I enjoy both manufactuers because they both have parts of them that appeal to me.
Mth has better sounds but they dont have as nice rolling stock.
Lionel has high prices and Mth has better Deals
I am one hundred percent Lionel. I find that the quality is alot better. Also, it is what I started out with, and even though I model in G and N scales as well, I will always have a (huge) spot in my heart reserved for the king of all trains.
I like both and also like Atlas and K-Line. My wife also has her favorites but for her its all about the car - and not who manufactures it.
I purchase what ever is a good value. MTH has much better controls in their started PS2.0 sets. RMT and K-line (now gone) have low priced affordable stuff. Lionel has reasonably priced Thomas set and thier conventional control sets are sometimes well priced. Lionel sets and expansion sets can sometimes be a good value at Hobby Lobby (with 40% off coupon). I like the Orange boxes and the Lionel name. I like the MTH controls.
I guess I have absolutely NO brand loyalty at all. Each has their advantages and disadvantages!
Jim H
[#ditto] I like both but like that the PS2 has a lot of sound features in conventional mode that a tmcc is laking.
Both.
laz57
I like them both but admittedly have more MTH right now.
Right now every (toy) train related item I own is Lionel. I have not one single piece of rolling stock, locomotive, or accessory that is from anyother firm.
MTH makes great products. I just absolutely can not stand the way Mike Wolf does business, thus his company doesn’t get any of my money.
I own Lionel, K-line, and Atlas. They’re all great, even though K-line is no more.
I also happen to really like TMCC. My main reason for this is that I love being able to tinker with things, and TMCC is much friendlier to do-it-yourself installations and so forth. Also, if something goes bad with one, you can generally just replace a plug-in card rather than the whole board as you would with PS-2 engines.
I have been meaning to get some Atlas O, but haven’t gotten around to it.
i started out in n scale and my favorite was kato engines, atlas-kato- cars. then i moved to o scale all my engines are lionel except the dummies mth, rolling stock mostly lionel and few mth. i have my favs but what ever catches my eye i will by.
Both but I agree with Ben. Mike W is a spoiled child. Stopped spending any money with him [except Reatrax and that is because I had so much of it before he strated his [censored]]. As far as sounds, Alex, you need your hearing checked. MTH is a flat sound and its horns are terrible. Right now it is Lionel and Atlas for me. If I was not running command, it would be Williams.
I have many Lionel trains, however, I am an aggressive and active buyer of any and all MTH Trains made between 1946 and 1958.
oh wait . . .
This topic is a can of worms waiting to be opened…
I like both, but I won’t say why about each, because I do not ant to add fuel to any fires…
They are both quality products for their own reasons in each respect…
Ah, the brand wars–“my trains are better than your trains”–thing again! Carried right over into the new year!
It’s all as ridiculous and juvenile now as it was some 15 years ago when this nonsense first started.
ALL of the various brands offer a lot of great stuff, and occasionally all of them produce some dogs. I can understand a collector sticking with one brand or another, or even one type of item within a particular brand–say 6464 boxcars, for example. But anyone who actually plays with this stuff, and particularly those who have a favorite roadname or era, is simply limiting his options by staying with only one make of train for any of the several stupid reasons usually offered.
Okay, I’ll bite!
Lionel is my favorite but it wouldn’t prevent me from owning MTH though only rolling stock not locos, I hate the ugly looking tether, I know diesels dont have tethers but I dont like diesels.
The publicity that all the legal stuff has generated hasn’t left me with a good impression of MTH nor has my local hobby shop owner who aggressively pushes MTH even when I ask about Lionel stuff he has, he is always trying to get me to buy MTH instead and that sort of thing puts my back up.
Mike Wolf needs some PR work big time IMHO, I read as much as I can about both sides and try to form my own opinions based on the evaluation of all that I read about peoples issues with various pros and cons of both companies products and that gives me a pro Lionel bias too.
However, lets be fair, Joshua Lionel Cowen did pretty much the same sort of things as Mike Wolf gets a lot of flack about and he comes out of it smelling like roses! Also Mike Wolf has done a tremendous job of building his business up from scratch, so on balance I’m not prepared to let the personality issues affect my evaluation of the products.
The only MTH rolling stock I currently own is a flat car with two pickup trucks that Trainland was blowing out for $20! Its by far the best runner of my goods stock which is a K-Line gondola and a Lionel tipping wagon.
The stuff that MTH makes which pushes my buttons the most is all that gorgeous tinplate I can’t afford.
I buy LIONEL…I do not own anything made by mth and probably never will.
Stan.
I agree. In my own case, I’ve limited my engine choices due to the fact that I personally think that TMCC is more “simple”, but then, I’m a “electrical dunce”. Hence, I don’t own any MTH engines, although he has a large selection of good-looking stuff. My passenger cars are all Railking, as are most of my operating freight cars. In my mind, MTH is “cutting edge” in terms of buildings (selection and looks), Lionel in terms of animations. I also feel that FasTrack is more “trouble free”, especially for small or floor layouts.
Many/most of us can recognise a poster who is speaking with “blind brand loyalty”, but it sure must be confusing to the “new folks”. Joe
[#ditto] AMEN to that Joe. After spending almost three years on the forum, I have found them fairly easy to spot. I really enjoy the ones who haven’t been there, and haven’t done that, then subtly claiming they are an expert by their posting. Normally they reinforce their lack of knowledge by posting some unsubstaniated whopper of a tale.
Joe - I buy more than one brand. I just don’t buy mth right now. [:)]
Stan.