Tyco is the working man’s class of model trains. Back in the day when that’s all he could afford for his kids at Christmas time. Without Tyco, how many people would not have been starting the hobby and sharing their passion. Thanks for another video from a 33%er.
Video is spot on Ron! Folks like yourself have shown that Tyco locomotives are easy to work on and refurbish, and as you pointed out, maintaining them over time keeps ‘em running and still gives us enjoyment. And Tyco was the only ho scale manufacturer that had operating accessories to my knowledge (I could be mistaken), that were simpler and more affordable than the Lionel (O gauge) counterparts. Many of the operating accessories are still available on eBay. Just my opinion:-)😊
Bachmann also had operating things (like the log car and rock car). But I suppose, for all I know, they could have just been rebadged Tyco and sold as Bachmann. But they do exist, I have a couple of them.
I remember a neighbor had a Tyco set called Powerehouse i think....the accessories were driven by a wire driveshaft that was driven by the loco in reverse.You would back the loco to a special pc of track that had a textured wheel ....loco would stop and power truck would turn the wheel/wire drive shaft off to the accessory like pipe loader ect. And I think there was a heavy cardboard playmat that indexed the stuff to keep it in place.
Ron, nobody does it better, you are truly an original, great style, honest, old school values, extremely knowledgeable and fun to watch, the world needs more men like you, thanks for all your efforts, much respect!
Just a passing random thought - the most "collectable thing" is the "Little Lady" that supports you in your hobby - and that's priceless. You're a lucky man Ron 😁👍
I'm in my early 50's and got back into trains (N scale) for the first time since I was a kid about a year ago. If I had the space for HO I would collect the hell out of Tyco train items. I have vivid memories of my Chattanooga, Royal Blue, and Cox Big Pine Lumber Company locomotive which was a hell of a puller. A few of my friends on the block had Lionel and even before the age of reason my instincts shunned the three rail and oddly abrupt turn radius of their Lionel tubular rail stuff. Absolutely love your channel Ron....best model train entertainment around.
Well I have been blowing a lot of money then LOL. I have stripping paint off them and repainting, restoring the motors, most of my tyco locos, 20 plus or so. Have had a lot of fun painting decalling and detailing my tyco locomotives over last few years. Been modeling for myself and having fun at! Spot on Ron! Great video again! I will note that I have not stripped and repainted any of the expensive locos you displayed.
33% er here!! Spot on Ron! If it wasn’t for Tyco Trains, I would’ve never been able to get into electric model railroading. They introduced millions of kids to model railroading, and the only reason people put them down is because they misunderstand their intent. And yes, anything that’s maintained can last a long time.
Hi, I'm 58 yrs old. I grew up on Tyco. The early recalled runs of the Bicentennial boxcars are my favorite. I have two of the sets of three. I used to find them sitting on dealer tables for like $3 each. Now dealers know what they are and you can't find them for under $70 each. Also the loco with the seal that actually has "President of the United States" on it is a recall as well.
I liked my Tyco's when I was a kid. So much so that when my girlfriend said that she wanted to build a steam era train layout, I went to eBay looking for an old Tyco/Mantua Mikado. That was just a few weeks ago. Now I have two Mikado's and a Pacific. I bought the lowest priced ones I could find. They all ran. Like crap. LOL. I had a ball figuring them out and fixing them though. Now I have to dial in the rolling stock. There are good videos on this channel on that subject too. Thanks Ron.
Get a new motor refit kit with flywheel for that Mikado...it's about 28,00...it will run like a million dollars...instructions included and even in could do it ....was Easy.. I'm a complete novice
Hi Ron, If my Mum and Dad didn't give a Tyco trainset for Christmas in 1973, I wasn't getting into the hobby. The 70s were hard economic times down here, me and my mates came from families that weren't made of money. But we had our cheap toys which we shared with each other. Some toys didn't survive, but they provided some great entertainment. But Tyco was a great entry point to this hobby. Steven.
It's a nostalgia thing. Most of us got rid of that stuff when we got serious about the hobby. We bought Athearn and Atlas and Kadee couplers. But then one day we found we were in our fifties and wanted to recapture a little of the fun of Christmas Morning past. Throw eBay in the mix and a many of us have picked up a piece or two for the display shelf. Have fun collecting!
you hit the nail on the head. the people that don't get it will never get it. What doers happen though is that while a couple of guys want to collect them, the price can go up, then all of a sudden those who don't want them see their price go up so they start competing for the models without actually knowing why.... By the way that's a great collection of Tycos sitting there on the shelf behind you.
