[Lee Willis]

 

[Spence]

Very nice. If I remember correctly the third rail model that you bought was with the intention of having it be a shelf queen! So now that you have sold it must mean that you have some empty space on your shelves?

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Spence, empty space on Lee's shelves doesn't last long!

Nice looking set Lee, I hope the passenger cars live up to expectations as well.

 

[Norton]

I would like the get the UP version but the cars are near impossible to find. I asked Mike about doing E7s in early NYC colors since he did a E6 in the same colors but I am pretty sure he doesn't want to do new molds for E7s.

Pete

 

[Millstonemike]

"... and nearly 6 million took the full tour through its exhibits, where they saw appliances, conveniences, ..."

Sounds like this was the prelude to GM's pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. I was six at the time and only recall General Electric's "display of progress" based on the everyday advancements and conveniences of electricity in the home.

 

[Jeff T]

Very nice Lee. Based on the pics I like the 3rd Rail logo...

 

[Pingman]

Terrific write-up and photos, Lee.

Does MTH offer a removeable coupler for the "front" (powered) A unit? The lobster claw makes no sense to me. The doors on the pilot of the 3rd rail look much better to me.

 

[87chaparral 187XL/]

Those do look nice. I think MTH cataloged those e-8's as having the silver strip on the side as "plated". I cancelled my preorder because they didn't come through that way (at least that is what I was told by MTH). I have not seen those E-8's until now, thanks for posting. BTW, just guessing, Will the passenger cars be plated? I am guessing....NO

 

[HarborBelt1970]

I understand your point of view and I also prefer diesels in multiple units. BUT I wouldn’t swap my 3rd Rail ToT cars (aluminum, plated accents) for anything from MTH. :cheeky4:

 

[beachhead2]

Lee, they look very cool. And I always enjoy the history. :thumbsup:

I totally agree with you regarding 3rd Rail and MTH Premier. I recently took delivery of a new 3rd Rail PA. I set it next to my new MTH Premier PA and examined them side-by-side for a while.

I came to the conclusion that I saw very little difference. I don't know a thing about prototypical trains so I can't tell you anything about either model's accuracy.

Lesson learned: an igoramus like me should not be buying 3rd Rail. No need to pay a premium if I can't tell the difference. I like DCS better anyway. Still a cool model though.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

While 3rd Rail does make some gorgous stuff, if you're into running your trains, you'll get more modern electronics and features with MTH or Lionel. 3Rd Rail is hobbled by the fact that it can only get TMCC and not Legacy features.

 

[Lee Willis]

I agree. I still have several 3rd Rail locos, but they are pure shelf queens, on my shelves for display and kept because they are such good models.

 

[DennyM]

Some nice locos. Great review Lee.

 

[Maxum]

Cool locomotives Lee. I am a sucker for EMD car body locomotives. Just a note, the picture was taken in San Diego. The depot is still in use. The Bekins building in the background is still there, but I believe it's apartments now.

 

[towdog]

I also have the 3rd Rail ToT and at the time could not justify ordering the MTH version. However, as you and others have mentioned, MTH wins out on the running and sound abilities. I will be studying your pictures of the engines and the passenger cars before I decide on trying to grab a MTH set as well.

One day I do want to set up a Tot, AeroTrain, and Futurliner display with throngs of people checking these trains out. I really get into what these represented at a time when there was so much excitement about the future.

Thanks for the review.

 

[Maxum]

I bought a 3rd Rail Southern Pacific AC-9 locomotive. It was beautiful. But right out of the box it had problems. The biggest one was that it had a dead short. I couldn't figure where the short was without disassembly, so I sent it back to the dealer. I ended up buying a Lionel Legacy version of the AC-9. While not quite as detailed, it looks great. Not to mention it runs and sounds like a champ, plus has whistle steam.

 

[Pingman]

I ran across a website, themetrains.com, which has pages dedicated to particular trains; e.g., GM Train of Tomorrow, Freedom Train, Preamble Express, Auto-Train, etc.

Here is the link to the GM Train of Tomorrow:

https://www.themetrains.com/gm-train-of-tomorrow-main.htm