!!! Could this be like the recent Mr. Peanut commercial, they "killed" him in a car crash, only to be reborn during the Super Bowl , and reign again! Hey, you never know ! Could be a marketing scheme. Let the conspiracies begin......
Wow, I knew change was coming, but I am stunned that it is starting now.
MTH had a great run, Mike turned the O Gauge world upside down with higher quality, more affordable trains, great smoke units, and a new digital command control system...DCS. MTH produced many many types of Locomotives that no one else made, and painted them in many liveries that were overlooked in the past.
I thought Mike was great, every time I went to York, Mike was manning the booth, shaking hands, answering questions, receiving suggestions, and complaints, Mike was always there. I admire that dedication to his business, the hobby, and us hobbyists.
I hope MTH continues on with Mike’s underlings running the show.
And most of all I hope Mike enjoys a well deserved retirement.
Thanks Mike Wolf, it’s been a great ride.
I got into 3 rail over 20 years ago because of Mike's offerings. I still have that first loco, a PRR consolidation and later added 3 more MTH engines . My first layout was based on a design shown in his catalog as I recall. I am shocked by the news. Lots of info to follow I imagine. I just hope he is well and enjoys his retirement. Quite a business man and mega force in our hobby.
I'm dumbfounded. I got into the hobby the same time DCS came out. Been a MTH guy ever since. Met Mike at Leesburg Hobbies and chatted with him at York. Though small in stature he was larger than life to me. I loved that he was a Marylander like me and headquartered in Columbia near one of my jobs. I wish him the best in retirement though I'm concerned about the future of his products. Now that I've moved to a larger home I had planned to make a bigger better Harpers Ferry layout with Atlas track and DCS. Now I am unsure. Since I've bought nearly all my collection second hand the lack of new products may mean that market may tighten and prices rise. Oh well, life goes on. Guess I'll go to the basement and run some MTH trains.
If MTH train manufacturing goes away or Lionel is able to purchase it, the O gauge hobby will be negatively impacted due to lack of competition and higher prices. The effect on local hobby shops who sell MTH will also be adverse. As someone who has bought mostly MTH products, I'm sorry to see this. My very best wishes to Mike.
MELGAR
Ouch. This is gonna hurt for a while. Wish Mike the best.
This is a sad day for me, really took me by surprise!
I live in Queensland, Australia, and up to a couple of years ago, only had my Swiss-built "O" gauge 3rail Buco trains to keep me amused. Pretty ordinary loco's.....headlights, automatic reverse.....that's about it. Then I discovered MTH loco's.......PS1 and PS2, with all their incredible features, and I was hooked.
I guess I have been lucky because none of the 8 MTH Railking diesel loco's I have purchased brand new have given me an once of trouble (I just love that diesel sound when they start-up and accelerate, the crew/cab chatter, the automatic uncoupling....and those horns!!!!), and they run perfectly on my Buco brass 3 rail track, especially through the switches and crossings.
And not to mention the fantastic service I got from their spare parts division when dealing with "Midge" via E-mails. To start with, I thought it was a guy I was dealing with because she knew so much, and because it was long-distance and couldn't see her, I had no idea. I had some trouble with an MTH switch machine on a tight L/H turn-out I was using in my layout, and she went out of her way to get the replacement switch motor/s to me all the way down-under here in Australia.
I fell in love with the MTH brand (but also have some Lionel steamers and some Williams diesels I purchased over the years), and now run them alongside my 1950's Swiss Buco trains. I will miss MTH not being in the marketplace providing exceptional quality and features at affordable prices.
All the best in your retirement Mike, and all the best for the rest of the MTH team, especially my friend Midge.
Peter....Buco Australia.
MTH = Muffin's Train House? John
With MTH going out of business, what will become of the spare parts, Proto-Sound batteries, and replacement tires?
Depending upon your age and interest, one can easily trace the Lionel saga after Joshua Lionel Cowen gave up his toy train stewardship. Considering our current economic and social climate, so it will be for the MTH saga as Mike gives up his prominent position of toy train leadership, endless possibilities await.
Enjoy your forthcoming retirement Mike, well deserved...
I really feel for Mike, as I own my small business I know most owners have a large portion of their net worth tied up in operating capital, receivables, equipment, inventory and other. Even though the business may provide a more than good income, all your net worth is at risk every month. At some point, the risk may become more than the reward. Difficult choice, but peoples needs change as they grow older and (hopefully) wiser. I know mine have changed over the 25 years I have been in business. I wish you well Mike and hoping we will see you involved in some new way.
