kasskabooseWhy did anyone bother to respond or generate discussion.
Because the topic is still valid.
Some people hate Tyco, and some people have fond memories. Some people want to recreate them, only in a better running version. Some people want to forget about them.
I like my Tyco cars with Kadee trucks and couplers.
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
With just a bit of work, you can run a memory with reliability.
I like to have fun with my model trains, and sometimes it is fun to pretend to be a kid again.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
You have to go back to the Mantua era with Tyco to get the better stuff. There was a huge difference in quality. The later stuff doesn't stay running for very long....
You have to go back to 1960's production.....
Paul
Some threads ought to just die off. Why did anyone bother to respond or generate discussion. Never had Tyco but refuse to waste time/money on replacing horn-hook couplers, etc. IMHO, such cars are not RTR.
The freight house had been offered in a brick before as well as the wood. Some of these kits passed through so many hands. I think it might have been AHM that first offered these in brick?? AHM offered some of these roughly at the same time as Tyco and kept them going after they exited.
Little TimmyWalthers Trainline.
This example is interesting, to me anyway...
The classic Tyco version is wood with a wooden dock, but the Walthers Trainline version is brick with a concrete dock.
Oher than the building material represented, the buildings look identical.
Ah, yes.
I stand corrected.
Walthers Trainline.
( sorry about that.... 50 years of glue fumes will do that ...)
Rust...... It's a good thing !
Little TimmyI kept the Tyco gondolas. With a little work, they can be very accurate, and run well.
Yes... absolutely.
Little TimmyI wish I had kept the buildings. You can still find some of them, now labeled as Wathers Cornerstone series.
Not Cornerstone, Walthers Trainline.
Tyco is back like that box under the table at the trains show that will not go away..... I started as a kid in the brown box era with a tyco trainset. We had to send the Loco back once for replacement when it was still under warranty which was only 90 days I think. The transformer fared slightly better lasting a couple of years before going up in a puff of smoke that made the whole house smell like burning tires for a day and a half. (Got in trouble for that somehow) The neighbor kid did have the earlier old west Tyco which was of better quality and lasted longer. One swap meet (Enid OK???) had a Tyco toss for several years. In retrospect one of Tycos biggest issues was their open gearing that was prone to cracking and over lubrication that attracted carpet fibers and dirt. Saw a couple brought in to the hobby dept I worked in in high school and college that you could pull a whole Persian cat out of.
I have a "mixed bag" of feelings towards Tyco.
My first exposure to Tyco was in 1975. I got the Bicentennial train set.for Christmas. I do not remember all the cars that came with it. But, I do remember it came with a flat car loaded with concrete pipe. I later got the operating un-loading dock, and a few more flat cars full of pipe.
They were FUN !
I then found Athern cars in a local hobby shop, and started adding them to the layout ( along with a handful of Tyco buildings : Miracle furniture, Honest Sam's used car lot, Standard Electric, gruesome casket, ect.)
After about 2 years, the engine gave out , by then I had found Athern and Roundhouse locomotives.
It was then that I realized ... Tyco was Toylike. I pretty much got rid of most of my Tyco stuff by 1981.
HOWEVER: I kept the Tyco gondolas. With a little work, they can be very accurate, and run well.
Their flatcars required more work to make them look right, and I never bothered. Better kits were available to me by then.
I wish I had kept the buildings.
You can still find some of them, now labeled as Wathers Cornerstone series.
Overall, I can't really say Tyco was garbage.
But, I can't give them "kudos" for being accurate.
It's a shame that Tyco got such a bad name later on, the Tyco/ Mantua trains were actually very well made. They ran well. Not scale models, but they very closely followed the example of Lionel, and American Flyer even down to the artwork on the box. They were somewhat like a smaller version of these. And the operating accessories. I had a very positive experience in the '60's.
I like 'em!
I too had a handful of Tyco as a youth, would have been late-60s early 70s vintage. Later, when I had kids of my own, I bought a small set off eBay to see if they would be interested. I'm glad I did - not because my kids had any interest, but because it brought me back into the hobby. The set was headed by Mantua-Tyco C-630, a solid runner.
Although I no longer run much HO (yes, I still have the set and a small layout), what I most enjoyed about Tyco was the operating accessories - Post Office car, etc. Great stuff and they were affordable and FUN. Trains weren't so prototypical and finely detailed but neither was Lionel through the '40s, so there!
Cheap but fun - what more do you REALLY need?
maxman It’s only make believe.
It’s only make believe.
No.1 song on the Billboard pop/rock charts the week I was born, before Conway 'went country' in the sixties.
My memory re Mantua / Tyco matches what Azrail said - Mantua was an earlier model railroad company, mainly making kits (John Allen's G&D included a Mantua 2-8-2) and I guess pre-Kadee many modellers used their couplers. Tyco came later as RTR versions of the Mantua steam loco kits. Over time they stopped using the Mantua name, and Tyco devolved into toy train HO stuff.
