The Times, They Are A Changing....

So I made some big changes to my layout. I dumped the Gargraves track. Was just too difficult and always looked kinked. I flipped to MTH Standard and O gauge Realtraxx. The stuff is really quite nice. I do enjoy using it. It makes a different sound and set of sounds versus tubular. The contact is way better though and I don't think it will age the same way tubular does. We'll see, I'm pretty happy with it right now. I've backed out some of the buildings in the interest of putting up the Monorail. I haven't managed to get the wiring right yet and I have to add an AIU and TIU for the DCS stuff.

My Monorail wheels really slip ALOT. I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to keep them from slipping so much. There really isn't any grade on the surface of the layout. Any thoughts on stuff I should add?

Marc

New Layout Addition

Glenn sent me these pictures of his changing layout. It's a bit dusty because he had to move some items to make way for the new monorail!

He's ordering more track from MTH, right now the monorail track that came with the set can't traverse his entire layout. After Glenn adds the track this monorail will have plenty of room to stretch out and run.

Interesting thing I noticed about these pictures - this monorail looks great with O gauge or standard gauge. I know, scale really isn't an issue in the world of tinplate toys. The monorail fits nicely and that's something most of us couldn't have experienced with an original.

M

More Youtube....

Some additional Youtube. I'm all tubed out....

Leland Revisited

Here's one advantage I have over traditional printed media. When I find some interesting things even after I finish writing I can go back and post after the fact.

To the left is what I spoke of concerning attention to detail. MTH wrapped the end of each track to make sure the pins would NOT get bent or damaged. The pin color also matches the track - nice touch MTH!

Here's a tighter shot of how the track comes together. Again, this track is really top shelf. I hope MTH further utilizes this system. Maybe some switches?












I attempted some tight shots of the power car. The couplers between cars are really interesting. They are just metal rods that go into each car. No, these aren't Proto Couplers or anything like that. I'm not sure anyone would ever need it to be that sophisticated. Once you see how dang easy these are to use, using standard gauge couplers (with the height differences and different standards) is just a lesson in frustration. It's one of the few times gravity will be a couplers friend.

Marc

More Leland Youtube!

Here's some more Youtube on the MTH Leland Monorail. Believe me, the more you play with this thing, the cooler it gets! I'll put one up of it running as well.

Operationally, the use of the Leland Detroit Monorail is pretty straight forward. Since there are no switches, crossovers, etc. the focus is really on the trackplan. The curves for this set are pretty tight. Which brings me to another "what if?".

This was just something I was thinking while I was putting this together - what if there were larger curves? Could MTH/Leland Detroit do something like an extended car Blue Comet Jersey Central version? How about a New York City version? I'm not advocating wider radius track but the option does offer up some opportunities. Even with the current radius as tight as it is, I think different size cars would work depending on their balance. I hope this is something MTH considers. Maybe a freight set like a "Harmony Creamery" delivery set in deep green and brown or a President's Special set in Rolls Royce Blue (tell me that wouldn't look incredible???) How about a Leland Detroit Prosperity Special in Copper and Nickle?

A note about workmanship on the whole set: it is obvious that this set took some time to produce. The paint on all of the cars is perfect and the construction of the cars is flawless. I am picky about the quality, look and feel when I pay $600 plus for a set of anything, trains, dishes or otherwise. I have not been disappointed in the least. No slots or tabs or any indication of manufacturing difficulty shows in this set. It's very much consistent with the Jersey Central 384 set in terms of quality and construction. The battery was charged and did recharge itself as I used the set. This was a nice touch on MTH's part, especially since the instructions indicated a battery charge may be in order out of the box.

One more thing: MTH did include some extra light bulbs, some plastic window inserts and additional rubber feet for the bases. Did they have to? Probably not. Was I glad to see them out of the box? You bet. These are the parts and pieces that frustrate railroaders. When you have a new item and run it for a couple of days straight and blow out a light bulb or whatever, it can be frustrating.

