well i read the first few responses or so and most say the quality was bad. while that is true.... I look back on my childhood trains (most of which I still have) with fond memories. It's that now I understand why my tyco gp 20 (the late durango version) or gp 38 (sante fe) usually stalled through a switch.
keep in mind i didn't know there was anything else beyond tyco LL bachmann until i stopped into a LHS and discovered Athearn. I asked if they were good runners and the owner replied they were the best. I bought my first Athearn loco (gp 40 BN) right then and when I got it home I was in awe!
so I can't say I hate the old tyco stuff I'm just dissappointed I can't run it with the quaility stuff.
EDIT: hey steamage!
I just took a look at your site about converting tyco cars... NICE JOB. I've been working on about 10 of those hoppers to make em stone cars for our club's railroad... but I have 3 of those same flat cars you show!
I have a Tyco Amtrak set of 3 coaches and F7 from a disowned friend. The cars still work, they have a paper people windows with a backlight. But I recall the engine making an attempt at 2 inches before giving up, partially because the only thing attaching the truck to the body were wires to the headlight. for not having a chassis, it wasn't bad. And the shell may live on.
Ironically, I had to take them out of the boxes beacuse the boxes were deteriorating around them.
-Morgan
-
My first, too.
I sort of super detailed one of those 0-4-0s. I epoxied brass detail castings to it and added the appropriate plumbing, Kadee couplers, and painted it. It looked pretty good. With a transistor throttle, it ran pretty well, too. I really think the power packs were as much to blame as the locos for the performance issues.
Time to lighten up and let this deceased company rest in peace.
-Phil
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
shayfan84325 wrote: Time to lighten up and let this deceased company rest in peace.-Phil
Ummm...Tyco's not deceased. They just quit making train stuff. Do a Google and see all the toy, medical and industrial stuff they still make. And their old CEO is still sitting in Federal prison...
That's two different Tyco's if I remember right.....Tyco of toy train is now owned by Mattel and makes R/C and slot cars...but no trains.
The CEO in jail is a different Tyco........
Great Western Rwy fan wrote:One word........JUNK
yup that pretty much sums it up.
Looks like some one still loves Tyco
http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=130188796357
Over 30 bids from 4 different people
TerryinTexas
See my Web Site Here
http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/
PBandJ RR wrote:As a kid, I had TYCO trains, along with AHM, Bachman, Rivarossi, and a bunch of others... As an adult with 15 or more years away from the hobby and coming back now it seems that most everyone has a morbid dislike of TYCO... Perhaps I'm the exception that proves the rule, but I don't remember having a lot of trouble out of any of their stuff, or atleast no more than anything by any of the other makers...I am not trying to stir up argument or insults just trying to understand. I was a kid, so maybe I missed something.
As a kid, I had TYCO trains, along with AHM, Bachman, Rivarossi, and a bunch of others...
As an adult with 15 or more years away from the hobby and coming back now it seems that most everyone has a morbid dislike of TYCO...
Perhaps I'm the exception that proves the rule, but I don't remember having a lot of trouble out of any of their stuff, or atleast no more than anything by any of the other makers...
I am not trying to stir up argument or insults just trying to understand. I was a kid, so maybe I missed something.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
CO Fan wrote:Looks like some one still loves Tycohttp://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=130188796357Over 30 bids from 4 different people
Those operating hoppers were nice because they were made in the pre-Consolidated Foods era. They were very free-rolling for the time, and had RP25 flanges. The underframes and hopper doors were diecast. I built up a Renwal coaling station years ago that was designed to operate with these cars. The function was always a little bit dicey, but then operating accessories like that are better left to O scale.
There seems to be quite a demand for the old Ulrich diecast operating hoppers as well.
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
Yes Nelson they do run quite well
I have 8 of them and i use them to haul live loads from the mine
to my Walthers coaling tower
I installed one of their operating tracks in the coaling shed and cut a hole
in the bench work so the cars empty into a coffee can below
Some think it's too toy like but i have fun with it !
_________________________________________________________________
BECAUSE we now have things that are better.
TRANSLATION: At one time TYCO was 'good' - until you tried something else. - OR
Bought them because they were cheap, and wanted a challenge.
SteamFreak wrote:This is kind of a funny thought, but I always disliked even the earliest Tyco diesels because they didn't have a frame. They were just trucks and a weight snapped into a shell, with those ugly locking tabs protruding through sides. The F7's in particular just didn't have much substance, so I always felt like I was running a locomotive skeleton. It seems even funnier when you realize that you could hammer nails with their steamers.
SteamFreak
I think your comment , "you could hammer nails with their steamers" really does hit the nail on the head. I don't hate TYCO, just ignoring their products and always have.
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.
Wanna play with some of my stuff? I have a ton of old Tyco stuff you can rebuild......
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
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
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
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.
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.
Paul
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.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
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.
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.
Sheldon