Trainz.com Daily Blog

Meet Jon Zahornacky - Lionel's CTO

2009-07-02T22:02:00.002-04:00

Here is an interesting article about Jon Zahornacky, Lionel's Chief Technology Officer. Jon talks about his company that he started and sold to Lionel and then getting the Legacy system to market and working with Neil Young.

2009 Product Video OnLine - Introduction by Jerry Calabrese

2009-07-02T17:42:00.005-04:00

See the full 2009 Vision Line video from Lionel. Catch the vision from Lionel's President and CEO Jerry Calabrese, then learn more about the technology from Jon Zahornacky, Lionel's Chief Technology Officer. We have broken the entire video into 3 parts. The second 2 parts show all the Vision line products in great detail.

Lionel repairs

2009-07-01T14:16:00.002-04:00

Lionel is combining 3 warehouses that may delay both preorder releases as well as obtaining parts for service. Acording to a Lionel represenative, Lionel will not be sending out any requested parts until August. We apologize for any delays this may cause.

Preorder Updates

2009-06-29T13:12:00.001-04:00

The following items have been dropped from Lionel's production schedule. This means these items will not be produced.
Lionel 22281 Southern FM TM Diesel w/TMCC&RS
Lionel 21707 New York Central 18" Aluminum Bus
Lionel 27628 Wabash Northeastern Caboose
Lionel 24270 Operating Forklift Platform NIB V1

If you had an order with us you should receive an email explaining this.
Thanks for shopping with Trainz!
Marsha Bolton-preorders

Lionel & MTH Freight Car Sale - Ends On Memorial Day!

2009-05-15T11:43:00.006-04:00

This week only! Save 20% off retail prices on select Lionel and MTH freight cars. The discount will be applied during checkout and expires on May 25, 2009.

We are sold out of Lionel Grand Central Terminals

2009-04-30T14:05:00.002-04:00

In case you are looking for the new Lionel 16859 Grand Central Terminal on our website, we have unfortuanately sold out. It turned out to be quite popular, and with production limited to only 250 pieces, they went pretty quick.

Tommy

Change in Lionel's Vision Line Pricing--No Rebates, Lower Prices

2009-04-30T08:16:00.003-04:00

At the York Train show, Lionel announced that they are restructuring the pricing of Vision Line locomotives and eliminating the rebate program. The 11154 PRR CC-2 now has a MSRP of $1799 instead of $1999, the Santa Fe 2-10-10-2 has a MSRP of $2299 instead of $2499, the 28306 GE Hybrid now has a MSRP of $899 instead of $999, and the 28314 UP Genset switcher now has a MSRP of $699 instead of $799.

At Trainz, these prices are now:
11154--$1399.99
11155--$1799.99
28306--$699.99
28314--$539.99

If you have already ordered one of these locomotives from us, your order will now have the newer, lower price instead of the initial preorder price. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at customerservice@trainz.com.

Tommy

Rebates on Lionel Vision Line and Conventional Classics

2009-04-24T15:53:00.002-04:00

At York, Lionel has announced the following rebate programs for 2009 items:

Vision Line steam locomotives (#11154 and 11155)--$200 each, or $700 if both engines are purchased at the same time.

Conventional Classics: $50 per set (#31784, 38310, 38311, 38312, and 38313).

These items can all be viewed on Trainz.com's Preorder website. Just click the Preorder Store button at the top of the home page.

Be sure to get your orders in today!

Ending April 15: Lionel 2009 Vol. 2 Catalog Pre-Order

2009-04-15T10:55:00.004-04:00

The Lionel 2009 catalog is here! We have all the items from this volume posted on our preorder website (http://store.trainzpreorder.com). We invite you to browse our website and enjoy special preorder pricing and cash in on the savings with FREE Shipping! The deadline to get your Lionel order in by is April 15th.