Sincerely,
Chris S.
A way for Menards to quickly pick up a way to produce engines, modern style track, and transformers to round out their product line?
Menards Train House (MTH)??
I think someone will end up with it, or a couple someones. This played out with Northwest Short Line when the owner decided to retire and close up shop if nobody took it over. All we can do is pray/hope for the best and enjoy what has been made if the company does indeed does totally go away. This happened in G scale with Aristocraft. While Bachmann has rights to the tooling thru their parent company Kader, most items have never returned to production such as the big diesels and steamers in G scale. Time to reflect and be thankful for what we do have. AD
Wow! I am totally shocked to hear this. I am a big MTH fan because when I got back into the hobby in the late 90’s all I had was PW. Then I saw MTH Premier scale engines and rolling stock and I was hooked on MTH ever since. Then a few years after I transitioned over to 2 rail MTH was once again right there with me.
Mike I wish you good luck in retirement but you will be missed. Thank you so much for offering locomotives in 2 rail. I really appreciate it and I have gotten a lot of enjoyment over the years with my scale wheeled locomotives.
I was not going to order anything in the latest catalog because there is nothing in there that I collect and needed but knowing this I am seriously considering changing my mind. MTH is the only company that makes 2 rail steam locomotives I can afford new. Atlas and Lionel doesn’t sell steam locomotives (in 2 rail) 3rd Rail steam is like $1600. I don’t care about electronics. If they blow up and there is no more DCS support I will just install DCC. This could be my last chance ever to buy a brand new steam locomotive in O scale.
Mike, if I win the lottery any time soon I am going to make you a very fair offer!
I'm shocked beyond belief! I'm greatly saddened by this announcement and the possibility that the MTH brand may be no more. MTH has been my favorite O gauge manufacturer by far, ever since re-entering the hobby 17 years ago. Actually it was MTH locomotives that brought me back into the hobby full tilt boogie! I own more of the MTH product line than all of the other manufactures combined. Knowing there would be a day when MTH would probably be sold upon Mikes's retirement, but I didn't think that the day would ever come when the possibility of the MTH brand would be no more. To me this is an extremely sad thought.
Mike Wolf thank you for all the wonderful innovations you have given all of us trainyacks over the decades. You have impacted this hobby with unbelievable imagination and innovation, bringing into reality exciting products which I could only dream about as a young kid in the 1950/60s. Thanks for the countless hours of pure fun and enjoyment your products have given me and countless others while in our train rooms over the many years. It's my hope that somehow someway the MTH brand will live on and thrive well into the future.
Mike I wish you well and hope you totally enjoy your well earned retirement.
MTH Electric Trains has provided me with hundreds of model locomotives and pieces of rolling stock that have given me and my family countless hours of enjoyment over 23 years. I have never met Mike Wolf but have admired him since becoming a customer. To me, he is the most innovative business man in O gauge trains since Joshua Lionel Cowen. In the early years of my return to the hobby, I was impressed with every scale-sized MTH model locomotive that I purchased, and I have continued to patronize his company for almost everything in my collection. For me, it’s difficult to imagine the hobby without MTH and Mike. I do hope that some way is found for MTH to continue as an independent O gauge manufacturer. I think that the future and health of the O gauge hobby will depend on it.
MELGAR
He is a great entrepreneur and person. It's bad for the hobby. No competition left.
I would guess this probably has a lot to do with the prospective economy over the next few years.
Mike. Thank you for all you did for the hobby. Enjoy your retirement you’ve earned it.
@Lionelski posted:A way for Menards to quickly pick up a way to produce engines, modern style track, and transformers to round out their product line?
Menards Train House (MTH)??
Interesting thought - and not impossible depending on how deep Menards' pockets are & Menards commitment to toy trains.
I don't see Menards buying/keeping the whole MTH line as Menards has an established "rolling stock" production capability not to mention excellent accessories. Locs would have to be the target.
If Menards produces locs with the tooling, my guess would be that DCS would be eliminated; there's no incentive that I can imagine to keep it.
I am, and will always be grateful, that he never wavered in his support for tinplate over all these decades. Also for developing the legendary Z-4000. Wishing him a well earned retirement and Godspeed, Mr. Wolf!
I knew this was going to happen soon. Mike had purchased a home in Florida. His company had not produced any new items in recent years. He will be age 60 this year. We both joined the TCA in 1977. I retired at age 60. I could move from the Northeast any time I desired.
