What Happens To Lionel Visitor Center?

[Anonymous]

Now that Lionel has decided to move their manufacturing to China, what happens to the Visitor's Center and the layout? I was under the impression that it was maintained by a group of volunteers from the Lionel workforce. I always enjoyed taking my kids there to see the trains.

[Algonquin]

Hi Paul,

Lionel will still be maintaining their headquarters there in Michigan. I would hope the 100 - 150 people that will still be working there will maintain the visitors center.

Tim P.

[Anonymous]

Paul and Tim,

According to Lionel's press release, the Visitors Center will remain open to the public.

Jim Schulz
Associate Editor, Trains.com

[Algonquin]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the confirmation.

There sure seems to be a lot of change going on in the hobby the last five years. Although Lionel is closing it's US manufacturing, we have, probably 20 times the choice of products we had available five years ago. Additionally, the technology is moving faster today, with TMCC, DCS, wireless tethers, sound systems, than it moved in the 40's when JLC was driving Lionel.

It sure makes for exciting times.

Tim P.

[jsanchez]

My concern is will they pay the Chinese workers enough to buy Lionel trains, I think they have just as much right to enjoy model/toy trains as we do.....

James
"Can't have prosperity on substandard wages"
Henry Ford

[ADCX Rob]

Anonymous

Now that Lionel has decided to move their manufacturing to China, what happens to the Visitor's Center and the layout? I was under the impression that it was maintained by a group of volunteers from the Lionel workforce. I always enjoyed taking my kids there to see the trains.

The layout has been dismantled, moved, and relocated to the Railroad Museum of Long Island.

[billbarman]

The layouts now out in Riverhead on long island. I went out to see it just last week! They did a good job putting it back the way it was.  

[Seayakbill]

WOW, a 10 year gap between postings, maybe with another 10 year gap Lionel will be manufactured back in the states.

[magnum2230b]

Your kidding right? The work force that will be providing those trains, often lives in small villages in remote ares with no power and no running water. They spend weeks at thier factories and plants, away from thier families, before being able to return home for a short visit. "Pay them enough?" yeah right, how many village people do you think it would take to buy one lionel train set, and plug the power into what?

You are right to have been concerned about that, we should all stay concerned about it. You may think they have the right to enjoy it, but they really don't have the same equal rights that we do in that regaurd. They are also not financially capable of purchasing those trains in many cases. Now move on over to the other side of town, where the wealthy ones live and wear nice suits to work every day, and yeah, they'll buy plenty of those trains for thier kids, but not the folks building them. Ask Lionel to send you pictures of thier Lionel facilities over there, the work force, the area where the workers live, and "all the train sets they own." 

I wonder how they'd respond to that "truthfully" that is.