ScaleTrains.com Acquires M.T.H. HO & S Scale Tooling

ScaleTrains Jan 31, 2021

  1. ScaleTrains

    ScaleTrains TrainBoard Member

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    ScaleTrains.com™, Inc., a leading manufacturer of HO and N Scale model trains, announced the acquisition of M.T.H. Electric Trains® HO Scale and S Gauge tooling assets. Learn more from our announcement video:



    “MTH is recognized as a leading manufacturer of HO scale steam locomotives. The purchase of MTH’s HO products also allows us to broaden our product line into passenger cars, track, and more. We believe there is an opportunity to grow the S market as well.” said Shane Wilson, President of ScaleTrains.com.

    The acquisition includes steam and diesel locomotives, freight cars, and track in both scales. The HO tooling also includes turbine and electric locomotives, subway sets, passenger cars, and more. Engineering schematics for several all-new steam era HO projects were also received as part of the agreement.

    “ScaleTrains.com has a great reputation in the industry and the M.T.H. HO tooling will make a great addition to their already impressive HO lineup.” Stated Mike Wolf, President of M.T.H. Electric Trains. “S Gauge fans will find the ScaleTrains.com team loaded with talent and model railroading experience.”

    Both scales are being melded into ScaleTrains.com umbrella of brands including Rivet Counter™. Several molds have been transferred to the ScaleTrains.com factory and testing is already underway. Over the next few months design will begin to convert the models to accept the ScaleTrains.com motor and change to ESU-LokSound® electronics including DCC & sound. The first models are expected to be available in 2022.

    ScaleTrains.com is making significant investments in infrastructure to better service more brick-and-mortar retailers in the future. Although ScaleTrains.com is currently not accepting new retailers, dealers are welcome to send their contact information to retailers@scaletrains.com in anticipation of opening new brick-and-mortar accounts within the next year.

    M.T.H. Electric Trains will fulfill all outstanding customer HO and S Scale preorders. In addition, service and support for products sold by M.T.H. Electric Trains will be serviced by the current M.T.H. Authorized Service Center network. This includes part sales.

    Products manufactured by ScaleTrains.com will be serviced by Product Support in Benton, TN.

    For additional information, please contact Hollie Smith at Hollie@ScaleTrains.com.
     
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  2. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    That's crazy. I forgot MTH even had track, but I think the best part of this announcement is the fact that ESU decoders will be in the old MTH tooling. I am a big fan of ESU, and the old ProtoSound system was always something I didn't like about MTH. I wonder how the product lines will look with the new MTH tooling. Where will the MTH Dash 9 be placed since Scaletrains already has their own? Will there be two different versions simultaneously?

    I think this saved a major segment of the hobby, and it will probably be years before we see all the MTH products back. This should keep interest and anticipation high for years to come.
     
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  3. Pastor John

    Pastor John TrainBoard Member

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    This has me wondering if there might be other announcements soon regarding other (ie. O-gauge) scales.
     
  4. rch

    rch TrainBoard Member

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    I doubt the MTH Dash 9 will see the light of day again. ScaleTrains already has both the high end and entry level market covered with their existing Dash 9 models.

    Back when Athearn acquired the tooling assets of Rail Power Products, there were several models that never entered the Athearn lineup, including the C32-8, C30-7, B23-7, SD60 and SD9. I don't know if that's because the tooling was damaged or if there was some other reason Athearn decided the models weren't viable. I would expect ScaleTrains to evaluate all the assets they acquired and maybe come to some similar conclusions Athearn did with the RPP assets.
     
  5. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    I don't think Scaletrains bought the O scale tooling. I would have expected them to say so during this announcement if they did. As far as I know, the O scale stuff is still in limbo. Maybe Lionel will pick it up, or maybe the employees will manage a new company. I think that was the original goal when they announced the closure. With the HO and S stuff gone, maybe an all-O company will be more manageable for them.

    I noticed the same thing; now they have two sets of Dash 9 tooling. It will be interesting to see what they keep and what is at risk. The MTH ES44 might be one of those 'at risk' models because Scaletrains has their own now too. I don't think there is too much overlap, but there are definitely some modern era MTH models that Scaletrains already has covered. The steam stuff is what will really be interesting.

    In the video, it seems like Scaletrains wants to put some of the MTH tooling in the Rivet Counter line, but I have seen some concerns raised online. MTH stuff is nice, but does it meet the level of underbody and etched detail that a lot of the Scaletrains models have?

    I hope they do not retain all the fantasy schemes and stuff like that. That was one thing that made it obvious MTH was an O scale company at heart. The holiday cars and the sports cars just seemed too toy-like. I think retaining models like that will lower the reputation of Scaletrains. Up to this point, they have turned out some highly realistic and researched models; I don't want the MTH toys to fill up their production slots. I would rather see prototypical models over Candy Bar reefers and fantasy cabooses.
     
  6. Pastor John

    Pastor John TrainBoard Member

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    I knew that. I only meant that, knowing that the HO and S scale announcement had been made, I hoped that it was a "good omen" that discussions were ongoing about the O-scale lines and perhaps an announcement about their future might be heard sooner rather than later. I know that is the announcement that the guys in my O-scale club are waiting to hear.
     
  7. Mr. Trainiac

    Mr. Trainiac TrainBoard Member

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    Oh, I see what you are saying. Losing MTH O scale was probably a huge blow to the O scale community. I am still unsure if Scaletrains will pick it up in the future. I feel like the philosophies between O and HO are so different, between power supply (AC vs DC) realism standards (selective compression and radius), DCS and DCC, pretty much everything is different. I feel like buying the O scale line would over-extend Scaletrains and spread them too thin.

    The fact that Lionel is now making HO and how the surviving MTH models are HO, it makes me wonder about the viability and popularity of O. Maybe Atlas O can pick up the old MTH stuff. I feel like it would fit better in their product lines compared to what the Scaletrains philosophy is.
     
  8. mtaylor

    mtaylor Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    That's awesome news!. I wonder if Scale Trains will produce some the steam locos. I have owned a couple of HO MTH steam locos (The Challenger and the Berkshire), really nice locos. I also had the SD70 ACE's but was less thrilled with those. They ran fine and the detail was good. Those auto couplers though.....trash (IMO). I think there are better SD70 ACES on the market. Nevertheless, I was a fan of MTH HO, so good news.
     
  9. mtaylor

    mtaylor Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I should have probably watched the video before I posted.....yes, the MTH steam engines will live on with ESU decoders....sweet.
     

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