2005 MTH RTR catalog online...

[brianel027]

Thanks Rod.... you're right. I saw the first page of the specialty sets and saw they were all the usual Loco or ProtoSound and didn't go beyond that. I figured the second page would be more of the first. I would have put the very basic sets first.

And yes, right again. I do also believe it's been awhile since MTH offered sets with just whistle or horn (outside of the Dockside steam set). These 3 sets look like nice.

[Anonymous]

Brianel, I believe there are 3 RTR sets listed with just a Bell and Horn/Whistle? No cruise, no PS2 and no Locosound. This is the first I'd seen such a set listed from them in quite some time.

[brianel027]

Hmmm, maybe the entire catalog isn't up on line yet? I don't understand the logic of this catalog. I have the the main 2005 175+ page catalog... I don't know why they didn't show those things in that one. Wasn't the R-T-R catalog in the past mostly the beginner items, train sets and Rugged Rails kind of stuff? I mean, they did another catalog just to show a few more Railking items? That and the Tinplate stuff which I didn't bother looking at.

Well regardless, I thought Rugged Rails had become "Rusted Rails" or "Forgotten Rails" so I was pleased to see some new roadnames for that line, esp. the Chessie and Norfolk Southern covered hoppers. I wi***hey had offered some more modern road names on the other cars, but oh well.

And I still think it would be a great idea for MTH to issue at least one or two Rugged Rails locomotives with just the basic features: no electronics. It'd be nice to see their former Railking SD90-MAC offered in the Rugged Rails line with just the basics and a just the basics price tag. I'd love to experiment with the MTH vertical motor to see how well a single motored unit would do, since I'm proposing compromises on price-point too (the Williams 44-ton switcher doesn't do too bad).

Of all the former Railking diesels, that SD90-MAC had very nice proportions and a height that didn't make it look like a shoebox on wheels like some of the others. The SD-35 would be the next runner up. And as squat as it is, I do like the shorty F-3 that they make.

Maybe they feel there's no interest in this arena. But I think they'd do well to offer a couple locos and a few sets on a price-point level that are closer to some of the lower-end Lionel prices.

[prewardude]

Here's the link:
http://www.mth-railking.com/catalog/current.asp