I've been out of touch [broken leg]. Is there a thread that would bring me up to date?
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@phil gresho posted:I've been out of touch [broken leg]. Is there a thread that would bring me up to date?
Have you read any of the postings on the various MTH Forums?
No. Which ones would answer my Q?
Sorry to hear about your leg. Hope you are on the mend. There were several threads and some were stickys for a while. Basically, Mike Wolf retired, Atlas O bought some select premier molds, DCS is a spin off company, the former employees are continuing to produce limited runs of the tooling that wasn't sold off. HO and S were sold off also. This is how I interpreted all of the info put out here.
@phil gresho posted:No. Which ones would answer my Q?
Any/all of them.
@Mike D posted:Sorry to hear about your leg. Hope you are on the mend. There were several threads and some were stickys for a while. Basically, Mike Wolf retired, Atlas O bought some select premier molds, DCS is a spin off company, the former employees are continuing to produce limited runs of the tooling that wasn't sold off. HO and S were sold off also. This is how I interpreted all of the info put out here.
After pages and pages of speculation ad nauseam, this is a great summation of events.
Add that Atlas licensed DCS and is using in (at least) their locomotives based on the purchased MTH tooling and an MTH parts company is supposed to spin up too, and that’s really it.
@rplst8 posted:After pages and pages of speculation ad nauseam, this is a great summation of events.
Add that Atlas licensed DCS and is using in (at least) their locomotives based on the purchased MTH tooling and an MTH parts company is supposed to spin up too, and that’s really it.
I wasn't aware of the parts situation. Any word when that is going to happen and is Midge still involved?
Last I heard...Midge was out of the plan...not in the picture...probably seeking therapy to remove all those parts nightmares from her psyche.
Many OGR FORUM-ites know about S&W Parts in New York state. It's a great source of LIONEL parts. Someone should clone that idea of brand-specific parts inventory and fly the flag in the future for MTH parts. Just saying ...
Mike Mottler
@Mike H Mottler posted:Many OGR FORUM-ites know about S&W Parts in New York state. It's a great source of LIONEL parts. Someone should clone that idea of brand-specific parts inventory and fly the flag in the future for MTH parts. Just saying ...
Mike Mottler
IMO the parts inventory and organization for MTH will be improved drastically in the future.
@MartyE posted:IMO the parts inventory and organization for MTH will be improved drastically in the future.
Well, I'm hoping for better organization, but with less product being produced, I'm not sure that the actual inventory will be "improved", I guess that remains to be seen. 
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Well, I'm hoping for better organization, but with less product being produced, I'm not sure that the actual inventory will be "improved", I guess that remains to be seen.
Inventory can be improved when you can actually find parts that have been misplaced. I have at least some faith it will be improved to a degree.
They are not just planning in selling off the parts. The person in charge of the parts plans to significantly increase the parts inventory. As far as the parts goes it will feel like we have entered into a golden age of parts for MTH.
Mike is trying to slow down for retirement; he just isn't that good at it. I have received several calls from him from Elkridge. I have even answered the phone by saying "shouldn't you be on the golf course". He isn't as involved in the day to day operations like he use to be but he is still involved. He still owns 100% of the tinplate tooling and didn't even offer it up for sale.
Scott Smith
My thanks to all! No one mentioned 'technical assistance' (Service Dept).....I sure do hope that it returns.
@phil gresho posted:My thanks to all! No one mentioned 'technical assistance' (Service Dept).....I sure do hope that it returns.
There is still warranty repair. As far as technical assistance you may need to see an authorized service center.
Scott Smith
I am curios as to how the parts situation is going to improve. I am under the impression that all manufacturers parts inventories are comprised solely of extra ordered product that is ordered solely to part out. Am I wrong?
@Mike D posted:I am curios as to how the parts situation is going to improve. I am under the impression that all manufacturers parts inventories are comprised solely of extra ordered product that is ordered solely to part out. Am I wrong?
Organization and cataloging for a better online process. Look at Lionel's parts before Mike Reagan and after. There was a drastic improvement in ordering parts because they were organized and cataloged for easy inventorying and processing. That's how you improve the parts situation. While yes you will still be relying on extra parts from the time of manufacturing, if it is much more organized and cataloged for a website ordering site it improves dramatically.
@Mike D posted:I am curios as to how the parts situation is going to improve. I am under the impression that all manufacturers parts inventories are comprised solely of extra ordered product that is ordered solely to part out. Am I wrong?
There are parts that will be manufactured without extra products being produced. Most of those being electronics. For the tooling that has been sold MTH has required the train companies that purchased the tooling to make additional parts as MTH needs them as they use the tooling. The tooling is a separate partnership that whose sole income will be the production and selling of parts. The current inventory of parts will be doubled under their plan.
Scott Smith
@Mike D posted:I am curious as to how the parts situation is going to improve.
Trust me, it WILL be significantly improved. I can assert that with a high degree of confidence. Just stay tuned for future announcement from Elkridge.
I hope more repair parts become available to the DIY’er too. I like to support the techs on this forum for big jobs and ones that require special tools, and I always recommend folks contact one if they want a repair that is “professional”. But I enjoy repairing my own trains too, and I never understood why some parts weren’t available to whoever wanted them.
I am glad to see that there will be a solid parts base to support the MTH products. I have not had many issues with parts from MTH. Midge was always helpful and in most cases got my parts out quickly. I have no doubt that having a better inventory system in place will help.
My concern is still with the supply of parts. Most running gear, pilots, sideframes, details, etc, (i.e. high demand parts) will always be a problem with the current parts supply system that all of the manufacturers use these days.
The positive side of this being an independent venture is that someone will be able to keep pressure on the factory to keep inventory up since this endeavor will be their bread and butter. If it pans out, maybe they need to take on the parts responsibility of the other manufacturers as well. Some others really need help in the parts area of their operations.
Allen, are you involved somehow? You seem very confident.
@Mike D posted:If it pans out, maybe they need to take on the parts responsibility of the other manufacturers as well. Some others really need help in the parts area of their operations.Allen, are you involved somehow? You seem very confident.
One manufacturer has actually approached one of the partners for that reason.
Scott Smith
I hope it was Bachmann. Their parts situation is a nightmare for us.
@Allan Miller posted:Trust me, it WILL be significantly improved. I can assert that with a high degree of confidence. Just stay tuned for future announcement from Elkridge.
Like Mike, if I could be like Mike... <grin>
Jim
