I like the idea, but it will certainly limit you to what's made here.....but that might add to the fun of it, chasing down certain older pieces. I wish some one state side would jump in with the locos , etc. made here, but all I hear is how it will cost too much...etc.. maybe some day.... James

I'm afraid this post will quite likely degenerate into a mudfest.  But before it does, I would like to substantially agree with you.

When Lionel announced their decision to go overseas, I wrote a letter to one of the top train magazines.  My main point was that Lionel would have to bring out something awfully attractive for me to buy it now.  I've bought only 2 engines, and no cars since.  The engines are the 2-8-0 Consolidation, my favorite steam engine style, and an American Flyer NH EP electric, which I could never get in 1956.

My main interest now is Marx.  Both the vintage and the new were made in USA and Robert Grossman's wide variety of parts for them are all domestically sourced.  Marx trains are widely available on E-bay.

I wish you the best of luck in your pursuit.

While there are a few items that are made in the U.S., unfortunately the numbers are not many. 

If you plan on buying older items it really doesn't matter where they were made.  Items that were made previously have no current impact on american workers. 

Jim

I figure it's all in the profit margin. Manufactureres are not satisfied with a good profit, they want it all.  all you hear is labor costs, labor costs.  better to pay overseas wage of maybe a buck or two an hour than pay USA workers say 10 to 15 an hour.  You would think the shipping costs alone would help make up the difference.   WHat do I know though  LOL  i know we are a global economy but come on  ....

No, not really but I admire your stance. It would be nice to buy American but the truth here is that you just can't for most items. even the computer your writing your post was made overseas. I love the modern trains made today even if they are made in China. I will try with some other items but for me it won't be my trains.

Yes it's VERY difficult to just buy American.  I guess I am just hoping that someone in the industry will listen  LOL   

I just bought a 2013 Chevy Equinox SUV...I mean, how USA can you get? Then I found out it was made in Canada.

The global economy certainly changed the dynamics of buying “locally” regardless if local is your town, state or country.  Trainman60 I wish you the best in the path you have selected.

When we decided to take on the project of returning Korber Models to production, while we didn’t know all the details of our journey, we did know that we were going to build here in the USA.  While we may only build a range of structure and detail products for HO, O and G scale model railroading, we feel it is an important part of a person’s layout, and our small contribution to the economy.

The more we looked for suppliers of the parts and help we needed, we were pleasantly surprised what was available, not only made in the USA, but in our case here in Ohio.  The wood material, made in Ohio, the plastic walls, made in Ohio (resins from California) kit assembly, again Ohio.  I have not really run into something yet I could not source in the US, at competitive prices for the volumes we do.

I realize our efforts are not the same scale as others who make higher volumes, and have both electronics, and brass or diecast parts.  Every company has different circumstances and requirements and has to make the choices that are right for them and their stakeholders.  That being said, there are other smaller companies similar to ours that offer a number of accessories for model trains that are made here from which you can add some very nice pieces to your layout.

I respect everyone’s right to choose what they buy, and where it is made.  I certainly own products made elsewhere, and will likely buy some of them if they really strike a chord.  I will however try to support other who make items here in the USA if I can.

hello guys an gals..........

I have a 1970 ford F-100 truck and its 100% made in america as the metal tag says "made in U.S.A." on the door jamb.   That truck been on the road for 42 years after 2nd rebuild.   I am very careful in buying parts from auto part stores checking the labels of where the reman. parts are made from such as wheel bearings.  "Timken" I think they are still made in america.   I would never buy chinese junk wheel bearings and have the wheel come off on the freeway as it happen to me once back in 2004 YIKES.   I would like to have a "timken" scale boxcar but lionel makes postwar version of that.  

the woman who loves toy trains

Tiffany

Whatever floats your boat!  As for me, I buy the trains I like and can afford, and I really don't much care where they have been made.  I'm at an age where I can't sit on the sidelines and wait for all these wonderful toys to be made back in the U.S. 'cause that ain't gonna happen in my lifetime.  If you're in your 20s or so, you might have a shot at it.

I'm VERY happy with the bounty of stuff that has come my way since the early 90s, and now have just about everything I could possibly want or hope for.  I'm grateful for the manufacturers who have provided me with all the "specialty" items I might want, in road names that are relatively obscure, and I'm especially grateful for the great tinplate O gauge that has come from MTH and Lionel--all while I'm still on the top side of the dirt.

It's a bit of a stretch, but one could argue that if there were enough people that only bought American (even if limited to mostly older items), that could represent a market that would be big enough for someone to step in & fill on the supply side (with new production, and therefore new jobs). 

But, the proof is in the pudding.  Weaver makes some stuff in the US... & I'm guessing they don't sell enough to make the big boys (Lionel, MTH, etc.) want a piece of the action. 

