After looking at the sky high prices in the new Lionel 2022 catalog it’s no wonder why the MPC era of Lionel is finding popularity with collectors. Their affordability, bright colors, basic design and ability to be easily repaired makes them very attractive. I don’t think the same thing will hold true 40 to 50 years down the road for Lionel’s current offerings.
Yeah your right I definitely agree with you the new Lionel prices are insane I'll keep collecting and operating my Lionel postwar and MPC Era Lionel for right now!!
The MPC era trains just run forever. You put them on the track and they go. No fancy schmancy sounds or complicated controls and circuit boards. Just keep the pickup rollers clean and they'll work for years to come.
F3s are some of my favorite diesel locomotives. Especially MPC era because my dad had some old o scale. My favorite paint scheme out of all is the Southern Pacific daylight.
For younger 20 year olds like me, they remember an old show called I Love Toy Trains that showcased many of these O scale locomotives both Pre and post war as well as some MPC
The MPC and PostWar models are like ElectroMechanical pinball machines. They can always be repaired and they will run forever. Modern pinball machines and model trains, use highly integrated electronics where parts obsolescence is always going to come into play and therefore make repair much more difficult and sometimes impossible. Still...I love them all.
Hey Chris. Though not a collector and no desire to go back to the era in which I was introduced to 0-gauge, I will say these items took the abuse of an 8 year old boy. I beat the living snot out of this stuff growing up and it was still running when I gave it all away in my mid 30’s. Given your reasons I can’t help but extrapolate the future when my daughter, as an adult with her own daughter and “chicks with 0-gauge” channel, gets all misty eyed with her fathers (now old) collection, when Visionline could be had for a mere $2500.00 and not the $10,000.00 it will be in their day with the accompanying commentary: “When I was a child, my dad and I ran our trains with this beautiful blue (Cab-1L) remote before Lionel stopped making them in pursuit of profit and moving all control into a VR and phone. Look at his wonderful big orange knob for speed control…. oh the memories.” Couldn’t resist the lure in predicting tomorrow’s nostalgia. Love what you do buddy!
I hear complaints about MPC because they replaced the postwar metal drive gears with nylon drive gears. There was a good reason. They are far quieter and if lubricate properly, will perform just fine.
You are exactly right. My dad has a lot of MPC boxcars and every time I get that stuff out (or any of my MPC sets) I think about growing up running these trains and cars with my dad.
Can't get around it, Chris! The Blue Comet steam engine and passenger consist are the eye-catching winner for me. Being from the era when steam power ruled the rails, a steam engine will always get my vote, especially one with such dramatic presence! The bright blue colour alone screams 'I'm the best'! Sounds like 'Gordon' from Sodor, ha-ha-ha! For me, diesels are somehow all generic looking anyway. Thanks for taking the time to make this interesting reintroduction to the MPC era!
Cool trains I mostly collect the MPC trains well they are affordable and nostalgic I too grew up in this era drooling over the catalogs wishing for the many F3 or geeps ect thanks for running those trains they really work on your layout simply awesome
Chris, even though I'm not a Lionel guy, I always enjoy your videos. After all, you always wear a shirt with the name of town that I live in! I witnessed the end of the MKT era, and then the abandonment of the track from Katy into Houston, and its removal. It was a sad time for me. UP's tracks on that line now end at Katy.
It's fun to add ERR TMCC and sound to MPC trains or swap out the e-unit for an electronic one. I'm glad that you run conventional and TMCC/DCS trains. Me too.
Hiya Chris I sincerely enjoyed the live feed with you and Jason always enjoy your videos Jason must go to the LEGACY dark side Chris MAY THE TRAIN GODS BE WITH YOU ALWAYS stay safe happy railroading ;-)
One train in my collection that’s a bit of a hit is my MPC Era “Famous American Railroads” Southern 4501 Mikado with the slightly earlier Southern Crescent Limited coaches. It’s not the proper Crescent Limited set but it looks beautiful regardless. And I’ve clocked it with 24 cars thanks to its magnetraction so it’s a really good engine for general use.
It is very interesting to see this shift in collectability in modern era Lionel trains and their chance to be in the collector's spotlight again. Maybe they are experiencing the same shift as the prewar and postwar trains? Not just MPC era, but a good chunk of the Kughn era and the early LLC era trains are surging in value now, like the 1991 Santa Fe F-3's and matching aluminum cars, the C&O Yellowbelly and the Century Club locomotives - one of the Santa Fe F-3 ABA's sold on eBay for over $550 just this month!
I agree! I think that 1st Generation TMCC engines will see a spike in collectability as we enter into the next generation of command control this year with the Cab3 system.
I had a lot of post war and mpc trains which even with command control coming more and more common I loved them alot unfortunately they met a tragic demise
My attraction to MPC comes from them being produced from the same molds and basic designs as the Post War trains that make up most of my collection. You can run Post War and MPC together without anything being out of scale or looking out of place. Adding MPC to my Post War roster allowed me to expand the number of railroads that I was able to run, made my mixed trains more colorful, and allowed me to lengthen trains without duplicating any cars...those are all pluses for me.
Dear Sir: I remember the MPC brand of model car kits in the early 1970s. I always like the model trainsets, including the Lionel-MPC-brands. Remember when the late Johnny Cash sang the song while playing his guitar, on a Lionel advertisement in the late 1970s? There was also a Lionel brand trainset, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, singing", Hey, Mom and Dad, is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?" also in the late 1970s. I remember the MPC model kits were owned by General Mills. Cheers, Ludwig
It's really not surprised how these older models regardless of their reputation are growing in popularity. As the cost of the hobby seemingly keeps going up older but still very presentable models will take center stage for many collectors. I know alot of what I own in HO scale is typically older than I am (27) but it's price at model train flea markets just can't be beat with newer and sometimes very similar counterparts. And given that alot of these models are decades old but still run great and look great they obviously were doing something right then and they will continue to be sought after for many years to come. Awesome video showcasing some of the now classic models.
I probably predicted this back in the previous renaissance of O gauge back i n the 1980's. This came roughly 40 years after the peak of Lionel postwar, and a lot of the talk at the time was the effect of nostalgia occurring when those who grew up with these trains entered middle age and became aware of the stuff they enjoyed as kids, and started seeking out those tokens of their childhood. This was pointed to at the time, as a prime reason for the appreciation of postwar O Gauge during the 1980's, which led to the entry of new players in the space. Many an anecdote surfaced about people who had trains in their youth, walked away from them in their teen years only to return once they hit middle age. Such experiences are still surfacing today. MPC equipment was caught between postwar nostalgia and fascination with the new scale-proportioned and increasingly detailed models appearing on the market, so no surprise a large amount of it was available at economical prices. Now it's roughly 40 or so years after the rise of MPC, and no surprise, people are paying attention to them again :). It's probably a good bet that late scale-size K-Line, early MTH and Atlas O will see increased attention as collectibles within another 10-15 years if the pattern continues, although in smaller numbers as only a portion of each generation exposed to trains in their childhood will develop an interest that either endures or sticks enough to resurface later in life.
