Mike Reagan Resigns from Lionel

This is NOT good!!

I hope Mike goes into the parts business and makes  items not available from LIONEL. 

I hope he is moving on to bigger and better things. He made Lionel better, and I enjoyed his humor, especially at the York LUG meetings.

Andy

"Nightmare on Railroad Street"

Best of Luck Mike.  You will be missed.  Thanks for all the improvements you have made at Lionel.  Where ever Mike goes he will be an asset to the company. 

Let's not get nasty over this. Time will tell. Best wishes to Mike, whatever he does.

Marty Fitzhenry posted:

Real deal.  I communicated with Mike directly and he confirmed this with me.  Mike has done many things in the hobby that I doubt if anyone else could do.   He is a huge wealth of knowledge and a good friend.  Mike was the reason I started buying Legacy locomotives.  The Lionel school he ran was the best I have ever been to.  He has always been a great help to many.  Joe, you said it all.  None of us saw that coming.  Mike is a key word in the hobby.  

Did anyone find out why?  Was it a difference in ideology over the course Lionel is planning?  Was he stolen away by a competitor?  Burnt out?  Career change? Retiring?  

I would like to hear Mike's side of the story. That would eliminate a lot of speculation and uncertainly.

What a great guy. Known him for at least 15 years & always enjoyed trips out to OH. Was really sorry to see him move to NC. Always rec. quick responses to my E-Mails sometimes 11:00 P.M. Huge loss for Lionel. Howard's number one job now is to get him back with a offer he can't refuse. Mike, if you read this, I'll be looking for a E-Mail from ya. 

Met Mike once here on the left coast. Great man with a lot of enthusiasm, knowledge and ideas. I know how competent Lionel Parts became under his guidance and can only hope those around him learned well. Being a tinplate guy, I seldom needed Lionel Parts, but detest working with MTH parts.  Good man and I wish him all the best whatever he chooses to do.

Steve

jonnyspeed posted:

I don't think this will affect Lionel in the long run. They did just fine back when he was running TrainAmerica, where he would frequently bash Lionel in favor of MTH. He did a nice job of modernizing the support department for sure, but Lionel has been around for a long time before him and will be around a long time after him I'm sure. That's what I like about doing business with larger companies and not small one man shops. Employees can leave and the company keeps on going.

No offense....but this may be the worst post of the day....for a number of reasons.

Despite the fact that the orange and blue boxes have been around for a long time, Lionel has had a number of owners....and nearly gone bankrupt more than once.  Whether it was infighting in the Cowan family after JLC's death, the MPC years, or Richard Kughn riding in on a white horse to save the day, the notion that Lionel can continue on as a going concern regardless of who is left working there is rather naïve and mostly disingenuous, IMHO.

Mike blatantly and justifiably bashed Lionel back in the day.....yet they had almost no choice but to hire him on b/c they lacked the ability to repair the trains that they made...poorly.  So poorly, that TAS became a viable and robust business.  At least someone had the foresight to bring the best guy available in for the job.  He will be missed.  Dearly.

We often forget that Lionel is a privately held entity....whose two primary concerns are to generate a sufficient Management Fee for itself and as large a rate of return for its Limited Investors as possible.  This can often make for a very difficult work environment, especially for someone who genuinely cares about the consumer and actually strives for excellent Quality Control.

All the best to Mike down the road.

Mike indeed has his family with him in NC, I've had the pleasure of seeing his new home and enjoying dinner with his family. This news really hit home for me, and I just can't picture Lionel without Mike. I wish there was something I could do !!!!!! 

Alex

When your on the QC end of things it can get frustrating. we loved you mike and you will be greatly missed. timmy misses you too. hope you enjoy your retierment untill you reappear in another venture. 

Mike "THANK YOU" for all you have done.  The Lionel and "O" Gauge "HALL OF FAME”: old Josh, Lenny Dean, Mike Wolf, Jerry Williams, and YOU!

 This seems like a very sudden move.  Since you are still young - I hope it is not a health issue.

 Just my imagination, but what a team Mike Reagan and Mike Wolf would make - ah, I dream on!

The very best to you and your family.

Hello Mike,

Well, as they say in this neck of the woods, don't become a stranger... .

I have had the good luck to be acquainted with several people who worked to make people think well of Lionel, and you certainly have done as much.  Not to mention that your shoes will be harder to fill.

Best wishes,

Frank  (the honorary Westie)

Well I just got hit in the gut with the news. Mike was a great guy and he was always helpful to my stupid questions. He also had a knack to sell me things  I didn't know I needed like a set of Vision line sound reefers and a station sounds dinner car with sounds and some kid named Timmy in it. I am however, still waiting for my order of Expander paste to come in so I can finish my layout!

Mike I wish you the best and I hope you check in on the forum from time to time.

I'm going to miss having a tall Coors light with Mike at York. 

Mike and Ryan Kunkle were the 2 reasons I placed faith in BTO and knowing Lionel would deliver a good product.  We'll see where we go from here and I hope all is well for Mike outside of work.

A person with his talent will resurface in our hobby no doubt! 

challenger3980 posted:

 MY experience with Lionel customer service was BETTER before Mike, and I am Hoping to see the customer service that I saw from Lionel return in the very near future.