First thing is first: Mike, you've done as much as anyone for the hobby and I know I am not alone in thanking you for all your hard work and devotion over the years. I simply cannot imagine where we would be if not for you. Not playing with tons of great trains, that's for sure. Wish you well in your retirement.
But wow. What a punch to the gut. I cannot imagine the hobby without Premier, RailKing, DCS, ProtoSound, all the great operating accessories...hopeful in that "bridge to the future" mentioned in the letter.
But if this is well and truly the end, I just want to comment in response to previous posters...if you think MTH equipment will now be worthless then I don't think you understand supply and demand. We have a hobby full of people who love to run and collect Mike's stuff. Now that MTH won't be making anymore stuff (we assume), the only options for getting MTH trains will be through the second-hand market. Items that are rarer or more desirable will be fetching a premium in upcoming years, just wait and see. See K Line stuff for instance.
But if anyone wants to go ahead and clear out their MTH collections at bargain basement prices, I can speak for myself and I'm sure many others in saying we'd be happy to take the stuff off your hands!
I met Mike at York years ago. I appreciate all that he has done for the hobby and admire his smarts for keeping his business going over all these years. Announcing it to the hobby in the manner in which he did was the most ethical and transparent way for all stakeholders. I thank him for that and will do a deeper look into the new catalog to see if there is anything that fits my layout's concept, which is anything and everything that fits on 60 inch curves.....
I think we all get to a point in our lives where we develop a desire to have a great purpose, to leave a mark on the world to show that you didn’t just merely exist, but contributed something great to the world. Without question Mike Wolf accomplished this. Both of my boys were given beautiful MTH tinplate engines for their first christmas, a memory I will cherish until I die, and I am sure they will love those engines forever.
You brought EJ&E products to my layout when no one else was making them. There’s more to the train world than UP, and the excitement of a new catalog release, turning a page and finally seeing an engine in the colors of your favorite railroad... well it’s just one of those feelings that is hard to beat.
I was devastated when it came to reality that the tinplate line was going to end. I can’t even wrap my mind around this announcement.
Best of luck to the employees and Mr. Wolf in the future. Not much left to say but thank you.
Behind the smiles....some heartbreaking news. 
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Took me a few years to get to MTH trains. Thank you Mike Wolf and your employees for incredible products.
Ives went under and was bought by American Flyer and Lionel Corporation, mostly for the coveted E-unit. Then American Flyer went under in the post war era. Lionel then split into two, after slot cars, boats, and easy bake ovens, to become a toy store chain, while the trains continued on as MPC, transferred to Fundimations, and then Lionel Inc. under Richard Kughn. Then Lionel LLC. we have today, which owns the Marx HO tooling, through Model Power, American Flier, Ives, and much of Weaver and has had several close calls over the years. Will MTH be gone, no. Marx came back as K-line, now owned by Kadar, as is Williams. Though the maintenance in the long run is going to get harder with the electronics. For a mechanical e-unit or horn new parts could be built in a well equipped home workshop, and sometime even motors rebult.
Wow - I'm shocked. I'm glad MTH was around as it gave Lionel a kick in the pants to up their game. I have a few signals, buildings and some rolling stock - of which they produced some spectacular products. My all-time favorite is the Sinclair gas station.
I still have flyers from some mail order company called Mikes Train House. In the Fall 1995 catalog I bought my first MTH engine. A Frisco FM H-10-44. It still runs, I still like it.
I’m going to miss buying a new MTH engine from the hobby store.
Make no mistake this is a huge blow to the market. Lionel and Atlas make great products but I’m not paying $95 for a reefer or $800 for an F3.
Best Wishes Mike on your retirement. You brought a whole lotta smiles to peoples faces.
It was mentioned above that some people might now believe that the value of their MTH trains will decrease. That doesn’t apply to me. If anything, I shall continue to value my MTH trains more than ever. They may well become irreplaceable if production does not continue. For me and the inheritors of my collection, their value will be that they represent what I believe is the finest range of products ever to have been made in O gauge. I also wonder whether a Chinese-owned company may purchase the assets and continue with production. It seems to me that interests in China would want to preserve the jobs and earnings produced there by MTH. This may be the opportune time for someone to set up manufacturing in the United States if tooling can be extracted from China. In the meantime, we have reached a watershed moment for the hobby and I am concerned for its future. Mike Wolf has been a visionary for the hobby. I reiterate my best wishes to him and his employees.
MELGAR
Can someone tell me where the new MTH steam engine manufacturing facility is located? Thanks.
MELGAR
Didn’t see this coming!!! Sucks, because competition is good for the hobby. I hope someone or company can purchase and keep it going for another 40 years.
