As a veteran hobbyist, a product group which I believe is greatly underappreciated by many is the equipment produced under the Lionel banner by MPC during the 1970's. In fact, whenever MPC is mentioned, one will often hear some pretty derisive comments. That said, I believe such opinions may be the result of a lack of understanding as to how much of an impact MPC production had on the three rail O gauge segment of the hobby.

Three rail O gauge was in tough shape entering the 1970's. With the exception of several premier pieces such as the Train Master, F3, GG1, GP7/9 and a few of the better steam locomotives, Lionel's production during the 1960's was dominated by lower tier items such as "Scout" type equipment and "bare bones" FA's and NW2's whose mechanical inadequacies were rivaled only by their unappealingly simplified paint schemes. Second generation low nose diesels from EMD and GE had become the new face of American railroading and Lionel chose not to stay current. At the same time, companies such as Athearn and AHM were offering a much wider variety of reasonably accurate models in HO making this option very attractive. I know a lot of people like to think there were some great socio-economic and cultural forces which led to the demise of Lionel but I have never thought it was that complicated. A lot of folks still wanted to model railroad but they looked to other mediums such as HO to fulfill their wishes. Heck, my father and I were devoted three rail O gauge fans but the subject of switching to another scale was discussed even between ourselves on a number of occasions. In fact, a number of my friends already had HO and I started purchasing my own HO equipment to run on their railroads.

Enter MPC and the wonderfully dedicated group of folks who worked long and hard to make their endeavor a success. Whereas the Lionel product line had grown very stale during the 60's, new life was breathed into the range of available merchandise. New models were developed - I finally got my low nose hood units in the form of the U36B and GP20. A new three axle Flexicoil truck was developed which led to production of the SD9, SD18 and U36C among others. Old favorites were not neglected as reicarnations of the Train Master, F3, GG1, RDC and a number of 600 and 700 series steam locomotives worthy of their postwar predecessors were introduced. Perhaps the most notable development during the MPC era was the quality of decoration of motive power and rolling stock. It was truly exquisite. As opposed to the fuzzy interfaces so prevalent on items dating from the postwar era, MPC's paint schemes featured vibrant colors with well defined edges.

While many, myself included, believe the operating characteristics of some MPC motive power could be better, I have discovered the peformance of routine maintenance will keep these locomotives operating reliably for a long time. The integrated diesel power truck with traction tires wrapped around wheels which may or may not be true can be somewhat problematic. Still, with some work, these units, particularly when run in multiple like the real thing, are sufficient to do the job. At one time, my railroad's roster featured much MPC equipment. Over time, most of it has been used in deals to further expand my selection of locomotives and rolling stock. The Seaboard Coast Line and Bangor & Aroostook Bicentennial units along with the Amtrak RDC set still remain a part of my permanent collection at this time.

Over the years, there were a number of MPC items in particular which I thought were extrememly well executed. Some which come to mind are the New Haven EF4 rectifier, the Ontario Northland SD18's and the Lehigh Valley Cornell Red GP9. The various steam powered passenger sets such as the Blue Comet, Southern Crescent and Alton Limited were wonderful as well. What were some of your favorites?

In summary, MPC products were far from perfect but they were very instrumental in keeping alive three rail O gauge as we entered the 1970's and should be recognized as such. Had it not been for MPC, perhaps none of us would be enjoying the wonderful variety of contemporary O gauge production with which we have been blessed. I for one would have been in HO and/or N scale going on almost forty years by this time.

Thanks for reading. What are some of your MPC memories?

Bob

Here! Here!

My first Lionel catalog was 1974. I HAD TO HAVE those PRR Baby Madison cars! Today, I do. What fantastic tooling Lionel/MPC made! Even today their attention to detail is stunning.

The 5700 Series cars are simply fantastic! Love 'em!

And let's not forget the terrific building kits. With some paint andd careful assembly, they are heads and shoulders above the cheesy "pre-assembled for idiots" buildings marketed today by Lionel, Bachman, and MTH.