Last Impressions:

The set was worth the wait. There are some minor nits that were probably just as evident in the original 1930's version as there are in the 2007 version. This product presents a great chance to own a very unique toy, regardless of whether it is on a train layout or not. It would work well anywhere, including but not exclusive to a Marx layout, a toy room, a toy collection and so on. I am impressed with MTH listening to their customers; they overpacked the set and it is clear that the out of box experience is important to MTH. First perceptions are everything. I'm anxious to hear the thoughts of others that have purchased the set. Hopefully the success of this set/accessory will help justify the manufacture of other items that might seem risky to a manufacturer. I know that this isn't an inexpensive product/accessory. With that said, it's a toy that still has a strong intrinsic value of playability and long term worth. Future generations will likely enjoy this toy.

Marc




PS This is what your train room will look like when everything is unpacked. If you see this on eBay and someone says "just out of the box for pictures", I'd be very interested to hear/see how they got it back in the box. I doubt they can pack it as well as MTH did out of the factory.

More Leland Monorail UnBoxing

Here's how the new MTH Leland Detroit cars come packages. This packaging is some of the strongest I've ever seen. You'd have to drop this off the top floor of a New York Skyscraper to damage these items.

I have seen original Lelands and these are virtually dead on replicas. I bought the Proto 2.0 version of the set so the only way to really tell is by the noises this makes when it starts to roll.

Let me just say why this set is so heavy. If you are averse to metal, don't buy this set.

There's almost no plastic in this entire set. The only plastic seems to be in the power car. I don't remember but I think the original power cars seem to have Bakelite and metal motors. If you like or love metal like us tinplaters, this is one heck of a great set.

The metal makes this seem very heavy. The actual cars are very light. The power car is a bit heavier because it has a counter-weight on it.

The hangers, rails and bases are very well painted. Matter of fact, the color on the whole set is excellent.

My guess is that after some recent hassles with paint chipping or scratching, MTH put in a process to make sure that out of box experience was positive.
Meaning they put in some process controls to make sure items come off the assembly line or from the paint booth and stay pristine until they hit the hands of customers. Also, while we were setting this up we noticed that the paint colors were extremely bright and the overall quality of the paint on the entire set is superior. We (purely by accident) did several actions that should have scratched or marked the paint. Any O gauge or standard gauge loco would have seen a mark or even a scratch had we done this anywhere else. Since I have some experience with scratching and screwing up tinplate items I was suprised at the resiliency of this paint, especially on the track. Red paint always seems to show scratches and rub marks better than any other paint and the bases and poles seem to be immune. It's a development I hope MTH extends to other tinplate products.
Here's the track for the monorail. Setting this thing up was quite different than setting up a circle of train track and slapping on the transformer. Doesn't work like that. I could see why this may not have appealed to every father and every boy in the 1930's.

For every two sections of track you need one hanger and one base. Seems pretty obvious, right? Well, if one of the hangers isn't secure in the base the track is at an angle. Guess what isn't going up an angle? That's right, the Monorail slips. And when I went to adjust one base with a complete oval of track, I pulled up on hanger and 5 other hangers came out. I love Jerry Lewis (the comedian) and I actually started looking and acting like him while I was setting this up. Everytime I'd set up a base I would pull three or four more! A quote from Jerry Lewis came to mind: "I've had great success being a total idiot." Here's this wonderful toy in front of me that took me years to get my hands on and I can't even get the round hanger into the base!

More later - Marc

Heard It Through The Grapevine

Heard through the grapevine that the Leland Monorails are getting loaded onto a ship as we speak by MTH.

It's kind of exciting, this is the first time this rare item has been produced since 1931. I am kind of anxious to see if this creates a new ecosystem for monorails. I know MTH is selling track, etc.. I am kind of hoping they architect some switches and the like.

Oh ya, I liked this Ives picture so I posted it.

M