Looks like you've been doing some bing watching there Peter. Glad you are enjoying my content and commenting on them all. They say that makes the algorithm happy. Yes them Tyco Loco's are from 3 years of trying to collect every one they made. Now I'm down to the few rare ones that cost big money to purchase.
I've got a Tyco F9 from 1963 still running. I replaced the rubber tyred wheels with brass wheels, added wire handrails at the doors and around the cab roof front and added as much weight as possible in the fuel tank and above the motor bogie until it weighed 22 ounces. It made it a better puller up my 3% grade but still had a limited amount of cars it could pull being only a 4 wheel drive. It still goes like a rocket and at full speed you can roll it over on a 24 inch radius curve. I don't usualy run my trains like that !!! It still performs well on the point of a lashup and does a great job with the track cleaning car in tow. There are many more years of life left in it yet !!
Thank you for your coverage here! Good to know Tyco’s are worth something now. I have two grandsons ages 7 and 1 1/2, and I’ve been thinking of turning over all my HO gauge trains and buildings, etc to them under the careful care and teaching of my son, when he was little I added some box cars to my old compilations and he enjoyed the hobby then. I’ll have to go through my totes to see what all I had. What comes to mind is my first diesel locomotive, circa 1970, when I was aged 5. It is the current diesel style of the time with elongated nose (sorry, I’ve forgotten so much of the real model numbers) It’s a Santa Fe all dark blue with yellow letters, lighted cab with front and rear lights. I know I have a round nosed diesel and that is branded 1776 as I bought that in 1976 from my paper route job then. Possibly that same year is when I bought a steam locomotive set with track and all, possibly a 2-4 -2..? Headlight and steam capability and attached coal car. I know I have a round nosed diesel Amtrak and 4 cars set where they all light. I MIGHT still have a round nosed diesel Chicago and Northwestern with at least 2 C &NW cars, as I had to have them being a was a downtown Chicago born kid. Lots of box cars, oil tankers, working lumber roll-off flat car; a few cabooses including the same red caboose you showed as that was with my first set in 1970. My Dad taught me not to abuse them but to treat them with care and later how to maintain them all. Nothing was ever broken at all. I’m excited now to bring the totes down from the attic and take inventory and then have a conversation with my son about starting up the hobby again to enjoy with his boys at their home! You mentioned the brass tracks to be no good. When I was growing out of the hobby about 13 years old I remember nickel track was gaining popularity, but I couldn’t really say at this time what is better than either. Why is brass not good?
Greetings Spencer, That is a pretty cool story you shared. If I read it right 4 generations will be running some of the same exact stuff. Very COOL!! I hope you get back into running the trains as well. Sounds like you have them all packed away. It's a great way to spend time with your Son and Grandsons. I dont refer to brass track as bad. It worked for 60 years or more. It just needs to be cleaned more often then nickel silver, which also needs to be cleaned often as well.
I collect a lot of older Bachmann, Tyco, Life-Like etc rolling stock and all they really need to be in great working order is to replace the wheels and couplers with modern metal ones! They run like a dream with this simple change!
Super. I love my Tyco and operate everything constantly with my more modern items, but that pulpwood flat for $172.50 is shocking. I bought four when I was a kid, for $1.99 each, then later on when I wanted a few more, they were $3.99 each, and I admit to paying $20.00 for a used, boxless Tyco train car when I really want it, but $172.50 for one Tyco car is incredible. 💙 T.E.N. Edit: Funny thing, but my next project is to take two Tyco streamline end cupola cabooses and cut them straight down the center of the cupola, switch ends, and glue them back together to make one really short and one really long streamlined caboose. 🙂
Amen, Ron. I had two Tyco sets as a kid. And played the hell out of them. Now at age 56, I have more Tyco than the department stores had in the late 70s. 14 Tyco train sets, over half of every kit and building ever produced and just about one of every piece of rolling stock except engines ever made. I don’t buy to resell or even open. If it’s open when I buy it, I use it. Otherwise, it’s kept sealed.
Excellent video Ron. I have kept my eye on Tyco\Mantua models for most of my life (and collected a few along the waỵ). My most enjoyable viewing on RUclips is when a collector repairs these vintage models previously deemed as junk and sets them to running again. As I always say, anyone can buy the most expensive model out there with all the super detail parts that runs like a top. It is the true master in our hobby who can take a vintage retro Tyco\Mantua model and get her running again. That is what makes the hobby a challenge and a joy for myself and those out there who look for these models. Thank you once again for the inspiration and do make more videos.