Jon

I agree Bob. Many of us had dismissed 3 rail O gauge in the late 60's only to be drawn back in the late 70's. For me, it was a stop at a hobby shop with one of my coworkers who was looking for little trees for his kids school project. And there it was, the Lionel/MPC Empire State Express Freight Set with a heavy diecast Hudson steam locomotive. That Saturday I took a ride down to Madison Hardware and bought that set, and the deed was done.

With the standard being postwar Lionel, your right, these trains did not disappoint. In fact, soon the variety being offered was overwhelming. I bought many steam locomotives and sets, which I still have and run (admittedly without the crude steam sounds and terrible whistle)

But the quality, variety and "collectibility" of the Lionel/MPC era can not be denied as key factors in the Lionel boom of the 80's and 90's, and the survival, let alone popularity, of 3 rail O gauge today.

Good to see someone else supporting the MPC/Fundimensions era!

By the 1960's, the original Lionel Corporation's train offerings were a shadow of what had come before. Many will say what they will about the conglomerate General Mills' buyout of Lionel, but the MPC division had a real interest in bringing the Lionel brand back up to par. Their biggest challenges were budgets and the state Lionel had left their tooling in. General Mills didn't allocate a lot of money in Lionel's direction in the beginning until MPC could prove the brand could be "turned around." So, while they made do by selling off a lot of leftover pre-1970 inventory, they had to start small and work their way toward where they wanted to take the company. Brand-new products like the U36B and the "Baby Madisons" were the showpieces for where MPC/Fundimensions-owned Lionel wanted to go. Even the early analog electronic steam sound systems might be primitive by today's standards, but they were advanced in their day, and certainly paved the way for digital RailSounds that we expect today.

I have a fair-size collection of MPC/Fundimensions Lionel, with some beautiful examples of what could be done in the 70's and 80's -- the Blue Comet set, the Santa Fe Hudson, Union Pacific, Great Northern and Pennsy turbine FARR sets, Pennsy and NYC F3's, D&H U36C's, the re-issued N&W J and the SP Daylight, even the nearly-forgotten Erie and D&H A-B Alco FA's. Given proper maintenance, they are fine preformers just like their postwar ancestors, and painting and lettering on them is still high-quality by today's standards. (The early FA's, in particular the D&H's, were painted well, but lacked some detail. A bit of extra detail and paint work can make them really shine. Mine have their frames, truck sideframes and pilot painted silver, plus the proper yellow striping on the headlight grille and PA-style chrome over the windshields, all done by hand.) My Dad and I collected them in the 80's and operated them on a fair-sized layout for years. Now I'm slowly going through everything, re-lubricating the locomotives and getting them running on my Carpet Central until I can build a full-size layout to let them really run again.

I would have to say that some of the lower-priced starter sets under MPC did continue to suffer the same shortcomings that came on in the 1960's. But low-end sets today are still getting the same sorts of complaints even with improvements in quality. The problem, I believe, is that it's hard for one train builder to cover the entire cost spectrum effectively without taking some grief for not including the high-end features across the entire line. It's just not economically possible.

MPc/Fundimensions trains may not have the postwar nostalgia or the amazing features available in the current offerings, but they are satisfying for operating and not outrageously expensive to collect today. They bridge the gap between the postwar "toy train" look and more realistic models. Neither fish nor fowl, in a way, but really very satisfying on their own merits.

-Eric

I think when most people think MPC, they remember the begining of plastic truck sides on diesels and plastic steamers. I know it didn't start with mpc but I think this is what comes to mind when mpc is mentioned.

The MPC era was my start in 3 rail. Being 5 years old and recieving a 1973 Walbash Cannonball set. I still have that set to this day. That little plastic Santa Fe 2-4-0 #8300 survived numerous falls and crashes but still runs like it did in 1973. So I'm thankful to General Mills for continuing with the Lionel name and producing a wide variety of roadnames in the 9700 series of boxcars. There are still many pieces from that era that I need for my collection.

