x

All about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm

COWCATCHER MAGAZINE

ScaleTrains.com expands product line, acquires HO, S tooling from M.T.H. Electric Trains

February 2, 2021 / Updated June 26, 2023

Model Railroading

ScaleTrains.com, Inc., announced at the Virtual Railroad Hobby Show on Sunday that it acquired M.T.H. Electric Trains’ HO-scale and S-gauge tooling assets at the end of last year.

The acquisition includes steam and diesel locomotives, freight cars and track in both scales. HO tooling includes turbine and electric locomotives, subway sets, passenger cars and other models. Engineering schematics for several all-new steam-era HO projects also were received as part of the agreement.

“M.T.H. is recognized as a leading manufacturer of HO-scale steam locomotives,” ScaleTrains.com President Shane Wilson said in a statement. “M.T.H.’s HO products also allow us to broaden our product line into passenger cars, track and more. We believe there is an opportunity to grow the S market as well.”

Both scales are being melded into ScaleTrains.com’s umbrella of brands, including Rivet Counter. Several molds have been transferred to the ScaleTrains.com factory, and testing is underway.

Over the next few months design will begin to convert the models to accept ScaleTrains.com’s motor and change to ESU-LokSound DCC and sound electronics. The first models are expected to be available in 2022.

The sale is part of M.T.H. Electric Trains’ divestiture of tooling assets as the company prepares to shut down operations later in 2021, said President Mike Wolf, who is retiring. The company began negotiating with ScaleTrains.com last fall and reached an agreement in late December.

No inventory or parts are included in the sale.  

“ScaleTrains.com has a great reputation in the industry, and the M.T.H. HO tooling will make a great addition to their already impressive HO lineup,” Wolf said. “S-gauge fans will find the ScaleTrains.com team loaded with talent and model railroading experience.”

M.T.H. Electric Trains says it will fulfill all outstanding customer HO and S preorders, and all items in 2021 catalogs will be shipped in the spring.

Products sold by M.T.H. Electric Trains will be serviced by the current M.T.H. Authorized Service Center network. This includes parts sales.

Products manufactured by ScaleTrains.com will be serviced by product support in Benton, TN.

In late January, M.T.H. Electric Trains announced final 2021 runs of its O-gauge RailKing F-3 ABA set in four road names, RailKing SW-1 Diesel Locomotive in six liveries and One Gauge G-scale Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy steam locomotive.

Current Issue: November/December 2023

HEAVY DUTY

Model railroad manufacturers are intent on bulking up their locomotives, but they aren't sending them to the gym. HO-scale long-haul and switch engines recently released have been upgraded to meet demand for more pulling power. At least two manufacturers have repowered motors and added a few more ounces for dependability to move long cuts of cars.

GROWTH POTENTIAL

For the first time in its history, the Arizona Eastern Railway has a classification yard that will augment capacity from a storage loop track in Lordsburg, NM. The new Summit Yard, a joint project between AZER and Freeport-McMoRan, adds 24,000 feet of track to handle more cars for interchange with Union Pacific. 

NEW N-SCALE F7S AIM TO PLEASE

InterMountain Railway Co. has released an updated version of its N-scale EMD F7A and F7B locomotives that are among the best-detailed "covered wagons" ever produced. See our product review.

PLUS

A Colorado modeler who picked up modular railroading a few years ago scores big at the 2023 NMRA National Convention. Altoona N-scalers salute the late founder of an annual weekend event by establishing a new award recognizing excellence. And the Nebraska Central Railroad will begin hauling crushed soybeans and soybean oil, to be used in producing renewable energy, next year.