I grew up in the MPC era of Lionel trains as well. Being a kid with a little income left me with just begging to get a small piece of it for Xmas. It was also harder to track down exactly what you wanted without the internet,.Now that I have raised my kids and have a good job. I find myself tracking down the MPC era pieces a longed for as a child. MPC sounds are hit and miss. But it paved the way for the wonderful sounds we have today. Thanks for covering this subject Chris.
MPC certainly gives you a lot of bang for your buck. They have plenty of colors, plenty of road names, and are very straightforward when it comes to servicing them. The big thing about MPC is you have to look past the cheap stuff, although the cheap stuff has its own charm to it too. Lionel actually planned to release a Southern Pacific trainmaster during the postwar era, but they never did. They used the mock-up model that was made to create the Southern Pacific trainmaster shown here.
My dad has all 3 (cheese steam, blue comet and the southern crescent MPC steam sets). They are quite cool. Those old Lionel FM train masters are awesome as well. We have 4 Chicago and north western FMs which we would lock the direction units in forward, and run all 4 together, since their motors and gearing were matched. We had them pulling a 50+ car long train. It was awesome.
You said it Chris, nostalgia and price. I mean, they don't have all the bells and whistles of today's modern stuff, but they are affordable and just fun to run. And not bad looking either. Thanks for showing us your growing collection of MPC era trains and I hope you find more!
Very nice viewing angles and camera movements. It really captured the trains in all their glory. The MPC era had some really nice trains. Thanks for making such great videos.
Top 10th famous steam locomotives stars and exurcusion trains 1. Pere Marquette 1225 (aka the real Polar Express) 2. Nickel plate road 765 3. Southern pacific Gs-4 4449 daylight (aka daylight or the last surviving members of General service) 4. Norfolk and western class j 611 5. Union pacific challenger 3985 6. Union pacific big boy 4014 7. Union pacific big boy 4012 8. Union pacific FEF-3 844 9. Pennsylvania railroad class T-1 duplex 10. Pennsylvania railroad class gg1 Reasons why they are famous: 1. Pere Marquette 1225 become a famous locomotive because of the movie in 2004 called "the polar express" 2. Nickel plate road 765 is one of the several surviving 2-8-4 Berkshire locomotives along with pere Marquette 1225 3. Southern pacific daylight 4449 she became famous because she is the last surviving members of General service (GS) or golden state (GS) daylight locomotives along with nickel plate road 765 and pere Marquette 1225 and they both built by Lima locomotive works 4. norfolk and western class j 611 became famous too who is the last surviving members of class J locomotives in Norfolk and western railroad 5. Union pacific challenger become famous because of his strongest and fast abilities and one of the famous and last surviving members of challengers 6. Union pacific big boy become famous because he was the most biggest and largest locomotive ever built by alco 7. Union pacific big boy 4012 become famous too because he is one of the last surviving members of big boy 4-8-8-4 locomotives 8. Union pacific 844 became famous because she is one of the fastest locomotives ever built along with up big boy and up challenger 9. Prr T1 duplex become famous because he is one of the strongest last surviving members of T-1 duplex locomotive that built and designed by Raymond loewy (aka the famous industrial designer) 10. Prr gg1 become famous because he is the fastest streamlined locomotives ever built and designed by Raymond loewy
Chris, what a great video. Can you do a video on the Texaco Special someday? One of my favorites is the Texaco Special from 1954-1955. I hope someday to have a great train lay-out like yours! I have both, the old track and Fastrack. I notice it is easier to hook up switches to the old track.
Chris.. another great video. It’s about time the MPC era starts getting the love it deserves. That era saved Lionel. I was also a kid during the MPC era and though my dad was a big post war and prewar collector, he never kept me from enjoying MPC. My first sets were MPC. Good stuff man.
MPC trains were plentiful and interesting but it was always "buyer beware." Any steamers using spur gears had nylon gears instead of metal. Even the first GG1's of the era had these "plastic gears." It was hit or miss for steamers as to whether the "mighty sounds of steam" effects worked correctly or at all. My favorite story of the era was when I purchased the 783 Hudson (the MPC re-release of the 773). Having learned my lesson that you never take an MPC model out of the store without unboxing it there and trying it on the test track, I did this with the Hudson. It looked great but when I put it on the track, it shorted out dead! No it was not derailed or anything like that, it was a defective item. No problem. A 2nd boxed Hudson was brought to me. I put this one on the track it it would only run in reverse! Enter the 3rd! This time there was no sounds of steam. Exasperated, the store owners and I managed to piece together an engine and tender that both worked from the 3 and that's the combination I took home! Remember, all these items were new in the box! Fast forward to when the gray 785 was released. I opened the box, removed the engine, all looked good. When I picked up the tender from the box, all the wheels fell out of the trucks!!!. Fortunately the 2nd one I tried was good. Who can forget the famous Rock Island Northern, a brand new tooling! Great looking engine. It had so many bugs that Lionel had to release an instruction pamphlet on how to "de-bug it!" Yes, it was an interesting era with the worst quality control. Should I also mention the "thumb-tack" couplers that never stayed coupled? That could be cured by heating and bending the plastic coupler arm so that the pin stayed secure in the coupler.
I agree. The MPC quality control wasn't the best. I had the same problem with my gray 785 but I glued the wheel frame and truck sides together. That worked well. Also I installed a Dallee electronic e-unit and Dallee sound to replace the awful Sound of Steam. I will note that post-MPC Lionel still suffers from quality control problems.
I can't say you didn't have any problems because obviously you did. I've got some MPC era stuff and have had no trouble with them. But I will say this: There's nothing inherantly wrong with plastic gears, HOWEVER they should mate up with other plastic gears. Gears should be made of analogous materials, i.e. plastic to plastic and metal to metal, otherwise the harder of the two is going to wear the softer one out. So, inspect that piece as best you can to see what the drive train's made of. By the way, consider that if General Mills/MPC hadn't come along Lionel as a train maker would have been DEAD. Gone for good. GM's owed a bit of thanks for keeping the Lionel Line alive, 'cause who knows where we be today it if died out completely? Any O Gauge trains at all? O Gauge a dead concept? Think about it.
