American Made ?????

toptrain1

Well-Known Member
Back to made in the USA!

Being a kinda of oldtimer at 62, looking at my locomotives and cars I still see many US made things. As a mater of fact most are! Bowser, Penn-Line, Gilbert, Revell, Mantua, Varney, John English - (HObbyline), Lionel, Front Range, Pennsylvania Scale Models, Athearn, Hobbytown, Walters, Stewart, and Roundhouse. I'm sure I forgot a few and most really haven't gone. Most were made so well you can go to train shows and still find them. Others are still being manufactured even now. Some of these locomotives and cars have been used for 50 or 60 years. Yes thing have worn out and been replaced, but they keep on going. If you want to buy something made in the USA just look for it. You will find it. And with the prices of this made in China stuff so high, you may even save some money. P>S> If you look at my photo it is a Gilbert PRR 0-6-0 B6. I have seven of them all made in the late 50's and early 60's and they all run.
Franko toptrain1
 

toptrain1

Well-Known Member
American made !

Train Miniature products, La Masa, Califorina. Gone but deffenitaly not forgotten. Also very attianable. Here are a few more of the rail cars that were made by TM. Also Walters has been reproducing the TM car line so new boxed cars are out their. At some recient train shows I have picked up additional cars. Don't forget Ebay and other train auction and group sites.
 

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Russ Bellinis

Active Member
I found out at the hobby shop recently that Athearn still offers blue box locomotives. It is only the old stuff that was in production when Irv was alive, because the newer dies were made in China, and the dies are all over there for those locomotives. The hobby shop doe not stock those locomotives because most people prefer r-t-r, but they can get them from Athearn on a special order basis with their weekly Horizon order.
 

doctorwayne

Active Member
Nice to see another fan of the Train Miniature cars. :-D

This car is the same as the one in your first photo:
2007-01-10_5281.jpg


As is this one:
fresh_foe-toes_0081.jpg


This one is like the second car that you show:
100_55041.JPG


While this one is made from the type of car shown in your third photo:
2007-01-10_2931.jpg


And this is similar to those shown in your last two pictures:
fresh_foe-toes_009.jpg


I just picked up a few more older TM cars, including four of these, unbuilt and still in their original plastic boxes, for $2.98 each. They'll need a bit of modification to make them look like this one, though. ;):-D
fresh_foe-toes_011.jpg


Wayne
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Top Train, you mentioned Walthers reproducing Train Miniatures cars. The catalog doesn't list Train Miniatures. What name are they producing them under now? I looked in my Walthers catalog and it doesn't mention any kits under the Gold Line, they are all r-t-r with dimples cast into the car body to drill for the included metal grab irons.
 

doctorwayne

Active Member
Many of the former TM cars are available r-t-r under Walthers Trainline name, while only the TM version of Pennsy's X-29 is available in their Gold Line.

Wayne
 
tea

Logicman, you mean to tell me tea is IMPORTED? Ithought everyone just grew it in their garden, and I just couldn't find the seeds. Oh, Woe, that I have labored all this long time under these false illusions, or delusions, or whatever they are. Oh please, please, tell me it isn't so!!:eek::eek:

Lynn:rolleyes:
 

logicman

Greybeard
Logicman, you mean to tell me tea is IMPORTED? Ithought everyone just grew it in their garden, and I just couldn't find the seeds. Oh, Woe, that I have labored all this long time under these false illusions, or delusions, or whatever they are. Oh please, please, tell me it isn't so!!:eek::eek:

Lynn:rolleyes:
ROFLMAO
sign1
 
If you want good detail, the Intermountain kits, including diesel shells, are made 100% in Colorado. The RTR rolling stock and diesels are made in Colorado and assembled in China, even though the box says "Made in China" Thier steam engines are 100% Chinese. :thumb:

Dick
Texas Chief
 

toptrain1

Well-Known Member
Top Train, you mentioned Walthers reproducing Train Miniatures cars. The catalog doesn't list Train Miniatures. What name are they producing them under now? I looked in my Walthers catalog and it doesn't mention any kits under the Gold Line, they are all r-t-r with dimples cast into the car body to drill for the included metal grab irons.
Walters is using their own name. They list the cars as 40' box car wood ends, 40' refrigerator car, 40' DS wood reefer w/wood ends, 40' steel box car, 40' DS wood box car w/dreadnaught ends, and others. When you hold it in your hands you can tell. the only difference is TM used black plactic in it's floors. Walters uses tan plastic and it has a coupler box with a removable cover. If you want I'll put some photos on. toptrain
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Thanks, Top Train. I was hoping to find some kits listed in the Walther's catalog, but apparently they are making the ex-Train Miniatures as r-t-r only with the exception of needing to drill it to add grab irons.
 