Great video Ron. As always entertaining and educational. Dig your style! My first train was a Tyco set, small oval, but I loved it. That started it. Like you said as we get older, we collect what we like. My kids moved out and I just stole the basement back...lol. Just getting back into the hobby, now I can collect what we couldn't afford kids. Watching your videos, Im now picking up the odd lonely Tyco going cheap at the train shows and stripping them down and cleaning . Keep up the great work, glad to be in with the 33 percenters ! Cheers
Good stuff Ron, In the late 70’s I received an Amtrak HO trains set with 5 cars for Christmas. It was all plastic but I didn’t car. It ran great until 6 months after Christmas and my parents trashed it. I’ve been looking for that set ever since and I’m 54 years old. Keep up the great videos Ron! 😊
I grew up with TYCO, Life Like, then Athearn after a while I graduated to Marklin and HAG. I sold all my 2 rail American trains and they fetched decent dollar number… pleasantly surprised!
i just got into the hobby and know nothing. But been buying broken trains on ebay and fixing them up. I found Tyco trains are my FAVORITE! 38 year old tyco train lover!
I’m old Joe apparently - I remover studying the catalogs and the Lionel play world isle (ironically they had almost an entire row of Tyco. In the late 90s I found a furniture store that had tons of brown box era stuff on Clearance and I buy one of everything I didn’t already have. Then I was that guy selling on eBay in the early 2000s. Then I found myself collecting it again. Add to the fact that I can left the slot cars too and it’s dangerous. I have the dilemna that I have all these boxes and not sure if I want to keep them. Definitely the track and accessories are still pretty worthless. And I think I’ve thrown away a lot of building I got in estate lots. Love your discussion on this
Thanks for a great story. Them Tyco collectors want tyco branded track and the accessories as well. If your selling there Fellers out there that want the stuff now a days
I always bought athern my first HO engine was in 1984 for Christmas it was a sd-40 union pacific with a beacon light and directional lighting it ran great.
That QR loco was a surprise. Never knew Tyco strayed so far from home. I was just looking at some of the modern models from Wuiske Models and SDS Models in that livery (FWIW).
Great video. As long as someone wants it they are collectable. We all like to get things that remind us of our youth. For many of us in model trains now that is TYCO. I know that is where I started. Thanks for sharing.
I know somewhere my Tyco stuff from when I was a kid is probably still around. I know they’re boxless and would not bring in money, but knowing there are people who might accept them as a freebie and replace a broken horn hook and give a home where they are appreciated is comforting…. Tyco and Bachmann were the root of one of the enduring parts of my life. And while I switched to much more expensive models long ago, I become quietly disappointed when the Tyco-bashing starts up. Appreciate for better or worse, your own roots and whether they want to accept it or not, for most of us that was Tyco. BTW… As for that caboose, Model Railroader once ran a kitbashing article on how to turn them into prototypical Pennsy Cabin cars. There was cutting involved that certainly takes away their “unplayed” value, however I don’t feel as bad when someone takes a mass market product and turns it into something they will be personally proud of and treasure and will bring recognition from other modelers. Well, except for those who measure the diameters of your rivets. 😉
Thanks Dude - Love the video. Spot on with the haters. My Aunt worked at Tyco in NJ. She got sets of trains for like $15, one year I got like 6 sets of Tycos. Still have them (no boxes tho), then my wifes father left me all of his stuff, alot of Mantua, even the old Mantua Couplers. Getting ready to get back into it. I have one of those log cars and dumper thing ...LOL. Too funny.
Enjoyed the video Ron thanks.I got lucky a few years ago and snagged at a yard sale (cheap) a brand new diesel switcher complete set in brown boxes/gold metal transformer/brass track.After a lube and cleaning the little Santa Fe 4 wheeler runs just fine. I am going to leave it DC and stock, hell it still has its original headlight bulb working. And the Mantua Classics are great.(get some !)...The little UP 0-6-0 shifter (DCC ready) I bought new runs superb with a digitrax DZ123 decoder ...even has split brass axle bearings in the metal frame and sealed can motor,Quality built. Investors need to leave the toy market alone....go play w stocks or something and quit driving the prices up.
Hi Ron. I just discovered your channel this past Saturday, and have been binge watching ever since. Wow! Great content! I'm glad to say I'm a new subscriber and have been a 33%'ter from the very first video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, creativity, and humor with us all!