@@rodgerp.639 I bought a 1980 vintage Lionel "Silver Shadow " Atlantic Coast Line steamer recently. Absolutely great runner but the "Mighty Sound of Steam" drove me nuts! I pulled it out and installed a spare Williams steam sound unit. Perfect now!
I love this video i like the MPC-era southern pacific daylight locomotive with the horn and the Norfolk and western with whistle both are my favorite. thank you for this video.
Although that mpc comet is my all time favorite set and I am lucky own one, I actually voted for the mpc General in the poll, was hoping to see more info on that one someday. Great video! My only complaint is if mpc gets any more popular it will no longer be the train show bargain buy it once was😉👍
Noted! General will make an appearance soon. :) I hear you on the growing popularity. Will be curious to see how the prices rise or fall in the coming years for MPC. Thanks for watching Jason!
Those are some great looking sets Chris I'm partial to the Southern Pacific daylight f3 and cars and the Blue comet and this pastor cars thanks for sharing 👍👍
I'm still catching up with all your videos. The MPC era is what saved Lionel. Without it, the Richard Hughn period would probably never have happened. Much of what MPC offered was modernized Post-War locomotives and cars.and most Post-War collectors I know have no problem with MPC. I have a number of MPC cars and also the Santa Fe 8900 and the Twentieth Century Limited set with the extra car. Great running locomotives. The cars are nice and needle point bearings made pulling long trains way easier. All-in-all, pretty good stuff. Always excellent videos.
I actually owned the Chessie Steam Special and it was released as a Berkshire. I also owned the Santa Fe Trainmaster and a New York Central Hudson. They were awesome then but I sold them off and wouldn't go back to MPC even though they were a lot of fun at the time.
Great video Chris. That Trainmaster is beautiful. I had always heard that the quality of MPC trains were not up to par with postwar, but not sure if that is true. They seem to be running quite well to me :)
These dual motor trains are great runners on the layout. MPC has always enjoyed more drama than the other eras. Probably why I like it so much, haha! Thanks for watching Kyle!
Chris, I should be furious with you about blowing the secret of MPC Lionels but I just can't be! For conventional runners like me the MPC Era (and the early Dick Kughn Era) have a lot to offer. The engines and cars are affordable, the engines are easy to repair once you know how it's done, and there's plenty of instruction videos out there to tell you how to do it. And if you don't like the old whistle and diesel horn sounds the MPC's are very easily upgraded with sound systems from ERR by 3rd Rail, Dallee Electronics, and Williams by Bachmann. I've got a Trainmaster in Jersey Central markings from 1986 (Statue of Liberty Series) and the thing will pull tree stumps! I got lucky with that one, right-place-right-time and paid $200. Good deal! And I'm not surprised the Blue Comet is a popular as it is. There's lots of Jersey Central fans up in Jersey ("No foolin'!" he says) who snap those things up quick! EVERYTHING Jersey Central gets snapped up quick, I had to "settle" for the MTH Blue Comet. :)
Good video! I think the quality is better than the reputation, but I'm biased. Do you think MPC is a gateway for new hobbyists stuck at home the past 2 years?
Absolutely! MPC is certainly a gateway for people who are just starting but there are sets that are also gaining popularity for collectors. I am finding fewer complete sets in the secondary market as collectors are hunting for them. Thanks for watching Apple & Orange Line!
You let the secret out now mpc will be hard to find too. Better buy quick! :) I love MPC I was a teenager at the time a do remember some of the items. The are good trains. They are still running 50 years later that says something.
I have the Chessie Steam Special. I use it to pull my set of C&O aluminum passenger cars. I know the passenger cars don't match the locomotive but it works for me.
Don't pass up a chance to get one. I've got a Lionel Jersey Central Trainmaster made in 1986. A great runner and puller! I bought it at a train show, paid $200 (or so) for it and I'm not diappointed in it!
@@RBPTrains You know, I DID have a little trouble with my Trainmaster clipping a tunnel portal on the layout, that engine's BIG. A few minutes with a file on the tunnel portal took care of that problem!
Hi 😀. I just subscribed to your channel👍. Like your videos 😀👍 Envy your collection🙄. Appreciate you sharing the passion with us 😀👍. Cheers 🍻. Enjoy the passion!
The later MPC offerings are fantastic. MPC finally figured out to use the postwar versions as a guide. Not to mention, they had all the tooling, parts, etc... The 8950 & the 8951 are made exactly like the postwar models. The F3's such as the Burlington, Southern Pacific, Pennsylvania (Green & Brown) all come with 2 motors. They can pull the house down! Lionel also started making extruded aluminum O Gauge passenger cars once again. They are made very closely to the originals from the 1950's. They are all fantastic. Also, the big Steam engines of the era are second to none. Steamers such as; 8002 Union Pacific 2-8-4 1980 8003 Chessie Steam 2-8-4 1980 Berkshire 3100 Great Northern 4-8-4 1981 Berkshire 8100 Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 Class J 8215 Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 Berkshire 8406 New York Central 4-6-4 1984-783 8606 Boston & Albany 4-6-4 1984-784 8610 Wabash 4-6-2 1986 Are absolutely fantastic. For all intense and purpose, many of the aforementioned engines are postwar. I think the beginning of the MPC productions is the reason this era gets a bad rap. The early 1970's offerings are cheap. Hence the bad publicity. But thank goodness they started to revert back to the archives about 1977. Thanks, Charlie
Thanks for the support Scott! I was on the phone with Bunker the other day and we are planning a live stream in the next few weeks. Should be a great time!
MPC has always been under rated. With the price point of Lionel exceeding a lot of budgets in this inflationary period, these trains will increase in value. The older Lionels are not as colorful (except for a lot of the later high end trains) and having Lionel's name pasted on the side of many tenders as well as having many engines resemble a Hudson knockoff really detracts from its resemblance to real railroads.
Lionel always annoyed me with their plastering "Lionel Lines" on the sides of the tenders instead of a prototype name. No biggie for me, I repaint the tenders and decal them for my favorite 'roads.
You, sir, have a great on-air presence! I work in post, series, stuff, LA-based! If you have any interest in chatting, working on a series you might be perfect for!
Hi Chris, I just found your channel this past week, subscribed and I think I've watched nearly all your videos now. This was a great one, thanks for explaining what the MPC era is. I'm British and collect 00 gauge so I'm not always familiar with a lot of the jargon. A quick video explaining the different eras and control methods you use would be great. Thanks for the entertainment
Welcome aboard SeaKing61 and appreciate the support! Great suggestion on the era/control system topic. I will be sure to add it to a future video. Thanks for watching!