toptrain1

Well-Known Member
re TM

The walters ( X TM )cars I have were all kits. Walters doesn't make the white boxed cars anymore. Tho you can find them. toptrain
 

tomustang

Has Entered.
:roll1:

Manufacturing in China requires something very, very expensive...trans-pacific shipping.
According to an article I've read about plastics, A CEO in china compared shipping from China to US price is like shipping from US East coast to US West coast
 

GeorgeHO

Member
I read someplace (probably Business Week or a newsweek or a railroad magazine) that it cost approximately $20.00 to ship an intermodal container from China to the east coast of the US. That keeps the dollar stores in business.
 

rhtastro

Member
None of my Marklin stock was made in the USA. Most was made in Germany with some track from Hungary. The very latest rolling stock is from China. All of the locos and most of the electronics are from Germany or Hungary. The quality seems comparable no matter the country of manufacture. But the buyers must demand good quality and the manufacturers must inspect the plants and shipments and use adequate quality control. Marklin was sold to a British group a couple of years ago and so far the quality has been maintained. I've heard that if the US dollar keeps declining they'll begin production over here in the future, although I doubt that will happen. Their base and main market is still in Europe. Over the years they put out many American models such as Big Boys, Mikados, PA's, F7's, and much of the rolling stock for them, both passenger and freight. They were not cheap but all were very well done and many have increased in value over the years. However, I've noticed lately there has been a shift away from this market and more towards their European base. They recently had a big sale of American models and I really loaded up but now they have depleted that stock and it's getting hard to find and even more expensive. But the detail and reliability, well, it's hard to beat. It just keeps going and going. bob:wave:
 

Triplex

Active Member
Over the years they put out many American models such as Big Boys, Mikados, PA's, F7's, and much of the rolling stock for them, both passenger and freight. They were not cheap but all were very well done and many have increased in value over the years. However, I've noticed lately there has been a shift away from this market and more towards their European base.
Maybe, but remember that most Marklin US-proto equipment is sold to Europeans... isn't it?

That reminds me - I've heard that western US prototypes sell better than eastern US on the international market, and that's why Kato favors western roads.
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Maybe, but remember that most Marklin US-proto equipment is sold to Europeans... isn't it?

That reminds me - I've heard that western US prototypes sell better than eastern US on the international market, and that's why Kato favors western roads.

I've heard that Kato is a father/son company. The father does not like American prototype at all, but the son does. The father/founder of the company lets his son "have the factory" on a limited basis to do a production run, then he takes it back to do more Japanese prototypes. I understand that the son is a U.P. fan, so virtually everything he makes is based on U.P. prototype, and is then decorated for whatever other railroads had the same prototype locomotives.
 

Fluesheet

Member
None of my Marklin stock was made in the USA. Most was made in Germany with some track from Hungary. The very latest rolling stock is from China. All of the locos and most of the electronics are from Germany or Hungary. The quality seems comparable no matter the country of manufacture.

I had an interesting conversation with a Marklin representative at the Detroit NMRA show this past year. Regarding production, Marklin at one point had some manufacturing going on in China, but would send the raw plastic they wanted the factory to use. Unfortunately, this high-grade plastic was finding it's way to the black market and the factory would substitute cheaper plastics - a serious QA issue in Marklin's view (never mind the theft). I'd gotten the impression that that ended the Chinese experiment. Hungary is now their low cost "outsourced" location - unionization is much less pervasive - for assembly and lower skill jobs. Higher skill manufacturing is still done in Germany.

Maybe, but remember that most Marklin US-proto equipment is sold to Europeans... isn't it?

This same gentleman told me that many older German adults grew up reading an author that wrote adventure stories about the American West. He said to this day, Germans that come to visit the U.S. operation will ask where the Indians are! He also mentioned that many American-prototype model railroads built in Germany have a "southwest" scenic feel, including Teepees. So, it would surprise me if your comment is correct, Triplex.

Something else is that Marklin is three rail AC, so American protoypes under that brand are more likely to end up in Europe. Trix, the two rail DC division of Marklin probably does a greater American share of the same prototypes (excepting for the high cost!).

As far as quality is concerned, I've been quite impressed with the Trix locomotives I picked up (when they were on firesale).
 
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