Nice video Ron! Los of information about Tyco. During the Tyco “peak” period was almost impossible to import things like that in Brazil. Consequently we do not have here a Tyco affective memory.
Great video Ron! Love it! Been around tyco and mantua trains all my life. Dad bought his first ho train set in 1965. Yup a tyco set! Been hooked ever since!
Love your videos, love the way you present them. I have been a 33 per center for the last couple of years, lm a N scaler! Look forward to the next one. Keep up the good work 👍
Great video! I couldn’t agree more! While I have many, more prototypical trains now, I still love my old Tyco’s! Even converted one to DCC. Tyco did a great job making quality train sets and accessories. They were the Ford or Chevy of the industry back in the 60’s. Just a solid reliable & economical manufacturer in the industry. The MU2 drive is among the most robust ever made. Mine still run after 53 years, with only general maintenance. I just caught some flack with a group when I said, after purchasing some Rivarossi passenger cars of eBay, that I thought my old Tycos were better quality. The hate is just snobbery.
@@classicmodeltrains I have all the c630s except the rivorossie drive. I have most of the c430s, and a Chattanooga choo choo that I got for Christmas when I was 8.
Great video Ron: I own an Original Mikado 1986 2-8-2 Mikado GreatNorthern Complete Set Like new in its Full original Blue Box .I purchased new then. Cool thing it comes with the Full 1986 Mantua Catalog, certificate/warranty signed by the company Owners with their story about the company with their pictures.
Hi Ron, loved the video. Ive been collecting Tyco & Mantua since 1975. I have over 1200+ pcs of rolling stock and locos including many Tyco 1-offs, promos and pre-production models and most of the rare stuff. Ive enjoyed these more than any other brand from then or now.
Raised on TYCO, trains, and slot cars. I have noticed not only the price’s going up, but their place at the swap meets, and flea markets has gotten higher, more prominent. They used to be thrown in a Rubbermaid bin under the table, now the engines and rolling stock are lined up on the table. Sometimes they even have price tags, the little string and cardboard tags, not just painters tape with a sharpie number written on it. Great video.
I had the Santa Fe railroad empire when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it. I also made another layout with a tycoscene board and that kept me busy for a while. Speaking of nostalgia I bought two more tycoscene boards in the last three years and gave them to kids “ down the block” like you were saying. Also, you were right. These Were never made to be great, they were starter sets, but most of all they were FUN. As kids we didn’t know any better that the quality wasn’t high end, to us they were so fun with all their accessories and cool bright colored cars, we could of cared less. It also because of the joy they brought us during these times why we want them so bad, just like you said.
Yes, Ron there are snobs in every scale, and they believe their way is the only way. Disregard the haters and the snobs remember you are an ambassador All trains and scales. I am a three rail o scale person. But I enjoy all your videos It’s not the money you spend but the fun you have.
Hi Ron.. yeah some of the prices of locos here in Melbourne Australia are off the chart crazy... im like wtf... but they sell and it is amazing to see.... im gob smacked at ppl paying these prices for things... another great video..
You nailed it with this show Ron. Loved my tyco and AHM trains from the 1970s. Rebuilt a couple AHM C-liners after the motor was destroyed (Wished I never lent them to my nephew) with northwest short line power trucks, LEDs, and built a proper pilot for them, (always bugged me how they looked, could’ve fit the Brady bunch in there with room to spare). 2 of the sweetest runners I have. I couldn’t even think about throwing them away. I have a few Tyco’s need some fixing (nephew ugh). Good projects and those old tyco’s mean more to me than anything. My folks gave them to me with their hard earned money. Would be almost a disgrace to discard such items as those. Most people nowadays overlook, pure treasure to most of us eh.
Hi Ron, I've really enjoyed cleaning and restoring my old Tycos. The only modifications I've made to the rolling stock was replacing the plastic wheel sets with Bachmann 33" metal wheel sets. Back in 1977 I only purchased the locos, 3 GP20's, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Durango, Santa Fe, and a Midnight Special Shark nose with the matching cabooses. I found an online source that has the old Tyco catalogs. I looked up the 77 train sets for my locos and I'm buying the rolling stock via Ebay to complete the train sets.
Hello Rick. Sounds like you found the website hoseeker.net It is a nice resource to reference when wanting to build out your era specific sets. Hope you get them finished off with out too much expenditure.
Hello Ron, great video. Angie Dickinson is your classic model today. Thanks for the info on Tycos, I'll keep an eye out for them at the next train show . Keep up the great work. Michael from Stratford Ontario Canada.
