"Fake-a-traction" was the term coined for the rubber band wheels. Postwar collectors coined the term " Modern Plastic Crap" which like you say really isn't. Really, the last big rash of newly tooled products that will work on 027 track and looks right for the traditional operator was done by MPC. MPC did a lot of new tooling and many products introduced by MPC are still being made today. the Lionel people at MPC were far more forward thinking than many give credit for. There's value there that some of today's current products haven't lived up to. I have plastic geared MPC locos that are still running fine after 35 years. MPC rocks! It looks nice, is affordable, American made (mostly), easily repaired and improved, parts are readily available along with service, and with proper care, will run and operate as well as anything. The last affordable Lionel Conrail starter set was in 1993 and the last CSX one was in 1991. Today's Lionel has yet to ever do a starter set in Norfolk Southern or BNSF, two of the biggest railroads in the nation. And that happened at Lionel at the same time it was happening on the real rails. When the formation Conrail was announced, Lionel quickly released products that reflected the lines going into Conrail, as well as making new Conrail products. MPC was quick to make products that reflected current railroading. MPC had good graphics and gave homage to many rail lines ignored in the past and still ignored today by Lionel. The only other company that comes close is MTH. The roadname selection for Lionel under MPC is unequalled by either postwar Lionel or Lionel today. Though to give credit where it is due, MTH also did aimned products at this market under the early Railking banner. In response to the MPC is crap school of thought, under the subtitle of "bang for the buck" it would be far more justified to call many of today's advanced scale trains "crap, junk and garbage." We've all seen the countless threads how many of these new high end products fail to work straight out of the box, or how details are easily broken off, and how replacemernt parts are not available. And I'd prefer an AAR or Timken truck to the Symington that MPC used, but when I'm running trains, I don't notice it all that much. And no, I don't like the plastic truck rivets MPC used on rolling stock, but those are a breeze to replace. YES, plastic was more dominant on MPC trains - but it was becomming more dominant in all manufactured products as that was the trend.Īs mentioned above, MPC locos are actually pretty decent for the dollar and fairly easy to fix or improve or even modify. BUT I have always disliked the broad swath criticism that the MPC stuff was all plastic crap. The debate over the MPC period will probably go on for a while. The relatively common stuff costs about what quality HO costs. It's all over the place and the prices are attractive for much of it. I like the fact collectors hoarded a sea of MPC and kept it in near mint or mint condition. Lionel Fastrack really does a nice job complimenting MPC. Some of the diesel schemes such as CNW, BN, and FEC are really sharp too. I think if you lubricate them properly and are careful not to bog them down to where the wheels hop, the nylon gears and rubber band wheels should last. The better engines such as geeps, Uboats, and SD's run decent. I turn 50 this year and I think nostalgia has some to do with my recent fling. MPC was made when I was in grade and high school. I vividly remember the Johnny Cash commercials and had the 1971 poster catalog hanging on my bedroom wall. Local train stores carried MPC and I was awed by it. But, I couldn't afford it and settled for Athearn blue box HO (which is great stuff too). I was into MPC briefly in the early eighties when I first got into the hobby. I bought it, ran it, fell in love, and it sent me off on a buying spree. I got MPC fever a month ago for some reason when a CBQ SD-28 at a local show screamed at me from across the hall. The Pennsy baby madisons are sharp and so are the Milw Road cars. 634's are easy to fake up by combining a postwar 634 shell with an 8010 chassis and trim. According to the TM book, 634's are transition switchers where MPC used up remaining 634 postwar shells.
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