We will continue to take preorders after the deadline, unless it is released or sold out. Keep in mind that occasionally Lionel can sell out of an item before it is even released, so we can not absolutely guarantee delivery on preorders placed after April 15th

Don't miss out on all the great items Lionel added in this volume, like the all new Vision Line locomotives and new additions to the Postwar Conventional Classics line. Quantities are limited so be sure to order early to secure your order. Vision Line locomotives have manufacturer rebates of up to $500 each!!

Bookmark this link to stay up to date on current release dates: http://lionel.com/Products/ShippingSchedule/index.cfm

If you have never preordered from Trainz, we welcome you! You will find that our service and handling of your order is top priority. Our customer service is top-notch; at anytime that you have a question or concern you can always reach us promptly by email. We strongly encourage all new customers to visit our FAQ page for details about our fantastic program at http://support.trainz.com.

For questions concerning preorders please email us at preorder@trainz.com Or, you may call us at 1-866-285-5840.

After the deadline (April 15th), if you did not order something that you wish you had, give us a call! We'll add it to your existing preorder, with free shipping as long as it hasn't been released by the manufacturer yet. When you order from Trainz.com you'll receive FREE SHIPPING on your Pre-Order.

The Terms of this Program are as follows:

For 2009 Lionel Preorder, the deadline is April 15th, 2009.
You must use a valid credit card during checkout. It will not be charged at checkout time.
We do not accept Paypal for preorders.
Your credit card will only be charged when we ship your items.
Items that you order and cancel will be charged a 10% restocking fee.
Georgia Sales tax will be charged for Georgia orders.

Special Shipment Terms apply for all items sold under this program as follows:

SHIPPING IS FREE! Lower 48 United States Only.
We now ship to Alaska, Hawaii & Canada. Please see listing for shipping amount.
WE SHIP ITEMS TO YOU IMMEDIATELY upon receiving them from the Manufacturer.
Lionel Shipping Schedule

For questions concerning preorders please go to http://support.trainz.com.

Thank you for shopping with us at Trainz, we look forward to securing your preorder!

The Trainz Crew

Mike Wolf at MTH interviewed by Toy Collector Magazine

2009-04-07T14:24:00.002-04:00

MTH took on big competition and is still chugging along
Mike Wolf has heard all the gloom and doom about model railroading, and he doesn’t buy it.
Derailed interest? He doesn’t see it.
Aging collectors? Not the case.
Declining business? No way.
Wolf, the founder and owner of MTH Electric Trains in Columbia, Md., has plenty of reasons for his optimism. The MTH Railroaders Club has more than 10,000 members, and MTH products are carried by about 800 dealers.

Read the entire article on the Toy Collector Site :

http://www.toycollectormagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=121:mth-the-little-company-that-could&catid=34:features&Itemid=62

Lionel Vision Locos redesigned for O54 Track

2009-04-07T14:12:00.001-04:00

Just Announced from .... LIONEL ELECTRIC TRAINS

VISION LINE LOCOMOTIVES

IMPORTANT NEWS

The Lionel design teams have been working very hard to bring you the very latest innovations and the very best features for our Vision Line products.

This just in from our design engineers - The Pennsylvania 0-8-8-0, GE ES44AC Evolution Hybrid diesel and the 3GS21B Genset switcher will now be able to run on a minimum of O-54 curve track.

These new updates will allow for expanded use of these locomotives on layouts that use O-54 diameter curves. The 2-10-10-2 Santa Fe uses O-72 diameter curves.

Preorder errors

2009-03-31T14:53:00.000-04:00

Atten Trainz customers!!!!
While making room for all the wonderful 2009 items newly offered by Lionel we had to delete some items still available from the 2008 catalogs. While reposting these they listed items that were not available. We have caught this error and are working to correct it. We apologize for any inconvience this may have caused and appreciate your patience while we are correcting this.

Lionel 2009 Vol. 1 Catalog Is Here! Pre-Order Now!

2009-03-04T13:56:00.000-05:00

The Lionel 2009 Volume 1 Catalog is here! We have all the items from this volume posted on our preorder website (store.trainzpreorder.com). We invite you to browse our website and enjoy special preorder pricing and cash in on the savings with FREE Shipping! The deadline to get your Lionel order in by is April 15th. We will continue to take preorders after the deadline, unless it is released or sold out. Keep in mind, that occasionally Lionel can sell out of an item before it is even released.