The new Lionel trains with legacy and all the cool different features are nice but they will never be as nastolgic and special as the Mpc and trains before them
I think we're going to continue to see a rise this stuff as modern O scale prices get out of control and it's not stopping or people are gonna go to HO. I want to make a video on this but it might not go so well.
Prices are definitely fluctuating at the moment. Not sure where the Modern trains are heading but the vintage trains seem to be on a bit of a rollercoaster ride depending on time of year and auction results. My suggestion: stay the course :) Thanks for watching!
when i started collecting , way back when , this is all what they had . ( this was the era of general mills ownership) the models were reasonably priced. before the rocker niel young bought the company and jacked the prices out of sight from kids and general collectors like me .
That's a little unfair to Neil. What's really jacked the prices up are all the sophisticated electronics going into the engines nowadays. All those high-tech features cost big money to produce and install, we can only guess what the engines would cost without them. Myself, being a strictly conventional runner with no interest in high tech I can live without them, but apparantly the market research of Lionel and others is telling them high-tech is what most of their potential buyers want. Time will tell how this works out.
I just got into ho scale stuff and don't have a layout scince I don't have room for one and your layout makes me want one even more and your vids are awsome keep it up man! ✌️
Thanks for watching Landon! I did not have a layout for many years but kept slowly collecting. Once I had space for a layout all those years of collecting started to pay off. Enjoy those H O trains!
MPC locomotives in my current roster 8580 Illinois Central F3 ABA (I have the passenger set for this one) 8260 Southern Pacific F3 ABA 8365 Canadian Pacific F3 ABA 8480 Union Pacific F3 ABA 8952 Pennsylvania F3 ABBA (there were two B units 8059 and 8164 one with a horn one without) 8970 Pennsylvania F3 ABA 8763 Norfolk & Western GP-9 8754 New Haven Rectifier 8002 Union Pacific Berkshire 8215 Nickel Plate Road Berkshire 8100 Norfolk & Western J (I have the passenger set for this one) 8206 New York Central small Hudson 8603 Chesapeake & Ohio small Hudson 8610 Wabash small Hudson (I have the passenger set for this one) 8900 Santa Fe small Hudson 8404 New York Central Hudson (wearing #783)
As much as I love the Postear era, people are selling the for insane prices. MPC allows me to afford locomotives that look similar to the original Postwar model for half of whatever the Ebay price is. MPC at this point is going to outnumber pretty much my entire O gauge fleet. Current items: 8857/8858 Northern Pacific U36B 8659 Virginian Rectifier 8762 Great Northern EP5 8558 Milwaukee Road EP5 8654/8655 Boston & Maine GP9 8353 Grand Trunk Western GP7 Hoping to snag a 783 or 784 Hudson at some point.
Some of the post-war Lionels are still very affordable, like their non-prototypical 2-6-4's and 2-6-2's. Unless they're in "brand-new and in the box" condition you can find them at train shows for $100 and sometimes less, their commonality helps keep the prices down. Also, they're easily repaired once you know how to do it. Exhibitors at shows trying to get top dollar for them now just haven't gotten the word yet that the 1990's are over.
![Дон ДОН, Алаудинов и СБЕЖАВШИЕ из под Курска ахматовцы 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dEfCf5IK26Q/mqdefault.jpg)
After looking at the sky high prices in the new Lionel 2022 catalog it’s no wonder why the MPC era of Lionel is finding popularity with collectors. Their affordability, bright colors, basic design and ability to be easily repaired makes them very attractive. I don’t think the same thing will hold true 40 to 50 years down the road for Lionel’s current offerings.
Yeah your right I definitely agree with you the new Lionel prices are insane I'll keep collecting and operating my Lionel postwar and MPC Era Lionel for right now!!
The MPC era trains just run forever. You put them on the track and they go. No fancy schmancy sounds or complicated controls and circuit boards. Just keep the pickup rollers clean and they'll work for years to come.
Fascinating when you think about it, that modeltrains have a history of their own, just like the original trains. :)
They really do. Each era has so much to contribute to the narrative of Lionel. Thanks for watching!
@@RBPTrains you and Eric segal should do a epic hour long video train special together one day Chris
F3s are some of my favorite diesel locomotives. Especially MPC era because my dad had some old o scale. My favorite paint scheme out of all is the Southern Pacific daylight.
For younger 20 year olds like me, they remember an old show called I Love Toy Trains that showcased many of these O scale locomotives both Pre and post war as well as some MPC
The MPC and PostWar models are like ElectroMechanical pinball machines. They can always be repaired and they will run forever. Modern pinball machines and model trains, use highly integrated electronics where parts obsolescence is always going to come into play and therefore make repair much more difficult and sometimes impossible. Still...I love them all.
Hey Chris. Though not a collector and no desire to go back to the era in which I was introduced to 0-gauge, I will say these items took the abuse of an 8 year old boy. I beat the living snot out of this stuff growing up and it was still running when I gave it all away in my mid 30’s. Given your reasons I can’t help but extrapolate the future when my daughter, as an adult with her own daughter and “chicks with 0-gauge” channel, gets all misty eyed with her fathers (now old) collection, when Visionline could be had for a mere $2500.00 and not the $10,000.00 it will be in their day with the accompanying commentary: “When I was a child, my dad and I ran our trains with this beautiful blue (Cab-1L) remote before Lionel stopped making them in pursuit of profit and moving all control into a VR and phone. Look at his wonderful big orange knob for speed control…. oh the memories.”
Couldn’t resist the lure in predicting tomorrow’s nostalgia. Love what you do buddy!
I got a great laugh out of this Ken!
Hey RBP trains you should make a video on just the Hudsons
Excellent idea!
I hear complaints about MPC because they replaced the postwar metal drive gears with nylon drive gears. There was a good reason. They are far quieter and if lubricate properly, will perform just fine.
Considered the Blue Comet& Illinois Central in the past, it may be time to pick em up soon. 👍
You are exactly right. My dad has a lot of MPC boxcars and every time I get that stuff out (or any of my MPC sets) I think about growing up running these trains and cars with my dad.
Can't get around it, Chris! The Blue Comet steam engine and passenger consist are the eye-catching winner for me. Being from the era when steam power ruled the rails, a steam engine will always get my vote, especially one with such dramatic presence! The bright blue colour alone screams 'I'm the best'! Sounds like 'Gordon' from Sodor, ha-ha-ha! For me, diesels are somehow all generic looking anyway. Thanks for taking the time to make this interesting reintroduction to the MPC era!
