lincoln Logs are wood. You really can't use anything but wood to make them, or we'd notice. Lincoln logs made from barrels of chemical ooze don't really stack well.

Rather than turn down a 24" old growth tree to make a single Lincoln Log, they are using waste, i.e. leftover, lumber from other manufacturing that would otherwise have to be burned or disposed of.

Someone with an agenda used the term "industrial waste" to sensationalize the story and incite people against Chinese manufacturing. If it were the USA, the person who had the bright idea to make Lincoln Logs from another manufacturer's cutoffs would have been promoted.

It just bugs me when people use sensationalism to make something as simple as Lincoln Log manufacturing sound like a nefarious plot by the Chinese to poison us. They kind of need us to buy their products, so it really isn't in their best interest to do something like that. Can't the simple loss of jobs due to the greed of corporate America be enough to make us angry?

That's good news and another company joining the trend of moving back to the USA. I think they are finally starting to realize there are a lot of problems with overseas manufacturing and it may not be worth the trouble. With all the problems the train manufacturers have with the Asian manufacturing, I really wonder how much more profitable it can be for them, although the quality does seem to be improving with some items. At least from my limited train purchases anyway.

I have always wondered if the mass exodus of manufacturing everything to overseas manufacturers was a monkey see monkey do kind of move? One company does it so the others blindly follow without really thinking about the problems they are creating for themselves. I think a lot of the tech support operations that were moved overseas are also returning, they may have started the trend of returning jobs to the USA?

So is charcoal, lump and briquet type, even the brands made here.

Jerry

This is definitely good news to hear.  Like others, I grew up as a kid running my 027 trains in the attic and had Lincoln Log buildings.  I was forever taking them apart and making slight modifications to them on the layout. Maybe not kit bashing, but at least kit re-arranging.  I hope that they do well at the Maine location.  Hopefully they'll have that "made-in Maine" clear on the label so that we can look for and buy them for our kids and grandkids (and we might even get some for ourselves, for when the grandkids come over, of course). 

Lionel already is building some made in the USA box cars here.

MTH is still waiting to build their first USA made item

"I hope that they do well at the Maine location."

Jim, from the local press coverage this week, it sure appears that they are set up to do this project correctly. As a matter of fact, they hope to expand the product line.

I'm holding out for Lincoln Logs with Legacy...conventional Lincoln Logs are SO 1950's....

Jeff C

...which includes imported parts.

It's better than nothing. My Ford F-150 and my 1995 Harley have imported parts as well

I tend to regard the concept of labeling goods as "Made in USA" that contains foreign parts misleading.  It's about on par with having a partial circumcision.  Either go all the way to earn that label or forget it.

It has been about 40 years since President Nixon opened the door to China trade and a lot has evolved since then.  One of the more interesting is that under the one child per family rule (also evolving) is that families did not want that one child to work in a factory.  They want what middle class Americans and others want.  My kid is going to be a doctor, lawyer, or other professional!

Great news, a few more American jobs we can count on.  I wish the media would make listing public of all companies who once did business in China and are moving back to the good old USA. 

Steve, Lady and Tex

Great...........now we will make Lincoln Logs, plastic hangers, and toilet paper. Don't get me wrong I'd like more if not all to come back here. But it will never happen. First you will have to stop buying anything with componets made overseas or made entirely there. Second you will have to be willing to pay a lot more for the same product at the same or lesser quality. Until US and other companies are forced with the prospect of going out of business nothing will change. We as consumers have got just as greedy as the US corporations. Look around your house. How much useless crap do you have. I have too much. If it's cheap we can buy more. In the 50's the working class family saved for 1 TV. I have 6, although most were free. Even if we were really willing to go back to 1950 and save for  a good purchase, and not buy all this cheap junk, the economy would go into a tail spin. Whats good for us, usually, is bad for the economy.  So unless we are really prepared to STOP buying, we need to stop WHINING....................

"I tend to regard the concept of labeling goods as "Made in USA" that contains foreign parts misleading.  It's about on par with having a partial circumcision.  Either go all the way to earn that label or forget it."

John, I agree with this statement completely.

Even in the olden days, stuff had to come from outside.   After all, how many rubber plantations were there in the US for material for tires?

Rusty

At least made in the USA means someone here got paid to assemble it. Each one is a new  job for our team.

New jobs to make Lincoln Logs is a baby step but it's a step forward.

Yes, but I get anything he writes.  His book One Summer: America 1927, is fascinating.  Bryson is just a great writer, he can make anything interesting.  I wish he would do a book on the history of toy trains, but its probably too much to wish for . . . 

Lincoln Logs coming home is good news. When I was a kid I had something called "American Logs." These were the same idea as Lincoln Logs, but instead of being round dowels they were square sections that were scored to look like hand-hewn beams. I think they look better than Lincoln Logs, but that of course is a matter of taste. They were one of my favorite toys, along with Lionel trains, Erector, and a building set using plastic bricks. My American Logs are long gone, but I have two sets of Lincoln Logs that belonged to my father in the 1930's. 

Lincoln Logs will still contain some Chinese parts - the plastic molded items such as windows. However, the vast majority of the content is made in USA. Sourcing the plastic bits in China makes sense. The molds are already there, the subcontractor is experienced, and the shipping is cheap (as opposed to the logs themselves, which have a low value to weight ratio). 

OK how many of you guys got your skin court  between the gears on your erector sets ? Man did that hurt or what. I can still feel it. Good thing I never got a chemistry set …..

Whatever the circumstances, any product line coming back here means jobs for

Americans!  Nobody overseas is worried about the unemployment here.  I love it!!

     Hoppy

OK guys this all sounds GREAT..... but are you willing to pay more so workers can get a decent wage and benifits?I would be willing.Nick