I like the concept though.  I'm a big "buy American" guy & do so when possible, even if it's at a premium.   One could put together a pretty fun setup with Ross/ Gargraves track, older Lionel stuff, and some Weaver pieces!  Good luck! 

My wife and I made the decision to buy USA made several years ago.  We feel that it  is  patriotic to support our fellow citizens.  After several years, almost all of our clothes, kitchen items, hand tools and wood working tools are made in USA. We just bought the new Lionel made in USA cars, and will continue to do so as they are introduced.  We have found a new and very meaningful hobby...a hobby that used  to focus on toy and model trains has evolved into supporting USA manufacturing.  Every item that we discover made in our great nation feels like a victory.  The more we as citizens speak out, the more impact we will have on bringing manufacturing back home.

Some early O Scale is now collectible, and prices are going up.  It is kind of fun to collect obscure stuff that increases in value.  I had fun collecting when prices were static.  My collection has doubled in the last year, according to selling prices.

What I want to know is - how do you folks buy American produced fuel?

A week or so back there was a piece in the news about oil companies that only use domestic oil.  Valero is the only one I remember.

I am simply sick of buying Made In China for a variety of reasons that would side-track this discussion.  This is not just in regards to trains. Yes, there is not much of a selection for new trains made in the USA.  My solution is simple, I barely buy any new trains.  In fact, I avoid products made in china in general. 

I found that I can live without a bunch of things. I do buy Weaver rolling stock though the trucks are made in China.  Their engines are "Assembled in America" which means that the only American thing about it is the shell, paint and final assembly.

I don't live in a dream world that these jobs are coming back to America, but I do what I can to support American workers (and I'm not even a Democrat); and not support our enemies.

Alan

It's all fine to buy American but every time I stop at a traffic light in my Jeep I'm surrounded by non-American cars and trucks. How many here own a Toyoto, BMW, Honda, etc. Even GM, Chrysler and Ford build cars or most of the parts come from  Canada or somewhere else.  We are our own worst enemies  when it comes to buying American made products. I do realize that our trains are made in China and will be made there till I'm dead and buried and many years after that. So I don't worry where my trains are made as long as they are made. It seems we worry too much about things that we have no control over. Go run some trains and have some fun.  I know I will. 

Back in the spring of 2010 at the York meet, Lionel announced at one of their seminars their intentions of beginning out box cars to be made here in the USA. It did take them awhile to finally show up here in 2012 but they did and made here in the USA. But one point that they did bring up while announcing the box cars, that their intentions was also to produce 2 sets, one steam & one diesel to be made here in the USA. Both sets would be starter sets and each one they were hoping to sell them under $299. Who knows what the future will bring? Just look at the new Thomas set with a list price of $159.99 as opposed to the Thomas set that they have been selling at a list price of $229.99.

Only time will tell.

Hi all,

as an European citizen, collecting Lionel trains made in China sounds a bit like 'not exactly the real thing'. It's just that feeling that a real Lionel has to wear that Made in the USA tag somewhere. Otherwise it's like buying a Mercedes made in Korea or a Cadillac made in Japan, something like that. It's a sweet dream I know as many car parts etc. are foreign made, but still..

I gave it a try, as I bought recently a Williams FM. I couldn't resist the opportunity as it was almost a bargain on Ebay. I love the looks and so on but...there's Made in China on the box, and it's actually a replica of course.

Then, technically, it has its flaws. Meaning that for instance the speaker inside came of, one truckside panel is bent, the hand rails too, screws were loose. All things you can easily fix but you just can see that intentions were good, the result not so. It's lacking the spirit I think. The same with Chinese made tools in my workshop. Especially the steel parts need attention. Cast parts are roughly finished and so on. I bought them as they were cheaper then EU or US products but at the end I could have saved myself a lot of irritation.

Back to the trains: even if I had to choose between a sloppy finished US made Lionel and a 'foreigner', well give me the first one, even if you start laughing out loud to me!

Kieffer

I have, the only freight cars I will buy are from weaver models. 82 and counting.

Lots of good opinons and discussion.  I actually CAN live without all the new trains and still have a lot of fun.  Everyone has their own feelings which again again makes this hobby great.  Everyone keep having fun and just stay true to your beliefs.  Looking forward to York Fall 2012   I'm getting the tingling already  hahahahah

due to qe 1,2,3 etc. to eternity the us dollar will soon buy very little in china. when the us dollar is only of value in the us lionel and other manufactures will move production back here.