Trump won the election, now this, who says that Miracles don't happen, that is two in less than a week, There is reason for Hope after all. 

Doug

Suggestion for more reading about Parallel Universes and alternate realities:

M J Breen posted:

... Mike and Ryan Kunkle were the 2 reasons I placed faith in BTO and knowing Lionel would deliver a good product.  We'll see where we go from here ...

It was also a "gut feel" of mine that Mike was the real driver behind product shipping out of China on a reasonably timely schedule.  Sure... delays still occurred from time to time, and a ton of product still shipped near year's end.  

But generally speaking, Mike was determined to get product featured in Lionel's Signature Catalog each year delivered that same year.  With his sudden exit, I wouldn't be surprised to see delivery schedules slipping more frequently at a time when Lionel appears increasingly more dependent on shifting schedules of its overseas factories and subcontractors. Time will tell.

David

Sounds like either burnout or some boardroom manure.

Lion Chief great idea for entry level train set locos.

Plug and play asc., also good provided you have connections for power other than from FasTrack.

I would imagine Mike will be fine and I wish him well.  I would be more worried about Lionel.  They have had a rough road since JLC passed on, and if they don't have the right people to take over, there could be a lot of problems.  

Sad news for sure. Mike, thanks for all your efforts with Lionel and I wish you all the best with your future endeavors!!

Doug

We will miss Mike and his jokes. Hope you have fun with the new venture. You will be missed. Thanks for all you have done for Lionel. We appreciate the hard work you have done for the hobby. 

KenG posted:

Best of Luck Mike.  You will be missed.  Thanks for all the improvements you have made at Lionel.  Where ever Mike goes he will be an asset to the company. 

 

A strong second!!!

Mike, you will truly be missed by us. You were the face of Lionel and both Chris and I thank you for your dedication to the hobby. I know we will see you again in this great industry! Charlie

I was shocked when I saw the news about Mike Reagan leaving Lionel. Mike was certainly a valuable asset to Lionel and whenever I met him at the York shows I always found him to be very friendly and he always had a great sense of humor. Very sad to see him leaving Lionel.

Mike,

I spoke with you a couple of times on the phone for repairs, you were always a gentleman and very fair.  I wish you THE BEST with whatever your next opportunity is, I am sure wherever you go you will be successful.  As others have said, thank you for all the great change you brought to the best hobby in the world.  Happy holidays to you and your family!

Mike has helped many times in getting the parts I needed for repairs.  He truly is a class act.  I offer a big thank you Mike for all that you have done at Lionel.  They have some pretty big shoes to fill.  Good luck on your future endeavors.

I first dealt with Mike [and Phil] in the early days when they did upgrades at TA studios on a dozen of my Lionel, MTH and Weaver engines all of which performed well over time. Mike is definitely top notch,one of a kind in the customer service arm of the toy train business, and Lionel will be hurt by his departure unless they can clone a replacement. 

Best wishes for the future Mike.

I have posted on this thread several times already but I will say just one more thing. Mike Reagan is one of the primary reasons I love this hobby and his impact and philosophy are all over what I do. This is, personally, terrible news for me and I am already feeling the withdrawal. This truly sucks. 

Eliot "Scrapiron" Scher

I never had any dealings with Mike, not because of any dislike for him or Lionel but solely because Lionel doesn't do 2 rail. I think Mike was a great asset for the O Gauge community and I want to wish him good luck in whatever he decides to do next. He is a smart, talented man and I am sure he will land a good job or be successful starting his own business. 

What will really be the kick to the gut is Mike used to help us out by posting on the forum; service part questions, catalog issues, and repairs ... This saved me a lot of time and money!

End result, I am not pre-ordering any new Lionel engines anymore, ESPECIALLY Build To Order at exorbitant prices. I am going to wait and roll the dice after the fact or buy used at York... Mike seemed to eliminate the mystery in what was catalog art vs. actual released product. This some what eliminated the ugly surprise when it came out...

For me, he made Lionel Trains fun again. I'm glad I had the chance to tell him that in person at York a few years ago.

All best wishes for a successful future, Mike. I know it will be.

Mike Reagan was the best thing to happen to Lionel and this hobby over the past 10 years that I have been in it. He is just plain good honest person, and nowadays you can't say that about a lot of people out there. Take care my friend and God bless you and your family.

Too bad... There was something about having MR as Lionel's point man that gave comforting reassurance to their customer base..   That type of rare quality is difficult to replace. and I'm always  suspicious of instant resignations.   I get the feeling another shoe will drop..

I dealt with Mike on several occasions. He is a Great Guy. Good Luck in whatever You do Mike. You are still invited to Trainstock at the NJHighrailers. You can come as a forum member and my friend and have a beer and enjoy yourself.

Jim D.

It's sad to read this.  I wish Mike Reagan best wishes and good luck whatever his next stop on the three rails of life.

Thanks Mike for all you've done for our industry before and during your time with Lionel.  You've made my hobby so much more FUN!  HEY Mike, The forum is in the market for a great new owner?

Here's a wishful rumor. May be Mike will be the new CEO of OGR?