Bob - Thanks for starting this thread. It really is giving MPC its due. I will be posting it on the FasTrack and Super O Yahoo groups for perspective of the revitalization of our hobby. If MPC hadn't come along who knows where we would be today with our 3-rail trains?

I favor MPC!

One of my best running engines is an MPC-era Liberty Special F-3 that I received for Christmas when I was a kid. I never got the entire set, just the engine.

Of course, I only got that because the previous year Santa brought me a YardMaster set, with a DT&I NW-2 that was easily the worst, most mechanically unreliable engine I've ever owned. I think he owed me one.

quote:

Originally posted by Capt Steve:
One of my best running engines is an MPC-era Liberty Special F-3 that I received for Christmas when I was a kid. I never got the entire set, just the engine.

The "Liberty Special" was an Alco FA. Maybe your F-3 is a "Preamble Express"? Both run well, see the recent posts on the 8020 for my opinions on the MPC Alcos. I Like 'em!

quote:

Originally posted by Capt Steve:

Of course, I only got that because the previous year Santa brought me a YardMaster set, with a DT&I NW-2 that was easily the worst, most mechanically unreliable engine I've ever owned. I think he owed me one.

My experiences with the 8111 DT&I are the opposite. I put a 3 position E-unit in it in 1971 and changed the couplers to operating ones from the postwar parts bins and it has been a perfect runner. It's built much better and runs much better than my 634 switcher from 1963.

Born in 1959, I knew about and wanted O gauge, but ended up with HO. Frankly, Lionel O was hard to find in the mid- and late-1960's. Marx was around, and I remember Saturday morning commercials for the "Big Rail Work Train". Man, I wanted one of those!

Anyway, when I was fourteen and had a little money of my own, I saw Lionel MPC at Toys'R Us. I started with the bottom-of-the-line Cannonball set with plastic 2-4-0 featuring hand reverse. The most disappointing thing about it was the tiny rollerskate pilot wheels. The picture on the boxtop showed the engine with the big spoked truck wheels used on Generals and 2-4-2 trailing trucks. I got three more Lionel sets that year, and I still have the Milwaukee Special. I remember TRU had the Milw. set contents wired to a pegboard suspended over the counter. Mmmm, metal steamer with cool passenger cars! I wonder how many times I just went to the store to gawk at that pegboard display?

quote:

Bob - Thanks for starting this thread. It really is giving MPC its due

I'm surprised Lionel MPC era fans & collectors have not yet interacted to promote that short but important 15 year era in the Lionel timeline...
A MPC era collector group meeting at York could be a good way to begin.
TCA leadership should be the ones thinking about stuff like this...
Joe

The MPC era produced my first new trains and a lot of great Christmas memories. My first new train was the Empire State Express Freight Set that my father gave us for Christmas. I can still remember coming down the stairs and running through the living room to where our tree and layout were set up to find a second loop of track and the ESE set ready to roll (formerly only had one loop with my prewar set running). The following Christmas brought us the Southern Crescent set, and the next year brought the Blue Comet (now in my brother's possession). The following year, my brother got the General set (and boy was I jealous - I ended up picking up a set on eBay for myself when I got back into trains - they were my first eBay train purchases). For many years after, our Christmas trees had four independent loops of trains powered by one postwar ZW, and the layout was filled with Plasticville buildings and a lot of other little scenic accessories. Those were great times. Some day, I have to get myself a Blue Comet set and re-create some of those memories (although I will pass on the tinplate style track).