Thanks for watching Tom and I agree with you about the Blue Comet!
The visual dynamics of a steam engine are hard to beat, whether it's a real one or a model!
Cool trains I mostly collect the MPC trains well they are affordable and nostalgic I too grew up in this era drooling over the catalogs wishing for the many F3 or geeps ect thanks for running those trains they really work on your layout simply awesome
Chris, even though I'm not a Lionel guy, I always enjoy your videos. After all, you always wear a shirt with the name of town that I live in! I witnessed the end of the MKT era, and then the abandonment of the track from Katy into Houston, and its removal. It was a sad time for me. UP's tracks on that line now end at Katy.
It's fun to add ERR TMCC and sound to MPC trains or swap out the e-unit for an electronic one. I'm glad that you run conventional and TMCC/DCS trains. Me too.
Hiya Chris I sincerely enjoyed the live feed with you and Jason always enjoy your videos Jason must go to the LEGACY dark side Chris MAY THE TRAIN GODS BE WITH YOU ALWAYS stay safe happy railroading ;-)
Haha! I think this is the year he dives into Lionel :)
One train in my collection that’s a bit of a hit is my MPC Era “Famous American Railroads” Southern 4501 Mikado with the slightly earlier Southern Crescent Limited coaches. It’s not the proper Crescent Limited set but it looks beautiful regardless. And I’ve clocked it with 24 cars thanks to its magnetraction so it’s a really good engine for general use.
It is nice to see train sets are not forgotten. Great video Chris.😇👍👍👌🇺🇸
Thank you John! They are certainly not forgotten :)
It is very interesting to see this shift in collectability in modern era Lionel trains and their chance to be in the collector's spotlight again. Maybe they are experiencing the same shift as the prewar and postwar trains? Not just MPC era, but a good chunk of the Kughn era and the early LLC era trains are surging in value now, like the 1991 Santa Fe F-3's and matching aluminum cars, the C&O Yellowbelly and the Century Club locomotives - one of the Santa Fe F-3 ABA's sold on eBay for over $550 just this month!
I agree! I think that 1st Generation TMCC engines will see a spike in collectability as we enter into the next generation of command control this year with the Cab3 system.
I had a lot of post war and mpc trains which even with command control coming more and more common I loved them alot unfortunately they met a tragic demise
Awesome video as always. That Blue Comet is a sweet looking train. Always good to see a cameo by a BNSF :-) Have a great week my friend
Didn't even think about that until you just said something. Hahaha!
My attraction to MPC comes from them being produced from the same molds and basic designs as the Post War trains that make up most of my collection. You can run Post War and MPC together without anything being out of scale or looking out of place.
Adding MPC to my Post War roster allowed me to expand the number of railroads that I was able to run, made my mixed trains more colorful, and allowed me to lengthen trains without duplicating any cars...those are all pluses for me.
Dear Sir:
I remember the MPC brand of model car kits in the early 1970s.
I always like the model trainsets, including the Lionel-MPC-brands. Remember when the late Johnny Cash sang the song while playing his guitar, on a Lionel advertisement in the late 1970s? There was also a Lionel brand trainset, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, singing", Hey, Mom and Dad, is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?" also in the late 1970s.
I remember the MPC model kits were owned by General Mills.
Cheers,
Ludwig
MPC is a wonderful topic to go over! It's really been getting a lot of newfound love from younger collectors. Excellent video!
The MPC era is something else
It's really not surprised how these older models regardless of their reputation are growing in popularity. As the cost of the hobby seemingly keeps going up older but still very presentable models will take center stage for many collectors. I know alot of what I own in HO scale is typically older than I am (27) but it's price at model train flea markets just can't be beat with newer and sometimes very similar counterparts. And given that alot of these models are decades old but still run great and look great they obviously were doing something right then and they will continue to be sought after for many years to come. Awesome video showcasing some of the now classic models.
I really like the Southern Pacific F3s. I tend to prefer that livery on the GS-4s but does look great on anything.
I probably predicted this back in the previous renaissance of O gauge back i n the 1980's. This came roughly 40 years after the peak of Lionel postwar, and a lot of the talk at the time was the effect of nostalgia occurring when those who grew up with these trains entered middle age and became aware of the stuff they enjoyed as kids, and started seeking out those tokens of their childhood.
This was pointed to at the time, as a prime reason for the appreciation of postwar O Gauge during the 1980's, which led to the entry of new players in the space. Many an anecdote surfaced about people who had trains in their youth, walked away from them in their teen years only to return once they hit middle age. Such experiences are still surfacing today. MPC equipment was caught between postwar nostalgia and fascination with the new scale-proportioned and increasingly detailed models appearing on the market, so no surprise a large amount of it was available at economical prices. Now it's roughly 40 or so years after the rise of MPC, and no surprise, people are paying attention to them again :).
It's probably a good bet that late scale-size K-Line, early MTH and Atlas O will see increased attention as collectibles within another 10-15 years if the pattern continues, although in smaller numbers as only a portion of each generation exposed to trains in their childhood will develop an interest that either endures or sticks enough to resurface later in life.
Great insight! Thanks for sharing Railride!
I love vintage trains 🚂
Me too. I enjoy these just as much as the latest Lionel tech!
Yea
I grew up in the MPC era of Lionel trains as well. Being a kid with a little income left me with just begging to get a small piece of it for Xmas. It was also harder to track down exactly what you wanted without the internet,.Now that I have raised my kids and have a good job. I find myself tracking down the MPC era pieces a longed for as a child. MPC sounds are hit and miss. But it paved the way for the wonderful sounds we have today. Thanks for covering this subject Chris.
Fantastic! Those are some gorgeous trains. I love the blue comet, wouldn’t mind adding that one to the collection.
The Blue Comet is a natural fit for your layout. Well....I guess all MPC is a natural fit for your layout!
Great run session. I really enjoy your videos. I have learned so much history about model trains. I also enjoy the MPC era as well. Thanks Chris.
Thanks for watching Bob!
The MPC era FM Trainmaster was as good as the 1950's models. They are very nice.
Agree!
Excellent video Chris.....brought me back to a carefree world again. Thank You
Thanks for watching Jim!
I have just about e complete collection of everything MPC, sets, engines, cars, variations etc. I love it!! Collecting Lionel for over 30 years,
Nice! You can open the Museum of MPC :) Thanks for watching!
