MTH Turbo Train...soon?

I have two of these on order with extra cars as well.  How long have we been waiting...??  I don't even remember what catalog they were in!

The TurboTrains were originally cataloged 2010 Vol. 1.  I have the Penn Central on order with NO extra car since the PC only ran with the original three units.

The delay has been waiting for the PS-3 slave boards!

I rode the Rohr Turbo Trains from Albany to NYC back in the eighties.  They were terrific trains, went well over 120 mph in some portions of the track.  They did not look like the photo at the top of the post . Where did the MTH prototypes run, or do they still run? The turbos here left in the early nineties, have been refurbished and are in storage somewhere down south, ,New Jersey or Maryland maybe, not sure. 

audi,

  The MTH prototype was made by United Aircraft and Amtrak operated them mainly on the New Haven to Boston route and for a while on a West Virgina route from Washington DC.  Amtrak poorly maintained the trains and they deteriorated under their care, eventually being scrapped.  VIA Rail ran these into the late 1980's and took much better care of their Turbotrains thus the longer lifespan.  The MTH turbo is called a "Turbotrain" wheras the other two types were "Turboliners." 

  I hope that MTH will eventually produce the Rohr turbo as well.  There was also an earlier turbo from France by RTG that Amtrak used in the midwest on various routes from Chicago in the 1970's through the mid 1980's.

At the recent Model Train show in Portland that MTH was at last weekend they said they had been shipped should be arriving soon?? Though the MTH website says not shipped yet.

Talking with MTH a week or so ago, they stated that MTH is having trouble with lighting in the couches and it may be summer before they are shipped.

I emailed them as well and received a lengthy explanation which boiled down to "they are delayed in manufacturing".  Z4000 all over again??

Maybe MTH could add two paint schemes to these before they finish production.  They would sell more if they offered the VIA Rail and Amtrak paint schemes in these! 

agree that a Via version is a must...

MTH has the Amtrak already cataloged 20-20035-1

Thank the almighty at least one train manufacturer checks out their product before sending it off ..

LaFondue,

  The Amtrak scheme MTH is offering is not the main Amtrak scheme used on the Turbotrain.  See attatched pics which shows the paint which was applied to the Turbotrains. The scheme MTH offers for Amtrak was a leftover from the Department Of Transportation demonstrator set with added Amtrak logos.  Two schemes that should be offered by MTH if they wish to sell more of these sets, the actual Amtrak scheme shown here, and VIA Rail, who operated Turbos in that scheme longer than anyone else.

@Vistadomescott....thanks for the infos regarding the Amtrak scheme....well we can only hope that MTH will do both very quickly

IMO the PennCentral paint scheme looks the best.  It is somewhat regal in appearance.

Anybody planning on getting a "real" update on the Turbo Train....perhaps asking MTH at York??

Any info would be appreciated other than what is on their website...

Thanks,

Alan

Hi Alan, discussed the Turbo Train with Mike Wolf when he was here for the NS Heritage Event.  They were looking at an October arrival, I suspected a York unveiling my guess.  Mike stated the new problem was because of the LED lighting.  He said with the PS-3 with the LEDs the rest of the train with incandescent lighting looked WRONG!  So they had to do some redesign for LEDs in whole train.

So hope remains eternal!

Ron

This is the paint scheme that I remember from the late 60s when I rade it from Boston to Grand Central Terminal.

Can anyone confirm the time period.

Jan

I have Amtrak and CN.  I rode the Turbo Train years ago.  I am lucky to have an Amtrak (RT-128) station down the street from my house. 

I really do not know what MTH was thinking in skipping the two primary paint schemes in this prototype? 

Well I may have a clue? How about a Second run? 

I want to obtain the Amtrak/Demo scheme for sure! This set if done right will be HOT!!!! as hot as the Aerotrain was when released!

This train, both model and real, seem to be cursed. Back in the 1970's Bachamn made an HO scale model that flopped so bad it is impossible to even find a dead one today.

I'd love to have the MTH  O version...but price and delays have really cooled me. So I looked at the Rapido HO scale model thinking maybe I'd buy it to fill my UA Turbo train fix. But after reading about that model on the web it seems many/most of them have major issues and are not well thought of. Maybe some day I'll pick up a used MTH someone has tired of!!!