Andy

I love MPC. I have been collecting it for years, along with the postwar. I have just about a complete collection of the Collector Line Items, Engines, Sets, cars, etc. It has been over looked in recent years...Nothing beats the great decoration and an E unit. Some of my MPC items run better then my newer high end Lionel Stuff. I have been studying MPC production for years now and pretty much know the ins and outs, variations, operating characteristics etc. I am starting to see the prices rise in some items. The prices dropped dramatically with the Collector Line Steamers from the MPC era,no more 1200.00 Daylight Gs-4's and 1000.00 Hudsons, but now, prices are pretty steady in the steamer category,anywhere from 150.00 to 400.00. Diesel Engines, mint in the box can be bought for under 100.00 in most cases, and you can still find sealed sets. If taken care of properly, the trains will run forever. Many of them used left over parts from the old Lionel. Although I still collect Postwar, the new Lionel PWC and Conventional Classics and a few of the new Lionel high price items, MPC is still my all time fav..
As for a group or club, I am already working on it...
If you ever have questions about MPC, feel free to contact me...

Mark

MPC is the reason I am in this hobby. I was seven years old when my father presented me with a cab# 8576 Penn Central GP7. I still have this engine and it still runs great. It has so many miles on it that grooves are worn into the center of the pick up rollers! It sure brings back memories when I see it rolling down the track with my black Penn Central matching caboose.

While I too was a fan of the mpc era,

quote:

My first Lionel catalog was 1974. I HAD TO HAVE those PRR Baby Madison cars! Today, I do. What fantastic tooling Lionel/MPC made! Even today their attention to detail is stunning.

I agree with this. My first Cat was the 1975 mini with that huge MPC layout on the front cover. My first purchased catalog was the 1979.

quote:

While many, myself included, believe the operating characteristics of some MPC motive power could be better, I have discovered the peformance of routine maintenance will keep these locomotives operating reliably for a long time. The integrated diesel power truck with traction tires wrapped around wheels which may or may not be true can be somewhat problematic.

this really is the least of your problems. the Big issue for me was those stinkin plastic gears on the trucks that wore out over time on the metal pinion. To add insult to injury, Lionel peened over the die cast truck side frame so acess was a real BEAR to say the least! I was glad when Williams came along with their metal gears and better acess to their drivetrain [decorations could have been better but nothing a can of paint and some decals couldn't fix]. I also was sold on their minimal maintenance of the can motors.... 60 hr to replace those stiking brushes... Good riddens Pulmor!

Don't forget John Brady...He listened to the collectors & operators.

quote:

My first Lionel catalog was 1974. I HAD TO HAVE those PRR Baby Madison cars! Today, I do. What fantastic tooling Lionel/MPC made! Even today their attention to detail is stunning.

I agree with this. My first Cat was the 1975 mini with that huge MPC layout on the front cover. My first purchased catalog was the 1979.


I think Lionel today should take note of the 1973 cover. It was the best ever...
What could be better...promoting folks interacting with trains...
Todays Lionel Vision ads remind me of a Grainger B to B catalog cover..Terrible
When I see a ad for a suit, when is it ever thrown on a table?
Its always on a model representing a generation they'd like to attract..
In 1973, General Mills/MPC had it right..
Joe

I was back in with the Alton..after an 18 year sentence with HO.


rat

Please don't tell everyone or the prices might go up! Many of my favorites are from the MPC era.
Ed

My first MPC set was the 1972 Service Station Set. It wasa great set for the day and the price ($75.00). I loved the colorful rolling stock. The only MPC is still have are Standard O cars. Trains were very affordable for me in those years. I traded my MPC sets and rolling stock away as I went to Standard O .

I believe it was in 1972 or 1973, I had just gotten out of the Navy stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. I found a job and wanted to stay in the islands for a few years. I was wondering around Ala Moana shopping center (mall) and went into Sears. It was around November and in their holiday toy department I saw this Lionel catalog hanging on a chain. No trains, no track....just this one catalog. I didn't think Lionel was making trains any more.

I got a sales manager and he said they could get me anything in the catalog. So I remember ordering a powered and dummy Santa Fe GP-7 set and a bunch of cars and track, etc. It took 3 months to get the stuff in, but this was the re-birth of O gauge railroading for me.

