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Reply to "Lionel Post War Quality"

I would strongly argue that postwar incarnation of Lionel had no intention of having their stuff last for decades and decades. It wasn't about quality or pride or workmanship, it was about the design and manufacturing methods of the times and the byproduct was stuff that lasted for decades and decades. This can be seen in other industries of the era, such as firearms.

If Lionel had access to cheap DC motors, cheap electronics and cheap/modern tooling design, they most certainly would have used all that circa 1950. And really, as design and manufacturing advanced in the postwar era, some of that stuff did creep in, esp. as financial and competitive pressures mounted - simply look at the decline of the NW2 switcher - IMO the first generation of the late '40s is one of the best runners of the era but by the third gen of the '60s it was little more than a stamped tissue box, and some stuff was even worse - I have a 1647 Military set c. 1962 and it almost embarrassingly cheap (still one of my favorites though - I love it).

That all said, I run all postwar, and dabble in more modern conventional stuff, for "quality" reasons. I've used modern DCS stuff, and though interesting, I just get no joy out of sounds or remote control, let alone the reliability problems.

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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