Uh Oh... I’m Starting to Like the MPC/Fundimensions Era Stuff...

Bill DeBrooke posted:

Alfred E Neuman posted:

Bill DeBrooke posted:

I am beginning to hear Slim Whitman singing 'Cattle Call'.  I think my head is going to explode.

Indian Love Call.  Cattle Call was Eddy Arnold's.

What, me worry?  

If I knew how to link you tube, you too could hear Slim singing 'Cattle Call'.  Either one would cause the same explosion.

Copy, paste...

In youtube you click share, then (on your phone) text the link to yourself.

In text, highlight 'copy message text', and go to OGR Forum and in body of message press paste.  Worked like a charm for me...

Adriatic 

    It's hard not to be impacted by these facts. MPC did good, but MPC did bad; and when bad they were apathetic.  It rubbed off 

Hi Adriatic...  i was active in MPC from 1972 to 1983...  during that time, i saw a struggling Lionel get up off the ground, get to its knees, then stand up in the 1980s.

I recall the chiepie sets my friends had with that red CN two bay hopper with PLASTIC wheels.  I likened that to a SCOUT set that Lionel did in its heyday too...  those cars couldnt keep signals lighting as they rolled by.  But that was were they started.

Then the 9200 and 9700 series, standard o series with sprung diecast trucks and better and better engines.  It took to 1979? To get to see an FM again  but we did get to see many postwar classics redone by MPC with same tooling.

I just cant say lionel was dead because they took an approach to make another scout set to get into stores despirately for market.  The can motor thing you raise i didnt know about.  At the time Williams was doing MUCH CHEAPER copycat FMs with CAN MOTORS and i remember collectors being split over it.  Some loved them and the cost, and some hated them.

I got a early williams FM, i dont even recall which one, it ran ok, but i didnt like it that it was a copy and we replaced it with a 1965 lionel virginian fm which i still have.

Its great to here memories from back in that time.  I am sorry about your grandpa thinking lionel was dead, but during late 1970s and 1980s they did GREAT stuff...

RSJB18 posted:

Did someone say MPC?

Fond memories of this one...  i got one when i got back into the hobby...

I run Postwar, MPC, Williams and early MTH Railking: all conventional.

Not to mention affordable and NO problems.

For me, it doesn't get any better.

jim sutter posted:

My favorite diesels were #8970-#8971 Pennsylvania Tuscan F-3's. They ran and looked fantastic. I loved all of my MPC trains. They were beautiful and ran great.

The Tuscan F3’s were also one of my favorites, along with the NYC 8370/8371. Still have both sets with the B units and matching aluminum passenger cars. I don’t run them anymore, and after the electronic hair ball Mitch  found in the same era Daylight GS4 I sent him, I doubt if I will ever open them up for service!!!

I wonder if the next collecting craze will be the under appreciated MPC/Lionel of the 1970’s early 1980’s.

Before this post ever appeared, before york, i was toying with the idea of collecting the 9700s again...

I am thinking it fun to have the stuff i remember as a kid.  im approaching 54years old.

Didn’t Lionel MPC turn the 6464 into the 9700’s? I’m 55 so memory lane. Some of the 9700 are cool and some of the cars definitely fit the era I.e. Johnny Cash car or the Tab one calorie soda car. Fanta soda car which I thought was regional to the northeast. Then there’s the Bicentennial car or two.

Seacoast posted:

I wonder if the next collecting craze will be the under appreciated MPC/Lionel of the 1970’s early 1980’s.

To an extent, maybe. I doubt it’ll ever match the postwar craze of the past, though.

Super O Bob posted:

I thought MPC was great in the 70s and early 80s.  I grew up with that and postwar.

I like the 'Limited' sets like the milwaukee limited.  I had that set in 1978 when it came out...  thats an SD-18...  limited sets usually featured the same sprung diecast trucks of the standard o line.