I have a dvd made by pentrex titled: Amtrak's Turbo Trains Cab Ride.  The turbo train on this dvd does not look like the posted photos.  These trains must have been produced by various providers.

I think with projects like this it would be best when a new model casting is done that MTH or Lionel or whomever would first offer it in all available paint schemes. Expect they would get far more orders and justify the production of the mold and maximize on production run in multiple paint schemes.

My first choice would have been VIA over CN as it fits my railways era better.

But could not get an answer from MTH in the past if they would ever do the VIA run.

Looking forward to it anyways!

The HO models looked very good.

Glad MTH is fixing the lighting issue, would look best with even lighting and cut power consumption with all LED lighting.

I have a dvd made by pentrex titled: Amtrak's Turbo Trains Cab Ride.  The turbo train on this dvd does not look like the posted photos.  These trains must have been produced by various providers.

Again as stated above, the the Pentrex DVD is of TURBOLINERS and NOT of the TURBOTRAIN. Similar Looking names but TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT LOOKING TRAINS!

An analogy of your statement is like saying a diesel is a diesel, GE GM Gp7, Gp9, Gp30, Gp40.. they are all the same.....

So I looked at the Rapido HO scale model thinking maybe I'd buy it to fill my UA Turbo train fix. But after reading about that model on the web it seems many/most of them have major issues and are not well thought of.

What issues? I am curious since the latest HO mag rags review of the second comming of the Turbo Train notes some improvements over the first run but nothing stated about major issues in the first run.

Maybe some day I'll pick up a used MTH someone has tired of!!!

Good Luck! I herd similar comments about the "ugly" Aerotrain" when first released but many of those people would up waiting for years for the second release... as well as missing out on some add on cars!

Mike stated the new problem was because of the LED lighting.  He said with the PS-3 with the LEDs the rest of the train with incandescent lighting looked WRONG!  So they had to do some redesign for LEDs in whole train.

 

So hope remains eternal!

 

Ron

NICE! That's worth a wait! Fix any percieved issues b4 release!

What issues?I am curious since the latest HO mag rags review of the second comming of the Turbo Train notes some improvements over the first run but nothing stated about major issues in the first run.

 

Maybe some day I'll pick up a used MTH someone has tired of!!!

Good Luck! I herd similar comments about the "ugly" Aerotrain" when first released but many of those people would up waiting for years for the second release... as well as missing out on some add on cars!

No first hand experience but reading other websites there was a number of posts, all similar,  about poor running and/or poor tracking and a bit on the fragile side.  Funny thing was it sounded like this BB at times about new items being returned for service!!!

I have a Aerotrain with add on cars and I have the Zephyr and wanted to add a modern unit like the Turbo......but out of my comfort range.

In the late 80's I was at the Amtrack Beech Grove shops and they were rebuilding some cabs that I think were Turbo Train cabs/  They were redoing all of the exterior skin to make them much more streamlined.  I think they were going to run them between Detroit and Chicago.  As I remember, they were quite a bit lower to the ground than what the earlier Turbo Trains were. Not sure that they were the Rohr trains, but the people at Amtrack were really proud of the design and work they were doing.

Trainguy, the Turboliners you saw at Beach Grove shops were likely the original RTG Turbo trains which Amtrak bought used from France.  After the Rohr Turboliners were built, some of the RTG sets were rebuilt, possibly with the Rohr style fronts. 

I enjoyed a ride on the RTG type sets between Toledo and Chicago via Detroit in the mid 1980's.  Huge windows, smooth ride, and the doors between cars opened when you walked on the floor mat (grocery store style).  There seemed to be hope for greater things in those years with the turbo sets.  The RTG sets were scrapped, and at least one remains in an Indiana scrapyard rusting into the ground.  Now the Rohr sets which have been in storage in New York State have been ordered to be disposed of.  I would hope one could be donated to a museum.  Sadly all of the United Aircraft Turbotrains were scrapped. 

Turboliners, RTG and Rohr

After watching this 1970 era 3 part PR film on the TurboTrain.....I almost feel the need to dig up the money to find one......

Dave...thanks so much for the video...I watched both and am even happier that I ordered the "Turbo"!

Alan

Quite right, prr.  Thanks for bringing me up to speed.  