The Mantua name resurfaced in the 1980s, and some of the stuff from the 1980s-90s, like the 4-4-2, were really pretty nice - especially when they switched to Sagami can motors.
John-NYBW Since somebody has decided to resurrect this zombie thread, I'll throw in my two cents. As people get more experienced in the hobby, they become more knowledgeable about quality. Generally speaking, trainsets are at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of quality because they are entry level designed to get people into the hobby. Tyco and Model Power were mostly of that quality. I had a Tyco Amtrak set with about 3 or four cars pulled by an F-7. The paint scheme was non prototypical and the lighted cars had sillouhetted passengers. My also bought about a dozen Tyco UP hopper cars with yellow plastic bodies with red lettering. I had no idea at the time how unprototypical those were. Eventually I become more discerning about things such as this. The Tyco brand name was bought and sold several times and the quality of the brand suffered as a result. When I entered the hobby in the late 1970s, it was pretty much entry level stuff. Nothing a serious modeler would be interested in.
Since somebody has decided to resurrect this zombie thread, I'll throw in my two cents. As people get more experienced in the hobby, they become more knowledgeable about quality. Generally speaking, trainsets are at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of quality because they are entry level designed to get people into the hobby. Tyco and Model Power were mostly of that quality. I had a Tyco Amtrak set with about 3 or four cars pulled by an F-7. The paint scheme was non prototypical and the lighted cars had sillouhetted passengers. My also bought about a dozen Tyco UP hopper cars with yellow plastic bodies with red lettering. I had no idea at the time how unprototypical those were. Eventually I become more discerning about things such as this.
The Tyco brand name was bought and sold several times and the quality of the brand suffered as a result. When I entered the hobby in the late 1970s, it was pretty much entry level stuff. Nothing a serious modeler would be interested in.
OK John we get it.
But when you say "quality" to me, my first thought is build quality, are the wheels round?, do the parts fit together and work as designed and expected?, does the engine run reasonably smooth?, is it reasonably durable for the intended use?
As train sets of that era go, TYCO was good quality.
Prototype accuracy is not "quality", that is a feature.
A model can be perfectly "accurate" and run like cr....., that is not quality.
And then you go and use that dreaded phrase, "serious modeler". What exactly makes someone a serious modeler?
Am I not a serious modeler because I still run Athearn blue box equipment? Or because I will not replace all my old models with "better stuff"? I will go one better, I still run Athearn metal cars, and Varney metal cars from the 50's. Guess I need to turn in my "serious modeler" card because I am not replacing all that stuff with high end stuff made for me by little china girls.
I have no dog in this fight, I don't really have any old Mantua/Tyco stuff.
But in its day, it had its place in the market, and it was one of the better products in that entry level part of the market.
Sheldon
TYCO (TYler CO.)was a decent brand when it was owned by the Tyler family that also owned Mantua- TYCO in the 60s was basically assembled Mantua product. The printing was mediocre, the detail was bare minimum, but they ran well. It changed when the Tylers sold TYCO to Consolidated Foods (the brown box era), who were more interested in selling them as multi-colored, mass-market toys. This began the era of the mega-sized tank cars that would derail at sharp curves, the gaudy paint jobs, and crappy electric motors and drives.
AHM and Model Power were basically importers of model train equipment under their own packaging. AHM seem to have better overseas manufacturers-Rivarossi and Lima and Pocher from Italy, Pola from Germany. Model Power's stuff wasn't as good-mostly imports from Mehano in Yugoslavia and Frateschi in Brazil. Both had more Asian made replacements by the late 70s/80s when importing from Europe was increasingly expensive.
In both cases (Tyco and Model Power), it really depends on the product. As mentioned by others, when Tyco took over Mantua, there were some good loco kits offered. The problem is that quality just went downhill from the early 70s on, including the engine kits inherited from Mantua, and the company targetted the low-end youth market. Contrary to Life-Like and Bachmann, Tyco never changed its marketing strategy and died when most kids lost interest in trains.
Model Power was a different beast. They imported from various manufacturers, some good, some bad, some very good. Their N scale 4-4-0 and 2-6-0 were made in Korea, and were excellent. In the early 70s, they imported locos made by Roco, again excellent engines (but low in detail). But they also imported toy-quality engines that were only half a notch above Tyco.
Simon
Made me think of Conway Twitty's "Fifteen Years Ago"....
"Fifteen years ago, and I still feel the same...."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB5V7AUYIkw&t=11s
BigDaddy Tyco is to poor detail as Rapido is to good detail. There. I have saved you from reading 3 pages of posts from 15 years ago.
Tyco is to poor detail as Rapido is to good detail.
There.
I have saved you from reading 3 pages of posts from 15 years ago.
But it does remind me of that great Bob Seger song, Like a Rock.
20 years now, where'd they go?20 years, I don't knowI sit and I wonder sometimesWhere they've gone
Rich
Alton Junction
(I like it when someone dredges up these old, old threads.)
I think Mr. Beasley said it very, very well and I quote....