Tex

Born in 1948, I grew up with a small amount of fine postwar Lionel. I traded it all in in the 1960s for HO and then sold that off, too.
When I got back into trains in the early 1980s, I went for more HO, built a layout and was unhappy with it from the start (too many derailments!).

At a train show in the Cleveland area (St. Anthony's in Parma) I discovered that Lionel was still in business and began (slowly at first) buying new MPC items. Then I began adding postwar items to my stable. Back then, you could get MPC freight cars for way under $10 (think about that vs. prices today). Yes, they had plastic trucks but so did the later postwar cars; they ran fine anyway.

I eventually sold off most of my MPC to buy newer Lionel offerings, but I retained several items including the Great Northern FARR set. In fact, I recently purchased the Coke Set from the 1970s and it ran like a champ right out of the box (and looks great on display, too!).

Thank goodness MPC took up the challenge in 1970, and kudos to the people of that era for doing such a fine job resurrecting the line under what had to be difficult circumstances.

For a great chronicle of their efforts, try to find TM Books & Video's book on the subject (long out-of-print) but popping up now and then on ebay or at train shows. It really tells the early MPC/Fundimensions story well.

MPC is OK by me. The first aluminum passenger car set I purchased was the Burlington F3 AA set (8054-8055) looks great on the main line. The only problems I have had with the power units were the E-units. Replaced with new electric E-Units. No problems since.

In my opinion MPC saved Lionel for Mr. Richard Kuhn. The rest is history.

Many thanks,

Billy C

This thread strikes a cord. I got back into the hobby in 1973, smack in the middle of the MPC rebirth of Lionel. I have recently picked up a few MPC items that I had seen back then but never purchased, such as the NP Service Station set, the Rock Island General style 4-4-0 (with the chromed boiler) and the BAR Bicentennial engine and caboose set. I still have items such as the Gold Chessie GP, the tri-color Chessie GP, the Coke set, the full Seaboard/13 reefer/caboose Bicentennial set and the Lifesavers tank car. I know that the detail and electronics of the modern items are superior to the MPC era, but there is a certain appeal to these items. They are fairly affordable, fairly plentiful, and and interesting niche of the hobby.

Once read this in a book, "Perhaps MPC's largest legacy was keeping Lionel alive and producing the plastic kits seen on so many layouts today". I couldn't say it better. As for the catalogs, they were the best Lionel ever made

MPC's Sound of Steam started us on the way to more noise and their Fast Angle wheels gave us much longer trains. There were many things they wanted to do but they had money restrictions so a lot of ideas and projects were rejected.

Just the other day watching that Lionel documentory on the History Channel, one thing stuck out, In 1952 Lionel produced 600,000 engines and sets.
Many of those were made again and again year after year in lesser but still huge quantities. MPC made just about everything just once and in far smaller amounts.
Not taking away from PW era collectors, but trying to find some of those early MPC items today in mint condition would be seriously difficult.
Far more difficult then finding just about everything PW today..
Joe

The first set I bought with my own money.

There's something magical about those set boxes....

Kinda makes me want to mount them around my layout as decoration.

quote:

Originally posted by prrhorseshoecurve:
My first Cat was the 1975 mini with that huge MPC layout on the front cover.

I think you have the wrong year. The only mini (that I know of) was 1981, and I don't remember there being a huge layout on any of them...

My best memories of the MPC era was going over to Eddie G's little train shop in Portland ME. It was great to see some new Lionel trains being made again back in the mid 70's. I still have most of the trains I bought from Eddie, My favorites are the Blue Comet set and the SP FM Trainmaster. They are not the best runners but they are nice to display. The Comet 4-6-4 sounds like a coffee grinder going down the tracks, but its on my layout now.

By the way Eddie you are still a man that can get right to the point as we can see by the length of you posts!

