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When the relationship between Mike Wolf and Richard Kughn went south and the orders to Samhongsa fell off, Mike had to do something or lose the exclusive rights he had with the Korean factory. So, He began production of his own in 1994. He debuted the Dash 8 premier diesels in several different road names at York in October, 1994. When Mr. Kughn saw the new diesels and inquired who made them , Mike said that he was producing them under his own brand MTH. Kughn went ballistic and the following week he sent Mike a letter or telegram stating that he was no longer a Lionel distributor or dealer. A lawsuit promptly followed for restraint of trade. Mike invested the lawsuit proceeds into an explosion of new tooling that almost put Lionel into the dumpster. 

"Another recent thread discussing MTH's contribution to the hobby implied that the Weaver Alco C630s made in '92 were pretty much MTH products in every regard except the label on the box."

Interesting.  Maybe they came off the same assembly lines at Samhongsa  I bought one of those over the counter in a small hobby shop in Columbia MD.  The young man behind the counter was named Mike Wolf.  I have since updated that loco to PS2, and it is one of the smoothest running, best-running, engines that I own.

Whatever happened to Samhongsa?  Their products are much better than those made slightly to the west of Korea.

I believe you will find that Samhongsa is still making the high end products for MTH.  They are not made in China.  Please correct me if I am wrong.

I purchased the Santa Fe and the UP from that brochure. I did not think you could get much better than those engines.  Was I wrong.  The next brochure that came in the mail featured the die cast Challenger.  That engine re-wrote the future of three rail model railroading.

Last edited by Bill DeBrooke
Bill DeBrooke posted:

I believe you will find that Samhongsa is still making the high end products for MTH.  They are not made in China.  Please correct me if I am wrong.

I purchased the Santa Fe and the UP from that brochure. I did not think you could get much better than those engines.  Was I wrong.  The next brochure that came in the mail featured the die cast Challenger.  That engine re-wrote the future of three rail model railroading.

Only MTH's Premier steam locomotives are still made in South Korea. Premier diesels are made in China.

Lou1985 posted:
Bill DeBrooke posted:

I believe you will find that Samhongsa is still making the high end products for MTH.  They are not made in China.  Please correct me if I am wrong.

I purchased the Santa Fe and the UP from that brochure. I did not think you could get much better than those engines.  Was I wrong.  The next brochure that came in the mail featured the die cast Challenger.  That engine re-wrote the future of three rail model railroading.

Only MTH's Premier steam locomotives are still made in South Korea. Premier diesels are made in China.

Sorry, I meant to say steam.

NSBill posted:
Bill DeBrooke posted:

Here is the brochure in question.IMG_7154.1

Was the Amtrak ever made in that paint scheme? Was the real ones ever painted like that? Always thought it was cool looking. Would love to see it made again.

Bill

It's referred to as the Amtrak Pepsi Can scheme, although the top should be gray.  It was used only on the dash-8's.  Don't know it if it was changed for the production first run, but was correct in later versions.

Rusty

Samhongsa did not collapse or go out of business. The company decided that it no longer wanted to manufacture trains. I'm sure you are familiar with the device in office chairs that let you swivel and raise the chair up and down. Samhongsa makes those and many other products. When Mr. Lee senior passed away, the company leadership decided that it was no longer interested in making electric trains. MTH premier steam engines may still be made in South Korea but not by Samhongsa. I believe the name means "Rising Sun." Weaver steam engines were also made by Samhongsa through the relationship with Mike Wolf.

Here is the internet site for the current Samhongsa company.

  
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
Motor|
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
 
        product feature
        Application
         gas cylinder
         gas spring
        DOWNLOAD
        Produst
         gas cylinder
         gas spring
 
 
 
  HOME > G/S > gas spring
 gas spring
 
 
 
 
 As demand for ergonomics requirements increases in our daily lives and in industrial fields, Samhongsa has succeeded in developing gas springs widely used in office chairs and in other industries. The company operates perfectly equipped production lines.
 
