Im in the market for a Madison 2 car set, I want to get MTH cars, is the Premier line worth the extra money over the Railking line? I have two Lionel Southern Crecent Madison cars, but they just don’t have the detail that MTH has, and the frosted windows, in my opinion make them look cheep, I wish there was some kind of kit that would enable me to replace those white frosted windows, with clear ones, and install seats and interior in them, then they would look much better.
Paul
There are a few differences between the Railking & Premier lines. The basic one is Premier should be scale size in all dimensions(sometimes they aren’t). Railking is usually not scale in length, but is scale in width & most times in height. The Premier rolling stock usually needs larger diameter curves-- O42/O45 or O54–(or higher). Railking items are built for O31 curves.
What I would do is measure your Lionel cars length, then verify which MTH car is near the same size as them. As to the level of detail between Premier & Railking, that line has been blurred in recent years— some Railking items have as much detail as a similar Premier one.
If you have a local shop that has MTH cars in stock, go there and look them over. Compare premier to railking, and then make an informed decision. Don’t forget, pictures in any catalog may not represent the actual item—
Hope this helped–
I have both Railking and Premier and like both but you can’t mix them together. Oh you can, but it does look a little odd. Both have excellent detail, no gripes from me. Knowing what I know now I wish I had stuck strictly to Premier but I do like my Railkings and will not part with them.
If your train traverses an O-31 curve, then RAILKING. I have some beautiful scale-sized equipment then can’t run on one of my mainlines due to O-31 curvature. If not, you have the leisure of finding whichever set pleases you. You also may want to try some of the WILLIAMS passenger coaches, which you could probably blend in with your LIONEL varnish.
Well thanks guys, it looks as if it’s gonna have to be Railking, my layout has two main lines, one with O-31 curves, and one with O-42 curves.
Paul