I have truly loved the Norfolk Southern Heritage paint schemes. Looking back I find the approach that each too interesting; maybe one that would make a nice study for a Marketing course for a college.
Rolling Stock-Norfolk Southern did not paint anything other the engines in Heritage colors. So every caboose, hopper,boxcar is a total fantasy no matter who made made. Both companies produced cabooses. MTH made two cabooses for every road name ( Railking and Premier). Lionel made one for each, however Lionel's stand alone cabooses all have smoke units.
Lionel produced hoppers; however they were only offered in 3 packs containing 3 different road names. So if you only wanted one or two of these hoppers but you either had to bite the bullet and buy multiple sets or find a dealer that is breaking the sets up. The hoppers are heavy diecast.
MTH produced Hi Cube Boxcars in every paint scheme in two different numbers. They were produced in Premier and Railking. The Premier cars are larger and scale sized.
Addressing the lower end of the market with smaller layouts:
Lionel has made two starter sets. That have a mixture of Heritage road names in the set. The cars look good for starter set cars. Beyond that Lionel did not address the semi-scale market with their offerings.
MTH produced semi-scale diesels in every paint scheme. They also made semi-scale Hi-Cube boxcars in every paint scheme.
Scale Diesels
Lionel has produced a nice variety of scale engines in each paint scheme. In each paint they have made the prototypical number along with two fantasy numbers. One fantasy number is an additional Legacy engine the other fantasy number is a engine dummy. This could allow the user to run 3 like paint schemes in a lash-up. Like the prototype all the Lionel engines are painted in a hi-gloss paint. Lionel's hi-gloss paint tends to have a few bubbles in it. I am not sure if that is because it highlights minor plastic flaws or if their paint tends to bubble as it is applied. The hi-gloss does make the model look more toy like however it is accurate.
MTH only produced heritage engines in prototypical numbers. One in Proto 3, the other is a dummy in the same number. They did this to allow their customers to collect more of the variety of road names on a budget. The paint on the MTH engines is flat and looks flawless.
So there you have it. The best thing about all of this is that you can pick and choose between both manufacturers. For instance if you have the Lionel engine and want an additional road name inexpensively with the prototypical number you can buy an MTH dummy. If you have a MTH Proto 3 you can add a Lionel dummy with the same road name in a new fantasy number for your consist. You can match the Lionel hoppers with the MTH Hi-Cube Boxcars.
Anyone else have an opinion on these?
Scott Smith
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