If you have never preordered from Trainz, we welcome you! You will find that our service and handling of your order is top priority. Our customer service is top-notch, at anytime that you have a question or concern you can always reach us promptly by email. Please visit our FAQ page for details about our fantastic program.

For questions concerning preorders please contact us at http://support.trainz.com. Or, you may call us at 1-866-285-5840.

When you pre-order from Trainz.com you’ll receive FREE SHIPPING (within the USA)!

Fallout Continues at Märklin

2009-03-04T07:57:00.001-05:00

Two Märklin employees have been fired in the wake of the company's insolvency and owner Kingsbridge Capital is refuting allegations it's being investigated by a public prosecutor regarding its role in the company's financial demise.

According to the German business daily Handelsblatt, insolvency trustee Michael Pluta confirmed Karlheinz Menrad, the head of Märklin's Hungarian subsidiary, has been dismissed. Reportedly, Menrad had transferred more than $127,000 to Adler Toy, a holding company owned by the Hardt Group - connected to Kingsbridge - just prior to the declaration of insolvency. Menrad is a managing director of Adler Toy.

Only the German portion of Märklin has declared insolvency.

Also dismissed was Hans Reyher, the company's head of bookkeeping at the Goeppingen, Germany headquarters. Both men were longtime employees.

The firings come amidst reports in the German media of an investigation into the fees paid by Märklin to consultants since Kingsbridge bought it in 1996. According to reports, Pluta said the company might not be insolvent if it hadn't paid the approximately $50.1 million in fees. Kingsbridge has refuted Pluta's claim and might pursue legal action against the administrator.

Authorities in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, where Goeppingen is located, are also reportedly looking into allegations that Kingsbridge and Goldman Sachs lied about the financial situation of Märklin to get bank financing and that "hush money" was paid to some employees.

One direct effect of the insolvency has been the cutting back of the number of starter sets offered by Märklin GmbH. Dealers were notified in late February the previous list had undergone "a critical analysis" and that 13 sets had been cut, along with one new item.

Lionel Pre-Order Update

2009-02-18T14:31:00.003-05:00

Today we removed all of the existing Lionel items from the Trainz Pre-Order web site in preparation for the Lionel 2009 Vol. 1 Catalog.

We will have the complete Lionel 2009 Catalog available at http://store.trainzpreorder.com within the next few days.

Phone issues

2009-01-29T09:59:00.002-05:00

As Trainz is changing to a new phone system we have had issues being able to make out going calls. Please be patient with us while we are going through this transition.

Lionel 2009 catalog

2009-01-23T13:32:00.003-05:00

The much awaited Lionel 2009 catalog will be here the second week of February for all our preorder customers.

Lionel - MTH Tinplate Licensing Deal True

2009-01-02T15:20:00.004-05:00

From OGaugeWatch.com:

Yesterday, Lionel's CEO Jerry Calabrese acknowledged that the premature press releases I found on MTH's website were in fact true. Mr. Calabrese summed up the agreement like this:

Lionel and M.T.H. are two, entirely separate companies with entirely different business models and destinies. We fiercely compete, and will continue to fiercely compete, in the core, O gauge segment of the model railroad hobby, especially in the arena of high-end engines and Operating Systems. However, our interests do not conflict, to any great extent, in other gauges and markets. Both companies are equally committed to making great trains and, where we do compete, both companies are equally committed to convincing hobbyists that they do so better than the other. And none of that will change.

The agreement between Lionel and M.T.H. is a conventional and straightforward, multi year license, in which Lionel will be paid a royalty on each tinplate train that is sold. As an acknowledged and acclaimed maker of tinplate trains and accessories, M.T.H will now be able to do so using the historical and authentic Lionel and American Flyer badging that made them historical and authentic in the first place. While M.T.H. will be solely responsible for manufacturing the new line, Lionel will work with M.T.H to select the trains that will be made over the next few years, and will do whatever it can to help make them the success they deserve to be.

