While they did not go into great detail about it, MTH's display was stolen last week as they returned from a show in the Midwest . Apparently they were driving back, stopped at a hotel and when they woke up the truck was gone.
They did recover it but the trains were gone. They will have a partial display at York.
He did ask if you run across any new MTH engines for sale that are not on the market yet to let them know. hopefully they will publish more info later to let us know what to look for
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Thus begins Quantitative Easing IV. 
It wasn't someplace in the Midwest. It was the west side of Cleveland after they packed up from the hobby trade show there. This show is mostly for the industry, but opened to the public the last two days. Been held in Oct at the Rosemont convention center for like over 50 years. a big deal in Chicago, but this fall they moved it to Cleveland. The truck and trailer were recovered on Cleveland's east side. Go figure. They haven't received it back in MD yet to know what's missing.
Any self-respecting fence would laugh himself silly if crooks showed up with a bunch of toy trains.
Pete
Why did you steal the MTH truck... 'Thats where the trains were'
Think there would be some kind of an alarm system. 
Dithhhpicable
They may as well have stolen donuts. "Hey.. I've got my hands on a load of stolen toy trucks, er, toy trains " Sounds like the work of brain addled geniuses at the bottom of the gene pool. The response to that claim is probably "Whaya stupid or something? "
Hmmmm, when I was there Sunday afternoon I DID see Mike Reagan in the general vicinity of the MTH booth!!!!
Just kidding Mike!
Kevin
I live on the west side of Cleveland so ill check Craigslist making sure theres no trains that are MTH and for ridiculously low prices it shocks me because the west side is such a nice place.
I live on the west side of Cleveland so ill check Craigslist making sure theres no trains that are MTH and for ridiculously low prices it shocks me because the west side is such a nice place.
I expect you had visitors from the east side.
I wonder if "Chip Foose" and crew had anything to do with it....
Oh Wait! they recovered the truck and trailer already.
I thought OHIO was the midwest?!?!?!
Supposedly that's why they didn't have their Croc on view/running this weekend.
I hope they do end up trying to sell the stuff on Craigslist and someone spots it and they get caught.
I can't imagine there is much call for trains in the stolen goods market that thieves deal in. I just hope the stuff doesn't get trashed.
Not sure how the laws are for pawn shops in that state. In Georgia they are required to take phot and a copy of the drivers license. That stops some but not all. Some thieves are that stupid they will goto a pawn shop anyhow.
It is such a shame. MTH and the others spend a great deal of money doing these shows to our advantage. Incidents like this only add to that expense.
Ed
I thought OHIO was the midwest?!?!?!
Ohio, yes. Cleveland, no. You'd get the joke if you lived here.
Probably the same thugs that stole the Cleveland Browns in 1996!!!
Most likely all would go for scrap value. There is or was considerable weight, which even for random scrap, is the cash that most are looking for. Train and train value are probably the least concern . Hopefully there was a good inventory list and appropriate insurance but even deductables can be costly. I lost some tools out of one of the work truck and was very fortunate that insurance covered 90% of the cost of replacement. But often that type of insurance is more than most would want to pay.
IMO
Mike CT
Most likely all would go for scrap value. There is or was considerable weight, which even for random scrap, is the cash that most are looking for.
Mike CT
REALLY !!!
I think I would probably alarm the trailer by putting a geotracker on it and then letting an app run all night on my phone/laptop that alarms when the tracker moves (more than 20 or so feet). That way you know right away when it is being stolen *AND* the cops can follow the thieves.
I have been using a big yellow clam shell that locks on to the top of the steering wheel and for the past 12 years and no one has touched either of my 2 cars in all of this time. It also has a long black piece that extends about 18 inches in either direction and I put it facing down so it almost touch the driver's seat right between the legs of anyone who might try and drive the car. No car alarm is good enough to stop a thief because most car thiefs have the alarm codes for cars and master cars gotten from their auto dealer contacts according to the New York State Police.
Ed G.
Most likely all would go for scrap value. There is or was considerable weight, which even for random scrap, is the cash that most are looking for.
Mike CT
REALLY !!!
Unfortunately. Things are changing at scrap dealers. Valid ID is required more often and there is a lot more security cameras these days. Still there would be minimal questions for scrap valued at maybe $200 per ton. Some industrial scrap is easily $800 per ton. Precious metals, copper, aluminum, etc. are quite valuable.
I'm betting this story will lead to a segment on TruTV's World's Dumbest Criminals...
Most likely all would go for scrap value. There is or was considerable weight, which even for random scrap, is the cash that most are looking for. Train and train value are probably the least concern . Hopefully there was a good inventory list and appropriate insurance but even deductables can be costly. I lost some tools out of one of the work truck and was very fortunate that insurance covered 90% of the cost of replacement. But often that type of insurance is more than most would want to pay.
IMO
Mike CT
I have been using a big yellow clam shell that locks on to the top of the steering wheel and for the past 12 years and no one has touched either of my 2 cars in all of this time. It also has a long black piece that extends about 18 inches in either direction and I put it facing down so it almost touch the driver's seat right between the legs of anyone who might try and drive the car. No car alarm is good enough to stop a thief because most car thiefs have the alarm codes for cars and master cars gotten from their auto dealer contacts according to the New York State Police.
Ed G.
