Were Lionel's MPC Era Trains Junk? The Fundimensions Legacy

Lionel MPC is junk. As a child of the 1970s, I heard this more times than I could count from Lionel post-war operators and collectors and even from many dealers at shows. Signs would read, we don't sell MPC junk. While it's certainly true that most of Lionel's 1970 to 1986 MPC-era offerings were not up to the quality standards of Lionel's 1940s and 1950s production, the same could be said of most of Lionel's late 1960s offerings, which was likely a contributing factor in the firm's 1969 bankruptcy. And yes, Lionel's MPC-era features a long list of failures, from the seldom-functioning Sandy Andy accessory to DC-powered starter sets to the disastrous idea of moving production to Mexico, which was quickly reversed. At the same time, the MPC-era was responsible for a number of great ideas as well, many of which still influenced the hobby a generation later. So here are four times MPC got it right on this episode of Toy Train Tips and Tricks. The 1970s were tough years for Lionel trains. The original Lionel Corporation had run out of steam, so to speak, in 1969, and the firm was forced to license the production of its train line to Model Products Corp., then a division of General Mills Foods, and the so-called MPC-era was born. It was hoped that with the deep pockets of General Mills, MPC would have the necessary capital to update and re-energize the Lionel trains line, and MPC encouraged Lionel designers to rethink the entire Lionel line from the track up. Toward that end, Lionel did produce a new track system, called TrueTrack, that looked great but failed to catch on with consumers. Lionel also changed the design of what rode on that track, the very wheels that Lionel trains rode on. Unlike the track system, the new wheels were a hit. New needlepoint axles reduced friction, allowing locomotives to pull longer trains. The shape of the wheel face itself was also changed to a more angled design. On straight track, this wheel contour forces the axles to self-center on the rails, and also promotes smoother operation on curves through what Lionel referred to as differential action, which reduces derailments. These redesigned wheels, often totally overlooked by operators, play a major part in the smooth and reliable operation of Lionel rolling stock produced over the last five decades. While one can argue about the wisdom of choosing Symington-Wayne trucks as the pattern for the truck side frame details, it is indisputable that the new wheels were an improvement over those used in Lionel's previous AAR and Arch-Bar truck designs, and that is a major plus for MPC train design. And Lionel's MPC team didn't stop with the wheels. They also looked for new car designs to ride upon those wheels. When Lionel introduced a steam-powered passenger train as an 027 set in 1973, they had a small problem. Steam-powered sets, they believed, looked best pulling traditional heavyweight passenger cars rather than the streamlined 027 cars from the post-war era. Of course, Lionel had offered their heavyweight Irvington cars, also known as Madison cars, in the post-war era, but these cars were too long to navigate 027 curves and turnouts. The solution was a new design, often called the Baby Madison cars. These new illuminated cars were longer than the post-Ford 2400 series of short streamlined cars, but short enough to easily circumnavigate 027 curves and turnouts. They looked good behind smaller steamers, like the newly designed 442, as well as with larger Hudsons and even Berkshires. The earliest sets included coaches and observation cars, but baggage, combine, and later dining cars filled out the series. The earliest cars, such as the Milwaukee Special and Capital Limited, sported four-wheel trucks with non-operating couplers. By 1977, operating couplers were added, and later six-wheel die-cast trucks became the norm. These cars appeared regularly in the Lionel catalog over the next half-century, with even the Polar Express using a slightly modified version of these classic cars. And, just like the fast angle wheels upon which they ride, more than 50 years of production is a testament to the quality design of the MPC era. In 1971, Lionel MPC introduced a new steam locomotive design, the 442. The goal of this locomotive was to provide a steamer for the starter set market that was affordable, yet still an upgrade from the basic 242 or 040 plastic starter set steamer. This steamer featured a die-cast metal shell that was based on the post-war 2018, 2026, 2037 series of 264 steamers. To compensate for the shorter length and the four-wheel drive, these steamers usually featured more side rod details than the stripped-down late 1960s 264 counterparts. They also featured smoke and some combination of sounds, such as a whistle or the electronic or mechanical sound of steam effect. Some models also featured a firebox glow effect. These steamers looked equally impressive on the point of a passenger set, like the Broadway Limited or Milwaukee Special, or leading a long freight train, as the die-cast shell and traction tire gave these steamers plenty of pulling power, especially when combined with the MPC Fast Angle wheels. Like the Baby Madison passenger cars, the 442 has made frequent appearances in the Lionel catalog from 1971 to 2024, and it is not likely to disappear anytime soon. Once again, solid MPC-era design lives on today. Before I continue, if you're enjoying this video as much as I enjoyed making it, please like the video and subscribe to the channel. Share with your friends and neighbors, and leave a comment about your favorite MPC-era product. Now, back to our story. Perhaps the greatest change that MPC brought to the Lionel line was simply variety. What do I mean? Well, take Lionel's classic post-war 64-64 boxcars, for example. They're prized by operators and collectors alike, not only for their solid construction, but also for their colors and varieties, perhaps the greatest such variety of any rolling stock in the post-war era. Yet, between 1953 and 1969, Lionel cataloged 30 different 64-64 boxcars, although there are more than 100 different variations if you really want to dig into it. But between 1970 and 1986, Lionel MPC produced more than 150 different so-called famous name boxcars, just in the 9200, 9400, and 9700 series of cars alone. While much of this variety can be attributed to newer and less expensive methods of producing graphics on their cars, it is also true that Lionel and the MPC-era favored variety, even in common starter set cars. Look at the post-war 64-62 gondola and its variations. Sure, there are lots of colors available, black, blue, red, green, but nearly all of them are lettered New York Central. Or the 64-56 twin-bay hopper car, where almost all of them are lettered Lehigh Valley. By contrast, in the MPC-era, no less than 16 different long gondola cars were offered, and at least 12 varieties of twin-bay hoppers. Even quad hoppers, reefers, and tank cars received unprecedented colors and variety. Collectors of Lionel's MPC products had to keep on their toes, as most of these items were only offered for a single year, and then they were gone forever. Operators, meanwhile, appreciated that you could build a trainload of gondolas without having all of them lettered for New York Central. MPC-era unit coal trains were freed from the burden of every car proclaiming Lehigh Valley. Today, this is the standard, rather than the exception. Whenever Lionel, Atlas, MTH, or even Menards catalogs a new car, it will be available in four, six, or even more varieties. Lesser-known manufacturer ready-made trains will produce new cars with 20 or more different road name varieties at a time. They say that variety is the spice of life, and we can thank Lionel's MPC-era development team for making variety more common. So, Lionel MPC's era was not just junk. We owe a lot to that era of Lionel production for giving us the colorful and smooth-running trains that are made today. You don't have to love everything about the 1970s, like polyester bell-bottom pants, disco, or gas shortages, but give a little appreciation to Lionel's oft-scorned era and the positive legacy they have given to us all. Keep the trains running, and we'll catch you next week with more toy train tips and tricks.