Menards - Thumbs up or thumbs down?

[Firelock76]

Remember the old saying "You get what you pay for?"  For $20 you can't reasonably expect high-end quality.  You will get something perfectly serviceable if you're willing to compromise a bit. 

I'm not crazy about the blister packaging either but it gets the job done and once the car's out of it the packaging goes into the recycle bin anyway. I don't bother saving the boxes from current production articles.  I do make exceptions in some cases though.

[rtraincollector]

I'll put it this way, If you want exact scale and/or are a rivet counter don't even look. If your a runner and looking for a decent car at a decent non inflated price this is for you. To me these are compatible with postwar trains. Definitely a step above a lot of the early 70's train sets they put out. Also if you collect or want boxes for everything these do not have them. They have two clam shells snapped together. Yes you get what you pay for but to me it's a good item at a good price. I do not worry about every little detail. That's probably why I won't but a $500 - $1500 engine or a $75 -$125 or more train car.  

[Boyd]

Paint and stamping quality is good. Dislike is that most don’t have the uncoupler tabs on the side of the drawbar. I have seen some in the package with a wheel out of the truck. I haven’t ran any since my layout is dismantled until I build a new layout in an adjoining room once it’s really cold. I think Lionels car and engine prices are unrealistic, but then I have not seen Lionels profit and loss paperwork. People coming into the restaurant I work in will pay $10.49 for a chicken ceasar salad, but they are also experiencing the luxuries of heat, lighting, a server, bathrooms. I’m not 100% on my memory, but I think the last new Lionel engine or car I bought was a K-Line by Lionel UP Porter steam engine. I think I bought it about 10 years ago.