Then there is the Famous Americal RailRoad series...  FARR and Fallen Flags series.  All really nice sets...

In 1982 (ish) they did the SD40s that are not scale, but ran really good...  i have the samta fe.  It was single engine, then they went to dual motors...

They did nice sets.  Then the fallen flags series was after this, but i was not in hobby then...  my return was in mid 1990s when we got sounds and command control...

I have to agree... MPC made some nice sets. At the time, I lived a couple of blocks from Train World when it was on Ave. M in Brooklyn (used to catch the subway right next door), and they would always have breakups of the FARR sets, so I would pick up one car from each set (loved that little diamond with the set number). 

I’m pretty sure my one Limited set came from Madison Hardware - I’ve always liked the CP gray/maroon paint scheme...

Maple Leaf Limited

Royal Limited

Mid-Atlantic Limited

All sets I bought but no longer have.  Although I do have the JLC commemorative cars from the last two sets.

I got restarted in Lionel when I was about 30.  It was 1977 and the train bug hit me.  I hadn't had any Lionel trains since childhood.  My first new set was the GM & O Heartland Express.  From there I started buying, when funds allowed, mostly MPC stuff with a sprinkling of post-war accessories.  I was very happy with my MPC trains.  I think Lionel did a good job of getting us baby boomers back on track.  

I quickly abandoned my MPC era trains as more to scale products became available.  However, there was some nice stuff from this era for people who don’t need everything prototypical.  The yellow box cars and sets were probably the best, with metal trucks and colorful graphics.  I still have my Quaker City Limited engine and cars!  

Perhaps the best thing about MPC trains today is that they are very affordable, and usually downright cheap. One could stock an large layout for the price of a few new scale steamers.  

Super O Bob posted:

Bill DeBrooke posted:

Alfred E Neuman posted:

Bill DeBrooke posted:

I am beginning to hear Slim Whitman singing 'Cattle Call'.  I think my head is going to explode.

Indian Love Call.  Cattle Call was Eddy Arnold's.

What, me worry?  

If I knew how to link you tube, you too could hear Slim singing 'Cattle Call'.  Either one would cause the same explosion.

Copy, paste...

In youtube you click share, then (on your phone) text the link to yourself.

In text, highlight 'copy message text', and go to OGR Forum and in body of message press paste.  Worked like a charm for me...

My flip phone melted when I tried it.

jhz563 posted:

You can’t talk mpc era without the favorite spirits series billboard reefers.   Mine are packed right now but based on this thread I might get them out in the next week or two.

Are these the ones?

Apples55 posted:

jim sutter posted:

My favorite diesels were #8970-#8971 Pennsylvania Tuscan F-3's. They ran and looked fantastic. I loved all of my MPC trains. They were beautiful and ran great.

The Tuscan F3’s were also one of my favorites, along with the NYC 8370/8371. Still have both sets with the B units and matching aluminum passenger cars. I don’t run them anymore, and after the electronic hair ball Mitch  found in the same era Daylight GS4 I sent him, I doubt if I will ever open them up for service!!!

Paul, why don't you run them anymore?

Bill DeBrooke posted:

Super O Bob posted:

Bill DeBrooke posted:

Alfred E Neuman posted:

Bill DeBrooke posted:

I am beginning to hear Slim Whitman singing 'Cattle Call'.  I think my head is going to explode.

Indian Love Call.  Cattle Call was Eddy Arnold's.

What, me worry?  

If I knew how to link you tube, you too could hear Slim singing 'Cattle Call'.  Either one would cause the same explosion.

Copy, paste...

In youtube you click share, then (on your phone) text the link to yourself.

In text, highlight 'copy message text', and go to OGR Forum and in body of message press paste.  Worked like a charm for me...

My flip phone melted when I tried it.

Sorry dude...

Another one...

Delaware & Hudson RS3 that leads the colorful Coastal Freight Set.