I'm the one guy that loves Lionel but I believe anything can be collectable. Heck the fact that people bye cars like the Yugo and keep them running. Is proof even the worst of stuff is still collectable.
Tyco is a great starting point for getting kids into the hobby, and for kit bashing/scratch building. A lot of modellers who are into the 60s 70s and 80s have the Tyco GP20s as no other company until recently manufactured a good model of one. The cars with a bit of work can look and run very well. Add metal wheels, Accurail trucks that are bolted to the cars (drilled and tapped) body mounted Kadee couplers, NMRA weight, and a bit of weathering. For a more authentic look, strip the car, repaint, decal, maybe even add metal grab irons, and the cars are as good as any other production model and are cost effective. My sons and I have 100s of them that we have picked up cheap at train shows or given to us, a lot of which we have learned to kitbash and scratch build with.
Seems like there is some debate from those online folks about VALUE. I'll give you my favorite definition. “‘Value’ has no meaning other than in relation to living beings. The value of a thing is always relative to a particular person, is completely personal and different in quantity for each living human-‘market value’ is a fiction, merely a rough guess at the average personal values, all of which must be quantitively different or trade would be impossible.” - Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers If I want to build a Tyco Kit from the 70's... it's very valuable to me personally. It's definitely NOT a toilet roll. I get to build it and tune it. And with a little TLC, it can be a decent runner.
People that dont want them dont value them. People that want to re-live there childhood and want the tyco's they could never get / afford do value them.
As someone who collects early Mantua i see this as a absolute win. I got a sizeable group of 1946-1956 made models, most locos have been upgraded to can motor and if they had zamac rot frames i replace them with 3d print chassis with pickup wipers, brass bearings if they don't have em.
For the exact same reason as you describe Ron is why I collect Revell HO in the box......, locomotives, freight cars, buildings and accessories. Revell was a player in HO in the late 50's early 60's but for just a short while. Even their catalogs are collectible. The quality was decent for it's time and even today on many HO layouts you can find a Revell building or two. Although I am an avid Lionel Standard Gauge, prewar and postwar collector there was a time when most of us Lionel kids dabbled in HO and Revell and Tyco were two of the mainstays. We all have our reasons to collect things and mine just happens to be similar to yours. Great video!!!!!.
I bought some boxed Tyco accessories a couple of years ago at our local train show. I was going to sell it but for some reason I am hoarding it. Maybe I will build a giveaway layout with it. Thanks again Ron for a fun video.
Hi Ron, I totally understand what you’re getting at. Model railway collector snobbery is world wide. Here in the UK it’s Hornby-Dublo and Wrenn diecast and Hornby tinplate collectors that look down as it were on people who collect Tri-ang, playcraft and other plastic model trains even though they were all made around the same time, 50’s and 60’s. I collect Tri-ang and even some of their rarer models fetch high prices these days on eBay or at swap meet’s. Though Tyco aren’t that common over here I do have one Tyco model in my collection, a Plymouth industrial switcher locomotive. Though I’m not really a North American railroad/railway modeller (my son is) I think you’re one of the best RUclipsr’s out there and really appreciate the time and effort that goes into your videos, keep up the good work 👍
I've got three pairs of the Queensland Rail C430 and caboose, plus a few of the yellow diesel shunter - sorry, switcher - with QR on the side as well, which is another rarity. However, I live in Queensland where they were almost exclusively sold, so that checks out. ;) In fact, the photograph at 14:30 of the QR loco and caboose is my photo from around 5-7 years ago!
What a small world huh? I found that photo digging around the internet. Sometimes them QR's show up for sale on the eBay from an American seller but not very much. Cool you have 3 sets of them!!!
Ron, That was an awesome video. I have to agree with you 100% . Tyco trains / Mantua are great model trains. I am 56 years old and I have my original tyco mantua locomotive and it runs awesome. I recently picked up the old red box Tyco trains from the 60’s and the locomotive is running strong. Even though I collect and run three other bands of trains I still enjoy my Tyco trains. I just want to say that I collect trains but also very much into AFX slot cars that I enjoy from my childhood. So you are right with us old folks wanting items that we grow up with. Unfortunately I have a sickness between my trains and my slot car collection. lol.😂 Be safe and Thank you for this awesome video.🚂🚂
While I prefer Athearn and AHM/Rivarossi for their detail and Athearns reliability, my first train was a hand me down Tyco set from my dad. Tyco holds a soft spot with me for that reason. They make some decent looking cars and the locomotives are cheap and simple. They're a good starter to the hobby and probably always will be.