MPC certainly gives you a lot of bang for your buck. They have plenty of colors, plenty of road names, and are very straightforward when it comes to servicing them. The big thing about MPC is you have to look past the cheap stuff, although the cheap stuff has its own charm to it too.
Lionel actually planned to release a Southern Pacific trainmaster during the postwar era, but they never did. They used the mock-up model that was made to create the Southern Pacific trainmaster shown here.
Nice I love seeing the different time frames of model trains!
My dad has all 3 (cheese steam, blue comet and the southern crescent MPC steam sets). They are quite cool. Those old Lionel FM train masters are awesome as well. We have 4 Chicago and north western FMs which we would lock the direction units in forward, and run all 4 together, since their motors and gearing were matched. We had them pulling a 50+ car long train. It was awesome.
Sounds like a great collection! Enjoy those trains and thanks for watching!
I love that you put the spotlight on these old MPC sets. I have the Chessie Steam Special set and it's always an eyecatcher on the layout!
One day I will find one! Enjoy yours :)
You said it Chris, nostalgia and price. I mean, they don't have all the bells and whistles of today's modern stuff, but they are affordable and just fun to run. And not bad looking either. Thanks for showing us your growing collection of MPC era trains and I hope you find more!
Very nice viewing angles and camera movements. It really captured the trains in all their glory. The MPC era had some really nice trains. Thanks for making such great videos.
Top 10th famous steam locomotives stars and exurcusion trains
1. Pere Marquette 1225 (aka the real Polar Express)
2. Nickel plate road 765
3. Southern pacific Gs-4 4449 daylight (aka daylight or the last surviving members of General service)
4. Norfolk and western class j 611
5. Union pacific challenger 3985
6. Union pacific big boy 4014
7. Union pacific big boy 4012
8. Union pacific FEF-3 844
9. Pennsylvania railroad class T-1 duplex
10. Pennsylvania railroad class gg1
Reasons why they are famous:
1. Pere Marquette 1225 become a famous locomotive because of the movie in 2004 called "the polar express"
2. Nickel plate road 765 is one of the several surviving 2-8-4 Berkshire locomotives along with pere Marquette 1225
3. Southern pacific daylight 4449 she became famous because she is the last surviving members of General service (GS) or golden state (GS) daylight locomotives along with nickel plate road 765 and pere Marquette 1225 and they both built by Lima locomotive works
4. norfolk and western class j 611 became famous too who is the last surviving members of class J locomotives in Norfolk and western railroad
5. Union pacific challenger become famous because of his strongest and fast abilities and one of the famous and last surviving members of challengers
6. Union pacific big boy become famous because he was the most biggest and largest locomotive ever built by alco
7. Union pacific big boy 4012 become famous too because he is one of the last surviving members of big boy 4-8-8-4 locomotives
8. Union pacific 844 became famous because she is one of the fastest locomotives ever built along with up big boy and up challenger
9. Prr T1 duplex become famous because he is one of the strongest last surviving members of T-1 duplex locomotive that built and designed by Raymond loewy (aka the famous industrial designer)
10. Prr gg1 become famous because he is the fastest streamlined locomotives ever built and designed by Raymond loewy
That is some great info. Thanks for sharing!
The Chessie Steam Special is my favorite MPC set. I started my collection during the MPC era.
Chris, what a great video. Can you do a video on the Texaco Special someday? One of my favorites is the Texaco Special from 1954-1955. I hope someday to have a great train lay-out like yours! I have both, the old track and Fastrack. I notice it is easier to hook up switches to the old track.
Thanks Jimmy! Are you referring to the Texas Special?
I love the high angle shot from the corner of the room.
That was a new angle for the layout. I was surprised at how it changed then perspective. Going to try it in all my vids now! Thanks for watching!
Chris.. another great video. It’s about time the MPC era starts getting the love it deserves. That era saved Lionel. I was also a kid during the MPC era and though my dad was a big post war and prewar collector, he never kept me from enjoying MPC. My first sets were MPC. Good stuff man.
Agree! Thanks for watching!
Awesome video Chris! I love the Blue Comet 🚂🚂
The Blue Comet is always fun! Hope all is well with you my friend!
MPC trains were plentiful and interesting but it was always "buyer beware." Any steamers using spur gears had nylon gears instead of metal. Even the first GG1's of the era had these "plastic gears." It was hit or miss for steamers as to whether the "mighty sounds of steam" effects worked correctly or at all. My favorite story of the era was when I purchased the 783 Hudson (the MPC re-release of the 773). Having learned my lesson that you never take an MPC model out of the store without unboxing it there and trying it on the test track, I did this with the Hudson. It looked great but when I put it on the track, it shorted out dead! No it was not derailed or anything like that, it was a defective item. No problem. A 2nd boxed Hudson was brought to me. I put this one on the track it it would only run in reverse! Enter the 3rd! This time there was no sounds of steam. Exasperated, the store owners and I managed to piece together an engine and tender that both worked from the 3 and that's the combination I took home! Remember, all these items were new in the box! Fast forward to when the gray 785 was released. I opened the box, removed the engine, all looked good. When I picked up the tender from the box, all the wheels fell out of the trucks!!!. Fortunately the 2nd one I tried was good. Who can forget the famous Rock Island Northern, a brand new tooling! Great looking engine. It had so many bugs that Lionel had to release an instruction pamphlet on how to "de-bug it!" Yes, it was an interesting era with the worst quality control.
Should I also mention the "thumb-tack" couplers that never stayed coupled? That could be cured by heating and bending the plastic coupler arm so that the pin stayed secure in the coupler.
I agree. The MPC quality control wasn't the best. I had the same problem with my gray 785 but I glued the wheel frame and truck sides together. That worked well. Also I installed a Dallee electronic e-unit and Dallee sound to replace the awful Sound of Steam. I will note that post-MPC Lionel still suffers from quality control problems.
I can't say you didn't have any problems because obviously you did. I've got some MPC era stuff and have had no trouble with them. But I will say this:
There's nothing inherantly wrong with plastic gears, HOWEVER they should mate up with other plastic gears. Gears should be made of analogous materials, i.e. plastic to plastic and metal to metal, otherwise the harder of the two is going to wear the softer one out.
So, inspect that piece as best you can to see what the drive train's made of.
By the way, consider that if General Mills/MPC hadn't come along Lionel as a train maker would have been DEAD. Gone for good. GM's owed a bit of thanks for keeping the Lionel Line alive, 'cause who knows where we be today it if died out completely? Any O Gauge trains at all? O Gauge a dead concept? Think about it.
