What is your favorite Tinplate catalog?

1939 Lionel catalog. Got my first set Christmas 1938 a 224E freight set.

I had no idea they made all this stuff. I was pretty much out of the hobby by then. You could drop a chunk of change on all these beautiful trains!

American Flyer 1927

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

American Flyer 1930, but that is probably because I own the original artwork.

NWL

For me it's a tie between the 2011 & 2016 catalogs.  I have four sets or engines from each.  It sucks that MTH stopped making tinplate right when I discovered it.  I just looked at those two catalogs again.  There is a ton of stuff in there that I'd buy right now.  I've never seen any of it on ebay. 

Can't recall the specific year but I remember flipping though an LCT catalog I picked up at York one year and seeing the tinplate Christmas Train Set. Wow, had to have one! 

Then ended up buying a bunch of tinplate like the orange 256 Electric and a Red Comet. And lots of rolling stock. Spent quite a few $$ down at Side Track Hobbies over the years (my folks retired 10 minutes from Al's store!).    

MikeH posted:

For me it's a tie between the 2011 & 2016 catalogs.  I have four sets or engines from each.  It sucks that MTH stopped making tinplate right when I discovered it.  I just looked at those two catalogs again.  There is a ton of stuff in there that I'd buy right now.  I've never seen any of it on ebay. 

Yes, that's them.  Thanks, Scott.  Still totally bummed that they had to cancel those 408E's and 318E's from the 2016 catalog.  

MikeH posted:

Yes, that's them.  Thanks, Scott.  Still totally bummed that they had to cancel those 408E's and 318E's from the 2016 catalog.  

Have you tried Side Track Hobbies? They sell a great deal of Tinplate.

Joe Gozzo

scott.smith posted:

MikeH posted:

For me it's a tie between the 2011 & 2016 catalogs.  I have four sets or engines from each.  It sucks that MTH stopped making tinplate right when I discovered it.  I just looked at those two catalogs again.  There is a ton of stuff in there that I'd buy right now.  I've never seen any of it on ebay. 

 

2011 cat was a good one for me. I was able to obtain the red/white ogauge Christmas set, with sddon car and the green City of Denver with add on car.

Joe Gozzo

Trainlover160 posted:

MikeH posted:

Yes, that's them.  Thanks, Scott.  Still totally bummed that they had to cancel those 408E's and 318E's from the 2016 catalog.  

Have you tried Side Track Hobbies? They sell a great deal of Tinplate.

Joe Gozzo

Indeed.  Almost everything I’ve purchased new, I’ve purchased from Side Track.  It’s been some time since Al’s had a 408e or 318e (contemporary, that is).

MikeH posted:

Trainlover160 posted:

MikeH posted:

Yes, that's them.  Thanks, Scott.  Still totally bummed that they had to cancel those 408E's and 318E's from the 2016 catalog.  

Have you tried Side Track Hobbies? They sell a great deal of Tinplate.

Joe Gozzo

Indeed.  Almost everything I’ve purchased new, I’ve purchased from Side Track.  It’s been some time since Al’s had a 408e or 318e (contemporary, that is).

I have been considering a 318e myself. I been looking for something to pull my 500 series MTH club cars. With the whole world sort of freaked out at this time and no place to hide one (my tinplate club layout is closed )I have held off on buying one. Western Depot has 5 318 Proto2 locomotives In the Gray color from the 2007 catalog.

Scott Smith

"Tinplate" covers a broad area....for me it would be the ones l don't own...the Marx distributor's, but the several l do are the Marx 3/16th several tiny folders included in sets.  And it would be the catalogs, some pre WWIl, that pictured O scale engines like the C&O Mikado not offered in three rail since.  And that little green catalog from the shop, in Ks. City?, that l can't find but is still an Xmas catalog of all this stuff l don't think was ever available, but that l want.

MikeH posted:

For me it's a tie between the 2011 & 2016 catalogs.  I have four sets or engines from each.  It sucks that MTH stopped making tinplate right when I discovered it.  I just looked at those two catalogs again.  There is a ton of stuff in there that I'd buy right now.  I've never seen any of it on ebay. 

I heard from a dealer that they may start back up with the Tinplate Traditions line again, track is in recent ready to run catalog.   I'd be up for a piece or two. 

MTH has the ability and there is still demand for Standard and O products. 

I forget the year, but there was a lot of Ives. 