Great video. Tyco brings back childhood memories. If someone doesn't like tyco, that's fine but they don't need to pick on those that do. I don't hoard toilet paper. I just like what I like. 33%
I had some of those harder to find locomotives "HAD" dang it ....... dang it I sold them a few years back for pennies if only I knew . TYCO coming around and being worth something . The rock island set was my first electric train and still have it . Great video Ron I agree the haters need to shhhhh be quite
I'm 52, and though I never really "got out" of playing with HO trains, I never really had the time or space to do anything more than build up a massive collection of it. But now the kids are moving on and I finally have time. I love a lot of Tyco stuff. I know that the PowerTorque motors are not all that great, but they are super easy to fix once you figure out how to get the cover off without losing the springs (you only lose a spring the first time -- haha). I have one of the Grand Trunk ones. Got it with a bunch of 'dead' stuff, it was a cheap lot...spent a couple weeks fixing it all up, and now it all runs great. But it's the billboard rolling stock that I really want. I have tons of it, even with lots of doubles of things. Don't care what people think. I've heard all the "that's a toy, not a model" crap, but I don't care. I don't buy train stuff for other people, I get it for me.
I grew up in Tyco trains and slot cars in the 80's, loved up. But once i gotta job, i bought my first Athearn, a BN SW1500. Then a BN RS1 if memory serves. Joined the Marines, put parents moved and a lot of my toys disappeared- wish I still had my Transformer collection- and in 03 while on recruiting duty on Long Island NY, joined a club that ran dcc. That was the only release i had fun a job I utterly hated. I amassed a collection of 134 locomotives and rolling stock. Running NYCRR, had a Dreyfuss Hudson, Mohawk, 2 Niagaras- all brass, remotored, sound, the works. Here I am now, 2 divorces later lol, and thanks to you Ron, I am again rebuilding my collection!
Them dang DE-Vorces sure can wipe out a train collection. Sorry to hear that. Glad your back at it again. Thank you for your service and thanks for your nice compliments on the channel. Glad to be helping one way or another!!
I love the TYCO Center St. series of buildings. They were one of the first companies I remember that had real stores like Baskin Robbins Ice Cream and KFC. The rolling stock was pretty cool too. I have a quite a few pieces. I was always a sucker for the piggy back crane. That will always be on any layout I have. I don't have a lot of TYCO locomotives though. Thanks for this video. Always great information in your videos.
During tghe manufacturer's heyday, Mantua diesels were one of the smoothest running models albeit not the most detailed. The model I especially coveted and wish I had today were the dual powered F-7's.
I still have my dad's old TYCO sets from when he was a kid in the 60's. The engines need some repair to get them to run again. However since they were passed down to me they were what got me into this hobby so they're just as special to me as they were to dad. I do want to at least get metal wheels and Kadee couplers on them, bringing them up to spec with my modern models. -Edit- In all seriousness aside from Brand new models if I see something from the TYCO-Mantua era at a train show and it's moderately priced you can bet on me grabbing it. I love that era but again because of hand-me-downs from dad, that's what I had when I was boy. And for the record one of the eBay listed cars you showed a screen-cap of in this video, the Southern R.R. Pulpwood log car listed for $172.50, I HAVE IT. It was a Christmas present from Grandpa back in '05 or '06.
Great video Ron. I have a collection of Tyco. I grew up playing with tyco trains and accessories. It maybe not the best stuff out there but it was fun, and I still enjoy running and operating it. Oh yea the way prices are getting now, I could be rich and not know it lol. My 1st HO scale train set was a tyco and I still have it and run it.
God I love Tyco and I wish Mattel didn’t kill them dead in the mid 90’s. They had a unique look all their own that is coming back in style, they were ahead of their time with fantasy schemes and they are rock solid and built American tough. Like a 454 Chevy truck. Their history is a story that rivals Lionel and in some cases is crazier than Lionel. Speaking of which, Lionel allegedly had the rights to those classic engines behind you and hopefully they can sort out their legal woes to actually make them again, hopefully with modern couplers and DCC. I have 4 Pacifics including that Chessie one there. Really solid locos and they adapt well to new tech. Thanks to your own videos there. My dad and I also had their slot cars and they are as tough as their trains! Things are older than me and will fire up tomorrow with little effort. God Bless Tyco.