This was the last Service Station Set made.

david1 posted:

I had lots of MPC back in the 70's and 80's but my favorites were the 40' Hy cubes, I still have them and run them often. 

They look great behind any scale or semi scale locomotives. Mpc made allot of great trains and the best part is that you still an get them at reasonable prices. They also fit in well with trains made today.

Dave

Those hi-cubes do look good behind scale engines and with scale freight cars. And at around $25 a piece, the price is so right. The only problem with them is their plastic trucks and light weight. 

Super O Bob posted:

I thought MPC was great in the 70s and early 80s.  I grew up with that and postwar.

I like the 'Limited' sets like the milwaukee limited.  I had that set in 1978 when it came out...  thats an SD-18...  limited sets usually featured the same sprung diecast trucks of the standard o line.

Then there is the Famous Americal RailRoad series...  FARR and Fallen Flags series.  All really nice sets...

In 1982 (ish) they did the SD40s that are not scale, but ran really good...  i have the samta fe.  It was single engine, then they went to dual motors...

I will attach some pics..

 

Here is FARR#1.  I had this too...

Farr#5

They did nice sets.  Then the fallen flags series was after this, but i was not in hobby then...  my return was in mid 1990s when we got sounds and command control...

 

It is interesting you post this.  Believe it or not, i was looking at all the old 9700 box car series and the 9400 series on ebay considering getting them again...

I remember I wanted that Milwaukee SD18 in 78, when I was 16. The Milwaukee Ltd, 4 car Amtrak Budd RDC, and Coke set are on my radar screen even today. I joined the Lionel Railroader Club back in 1976 (#248) & collected the Club cars for many years. The building kits such as the Rico Station, Grain elevator, and Coaling Station were a really big deal back then.

The fact that the Lionel factory was only a couple of hours away on the east side of MI was another source of pride.

My father and uncles post-war plus the MPC equipment that I purchased, kept me in the hobby even while I was in college.

I still have a soft spot for MPC, Now I'm looking for specific items I missed the first time around.

Ken

Some pretty nice sets were done in the 1970s and 1980s.

Just a few of my favorites below:

Ed...Love em all and know them well...

I have the entire higher end of MPC items in my collection, Limited Sets, Service Station Sets, Top of the line sets,  Engines, cars etc. Everyone laughed at me when I concentrated on it in the 90's when everyone was chasing postwar,as a teenager in the late 80's early 90's its all I could afford as a working partime because postwar was through the roof. You cant go wrong with MPC

I'm an MPC fan and somewhat of a collector myself.

I'm adding an addition to my layout, and have been reading up on benchwork, track etc... I came across this book in my library. Probably had it since 1978?

I remember reading it over and over again. I was born in 1971, so my dreams were bigger than my piggy bank. 

This set must have really impressed me! 

I didn't have a diesel at the time I wrote "the best", so it must have been around 1980 when I wrote that.

I still don't have that set...

Thats a great set!  What yeat was that one?

I’m a big MPC and LTI fan.  I have the D&H Alco set shown above, plus the Broadway Limited and Nickel Plate Special sets, and almost all of my rolling stock is from the era as well.  I’d love to get the Conrail Limited set and the Tuscan F3’s...

brr posted:

This set must have really impressed me! 

 

I bought this set JUST to add the CP Rail boxcar to my collection.  What WAS I thinking?

In the early '90s I sold/traded all the LTI/MPC I had for a lot of PW.  It was a fair trade with another TCA member, though before I joined.  Yes, very nice graphics and good engines.  I remember the Erie Lackawana PAs I had, the Milwaukee steam/Heavyweights passenger set, billboard cars I had then, and have now reacquired for my 40 car plus billboard car consist.  Really makes a nice looking color display running the main loops.

Jesse   TCA

This is a great THread!  For most of the time during that era, all I could afford was the catalogs!. But I did manage to save some money for this set!