Steve

It looks like maybe 2008, the year before the Lionel contract, was the high water mark for Ives offerings.

• Ives 1134 Passenger & Freight sets (Dorfan too)
• Ives 1694 Passenger Sets (O gauge)
• Ives 3236R locos
• Ives 3245R locos
• Ives 180 & 418 Passenger sets
• Ives 240 Passenger sets

Jushavnfun posted:

MikeH posted:

For me it's a tie between the 2011 & 2016 catalogs.  I have four sets or engines from each.  It sucks that MTH stopped making tinplate right when I discovered it.  I just looked at those two catalogs again.  There is a ton of stuff in there that I'd buy right now.  I've never seen any of it on ebay. 

I heard from a dealer that they may start back up with the Tinplate Traditions line again, track is in recent ready to run catalog.   I'd be up for a piece or two. 

MTH has the ability and there is still demand for Standard and O products. 

Man, if that were true, I would "back up the truck" as they say.  A new tinplate catalog would be extremely damaging to my cash.  Dare to dream!

The 2008 was exceptional as well. I really wanted the Chrome and Black 1134 set. I could never find one that had proto2. All I was finding was the traditional version. It even went through my mind to buy a black proto 2 and buy the chrome and switch out the shells.

Scott Smith

I had too had heard they would be doing more tinplate traditions. However, when they did they would not be issuing catalogs. It would be special runs of an engine or set, in about 4-5 years. 

This was due to a shrinking demographic and dealer inventories, and we should expect a 10-15% increase in retail.

With that being said, I hope MTH is seeing the wants on this thread. I too would love more tinplate traditions. The badge never has mattered to me anyway. It is all beautiful stuff. My passion has always been the passenger sets, however, I have always applauded MTH for the freight cars with advertising. It really makes them pop. Great thread Scott.

Joe Gozzo

I own and enjoy some of the new tinplate imported by MTH and Lionel. That said, some factors to consider IMHO that affect when and how MTH might resume importing tinplate ....

1. There is a lot of new old stock of reproduction tinplate on the secondary market. Next time one is able, look around at York. Its all over the place. Interestingly, desirable Traditional conventional locos are actually getting to be the tougher to find these days because less of them were made to start with.

2. A lot of original tinplate is becoming available in nice condition at lower prices historically as current collectors downsize due to their life cycles. Again, walk around York and peruse the auction houses. Why buy a copy when one could purchase a real honest-to-gosh original US-made vintage train?

A personal factor that I state out in the open so that the good folks at MTH can easily read it ... going forward, I shall not be purchasing any new to-be-made trains assembled in Red China. Period. Please shift production (back) to South Korea, or Tiawan, or back home, etc. Others can do what they wish, but personally I want as little of my money as possible going to the coufers of the PRC for reasons that are all too painfully obvious.

And, lastly, ... there are those of us who desire only traditional tinplate locos and have no serious interest in PS-X whatever. Give me the romance and tinplate 'feel' of an open frame three pole motor and the sound of a real air whistle anytime over electronic noise. So, please import both types. 

Have fun!

Respectfully,

Bob

I'm only interested in reproductions and only in PS2 or PS3.  Everyone gets what they want I guess!

2008 catalogue

I like shiney shiney (new).

Been an O gauge guy since 1987. Got bit by Standard Gauge tinplate late in 2017.

Compared to O scale, I never found Standard Gauge that pricey.  A  new Lionel high end heavyweight pass car goes today for about $150.  An Mth 418 or even a used State car about the same.

  A  used 9e at $299-$400 compared to a new Legacy FM msrp. $549.

A used MTH Ives 1134 at $599 compared to a  new lionel  Legacy 4-4-2 at msrp $699+.

In used MTH tinplate locomotives I don't see a huge price difference between proto or traditional. So what I'm saying...I am not sticker shocked at the price of used "Mth new" tinplate.

Most tinplate owners really take good care of their toys. I think modern tinplate is an art form in itself. Yes, there are more expensive modern tinplate items out there. A presidential set at $1100. comes to mind. Some scale O steam engines are $1000. new.

I really enjoy the nostalgia of new Standard Gauge.

I'm just not drawn to vintage original or restored tinplate.

( I must confess to loving my rusty Ives 116 station..wish some one would reproduce in shiney, shiney, new).

So.....yes! ..I'm finding out first hand in 2020 that 2008 was a great year for tinplate.