@@rodgerp.639 I bought a 1980 vintage Lionel "Silver Shadow " Atlantic Coast Line steamer recently. Absolutely great runner but the "Mighty Sound of Steam" drove me nuts! I pulled it out and installed a spare Williams steam sound unit. Perfect now!
Wow! Quite the experience you had there! Thanks for sharing and thanks for watching!
Iove the mpc era I want to collect all the Amtrak trains from that era
I love this video i like the MPC-era southern pacific daylight locomotive with the horn and the Norfolk and western with whistle both are my favorite. thank you for this video.
Although that mpc comet is my all time favorite set and I am lucky own one, I actually voted for the mpc General in the poll, was hoping to see more info on that one someday. Great video!
My only complaint is if mpc gets any more popular it will no longer be the train show bargain buy it once was😉👍
Noted! General will make an appearance soon. :) I hear you on the growing popularity. Will be curious to see how the prices rise or fall in the coming years for MPC. Thanks for watching Jason!
Chris, great video!
Great selection you're running!
The Illinois Central set looks awesome!
As always, thanks for sharing! And, Enjoy!
Great video Chris looks like good quality for a fair price I have a Menards army train pulled by a green GG1 and surprisingly it looks good 👍
Sounds like a great train! Thanks for watching Dan!
Those are some great looking sets Chris I'm partial to the Southern Pacific daylight f3 and cars and the Blue comet and this pastor cars thanks for sharing 👍👍
I'm still catching up with all your videos. The MPC era is what saved Lionel. Without it, the Richard Hughn period would probably never have happened. Much of what MPC offered was modernized Post-War locomotives and cars.and most Post-War collectors I know have no problem with MPC. I have a number of MPC cars and also the Santa Fe 8900 and the Twentieth Century Limited set with the extra car. Great running locomotives. The cars are nice and needle point bearings made pulling long trains way easier. All-in-all, pretty good stuff. Always excellent videos.
The super strong train master feels like watching a real train in real life
you should get some MPC era freight cars too!
My Dad has a bunch. Almost went over to his house to borrow them for the video!
I actually owned the Chessie Steam Special and it was released as a Berkshire. I also owned the Santa Fe Trainmaster and a New York Central Hudson. They were awesome then but I sold them off and wouldn't go back to MPC even though they were a lot of fun at the time.
Great video Chris. That Trainmaster is beautiful. I had always heard that the quality of MPC trains were not up to par with postwar, but not sure if that is true. They seem to be running quite well to me :)
Not all postwar trains were high quality pieces. Some of the MPC trains were high quality e.g., later F3s and Trainmasters.
These dual motor trains are great runners on the layout. MPC has always enjoyed more drama than the other eras. Probably why I like it so much, haha! Thanks for watching Kyle!
Awesome video buddy! Great looking trains, especially the blue comet set!
Chris, I should be furious with you about blowing the secret of MPC Lionels but I just can't be!
For conventional runners like me the MPC Era (and the early Dick Kughn Era) have a lot to offer. The engines and cars are affordable, the engines are easy to repair once you know how it's done, and there's plenty of instruction videos out there to tell you how to do it.
And if you don't like the old whistle and diesel horn sounds the MPC's are very easily upgraded with sound systems from ERR by 3rd Rail, Dallee Electronics, and Williams by Bachmann.
I've got a Trainmaster in Jersey Central markings from 1986 (Statue of Liberty Series) and the thing will pull tree stumps! I got lucky with that one, right-place-right-time and paid $200. Good deal!
And I'm not surprised the Blue Comet is a popular as it is. There's lots of Jersey Central fans up in Jersey ("No foolin'!" he says) who snap those things up quick! EVERYTHING Jersey Central gets snapped up quick, I had to "settle" for the MTH Blue Comet. :)
Good video! I think the quality is better than the reputation, but I'm biased. Do you think MPC is a gateway for new hobbyists stuck at home the past 2 years?
Absolutely! MPC is certainly a gateway for people who are just starting but there are sets that are also gaining popularity for collectors. I am finding fewer complete sets in the secondary market as collectors are hunting for them. Thanks for watching Apple & Orange Line!
You let the secret out now mpc will be hard to find too. Better buy quick! :) I love MPC I was a teenager at the time a do remember some of the items. The are good trains. They are still running 50 years later that says something.
I really am curious to see how these sets pan out over the next few years with the growing interest around them. Thanks for watching Jimmy!
I have the Chessie Steam Special. I use it to pull my set of C&O aluminum passenger cars. I know the passenger cars don't match the locomotive but it works for me.
Killer video chris! glad u gave MPC some love!
Thanks my friend!
An excellent video. Hello from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. 💙 T.E.N.
Thanks Tracy!
great fun!
Dang now I kinda want some MPC. There’s no nonsense.
I have really enjoyed these trains. Highly recommend! :)
I’m not a big MPC fan but damn that Trainmaster is wonderful!
Don't pass up a chance to get one. I've got a Lionel Jersey Central Trainmaster made in 1986. A great runner and puller! I bought it at a train show, paid $200 (or so) for it and I'm not diappointed in it!
It is one powerful engine!
@@RBPTrains You know, I DID have a little trouble with my Trainmaster clipping a tunnel portal on the layout, that engine's BIG. A few minutes with a file on the tunnel portal took care of that problem!
Great Video!!! Thanks for Sharing!!!
Thanks Joe!
You have a very nice collection Chris I m going to be getting the newer Kato N scale P42 DC Genesis locos soon
Hi 😀.
I just subscribed to your channel👍.
Like your videos 😀👍 Envy your collection🙄. Appreciate you sharing the passion with us 😀👍.
Cheers 🍻. Enjoy the passion!
Great video, love all of them
The later MPC offerings are fantastic. MPC finally figured out to use the postwar versions as a guide. Not to mention, they had all the tooling, parts, etc...
The 8950 & the 8951 are made exactly like the postwar models. The F3's such as the Burlington, Southern Pacific, Pennsylvania (Green & Brown) all come with 2 motors. They can pull the house down!
Lionel also started making extruded aluminum O Gauge passenger cars once again. They are made very closely to the originals from the 1950's. They are all fantastic.
Also, the big Steam engines of the era are second to none. Steamers such as;
8002 Union Pacific 2-8-4 1980
8003 Chessie Steam 2-8-4 1980 Berkshire
3100 Great Northern 4-8-4 1981 Berkshire
8100 Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 Class J
8215 Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 Berkshire
8406 New York Central 4-6-4
1984-783
8606 Boston & Albany 4-6-4
1984-784
8610 Wabash 4-6-2 1986
Are absolutely fantastic. For all intense and purpose, many of the aforementioned engines are postwar.