For those interested in more MPC, this thread has 9 pages of pictures. 

https://ogrforum.com/topic/mpc-fan-thread

This brings back bitter sweet times to me.I would get the sears or jcpenny catlogs.And just dream of getting these types of trains come christmas.But my family could not afford it.I got ho trains I was happy with what I got.But I have moved on and got the trains I wanted.

GeoPeg posted:

Apples55 posted:

jim sutter posted:

My favorite diesels were #8970-#8971 Pennsylvania Tuscan F-3's. They ran and looked fantastic. I loved all of my MPC trains. They were beautiful and ran great.

The Tuscan F3’s were also one of my favorites, along with the NYC 8370/8371. Still have both sets with the B units and matching aluminum passenger cars. I don’t run them anymore, and after the electronic hair ball Mitch  found in the same era Daylight GS4 I sent him, I doubt if I will ever open them up for service!!!

Paul, why don't you run them anymore?

George;

I am one of those who has partaken deeply of the Command Control Kool-Aid... my layout, including around 20 Command Control switches, is set up with the Legacy system. To run conventional engines, I would have to disconnect Legacy (and I believe that would disable most of my switches), or invest in a few powermasters which, I believe, allow you to switch between conventional and Command Control. That, coupled with the fact that they haven’t been on the tracks in over 20 years and probably need more service than my technically challenged brain could comprehend, leaves them as very nice shelf queens!!!

I love Lionel MPC...

https://youtu.be/xnFmkx1ztdc

About two years ago, I came across one of the more obscure sets from the early MPC days, the 1972 Service Station Special which features the 8206 Hudson.  Since the set was in new condition, just couldn't resist.

some photos I found online of the set for those who are not familiar with it:

Check out this Lionel Commercial in 1975...  love it...

https://youtu.be/kgbC7Nzv31Y

"Checking out a new engine"

RAK posted:

I love Lionel MPC...

https://youtu.be/xnFmkx1ztdc

Love that lashup of D&H uboats...  and the wider super o...

Brewman1973 posted:

This is a great THread!  For most of the time during that era, all I could afford was the catalogs!. But I did manage to save some money for this set!

Thats a FARR set...  i loved those.  I remember people upset about the gold FARR logo on the trains but i didnt mind it for some reason.

I had FARR#1 Santa Fe...  this post has me decided to get that again.

Even though "the collector" had already come into being I believe MPC was till marketing mostly toy trains. Yes the had the collector sets but the prototypical scale people were 2 railing.  The bright colors of the changing face of 1970's railroading was what MPC used to attract the young people.  The plan also worked with older people, like me, returning to or just entering the hobby.  MPC and later LTI made great use of the "billboard reefers" with many series that hooked people into collecting the series, factory weathered, beer, tobacco, spirits, candy, chain restaurants, and more.   I myself got caught by the factory weathered series and the beer series.

True...  it is funny.  When i got back into O, it was around 1996, and i went out and got a few of the mpc engines i missed. 

Then when pwc came out, i could run my pw favorites with sounds and command and i dumped my mpc.  I couldnt afford pw prices, but pwc was perfect.

Then i recall getting my first scale engines around 2003.  A lionel tmcc nkp berkshire and rio grande gp30s.  After running them on a tubular o gauge 12x22ft carpet toy train layout i had just built and wired ALL of the pw acessories.  That layout was done for pwc.  It lasted only about a year.  Running the scale stuff was way more satisfying.  I then tore down the carpet layout and built my wideradius super o layout for scale trains.

I am 100pcnt operating scale trains on super o and have been about 15years now.  I totally ignored MPC.  I started collecting pw again for my display shelfs and just operating the scale stuff.

Now its funny...  but i also am thinking about building some new display cases JUST FOR MY MPC FAVORITES.  I have come full circle, but now still just want to operate scale trains and display pw and mpc...

Hi Bob

Like I said earlier and pic's don't lie. They made a lot of really nice trains. AND with real RR markings where Lionel Lines use to be.