"They are, by now, old friends.". Flawless statement!
Put me down as, in opposition to the haters of TyCo. To whom, in the truest sportsman-like competition..... I wave the Tyco Flag....
IN YOUR FACE!
Clear Ahead
PMR
My Tyco rolling stock goes back to the 1960s. A tank car, a few box cars, and a parade of those operating clamshell hopper cars which I've carried around through 30 years of moves. Slowly, I removed the horn-hooks and the coupler brackets from the Talgo trucks, and drilled and tapped the frames for new Kadees. Later on, the Talgos disappeared, to be replaced with new trucks and Intermountain metal wheelsets. The old rolling stock now runs better than ever.
No, I don't hate my Tycos at all. They are, by now, old friends of 60 years. Blessed with today's trackwork and the patience of an old man like me to get it right, these are not junk at all, but smooth-running and attractive models that are actually a credit to my layout.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Exactly, but it was intended from the start to be durable starter product to introduce teens and adults to the hobby.
While the original versions were well made, it was a fine example of how to make a quality product at a low price with simple design and high levels of common parts from item to item.
As a teen, the first hobby shop I worked in was an aurthorized repair station for MANTUA/TYCO, LIONEL, and AHM. We also had a good stock of Athearn parts and did all sorts of repairs.
You learned quickly how the Mantua steam locos all shared a long list of parts, as did the freight cars.
For what it was intended to be, it was a good product for the market at that time. But even then, not something more advanced modelers were running unless they used it for kitbash fodder.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
1960's Tyco/ Mantua was a quality product. Well made, free rolling, the horn hook couplers actually functioned properly. My 1969 Gp20 was the backbone of my first 2 layouts. It still runs.
And, I am currently setting up a display track for all my old trains, and the many I have accumulated. Tyco was great early on, yet cheapened in later years, with diminished quality.
When I started collecting trains in the 1970's I bought what I could find and a lot of it was Tyco. Over time I discovered that Tyco, as well as Bachmann and Life Like, cars didn't stay on the track as well as other more expensive brands (the more you pay for something the better it is, right?) I got a weight chart from NMRA and replaced a lot of plastic wheel sets with metal sets, weighted the rolling stock to just below the weight standards. Now my "cheap stuff" runs just a good as the "expensive stuff". Now when a piece of rolling derails I have to look closely to see what brand it is. And I'm very happy ;with the performance of my Tyco trains. As for motor issues if the engine can't pull X number of cars, I don't try to pull more.
shayfan84325I can almost feel the TYCO prices climbing on eBay.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
andrechapelon wrote: PASMITH wrote: Darth Santa Fe wrote:I don't hate Tyco. In fact, I actually have fun taking poor quality stuff and making it work better. I may even look for the dreaded Power-Torque 2-8-0 at an upcoming train show and see what I can do with it.I'm with you. I have purchased two Tyco 4-8-0's on e-bay. I am using them as a base for kit bashing SP's 4-8-0 1890's Mastodon TW-2 so I don't have to scratch build or buy brass. I have already re-motored one of them with a Yard Bird drop in motor and I am now in the process of scratching a whale back tender over an IHC tender frame with all wheel electrical pickup. So far, in tests, it is running like a charm. I will post pictures when I am done. If you read this post Andre, the prototype can be found on page 51 of Signor's SP Shasta division.Peter Smith, MemphisI've got his earlier version( "Rails In The Shadow Of Mt. Shasta" ). OTOH, I do have a nice copy of Dunscomb's "A Century Of Southern Pacific Steam Locomotives". I'm wondering if a Mantua/Tyco mechanism could be mated with an MDC Harriman boiler to make a TW-8.Andre
PASMITH wrote: Darth Santa Fe wrote:I don't hate Tyco. In fact, I actually have fun taking poor quality stuff and making it work better. I may even look for the dreaded Power-Torque 2-8-0 at an upcoming train show and see what I can do with it.I'm with you. I have purchased two Tyco 4-8-0's on e-bay. I am using them as a base for kit bashing SP's 4-8-0 1890's Mastodon TW-2 so I don't have to scratch build or buy brass. I have already re-motored one of them with a Yard Bird drop in motor and I am now in the process of scratching a whale back tender over an IHC tender frame with all wheel electrical pickup. So far, in tests, it is running like a charm. I will post pictures when I am done. If you read this post Andre, the prototype can be found on page 51 of Signor's SP Shasta division.Peter Smith, Memphis
Darth Santa Fe wrote:I don't hate Tyco. In fact, I actually have fun taking poor quality stuff and making it work better. I may even look for the dreaded Power-Torque 2-8-0 at an upcoming train show and see what I can do with it.
I've got his earlier version( "Rails In The Shadow Of Mt. Shasta" ). OTOH, I do have a nice copy of Dunscomb's "A Century Of Southern Pacific Steam Locomotives".
I'm wondering if a Mantua/Tyco mechanism could be mated with an MDC Harriman boiler to make a TW-8.
Andre