When I collected O-gauge trains with Rock Island (CRI&P and THE ROCK) decor, I bought every RI model I could find by major manufacturers, including MTH. I owned the RI version of the Aerotrain, the DL109, and other RI locos. All were accurately decorated and ran very well. I owned more RI trains than I could ever run on a layout, and it was a great time in my life. Mike Wolf offered more RI locos and rolling stock than Lionel, so I read every MTH catalog with "Rock Island anticipation." Mike: thanks for the ride on "A Mighty Fine Line" via O-gauge.
When I sold my RI collection at auction because of my medical issues, "separation anxiety" from RI trains set in. Selling my RI Aerotrain was a difficult decision, but necessary.
Mike Mottler
mottlerm@gmail.com
It is going to take someone like Richard Kughn to save MTH. The employees have probably known for quite a while that the company was on the block and if there was any interest they would have acted on it already. With the building sold I think Mike has seen the writing on the wall and has decided it’s time to move on. I had been hoping to see one more Tinplate Traditions offering however it will take nothing short of a miracle now. I have spent Many York’s speaking with Mike, he was always the gentleman and I wish him nothing but the best. Thanks for the memories.
good luck to Mike. things happen. especially these days.
How do any of you know that LIONEL or Atlas or Menards isn't a breath away from closing.?
Answer: YOU DON'T!
@MELGAR posted:If MTH train manufacturing goes away or Lionel is able to purchase it, the O gauge hobby will be negatively impacted due to lack of competition and higher prices. The effect on local hobby shops who sell MTH will also be adverse. As someone who has bought mostly MTH products, I'm sorry to see this. My very best wishes to Mike.
MELGAR
hearsay - prices my moderate or even go down - one never knows.
Wow, I had noticed the lack of new tooling in recent years, but I still didn't see this coming so soon. This is honestly heartbreaking.
As someone who models the LIRR, this is pretty devastating. I'm a big Lionel fan but they've only done about 3 Legacy Long Island engines in the past 10 years where as MTH as done probably upwards of 10, in more paint schemes. Not to mention the amazing Nassau Hobby Exclusives I usually look forward to which are an instant buy from me.
In general, I think MTH had a much higher volume of trains and road names being produced ever year. Their premier freight car selection and choice of road names was unmatched as well and I think there will a huge demand for that stuff if nobody continues using the tooling. Many premier cars are already pricey on eBay, I fear to think what the market for them will look like once they're unavailable.
However I do think if anyone deserves to retire it's Mike Wolf, he's done an immeasurable amount of good for this hobby and completely deserves a rest. He was a true game changer in this industry.
I guess none of you picked up on the fact he sold the building in April. He is not walking away without cash. He simply didn’t have to sell the business to retire. He made enough in the real estate to do that.
Scott Smith
@Billbarman posted:Wow, I had noticed the lack of new tooling in recent years, but I still didn't see this coming so soon. This is honestly heartbreaking.
As someone who models the LIRR, this is pretty devastating. I'm a big Lionel fan but they've only done about 3 Legacy Long Island engines in the past 10 years where as MTH as done probably upwards of 10, in more paint schemes. Not to mention the amazing Nassau Hobby Exclusives I usually look forward to which are an instant buy from me.
In general, I think MTH had a much higher volume of trains and road names being produced ever year. Their premier freight car selection and choice of road names was unmatched as well and I think there will a huge demand for that stuff if nobody continues using the tooling. Many premier cars are already pricey on eBay, I fear to think what the market for them will look like once they're unavailable.
However I do think if anyone deserves to retire it's Mike Wolf, he's done an immeasurable amount of good for this hobby and completely deserves a rest. He was a true game changer in this industry.
I had a feeling this was coming. Catalogs were becoming stale. And no LC type system.
Also, there might be something going onin the Far East....beyond the virus.
1) Well, any future issues will deal with engines and DCS. Everything else on a layout can be any brand, that is it will work. I suspect that someone will come up with a way to adapt IF DCS goes away.
2) As most of us are seeing (or can see if you look) this hobby is shrinking. Most of the people you see at train swap meets/meetings have gray hair. There are very few young people interested. Somewhere in the future I suspect that most model RRing will be on computers.
Mike, congratulations on your 40 years building electric trains and have a long and healthful retirement.
Kader Industries, parent company of Bachmann Electric Trains, is a Hong Kong Company. Certainly has deep pockets, with a huge manufacturing facility along with a distribution / supply network. It would seem that it would be a possible transition if Kader Industries saw any potential in acquiring MTH.