Ed, you must have missed the show on auto theft that was on TV several years ago. A professional car thief had a then popular "Club" anti theft device off the steering wheel in 18 seconds! Another 10 or so seconds and he had the ignition and wheel lock disabled and drove the car off the lot where they were filming. Time is of the essence when you need a vehicle. Ask any repo man.
Never heard of people stealing model trains... Seriously?!
<<<I don't suppose it has occurred to anyone that someone was looking for an inexpensive way of expanding their train collection.>>>
Or a supply of replacement/repair parts.
Aww, come on, someone was thinking it.
A very bad thing indeed, nonetheless.
I'm waiting to see who says that they won't be buying anything from the new catalogue, because they've got it all. 
What a shame...I was at the show and they had a considerable amount of display inventory including scale tinplate, GE Evo, Berkshire Gs-4 Southern Pacific, etc... plus a lot of HO..... they'll get caught...can't wait!
To BasementBill:
I never said that I use the club. You just assumed that that is what I was talking about. I use the clam shell which is much better than the club. My cars have never been touched in the 12 years that I have had the yellow clam shell. It covers the entire steering wheel and has a 18 inch piece that extends downward toward the drivers seat so when it is in place it sits between the drivers legs and the steering wheel can not be turned unless someone drives the car from the passenger seat. You should try it and then you see what I mean.
Ed. G.
To BasementBill:
I also forgot to mention that the yellow clam shell that I have been using uses a key-like device to lock and unlock the yellow clam shell. Since it is not like any kind of key that one would encounter I have never heard or seem any homemade ones.
Ed G.
<I think I would probably alarm the trailer by putting a geotracker on it and then letting an app run all night on my phone/laptop that alarms when the tracker moves (more than 20 or so feet). That way you know right away when it is being stolen *AND* the cops can follow the thieves.>
I have 2 cars with ONSTAR that have those features. I can follow the locations of the cars, have them give me periodic location updates and have the engines turned off if required.
<I think I would probably alarm the trailer by putting a geotracker on it and then letting an app run all night on my phone/laptop that alarms when the tracker moves (more than 20 or so feet). That way you know right away when it is being stolen *AND* the cops can follow the thieves.>
I have 2 cars with ONSTAR that have those features. I can follow the locations of the cars, have them give me periodic location updates and have the engines turned off if required.
OnStar is great for this too and the ability to turn off the vehicle is a great way to end a police chase. The only advantage that I can see to a geotracker is that OnStar doesn't necessarily know when the vehicle is being stolen. Also, sometimes the thieves will just steal the trailer. In that case OnStar wouldn't work. I still think it is a great product though.
<I think I would probably alarm the trailer by putting a geotracker on it and then letting an app run all night on my phone/laptop that alarms when the tracker moves (more than 20 or so feet). That way you know right away when it is being stolen *AND* the cops can follow the thieves.>
I have 2 cars with ONSTAR that have those features. I can follow the locations of the cars, have them give me periodic location updates and have the engines turned off if required.
OnStar is great for this too and the ability to turn off the vehicle is a great way to end a police chase. The only advantage that I can see to a geotracker is that OnStar doesn't necessarily know when the vehicle is being stolen. Also, sometimes the thieves will just steal the trailer. In that case OnStar wouldn't work. I still think it is a great product though.
Hind sight is always 20/20
To clarify things a bit:
Stolen from the hotel parking lot was a van and an attached trailer.
Both vehicles were recovered (with some damage) on the east side of Cleveland (no surprise there, if you are familiar with the area).
Many items were stolen from the trailer, including a number of one-of-a-kind samples (which will be very hard to sell if honest folks keep their eyes and ears open). Some other items were recovered.
MUCH credit goes to a number of MTH employees who pitched in to get a display ready and set up for the York Meet. It may not have been what folks are accustomed to seeing, but under the circumstances the MTH crew did a fine job of recovering from a major setback and putting on a very credible display. Kudos to all involved who, as I understand it, labored on pretty near a 24-hour basis to put things together.
And anyone who thinks he is immune from having something like that happen to him is just plain fooling himself. The crooks are ALWAYS one step ahead.
<I think I would probably alarm the trailer by putting a geotracker on it and then letting an app run all night on my phone/laptop that alarms when the tracker moves (more than 20 or so feet). That way you know right away when it is being stolen *AND* the cops can follow the thieves.>
I have 2 cars with ONSTAR that have those features. I can follow the locations of the cars, have them give me periodic location updates and have the engines turned off if required.
OnStar is great for this too and the ability to turn off the vehicle is a great way to end a police chase. The only advantage that I can see to a geotracker is that OnStar doesn't necessarily know when the vehicle is being stolen. Also, sometimes the thieves will just steal the trailer. In that case OnStar wouldn't work. I still think it is a great product though.
Hind sight is always 20/20
The way I look at it, I'm more into preventing problems by looking at what went wrong in the past. I think in that case "hindsight" is useful. My intent is not to just sit on my duff and criticize others.
Never heard of people stealing model trains... Seriously?!
The shop where I worked had several thefts through the years. Trains, mostly, but even books disappeared! Very sad situation...
"Many items were stolen from the trailer, including a number of one-of-a-kind samples (which will be very hard to sell if honest folks keep their eyes and ears open). Some other items were recovered."
It would be helpful to know what to watch for...
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