While I try to purchase "made in the USA" (famous 3 words as stated by our current president), I do not refrain from purchasing from overseas when the item meets my needs. My Toyota was built in the USA; however, my wife's was built in Japan and my cameras, Nikon were built in Japan as well.  Cessna's Skycatcher is now built in China and some of the powerplants for aircraft have been purchased by China as well. With the world economy it seems that it is not possible to limit one's purchases to those products made in the USA.

Hey Killian, so where all of my trains. I have to ask you though; do you still hear the bell in your Polar Express set?

I recall when MTH was asked about moving all production to the US on their Facebook page several months ago, their response was that the average price increase would be in the ballpark of 30%.  I would hazard a guess by saying that wouldn't go over very well for the average consumer.

Working as an assembler in a manufacturing environment is pittance when it comes to pay, even here in the States.  That occupation tends to have rather high turnover rates as most people may do it for a while but will move on to something else that pays better, or end up getting laid off due to slowdowns (and the floor staff are usually the first to get the ax).  So the companies would spend a higher amount of money in re-training and benefit costs domestically than if it were outsourced where labor rates are lower. 

How can the labor costs outweigh the shipping?  I would pay more for the product made here, no questions asked because of he benefits to the economy and the country.  Am I one  of the last people who would pay for products made here?

The question is, would you willing to pay 30% more, assuming that figure is reasonably accurate?  That's the big question.

Labor costs tend to be pretty high; more expensive on an annual basis than shipping ever would be on average.

They not only outweigh them; they outweigh them significantly.  Just consider ALL costs that would be involved--labor, taxes, benefits, manufacturing facilities, tooling, etc.--and it's easy to see that it would be a tremendously large investment.  Remember, they would basically be starting up from scratch.

Not to mention that there is a bit of a fundamental flaw that some people may not be considering if they don't buy MTH, Lionel, etc. because of overseas manufacturing.

When you boycott these companies, you're also boycotting American employees that work for those companies here stateside.  It's not just the executives that get paid; there's the secretaries, HR, repair techs, designers, facilities workers, and even the custodians that clean up the offices after working hours.

Am I one  of the last people who would pay for products made here? I think I answered that.

And the next thread is "Why are prices so high". Why do we buy more foreign cars? Because in most cases there better and cheaper. 

I don't think Lionel would still be in business if they had to make trains here. They just couldn't compete. I think Rich of Korber Models is doing a wonderful thing and making a wonderful product but they aren't making high end complicated engines. Just think of not only the skill level but all the machinery and electronics it takes to make a Lionel or MTH top of the line locomotive.

I also wish they made all are products here in the United States but like Allan said "it's not going to happen in our life time". Don

You didn't say if you would do so unconditionally.  So no, you didn't actually.  

YES I WOULD BUY PRODUCTS MADE HERE.....I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE SPLIT HAIRS.

Personally, I am in favor of domestic-made products, but to that end, not to get into politics, I favor government policies and economic situations that promote domestic manufacturing, etc.  

But I buy what's best from my perspective, period, regardless of where it is from.  It seems to me that buying an American product that is even slightly uncompetitive just because it is American will hurt our country in the long run - it encourages domestic companies and workers that they can get by without competing and being the best globally.  Our family car is American (mostly, A Chevy Volt, 100% designed here but only about 60% made here and about 25% in Korea), and  my sports car is near 100% Italian. My AC-heating units are American, but my TVs are Japanese. My stove is American, but my dishwasher German.  My model trains are made in China but designed in American, except for those designed and made in Europe. And my cell phones and computers and new refrigerator, while designed here, are made in China, Indonesia  and Korea.

Part of the problem, of course, is actually knowing where the thing really came from: I wear suits made in the US, but it would not surprise me if the fabric was woven in Indonesia or somewhere like that.  

I'll buy American if it makes sense but I also want items at the best price. If the best price is China then so be it. My Jeep is American, but not my iPad, cell phone, tv, laptop, camera, DVD player, watch, etc. very little of the clothing I buy is made here. 

So I basicially don't care where my stuff is made as long as the quality is there. Welcome  folks to the new world order.

Trainman, you are wrong. The problem is we don't have the skilled workers that make trains anymore. You can't just open a factory and say to workers, OK, get to work. The Chinese have thousands of workers that can do that. It's sad, but it's a fact. It's not 1960 anymore. Trains aren't made the way they were then. There are no companies making the electronic boards for train here. There are no companies making the electric motors here. There are not many companies making the fine die casting anymore. It would take years to train and build a company like this. I'm sorry, I get tired of hearing folks say make it in America and want low cost and think we just need to open a factory door. 

I would LOVE to have every train made here but it just isn't going to happen. The thing that is really a problem is there are only a few companies making trains in China. If something goes wrong there, we won't have any new trains. Don

Lenovo to Start Making Computers and Tablets in the U.S.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technolo...7388495#.UG0Bea6brKQ