What a polarizing subject! I grew up with tyco but I think it was more because my dad didn’t want me breaking the better stuff. My dad and uncle were part of a private club layout. Very serious guys, and unfortunately a tyco wasn’t powerful enough to pull a properly weighted train and also ran so fast that they would run through the stopping blocks of the time. So when I grew up I got away from the tyco’s for better models. At that time it was the athearn blue box. Now as an adult my father was right, there isn’t much from my childhood. No engines but a few cars that have been highly modified to run with the better equipment. I wouldn’t go out and buy it but I did put the time into the remaining stuff from my childhood.
There was a high nose tyco Alco C630 that was brought out in, I think Santa Fe and D&H that a guy in the club who has long since passed built into a beautiful model. He took and chopped the hi nose cab off and put on a low nose cab from a C425, loaded it up with some homemade detail parts and dropped onto a hobbytown chassis. Those engines are still running around that club layout, it’s not the original tyco drive but it fits this story and was one of my favorite engines.
The tyco caboose did make a nice looking Pennsy N8 cabin. You needed 2 of them because the cupola was not offset and it was oversized a bit. Everyone changed to the bowser cabins when they were released because they were so beautiful, prototypical and cheep.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Tyco is the working man’s class of model trains. Back in the day when that’s all he could afford for his kids at Christmas time. Without Tyco, how many people would not have been starting the hobby and sharing their passion. Thanks for another video from a 33%er.
Exactly!! Well put Sir!!
Anything that puts a smile your your face is worth something.
Sounds good to me!
Video is spot on Ron! Folks like yourself have shown that Tyco locomotives are easy to work on and refurbish, and as you pointed out, maintaining them over time keeps ‘em running and still gives us enjoyment. And Tyco was the only ho scale manufacturer that had operating accessories to my knowledge (I could be mistaken), that were simpler and more affordable than the Lionel (O gauge) counterparts. Many of the operating accessories are still available on eBay. Just my opinion:-)😊
Thanks Marty
Bachmann also had operating things (like the log car and rock car). But I suppose, for all I know, they could have just been rebadged Tyco and sold as Bachmann. But they do exist, I have a couple of them.
I remember a neighbor had a Tyco set called Powerehouse i think....the accessories were driven by a wire driveshaft that was driven by the loco in reverse.You would back the loco to a special pc of track that had a textured wheel ....loco would stop and power truck would turn the wheel/wire drive shaft off to the accessory like pipe loader ect.
And I think there was a heavy cardboard playmat that indexed the stuff to keep it in place.
@@blablametalhead Sounds petty cool but Tyco never offered anything like that.
Maybe it was life like or bachmann then hmmmm
Ron, nobody does it better, you are truly an original, great style, honest, old school values, extremely knowledgeable and fun to watch, the world needs more men like you, thanks for all your efforts, much respect!
Thank you very much for that nice compliment Joseph!!
Just a passing random thought - the most "collectable thing" is the "Little Lady" that supports you in your hobby - and that's priceless. You're a lucky man Ron 😁👍
I agree Tony. A Good woman that lets her man play with trains is asking a lot out of them for sure
I'm in my early 50's and got back into trains (N scale) for the first time since I was a kid about a year ago. If I had the space for HO I would collect the hell out of Tyco train items. I have vivid memories of my Chattanooga, Royal Blue, and Cox Big Pine Lumber Company locomotive which was a hell of a puller. A few of my friends on the block had Lionel and even before the age of reason my instincts shunned the three rail and oddly abrupt turn radius of their Lionel tubular rail stuff. Absolutely love your channel Ron....best model train entertainment around.
Thanks for your great story and compliments on my channel Sir!
This episode is my favorite so far. Really like the information, history and acknowledgement of sheer fun of all model trains. Thank You!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Well I have been blowing a lot of money then LOL. I have stripping paint off them and repainting, restoring the motors, most of my tyco locos, 20 plus or so. Have had a lot of fun painting decalling and detailing my tyco locomotives over last few years. Been modeling for myself and having fun at! Spot on Ron! Great video again! I will note that I have not stripped and repainted any of the expensive locos you displayed.
Sounds like you keep yourself pretty busy there Erick.
@@classicmodeltrains I try but way behind lol many to reassemble and complete.
33% er here!! Spot on Ron! If it wasn’t for Tyco Trains, I would’ve never been able to get into electric model railroading. They introduced millions of kids to model railroading, and the only reason people put them down is because they misunderstand their intent. And yes, anything that’s maintained can last a long time.
Thanks for your support Rick and I like the way you think!!