Wow! I didn't know that there was all this sentiment for the MPC era! I'm impressed. When I went back into 3-rail "0" gauge, I,too, had only the option of picking up some MPC stuff. Originally I had Marx trains from about 1938 and 1939, and then I fell heir to some Lionel and A.F. trains from a cousin that had passed away. But, like I always say, I then fell in with the wrong crowd and got introduced to HO gauge. (No Ho-Ho-Ho, here.) When I finally discovered that I couldn't see the little stuff very well anymore, and my big fingers were to clumsy to work on those little trains, I had a daughter that I wanted to have the memory of trains so I bought a used Lionel in about 1977. Sold off all the HO stuff. That was followed with MPC, and I had a pile of it, eventually building a layout using Gargraves and running late model trains on it.

In the last 15 years, however, I have become spoiled by the new Lionel; the audacious upstart, MTH; the always scale Weaver and 3rd Rail, and the recent entrant with great detailing, Atlas. So I sold off most of my MPC stuff, some at significant losses, and concentrated on the new stuff. You know, I kind of miss the MPC era, as well as the Richard Kughn era, and I realize that there would not be this hobby, as we know it today, if it had not been for both of those owners of Lionel.

Lest we forget!

Paul Fischer

Scott,

Sometime in the early 80's I picked up the Broadway Ltd. Set at a train show and I still have it in the same box still sealed. Thinking back, those were really fun times!

The catalog that sticks out in my mind was the 1981 "little" catalog that had The Norfolk and Western J and cars, The Great Northern FARR#3 (Northern 4-8-4), The Green Pennsy GG1, The Rock Island General......I had to get it all!!!

quote:

The catalog that sticks out in my mind was the 1981 "little" catalog that had The Norfolk and Western J and cars, The Great Northern FARR#3 (Northern 4-8-4), The Green Pennsy GG1, The Rock Island General......I had to get it all!!!

My favorites were the fall collector catlogs with 2 or 3 "limited issue" teasers. 2 powered engines but only 1 dummy unit..or those elusive add on passenger cars.. 2 per dealer...
Those were good times cause it made everyone nuts! LOL
Joe

quote:

Originally posted by NYC Fan:
The catalog that sticks out in my mind was the 1981 "little" catalog that had The Norfolk and Western J and cars, The Great Northern FARR#3 (Northern 4-8-4), The Green Pennsy GG1, The Rock Island General......I had to get it all!!!

What was Lionel's strategy with that "little" catalog? Was there a paper shortage that year? Sure there was a whole bunch of great new stuff in it, but if the font got any smaller you would have needed a magnifying glass to read it!

I grew up in the MPC era with many of those trains being my first. I still have all my trains from when I was a kid and run those around the Xmas tree each winter. I especially cherish my Blue Comet set that my dad bought me many years ago.

I have Fifty MPC engines and over three hundred freight and passenger cars. What I enjoy about them, is you can easily put 50-70 cars behind a good postwar steamer and they put just enough load to make the smoke unit work like it was suppose to. Even with that many cars, you still could do some 90 MPH run bys. I hope everyone that has MPC enjoys it as much as I have. I bought my first engine in 1971 I.C. 8030 Gp 9. and the rest is history.

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Warburton:
Thank goodness MPC took up the challenge in 1970, and kudos to the people of that era for doing such a fine job resurrecting the line under what had to be difficult circumstances.

Absolutely!

Nicky,

Yeah, I almost forgot.....I bought the Alton Ltd. too!

My older brother's Cannonball set from the early 70's was my introduction to toy trains, and I'll forever be grateful! Great MPC Memories!
Greg

This thread has me real curious. What time periods during the MPC era are the best? I thought that the majority of products had plastic gears and diesel units with one motor and no horn.

Thanks,

Sunrise

quote:

Originally posted by NickyBigBoy:
There's something magical about those set boxes....

Kinda makes me want to mount them around my layout as decoration.

