In my opinion....................LIONEL
Stan.
THE SOUTHERN SERVES THE SOUTH.
10 years ago I was getting back into the hobby. I had some postwar Lionels and was looking to expand and get some new trains. I bought a MTH starter set with a 2-8-0 stem engine. Wow, was I impressed. I buy both Lionel and MTH, but tend to lean toward MTH because of the good experience with that starter set.
I dont understand the MTH vs Lionel debate. They both make great products. Its kinda like the Ford vs Chevy thing. Just dont get the steadfast loyalty some people have with manufacturers.
Its very confusing when you start back into this hobby. Reading books and magazines can get you updated and sometimes confused over all the new electronics these days. Keep it simple, buy what interests you and learn all you can. And this forum is a great place to ask questions. Dont think any question is too dumb. There are probably others with the same questions.
Good- luck
"For realibility, sound,detail and price. Which are the better of the two?"
I know of no objective data that support any consistent and consumer level differences in these aspects of the products. Many folks feel Lionel's sound is notably better quality than MTH's and MTH's products are slightly less pricey in many instances. Other than that, it's purely a matter of personal preference for things such as control systems, color of the box, warm fuzzy feelings due to non-product related issues, etc., in my opinion.
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
Boy could this question unleash a firestorm. Before it gets ugly, I will try to be reasonable. It really depends on what you want. I highly suggest going to view layouts at a few different places and see what the capabilities of DCS and TMCC are. Also, look at the details for yourself. Some will say that without the last accurate rivet in the right place, brand X is a piece of junk. Others will say that no "toy" is worth more than $400.00. They are both right...in thier case.
All the above being said, I think that the offerings by K-Line had some very nice scale pieces at good prices and you would be hard to beat them.....now that they are under Lionel, well, they are still good, just a bit more expensive. Williams makes some very nice product, but without the command and perhaps some other details that many are willing to forgo for a good engine that will run well for a long time.
From what I have seen over the last few years and I think it goes back for many years, Lionel, MTH both have very good product. Both companies have had issues with some items, but for the most part, they work them out. In the end, you need to be honest with yourself. What is important to you? Do you want scale detail and speeds, sound, etc. Or, do you want something that can fit into less than say 72" turns and allows you to put a lot of trains on the tracks? Do you want to have a command system and what type of layout will you run it on? Could you upgrade to a command system in the future and may want to think about the items you collect now so that you don't have to sell off to buy what you really wanted anyway.
You will get many folks who are diehard fans of a particular company. This tends to muddy the waters in a fair debate. While I have several engines of several different manufacturers, I do favor one over the others, but it is a personal bias and I really can't say anything bad about the other companies. I can say that I wish K-Line was still separate from Lionel as they offered some good items at good prices, and the added competition was good for us.
Dennis
TCA#09-63805
This could start a range war!
Anyway, I have some of each and like them all.
(Pretty non-commital, huh)
Seriously,
I recommend seeing a demo of each BEFORE you let anyone prejudice your decision
Don
For realibility, sound,detail and price. Which are the better of the two?Also other manufactors William's etc.
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