What happened to Rail King steam engines? Did MTH sell the tooling? Are they going to make limited runs? I am a big fan because I run 0-42 curves and need semi-scale steam engines. I also LIKE them. My PS3 steam engines have been work horses and look really nice. This CBQ engine is a good example.
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I have that same CB&Q "Aeolus" locomotive on the track right now, it's a favorite of mine. I snapped up this engine and the New Haven Crusader when I first heard about MTH's closing. I've always liked the Railking steamers more than the Lionel ones-- I only own two Lionel steam engines and both have been problematic while most of fleet of Railkings have been solid runners with excellent sounds.
I've heard that MTH sold a lot of their locomotive molds to Atlas, Williams and Lionel but I'm not sure which ones they still have-- I saw they were doing a short run of a couple Premier steamers. Lionel's Lionchief Plus 2.0 are sort of filling the same semi-scale market as Railking Imperial so that may be the only choice for economical steam power. At this point I'm just hoping to keep my fleet of Railking engines running for as long as possible!
Guys - If you go to the MTH website and click on ‘News’ at the top I know recently (merely by coincidence) I saw a blurb which provided a summary of the ‘Premier’ molds which Atlas acquired. However, I can’t remember if there was anything said about RailKing locomotives. Anyway, you may want to check that out in case there is.
Good Luck!
It was my understanding a while back that the new smaller MTH would still do Railking models but in much smaller volumes. I was under the impression MTH was not going totally away just a major downsizing with some of the senior employees sticking around. This may have changed though.
Brad
@Trainguy Ken posted:I have that same CB&Q "Aeolus" locomotive on the track right now, it's a favorite of mine. I snapped up this engine and the New Haven Crusader when I first heard about MTH's closing. I've always liked the Railking steamers more than the Lionel ones-- I only own two Lionel steam engines and both have been problematic while most of fleet of Railkings have been solid runners with excellent sounds.
Ken,
I had almost the exact the same experience when MTH announced they were closing. I bought this engine and a CNW Crusader that looks similar to CNW's old E4s in the yellow/green scheme. I then went on a buying spree to grab what I could and now I am glad I did because prices are starting to climb and availability is getting scarce. This CBQ engine is a gem and I was shocked by the quality it is and I just bought a premier matching caboose which is awesome, too. That's why I started this post. I am wondering why MTH isn't making more of these or why someone hasn't bought the tooling because of how nice they really are as a testament from real users like us.
Mike
@PH1975 posted:Guys - If you go to the MTH website and click on ‘News’ at the top I know recently (merely by coincidence) I saw a blurb which provided a summary of the ‘Premier’ molds which Atlas acquired. However, I can’t remember if there was anything said about RailKing locomotives. Anyway, you may want to check that out in case there is.
Good Luck!
Phil,
Yes, Atlas and Lionel purchased a bunch of stuff from MTH. That has been discussed in detail on the forum. But there has been nothing said about Railking Steam. Just wondering if someone has any insight to what MTH is doing with these great products.
Mike
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