 In particular, the gas spring manufactured by Samhongsa which has been evaluated as an innovative product by related industries features characteristics superior to normal metal spring.
Hence, this gas spring can be used in a wide range of industrial areas. Furthermore, the Samhongsa gas spring produced based on ISO 9001/QS-9000 certification has successfully been tested and its effects validated by well-known world chair makers, while its high quality proven by world-renowned quality testing institutions.
 
 Samhongsa plans to construct a full quality management system in the future to realize customer satisfaction. In line with this, the company will devote itself to the supplying of product which satisfy customers by acquiring international safety standards and product testing standards meeting the characteristics of each country and area.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The gas cylinder manufacturer is not the same Samhongsa that produced brass trains for Hallmark Models (not the card company), Pacific Fast Mail and others, plus diecast metal and injection molded trains for MTH, Weaver and others.

The office supply company has been around since 1970.

SAMHONGSA CO.,LTD

https://www.linkedin.com/company/samhongsa-co-ltd

The model train company was succeeded by another.

http://www.sammodel.com

Weaver produced the Alco C628 and C630 and the EMD SD40-2 before that tooling ended up in the hands of MTH. I’m not sure about the nature of that transaction. Regardless, MTH continued modified versions of those locomotives later, long after Samhongsa itself was no longer involved.

 

Bill DeBrooke posted:
Lou1985 posted:
Bill DeBrooke posted:

I believe you will find that Samhongsa is still making the high end products for MTH.  They are not made in China.  Please correct me if I am wrong.

I purchased the Santa Fe and the UP from that brochure. I did not think you could get much better than those engines.  Was I wrong.  The next brochure that came in the mail featured the die cast Challenger.  That engine re-wrote the future of three rail model railroading.

Only MTH's Premier steam locomotives are still made in South Korea. Premier diesels are made in China.

Sorry, I meant to say steam.

No problem. Just clarifying what is still made in South Korea.  

All the Premier locomotives were made in South Korea in the early days. I have a Premier AS-616 diesel from the 1995 time frame that was made in South Korea.  

I believe that Korea Brass is also out of the train business.  My impression is that these small companies are more fluid in Korea than the USA.  They re-organize their principal executive and technical talent under another corporate entity is what I've been told.  So, for example, Broadway Limited, who makes mostly N and HO gauge products, originally used Korea Brass and then moved on to another entity (? same people) when Korea Brass got out of the business.  If I'm wrong about any of that, please correct.

I had a few premium Lionel locos made by Samhongsa and Korea Brass in Korea and all had paint rash develop...the small blisters where the paint can chip.  This has not been present from the China sourced premium diecast products.   The 1990 Lionel Pennsy Burro Crane diecast frame had rash as well but I think it was a Taiwan casting.  This is not the same as zink rot.   Here are a couple of pics of my Lionel 1991 Semi Scale Turbine.  I am glad the product is now sourced from different factories.   I always thought Mike Wolf had a family relationship to Samhongsa via his wife?  Hence the door was opened to modern scale product development. 

Lionel 18010 - 3Lionel 18010 - 4Lionel 18010 - 5

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Arnold D. Cribari posted:

The first MTH Railking locomotive I bought was the NY Central Mohawk steam engine.  It's very durable and reliable and looks and runs great IMO. My recollection is that it cost about $300 in the early to mid 1990s.

I gather this steamer was not the 1st MTH locomotive, but I think it is one of the 1st. It preceded Proto 1.

Arnold

Fall 1995 catalogIMG_7157.1

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Bill DeBrooke posted:
Arnold D. Cribari posted:

The first MTH Railking locomotive I bought was the NY Central Mohawk steam engine.  It's very durable and reliable and looks and runs great IMO. My recollection is that it cost about $300 in the early to mid 1990s.

I gather this steamer was not the 1st MTH locomotive, but I think it is one of the 1st. It preceded Proto 1.

Arnold

Fall 1995 catalogIMG_7157.1

IMG_7159.1

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  • IMG_7159.1

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