I think the beginning of the MPC productions is the reason this era gets a bad rap. The early 1970's offerings are cheap. Hence the bad publicity. But thank goodness they started to revert back to the archives about 1977.
Thanks,
Charlie
That so cool and awesome I actually have a MPC gp-9 of the Illinois Central runs great 😸😸🤎❤💚
Very cool! I need some more non-F3 MPC diesels. I saw the GP-9 at my local shop. Might need to snag that one. Thanks for watching!
@@RBPTrains you're welcome I always enjoy your videos
Awesome video ! Love your channel. This channel and country bunker trains are the only O Guage channels I watch. Very informative and interesting. 🤩
Thanks for the support Scott! I was on the phone with Bunker the other day and we are planning a live stream in the next few weeks. Should be a great time!
@@RBPTrains You are quite welcome. Look forward to the livestream !
I like the Black Widow FM the best. I collect the Williams F-2s as I like the way they run with DC motos but look like Lionel. Thanks
MPC has always been under rated. With the price point of Lionel exceeding a lot of budgets in this inflationary period, these trains will increase in value. The older Lionels are not as colorful (except for a lot of the later high end trains) and having Lionel's name pasted on the side of many tenders as well as having many engines resemble a Hudson knockoff really detracts from its resemblance to real railroads.
Lionel always annoyed me with their plastering "Lionel Lines" on the sides of the tenders instead of a prototype name. No biggie for me, I repaint the tenders and decal them for my favorite 'roads.
Saw a guy I know on the last page of the new CTT magazine........FAMOUS!
Lol! It was a lot of fun working with the CTT crew.
OOOOO, I'm going to be waiting for the new CTT with baited breath!
Bad enough I'm waiting for a decal order to come in.
Kline trains are my nostalgia trains and I like buying them
You, sir, have a great on-air presence! I work in post, series, stuff, LA-based! If you have any interest in chatting, working on a series you might be perfect for!
Hi Chris, I just found your channel this past week, subscribed and I think I've watched nearly all your videos now. This was a great one, thanks for explaining what the MPC era is. I'm British and collect 00 gauge so I'm not always familiar with a lot of the jargon. A quick video explaining the different eras and control methods you use would be great. Thanks for the entertainment
Welcome aboard SeaKing61 and appreciate the support! Great suggestion on the era/control system topic. I will be sure to add it to a future video. Thanks for watching!
I have a 93 Lionel FM trainmaster that's made in the USA which pulls really well and is quite durable.
The horn battle... lol
That came about by accident. I went to make the video and the BNSF engine was sitting slightly off camera. Had to jump on the opportunity!
I enjoy your channel it's very informative
Thanks radar ditti!
The new Lionel trains with legacy and all the cool different features are nice but they will never be as nastolgic and special as the Mpc and trains before them
I think we're going to continue to see a rise this stuff as modern O scale prices get out of control and it's not stopping or people are gonna go to HO. I want to make a video on this but it might not go so well.
Prices are definitely fluctuating at the moment. Not sure where the Modern trains are heading but the vintage trains seem to be on a bit of a rollercoaster ride depending on time of year and auction results. My suggestion: stay the course :) Thanks for watching!
@@RBPTrains yeah mpc was pennies and now seems to on the raise. HO only went up a little
Late comment but a hobby shop in Michigan had a complete Chesse Steam Special set last time I went 👀 Awesome video and sets as always!
when i started collecting , way back when , this is all what they had . ( this was the era of general mills ownership) the models were reasonably priced. before the rocker niel young bought the company and jacked the prices out of sight from kids and general collectors like me .
That's a little unfair to Neil. What's really jacked the prices up are all the sophisticated electronics going into the engines nowadays. All those high-tech features cost big money to produce and install, we can only guess what the engines would cost without them. Myself, being a strictly conventional runner with no interest in high tech I can live without them, but apparantly the market research of Lionel and others is telling them high-tech is what most of their potential buyers want. Time will tell how this works out.
Excellent video!
I just got into ho scale stuff and don't have a layout scince I don't have room for one and your layout makes me want one even more and your vids are awsome keep it up man! ✌️
Thanks for watching Landon! I did not have a layout for many years but kept slowly collecting. Once I had space for a layout all those years of collecting started to pay off. Enjoy those H O trains!
Holy moly this is amazing
Thank you 😊
If you have watched any of the old TM Books and Videos a lot of the layouts that are featured had MPC trains all over the place.
Another guess as to the growing popularity is the pandemic. eBay prices for modern Lionel have been rising, and mpc’s lower cost make them appealing.
MPC locomotives in my current roster
8580 Illinois Central F3 ABA (I have the passenger set for this one)
8260 Southern Pacific F3 ABA
8365 Canadian Pacific F3 ABA
8480 Union Pacific F3 ABA
8952 Pennsylvania F3 ABBA (there were two B units 8059 and 8164 one with a horn one without)
8970 Pennsylvania F3 ABA
8763 Norfolk & Western GP-9
8754 New Haven Rectifier
8002 Union Pacific Berkshire
8215 Nickel Plate Road Berkshire
8100 Norfolk & Western J (I have the passenger set for this one)
8206 New York Central small Hudson
8603 Chesapeake & Ohio small Hudson
8610 Wabash small Hudson (I have the passenger set for this one)
8900 Santa Fe small Hudson
8404 New York Central Hudson (wearing #783)
Wow! Quite the list. Thanks for sharing!
As much as I love the Postear era, people are selling the for insane prices. MPC allows me to afford locomotives that look similar to the original Postwar model for half of whatever the Ebay price is. MPC at this point is going to outnumber pretty much my entire O gauge fleet.
Current items:
8857/8858 Northern Pacific U36B
8659 Virginian Rectifier
8762 Great Northern EP5
8558 Milwaukee Road EP5
8654/8655 Boston & Maine GP9
8353 Grand Trunk Western GP7
Hoping to snag a 783 or 784 Hudson at some point.
Some of the post-war Lionels are still very affordable, like their non-prototypical 2-6-4's and 2-6-2's. Unless they're in "brand-new and in the box" condition you can find them at train shows for $100 and sometimes less, their commonality helps keep the prices down. Also, they're easily repaired once you know how to do it.
Exhibitors at shows trying to get top dollar for them now just haven't gotten the word yet that the 1990's are over.
That is a great list!
I LOVE ILLINOIS CENTRAL!!!
The next train you should get is the nickel plate road 765
Great suggestion!
☺️☺️☺️ Great video
Thank you!