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Yes Jonathan, I am afraid that MTH’s new business model is based on repeats of what they had.  Slight modifications - new a road number here, a new flatcar payload there - are easy to do and easy to make money on.  New tooling is a dream, and I still try to keep that dream alive in the hopes that a new ET44 or SC44 shows up in the catalog.  Even new steam - Strasburg - is still just a dream.

Deep down inside, we all still hope for new stuff.  :-)

It's a tough business, and not just because of recent events.  I fully understand the risks and reluctance to invest in new tooling.  As long as people continue to buy remakes with different paint jobs, there's not a lot of incentive to take the risk on new tooling.  However, I will say that my buying has slowed quite a bit due to the lack of new designs, and I wonder how long it will take for others to do the same.  Given the long lead times, manufacturers who don't invest in new designs could find themselves with an extended dip in sales if they wait too long.

My dream items are realistic versions of the South Shore interurbans - original, rebuilt, and modern, not just generic items with a South Shore paint job.  I don't expect to see it.

@Mallard4468 posted:

It's a tough business, and not just because of recent events.  I fully understand the risks and reluctance to invest in new tooling.  As long as people continue to buy remakes with different paint jobs, there's not a lot of incentive to take the risk on new tooling.  However, I will say that my buying has slowed quite a bit due to the lack of new designs, and I wonder how long it will take for others to do the same.  Given the long lead times, manufacturers who don't invest in new designs could find themselves with an extended dip in sales if they wait too long.

My dream items are realistic versions of the South Shore interurbans - original, rebuilt, and modern, not just generic items with a South Shore paint job.  I don't expect to see it.

Can't see MTH doing accurate South Shore cars with hardly any return on investment when they don't even re-run passenger sets that they could redo at a mere pittance compared to new tooling. Friends have been hoping for a re-run of the North Coast Limited or Canadian National Streamlined cars, instead enough retread Daylight sets they quit looking at the last few catalogs.

@BobbyD posted:

Can't see MTH doing accurate South Shore cars with hardly any return on investment when they don't even re-run passenger sets that they could redo at a mere pittance compared to new tooling. Friends have been hoping for a re-run of the North Coast Limited or Canadian National Streamlined cars, instead enough retread Daylight sets they quit looking at the last few catalogs.

I'm surprised they're still in business.

Food for thought:   What's old hat for some, is brand new to those of us who recently got into the O scale game.  Every catalog is boring for some and great to others.  Personally, DL&W is what catches my eye the most. However, even though everyone seems tired of J's, Daylights, and Big Boys.... I sincerely hope they keep making them.  My budget is nowhere near ready to purchase those yet and I do want them someday.  

Lot of the same stuff from the October catalog...

...been waiting for the Pennsy D-16 and DD-1 locos, both not done since the early-mid 2000s...guess I'll wait some more! 

Seriously, it looks like every Railing steamer was in the last one or two catalogs, same with Premier, except the Berks. 

Depressing. Maybe the days of completely new/refreshed offerings each catalog are completely over. Look at Williams catalogs. I don't even bother anymore, just the same thing over and over and over. This is NOT a dig on the lack of new tooling. This is a dig on the "copy and paste" nature every MTH catalog has gotten to, at least with steam power. Maybe the market isn't there but it seems every catalog is just a repeat of the past offering. 

Last edited by SJC

I like a lot of stuff in the catalog: Long Island RS-1, Pennsy Premier Crane Cars, and the CSX Spirit of LE cars.  I just find it a little weird that their marketing strategy seems to be putting out very popular Steam Engines that have appeared several times over the last few years by both MTH and Lionel.  I've always found MTH to be way more diverse in their engine roster than Lionel and I figured they would showcase engines that Lionel does not usually make...like the Pennsy T1 duplex.  Overall I think they did a good job.  

Catalog after catalog after catalog...…...No premier Penn Central offerings....I was hoping for a E-8 AA in Penn central and also a RS-1. So your reading this thinking no  one wants Penn Central...….Well Lionel always seems to sell out of it. Try finding a Lionel Legacy Penn Central e-8 pair. Since I won't buy Lionel anymore, I was hoping MTH would do a set of these. On a VERY POSITIVE NOTE...…. It appears that my zinc pested P5a boxcab shell will get replaced after all. These are listed in the new book.  Thank you MTH

If you are a modern Canadian Pacific fan, this could be a _great_ catalog!!  Painful $$$, but oh a potential selection. 

However.....

CP Heritage (Curl Scroll), the magnificent D-Day in Spitfire camo and invasion strips, the Navy, and the Army/Arid Regions are shown as SD70ACes.  They should be SD70ACU which is the CP (and NS) SD90 rebuild program with SD70ACe cabs.  Those are much bigger engines than the standard SD70ACe.  I suspect the SD90 tooling will be to blame if MTH is taking a shortcut to produce them as presented in this catalog.  I don't like being asked to accept the wrong engine in the very desirable new CP paint schemes.  That's just not right.  MTH made tooling adjustment for the new SD60E in 2016.  Why not do it right with the SD90/SD70ACU rather than "rushing" these beauties as shorter SD70ACes?.  I would wait if MTH said they would do them right.    

I'm guessing the Air Force and Army Green are likely in the 2021 catalog(s).

The beautiful Washington & Old Dominion 44 tonner is a temptation for those in the DC/NoVA area.

Last edited by RidgeRunner

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