MPC dealer layout

Below is a photo scarfed from the internet.
Is this the layout you have?
As far as I know, it came without anything mounted.
I thought I had something on it on my computer, but so far I am coming up empty.
I may have a flyer  that I can scan.

Yep that’s the one. I suppose I will just mount mpc era track, a girder bridge, manual switches (all O27) and place a starter set on it. Was hoping to find an ad or catalog from Lionel on this as I like to populate the displays as shown in sales brochures

I am still looking. Unfortunately, my paper collection is not well organized. I know I've seen the Flyer, I think I have one somewhere.

Yep that’s the one. I suppose I will just mount mpc era track, a girder bridge, manual switches (all O27) and place a starter set on it. Was hoping to find an ad or catalog from Lionel on this as I like to populate the displays as shown in sales brochures.

I remember being told that some sections of track will have to be cut in order to fit the layout.

CharlieS posted:

I am still looking. Unfortunately, my paper collection is not well organized. I know I've seen the Flyer, I think I have one somewhere.

Thanks I appreciate any info you have!

I found this pic w/ a station and a bridge on that layout.....

got it from an ole ebay listing from last year for that particular layout here.

Penn-Pacific posted:

I found this pic w/ a station and a bridge on that layout.....

got it from an ole ebay listing from last year for that particular layout here.

Thanks that helps immensely !!

Nice, but it doesn't look like it has a lot of room left for many accessories.

Sean

No where near the quality ordering narration value of postwar layouts but the price was right

I have some MPC tracks and switches in a box downstairs. If you interested I'll take a closer look and let you know what I have exactly. You can have it for the shipping price.

ChiTown Steve posted:

I have some MPC tracks and switches in a box downstairs. If you interested I'll take a closer look and let you know what I have exactly. You can have it for the shipping price.

SUre let me know, I don't have any MPC stuff and would be nice to keep period correct-Rick

I had one of these years ago. As has been pointed out, there is not much room for accessories. The station or other building ends up on the blue painted lake. The bridge can be the girder as shown, or the shorty brown plastic run through bridge that was produced in that era. You may also be able to add a crossing gate or flashing signal. You will need to drill holes in the plastic to run wires. BTW, I don’t remember having to customize track to get it to fit. (But my memory could be wrong.) 😳

Chris

LVHR

lehighline posted:

I had one of these years ago. As has been pointed out, there is not much room for accessories. The station or other building ends up on the blue painted lake. The bridge can be the girder as shown, or the shorty brown plastic run through bridge that was produced in that era. You may also be able to add a crossing gate or flashing signal. You will need to drill holes in the plastic to run wires. BTW, I don’t remember having to customize track to get it to fit. (But my memory could be wrong.) 😳

Chris

LVHR

My plan would be to set up as Lionell would’ve shown in a flyer or advertisement to the dealers. No signals really minimal wiring with you dishing of Masonite base to help maintain the integrity of the display. This was just a cheap way for them to operate a train set in the dealership

BTW, I don’t remember having to customize track to get it to fit. (But my memory could be wrong.)

As I wrote above, I was told track would have to be cut. I have no direct knowledge or experience.

I also have one of these layouts, but never got around to setting it up. I don't have a spot for it.

Looks like partial curve pieces there. On my disappearing layout track had to be cut and altered per original

CharlieS posted:

BTW, I don’t remember having to customize track to get it to fit. (But my memory could be wrong.)

As I wrote above, I was told track would have to be cut. I have no direct knowledge or experience.

I also have one of these layouts, but never got around to setting it up. I don't have a spot for it.

I believe you were told correctly. I laid track on this and 1/2 section will not allow track to follow the pattern. SO custom cut some straight as well as some curved pieces to fit. I mounted the plastic layout on 1/4" Masonite with carpet tape after repairing some cracks with fiberglass on the inside for strength. Screws used to attach track to the Masonite through the plastic (not sure what Lionel's recommendation would have been) and this gave the layout a lot more strength. Waiting on my MPC era 90 degree crossing and manual switches to finish off the track.  

Jagrick posted:

I have never collected MPC so my literature is non-existent. However, I recently acquired an MPC dealer layout and was wondering if anyone had any flyers, ads, descriptions, etc of what went on it.

A fair amount of the vacu-formed Lionel display layouts from the mid-1970's seem to have survived, but the background info out there seems to be lacking. Let me try to change that a bit.

The Display Department at Lionel's old Hillside plant continued making layouts all the way up to the plant closing in 1974. (That's another story altogether.) In response to stores and accounts that wanted a ready-to-run display, the Lionel folks in Michigan created the vacu-formed display. Here's the dealer sell-sheet for the initial introduction from late 1976:

In early 1977, the Display Package was bundled with an "Accessory Center" of logical train set add-on products that a dealer would sell. Here's the sell-sheet from Toy Fair 1977:

My examples of the posters and other ephemera aren't handy (what's shown above on the sell-sheets are just marketing placeholders), but the other piece of paper I can share is the instruction sheet showing the track layout:

I hope this helps.

TRW

Fantastic-exactly what I was looking for many Thanks!!! I love their placement of the auto crossing gate here, in the diagram it blocks one road and in the picture it blocks the track! Thanks again I will post finished pictures

Now I will try and fit using 1/2 track section, sure didn't seem like they would work but paper says they will.

PaperTRW posted:

Jagrick posted:

I have never collected MPC so my literature is non-existent. However, I recently acquired an MPC dealer layout and was wondering if anyone had any flyers, ads, descriptions, etc of what went on it.

A fair amount of the vacu-formed Lionel display layouts from the mid-1970's seem to have survived, but the background info out there seems to be lacking. Let me try to change that a bit.

The Display Department at Lionel's old Hillside plant continued making layouts all the way up to the plant closing in 1974. (That's another story altogether.) In response to stores and accounts that wanted a ready-to-run display, the Lionel folks in Michigan created the vacu-formed display. Here's the dealer sell-sheet for the initial introduction from late 1976:

In early 1977, the Display Package was bundled with an "Accessory Center" of logical train set add-on products that a dealer would sell. Here's the sell-sheet from Toy Fair 1977:

My examples of the posters and other ephemera aren't handy (what's shown above on the sell-sheets are just marketing placeholders), but the other piece of paper I can share is the instruction sheet showing the track layout:

I hope this helps.

TRW

Another question for MPC guys, from the picture what set or train would this be pictured on the layout-Thanks again

And has anyone seen that type of billboard before??

Jagrick posted:

Another question for MPC guys, from the picture what set or train would this be pictured on the layout-Thanks again

6-1581 Thunderball Freight Set from 1975-1976.

TRW

Jagrick posted:

And has anyone seen that type of billboard before??

As far as I know, it was a one-off, and never saw production.

TRW

PaperTRW posted:

Jagrick posted:

And has anyone seen that type of billboard before??

As far as I know, it was a one-off, and never saw production.

TRW

Thanks again--