The original press "XX3" press release was officially released too with all the XX's filled in.

I find this new agreement interesting in many ways....

Will someone please convey to Mike Wolf of MTH that he needs to pay more attention to how he markets his business over the web! It is unacceptable to me that those press releases were accidentally posted on MTH's website prematurely. They were very very easy to find -- I found them by hitting the search button on their news archive page with nothing in the search box. In my opinion MTH's website does no justice to the products it sells - it's slow, not visually appealing and obviously, is not administered properly. How can the 2008 Volume 2 catalog still be the "current catalog" on the website even though the 2009 Volume 1 catalog was released over 60 days ago? It is pitiful that MTH's web presence doesn't reflect the pride those at MTH have in delivering fantastic trains with what I think is the best digital command control system for the money. Wake up MTH and revise your web presence.
Neither the press release nor the comments from Mr. Calabrese address my biggest question - what control system if any will be in the tinplate trains MTH is producing? Since, according to Mr. Calabrese, Lionel and MTH will "fiercely compete, and will continue to fiercely compete, in the core, O Gauge segment of the model railroad hobby, especially in the arena of high-end engines and Operating Systems." I wonder how MTH will develop a train that can co-exist on layouts running either company's digital control system without sacrificing the cool and different functionality each system offers? I know that MTH's DCS can control Lionel's TMCC equipped trains but what about Lionel's new Legacy system? Will this agreement mean that Lionel will have reveal the technology behind their new Legacy control system to MTH (maybe they already have)? This will be interesting.
What is the real reason for this agreement? In my mind, the tinplate segment of the O and Standard gauge world is tiny. What benefit does Lionel achieve by letting MTH manufacture Lionel's old tinplate trains when MTH was already recreating them anyway? I guess the most obvious reason is $$$ for Lionel, which is ok and leads me to my next point.
To me this agreement solidifies my opinion that MTH is in a position of strength in the world of model train manufacturing (or spread too thin?). MTH is expanding into HO like crazy, creating more and more re-tooled locomotives and already has a great line of tinplate O Gauge and Standard Gauge offerings. The agreement also makes me believe that Lionel's strategy is to survive through licensing agreements. This may be a temporary strategy to strengthen their financial standing but Mr. Calabrese's history with Marvel Comics indicates otherwise. It wouldn't surprise me if Lionel carefully expands its relationship with MTH in the future. Such an expansion just makes good business sense for a company that can make a ton of money from a brand without getting involved in the manufacturing. When you really, really boil it down, isn't the prominent role of both MTH and Lionel in the manufacturing of model trains to manage outsourcing agreements they have with manufacturers in the Far East (OK there may be some ownership stake involved in some cases). If you think of it in those simple terms it is even easier to believe Lionel could become more of a brand management company then a manufacturing management company.

Is this agreement a "Budweiser Turning Point of the Game" for both MTH and Lionel or just a simple agreement between two companies trying to survive and make money in the small world of O and Standard Gauge trains? Time will tell.

What do you think?

You can read Mr. Calabrese's statement and the press release here.

Source: OGaugeWatch.com

Greenberg's Train and Toy Show

2008-12-30T09:54:00.004-05:00

Charles Conley, TCA Member and Lionel Postwar enthusiasts, made a recent trip to the Greenberg Train Show in Wilmington, Massachusetts. He wrote about his experience in an article for AuctionBytes.com. You can read his article below...

The six or seven large, operating layouts, in several different gauges, were also a big hit. I particularly liked one that was displayed by a "Kids Only Club." For the benefit of anyone who has not been to one of these shows, these large operating layouts are made by clubs where each member, or perhaps family, builds one section that could fit in the back of an SUV. The club agrees on design specifications regarding how the sections fit together. Then at a train show, for example, all of the sections are assembled together to form one large rectangular layout, probably according to the amount of space that's available at the show.

From what I could see, people were buying mostly new items from dealers at the show. There seems to be less interest in older toy trains, some of which might have been considered collectible a few years ago.

