Some nice standard gauge gossip - apparently the tinplate catalog for MTH has been successful, they are going to bring out another tinplate catalog around the York timeframe or near the first of the year.
I like this - new standard gauge that has optional new or old electronics in it. The quality thus far of Mike's tinplate has been very good and I like how he is breathing some life into the hobby. Apparently the Ives Prosperity Specials are sold out!
By the way, let me get on a soapbox for one second (uh oh) - I have seen (predominantly on the AOL boards) some very negative comments about Chinese people, especially when it comes to manufacturing trains and the like. Racism is bad in any form. I see quite a few folks waxing eloquent about American jobs lost, how Joshua Cowen is rolling over in his grave because he liked American jobs, etc.
Might I remind everyone that the first employees at the Lionel plant were actually Italian immigrants. Some Lionel manufacturing and die work was done predominantly in Italy. Even that long ago (almost a century now), smart guys like Cowen could see the global economy. I don't see many train people turning down a prime antique Marklin Gauge 1 piece or new laptop (all of which are made somewhere else). Botom line - be glad we're getting new standard gauge and support the people willing to make it! Lest we forget that all of us are from somewhere else. (ok, I am off the soapbox).
M
2 comments:
Good point on the xenophobia of some in the hobby.
Jim Kelly
Actually, if you get a chance, you may want to eyeball the AOL boards. While I agree that anti-immigrant and anti-offshoring are not synonmous, they are synonomous in the minds of many train people. It concerns me when I some of my TCA brethern expressing views that are blatnatly racist - that's just not in the spirit of the club or hobby.
I have seen some fairly nasty posts on Chinese, Koreans, people that can't differentiate Taiwan from Hong Kong and so on.
I do like Jim Cohen and Joe Mania and I too would love to buy product from Dick Mayer vs. imported products.
That really wasn't where I was going with the post though. While I am not for the Wal-Martification of trains, I am for the production of standard gauge.
We could get into a fairly long winded discussion on this, some American factories easily mirror some of the worst anywhere in the world.
The bottom line is that I think we should differentiate between not having any choices at all and be at the mercy of "psuedo scrupulous" dealers at toy train shows and a manufacturer that is still accountable to its' customers here in this country (MTH).
M
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