There really is something magical about them. I especially like the boxed Limited sets (prior to the SD-40 sets). I would imagine a lucky kid being in heaven when he opened one of those sets, and found the cellophane-sealed set of those colorful cars and engines. These were sets like the Milwaukee Limited, Quaker City Limited, Southern Pacific Limited, Royal Limited, Mid-Atlantic Limited, and Great Lakes Limited. The color of the individual car and engine boxes in these limited sets was a gold/yellow, and all the cars were equipped with diecast metal sprung trucks.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: breezinup,

I seem to remember that by 1981, the plastic or nylon gears were gone. The example I recall was that a red GG1 was issued in the late 70's with nylon gears and the green GG1 from 1981 had metal gears.

quote:

Originally posted by Sunrise Special:
This thread has me real curious. What time periods during the MPC era are the best? I thought that the majority of products had plastic gears and diesel units with one motor and no horn.

Thanks,

Sunrise

The 70's had a VERY slow start, with mostly plastic crap (M-P-C haha) trains and nothing but manual plastic accessories. In the late 70s and start of the 80s, things really picked up. Those were the years of the SP Daylight, the re-introduction of the 773 style hudson, and all the limited edition sets.

Folks,

Run 240, the January issue of O Gauge Railroading, will have coverage in Collector's Gallery of one of the best looking freight sets released during the MPC Era, The Royal Limited Set of 1980.

I agree with you about interest in, and affection for, the MPC offerings of the late 1970s and 1980s. Matter of fact, it would help if you gave us more input on what MPC sets we should feature in upcoming editions of Collector's Gallery. Can't guarantee anything, but you never know.

I got involved in the hobby during the MPC Era, so I have my own favorites, but I would like to hear more about your favorites and why they were important to you. The thread so far has been really valuable reading for me.

By the way, we covered three iconic MPC steam sets; the Southern Crescent, the Blue Comet and the Alton Limited in Run 233, the January issue and Run 234, the February/March edition of OGR.

Ed Boyle

Bob, great post. I remember a friend of ours getting one of the first FM's rereleased by MPC. All of us were invited over to see him open the box that came in the morning mail. It was beautiful but when he pull it out of the box, one of the trucks fell off. We fixed it with ease. It was an exciting time. NEW LIONEL. There were no other options then. I found an old price list from Owen Upp Railroader's Supply Co. Hope you can read some of the prices. Example: GP-9....$26.00,
F-3...$40, Die-cast Hudson....$52.50, All box cars series...$5.00, Standard "O" rolling stock....$6.00, The highest priced complete set was the Golden State Express for $69.00. This was dated Sept 15, 1973. Enjoy. Don

Ed, I was posting when you did and just saw yours. I have lots of paper from the 70's if you need any more info. Don

quote:

Originally posted by scale rail:
Bob, great post. I remember a friend of ours getting one of the first FM's rereleased by MPC. All of us were invited over to see him open the box that came in the morning mail. It was beautiful but when he pull it out of the box, one of the trucks fell off. We fixed it with ease. It was an exciting time. NEW LIONEL. There were no other options then. I found an old price list from Owen Upp Railroader's Supply Co. Hope you can read some of the prices. Example: GP-9....$26.00,
F-3...$40, Die-cast Hudson....$52.50, All box cars series...$5.00, Standard "O" rolling stock....$6.00, The highest priced complete set was the Golden State Express for $69.00. This was dated Sept 15, 1973. Enjoy. Don

Hmmm... Wonder if that list might be worth something? One time I saw an MPC dealer clock sell for $700 on Ebay. People must be into old dealer items...

1975 Mini catalog:



The TM book Lionel A collectors Guide and History Vol 4 1970-1980 has a fascinating account into the rebirth of Lionel. One item mentioned, was how the new management contacted and recruited some of the old timers at Lionel, to get a feel as to when quality declined during the postwar era. The consensus was between the 1955 to 1959 era. Therefore MPC decided to avoid any items made after 1959. A quote from the book "The Lionel we brought out in 1970 was not the same Lionel that was produced in 1969, when quality had deteriorated".