Why? My theory is that the toy/model train hobby offers unique opportunities for people, especially younger folks, to learn and experiment with a wide range of technologies compared to other equivalent indoor hobbies. Many of today's trains are operated by remote control. Train sounds are clever and vastly improved. Many operating accessories are available now in enormous variety, and prices, for the most part, are quite reasonable. It is not unusual to see a train with forty or more cars being pulled by two or more engines working in tandem, in part because today's engines appear to have more pulling power and also because many of the newer cars are lighter than older train cars. In short, people seem to favor operating the newer trains rather than collecting older ones. This has been causing the value of older trains to decline.

I left with the feeling that the toy train hobby is thriving. But for people with an old set of Lionel or American Flyer trains - if you have had trouble selling them on the eBay in the past, it probably won't be any better now.

There still seems to be a good market for toy trains that are truly rare, but I think even that market is showing signs of weakness. I saw prices on older trains that varied widely from price guide amounts, so my advice to anyone buying these: Be careful. Still, if we are in midst of the worst financial crises in many years, one would question that after attending this show.

Source: AuctionBytes.com

The 36875 Polar Sound Coach w/Conductor and 30085 MTA Sets are in!!!!

2008-12-16T16:04:00.003-05:00

Just in time for Christmas [and we mean just in time] we received the 36875 Polar Express Sound Cars with Conductor and the 30085 MTA Transit Train sets. Both are now for sale on the site, $93.99 for the Polar car and $222.99 for the MTA set.

The 36875 Polar car is an exciting addition to the set. It features transformer-controlled conductor announcements taken from the movie and also has a conductor figure as well. Very cool.

The 30085 set is a faithful reproduction of MTA's M7 self-propelled transit cars. The set includes a powered unit with horn, three matching non-powered cars, a CW-80 transformer, loop of Fastrack, and a set of figures as well! A matching station platform {#24245, $31.49}, and blinking billboard {#24240, $19.09} are available as well.

Christmas Delivery

2008-12-16T13:37:00.001-05:00

We at Trainz know this is an exciting time of year as well as a busy one. Shipping for Christmas is guranteed if the order is placed before 12-17-08. After this date expedited shipping may be required. If you do not reach a Trainz associate please be patient with us an know we are working as hard as possible to return the calls and get your shipment to you before Christmas. Thank you all for you valued business.

Lionel items dropped

2008-12-10T13:10:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately Lionel has dropped the 14265 Sawmill with sounds. This means they will not be making it at all. If you have an order with Trainz you should be receiving an email regarding the cancellation of this item off your order.

Update for 30085 MTA set and 36875 Polar express car

2008-12-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

We received a partial in on the 30085 and 36875 last week. Please be patient as the balance we hope to have out before Christmas. Orders are filled on a 1st come basis.

Lionel on the Today Show

2008-12-08T14:34:00.002-05:00

The cast and crew of "Today" was treated to a visit to Lionelville this last week. Lionel's own J. Don Reece was on hand to show off the magical Lionel layout complete with a Lionel Lines steamer pulling boxcars featuring the "Today" show cast.

Get up to 40% Off eBay prices

2008-11-30T20:47:00.004-05:00

eBay and Microsoft have teamed up and are currently offering a promotion to new users who sign up for a Microsoft “Live” account. Live is Microsoft's search engine (competing with Google) and they want more people to sign up and use it. Ads have started appearing on Live promoting eBay items - and yes, including our Fixed Price Buy-It-Now (BIN) items up to 25-30% off our regular prices. You must pay for them with with PayPal, and the discount will be rebated back to your PayPal account. This is really free money to you for using Microsoft Live to find items listed on eBay and using PayPal. You are limited to 10 transactions with this, so use it for your larger purchases.

This offer from Microsoft can also be COMBINED with eBay coupons. eBay is spending most of its marketing budget this December - Millions $$$ - on these coupons, so take advantage of them, eBay wants your business! These promotions now work smoothly with our checkout.
Don’t miss this opportunity to get even better train deals now.

Step-by-step details for signing up are detailed at this Knowledgebase page.