i don’t think you have a choice when it comes to “China”. i think the only thing on my layout not made in China is the wood for benchwork and i wonder about that.
Don’t hit the panic button yet. Most kits are still made here. Bowseer all american. Stewart frieght cars and some locos, Red Caboose and Intermountain KITs are made here when you can get them. Up until now, Athearn and MDC kits were made here.Kato made in Japan. Roco made in Austria (some Atlas locos not all) Concor HO is made here, the N is mixed.Accurail is made here and are very comparable to Athearn but more accurate and detailed. Might be the best value fir frieght cars right now.If you are really into accuracy, all the resin kits are made here, while complex build into really accurate cars.
Kato is made in Japan. I’m also pretty sure that MT (N-scale) is still made in the USA. Otherwise, most MRR items (and non-MRR items) seem to be coming from China these days. I think Atlas had a recent N-scale release that was made in Korea (the VO1000’s).
If you are limiting yourself from any item made in China, you may have to send back that Atlas engine you have coming. [:0]
I thought Atlas flex track was still made in the USA? Branchline freight car kits are made in the USA. They proudly state that the tools and moulds are USA made as well. Personally, I find these to be some of the most satisfiying kits I assemble. Then of course there are many craftsman kit makers for structures. Businesses like American Model Builders, JL Innovative design, to name 2 of my favorites. The IHC steamers are made in Slovenia still I believe. The great British brands like Hornby are all made in China now I beleive.
This statement will probably surprise some people but my MBA is from the University of Chicago which is the premier school for economics right now. In class after class for two and half long years I was presented with research and facts from very knowledgable profs including three Nobel prize winners in economics who all came to the same conclusion based on different factors. Trading with third world countries raises the living conditions exponentially over political or trade restrictions. Why? Because the people being “exploited” compare their standard of living compared to what they are making for export and demand more from their own country in the way of living standards and wages. That sure beats embargos and sending soldiers all over the world. Any time somebody wants to take on their own repression it sounds like a winner to me. There is not one case of trade restrictions working but there are many where trading raised entire countries. When that happens the playing field becomes more level because their wages and benefits increase. Our productivity levels are second to none. Our workers produce more work and product per man hour than anywhere else. Equal wages and we win hands down. Most of teh jobs in nmaking trains aren’t rocket science. Unless you are custome scratchbuilding models I doubt you could get much more than minimum wage. Anybody want to stop what they are doing for a living to take one of those jobs?
Fleischmann and Marklin trains are still made in Germany - along with LGB in G-scale and others. Roco are made in Austria. I also feel uneasy about the fact that everything seems to be made in China, mainly due to their appalling human rights record (they still routinely imprison and murder pro-democracy campaigners). I guess the only consolation is that China will be forced to reform by trade pressure - they may make everything for us, but if we stopped buying their economy would collapse!
That is exactly what “scares” me; 1. Someday everything in the USA will be foreign made, even Kellog’s cereal is now made in Canada! (???)
And 2. If we ever need to do what we did in WWII, and have all mfg. companies produce supplies for the war effort, the US Government would ultimately be very sorry it even allowed globalization to work in the USA.
I CAN"T STAND globalization, it is literally killing America, along with allowing illegal immigrants into the country and other stupid allowances…[:0][:(!][:(!][B)][V]
Enough ranting-you get my point!
Anyways,
Accurail, Bowser, Kadee, Micro Engineering, Red Caboose, Central Valley, American Model Builders, Branchline Trains, Details West, Bar Mills, Westerfield, Funaro & Camerlengo, Digitrax, CVP, NCE, and many other small model companies make their products here in the USA. I think Atlas Custom-Line track is still Made in USA.
However, Intermountain, Atlas, Life-Like, Bachmann, Athearn, MRC, BLI, and some others I can’t think of at the moment are all made in China, with the exception that Intermountian kits, couplers, and wheelsets are still in the US.
Notice that the largest companies outsource their manufacturing, while smaller firms tend to stay here in the USA. It is still quite possible to make a complete layout with only the locomotives and some wiring foreign-made.
Ndbprr, I could not agree with you more. Having both a career as a hi-tech engineer (retired now) and an MBA received at age 55, you are quite correct. I know that man Americans do not want to hear about items imported. But we once were in their shoes. The younger generations of today know nothing of what our forefathers went through working in sweat shops when OUR country switched from Agriculture to Industrialization, just as Japan did, and SKorea, and now China. We have it easy now in this country, and we don’t want war, well neither will those countries when they get a taste of the good life!! And as ndbprr stated so well, how many of you are willing to work for $1.50 an hour to assemble engines all day? We must learn new skills and move ahead, steam is gone forever (sob), we are now deisel, …tomorrow?? That is where America has it’s future…innovation. We are ONE PLANET folks!!
Athearn and MDC kits are still made in America. The RTR and Genesis are made in China.
Some LBF stuff is made here (last I hear), some is made in China.
If you have some experience builting stuff, Eel River Models are made here. However, there only offering is 60’ Pacific Car & Foundry RBLs (insulated boxcars) with 10’ door or 12’ doors.
I think that I saw on my Walthers autocarriers that i bought in the mid 1990s that they were made in Denmark (a foreign country). However, I know Walthers also has stuff made in China.
If you are looking for buildings, Pikestuff and Rix products are made in America.