In the 1970s I got a Bachmann N Scale CN Turbo Train for Christmas but some of the couplings have since been broken by some kids who were visiting.  I still have the set and box.  The CN white scheme makes me think of a jetliner on the rails.  I will have to think about picking up the MTH set once I see some reviews.

I'm not sure I would characterize MTH's Amtrak paint scheme as a "leftover."  It's true that in 1971 they just added the black Amtrak logo to the demonstrators, which were 3-car sets, but they also supplemented these with added cars beginning in 1972.  This paint scheme ran at least through 1973 on 5-car sets.  Dated photos from 1976 show the red nose paint, so sometime between 1973 and 1976 they were repainted.

BRUCE CLOUETTE

MTH video is up for the CN model.

Glad to see the additional Turbotrain schemes in the new catalog!  Thanks MTH!  I will be ordering.

The arrival of my eagerly anticipated VIA Rail TurboTrain last week has not been good.   Each car of the set and the add on car arrived with problems.  I was unable to connect the cars due to bent "forks" which couple and lock to a vertical pin on the next car. The add on car had its connecting bar bent upward so far that the bogie was elevated and would not contact the track.   I was able to carefully bend these to the correct angle. After a few successful test runs, I then installed the rubber diaphragms between cars.  Now, the TurboTrain started to derail on all of my 072 curves.  The rubber diaphragm tends to get pinched inbetween the cars and cause the single axle bogie to jump the track.  After several attempts to readjust these I continud to experience random derailments due to the diaphragms getting pinched. I am now running the TurboTrain without diaphragms and have had no derailments.  The width of the diaphrams should be slightly less, so as to not interfere with the tiny gap left between cars on curves.   Again... I have only 072 curves as required for this train. 

I sent an email to MTH over one week ago about the issues and had a few questions for them.  As of 8 days later I have had no response.  Yesterday I called them during the times they require (noon-5pm).  I was on hold for 38 minutes at which time I was disconnected.  I called back and reached a sales agent after about 15 minutes on hold.  She suggested forwarding my call to leave a message for the service department.  Upon that call's transfer I was disconnected.   I called back and after another half hour on hold I reached a person allegedly in service.  He was unfamiliar with the TurboTrain and had heard of no issues.  I wanted to let MTH know of the problems, and seek a solution for the diaphragm issue.  They seemed unapologetic for the problems I had to tweak and offered no solutions for the problems with using the diaphragms. 

Although this train looks fantastic, it is a shame that they did not perfect some of these issues.  A train at $800 plus an add on car  $90 should run properly out of the box on the prescribed track.  And furthermore, MTH should be more responsive to emails, apologetic for problems, appreciative of information shared on problems, and able to offer a solution to the issues.  I spent less money on home appliances where the company will send repair techs to your home if there's a problem.  I cannot get MTH to respond well to problems with a $900 purchase.  They need improvement in their customer support areas, quality control, and design.

Nothing I can say will make it any better, but I wanted to let you know I can feel the frustration.  It's both pathetic and sad, and a big part of the major turn off getting into this scale.

And it's not just limited to them.  They have no real quality control in China.

And the shoddy workmanship has been tolerated by us, ergo they really don't care because they know we will put up with it.

No one at even $50 dollars should have to tweak anything out of the box new, let alone $900.00.

There is only one manufacture in all of hobby trains that consistently gets an A+  and if I told you what scale they work in you would wonder how can it be, it's called pride of workmanship and good quality control base on a reputation built by customer loyalty and well appreciated.

Simply shameful how they have jerked you around.

But I always saw something in them that never quite sat well with me.

And then a few years back a complete 180 and now in bed with Lionel.

I smell a rat..

3rd rail,

  Shameful it is! 

   I understand that there will be problems, but it is how these problems are handled by a company that matter most importantly.  For the sake of having this TurboTrain, I have tolerated making repairs to these connectors myself.  I may even have to design a diaphragm of my own that works.  But my future business with MTH is unlikely unless they come through with some support on this. 

   My dealer though has been fantastic, and willing to eat this sale and take back the train if I decide to do so.  He was also unsuccessful at reaching MTH.

I should have gone with HO scale Turbotrains by Rapido. 

Scott....these two threads may or may not help.  Thread 1...   Thread 2...

Alan