Hi,
I'm 58 yrs old. I grew up on Tyco. The early recalled runs of the Bicentennial boxcars are my favorite. I have two of the sets of three. I used to find them sitting on dealer tables for like $3 each. Now dealers know what they are and you can't find them for under $70 each. Also the loco with the seal that actually has "President of the United States" on it is a recall as well.
Yup! I have 2 of the 3 variations of bicentennial boxcars. Just need the expensive one now.
I have the recalled Presidential Seal loco - given to me 2 years ago for my 18th birthday - was listed as "not running" but it did run after all!
57 and same here. Tyco also kicked AFX rear end in speed! :)
I liked my Tyco's when I was a kid. So much so that when my girlfriend said that she wanted to build a steam era train layout, I went to eBay looking for an old Tyco/Mantua Mikado. That was just a few weeks ago. Now I have two Mikado's and a Pacific. I bought the lowest priced ones I could find. They all ran. Like crap. LOL. I had a ball figuring them out and fixing them though. Now I have to dial in the rolling stock. There are good videos on this channel on that subject too. Thanks Ron.
Get a new motor refit kit with flywheel for that Mikado...it's about 28,00...it will run like a million dollars...instructions included and even in could do it ....was Easy..
I'm a complete novice
Thanks for the compliments Jim and check out my other vids on repairing Tyco steamers.
Right in man! Ron, I can not agree with you more Keep those babies coming back to life I love your work
Thanks again Robert!
Hi Ron, If my Mum and Dad didn't give a Tyco trainset for Christmas in 1973, I wasn't getting into the hobby. The 70s were hard economic times down here, me and my mates came from families that weren't made of money. But we had our cheap toys which we shared with each other. Some toys didn't survive, but they provided some great entertainment. But Tyco was a great entry point to this hobby. Steven.
Hello Steven, Yes glad tyco was an inexpensive way to get us kids interested in the hobby
For me it was a Bachmann set I bought in summer of 1983. Still have the locomotive and just finally cracked the axle gears after 40 years.
It's a nostalgia thing. Most of us got rid of that stuff when we got serious about the hobby. We bought Athearn and Atlas and Kadee couplers. But then one day we found we were in our fifties and wanted to recapture a little of the fun of Christmas Morning past. Throw eBay in the mix and a many of us have picked up a piece or two for the display shelf. Have fun collecting!
I like the way you think
you hit the nail on the head. the people that don't get it will never get it. What doers happen though is that while a couple of guys want to collect them, the price can go up, then all of a sudden those who don't want them see their price go up so they start competing for the models without actually knowing why.... By the way that's a great collection of Tycos sitting there on the shelf behind you.
Looks like you've been doing some bing watching there Peter. Glad you are enjoying my content and commenting on them all. They say that makes the algorithm happy. Yes them Tyco Loco's are from 3 years of trying to collect every one they made. Now I'm down to the few rare ones that cost big money to purchase.
I've got a Tyco F9 from 1963 still running. I replaced the rubber tyred wheels with brass wheels, added wire handrails at the doors and around the cab roof front and added as much weight as possible in the fuel tank and above the motor bogie until it weighed 22 ounces. It made it a better puller up my 3% grade but still had a limited amount of cars it could pull being only a 4 wheel drive. It still goes like a rocket and at full speed you can roll it over on a 24 inch radius curve. I don't usualy run my trains like that !!! It still performs well on the point of a lashup and does a great job with the track cleaning car in tow. There are many more years of life left in it yet !!
Sounds like you have a pretty nice customized Red box F unit there!!
Im 52 and its about nostalgia...evertime I see a tyco brown box Im overwhelmed with great memories
Yup!
Thank you for your coverage here! Good to know Tyco’s are worth something now. I have two grandsons ages 7 and 1 1/2, and I’ve been thinking of turning over all my HO gauge trains and buildings, etc to them under the careful care and teaching of my son, when he was little I added some box cars to my old compilations and he enjoyed the hobby then. I’ll have to go through my totes to see what all I had. What comes to mind is my first diesel locomotive, circa 1970, when I was aged 5. It is the current diesel style of the time with elongated nose (sorry, I’ve forgotten so much of the real model numbers) It’s a Santa Fe all dark blue with yellow letters, lighted cab with front and rear lights. I know I have a round nosed diesel and that is branded 1776 as I bought that in 1976 from my paper route job then. Possibly that same year is when I bought a steam locomotive set with track and all, possibly a 2-4 -2..? Headlight and steam capability and attached coal car. I know I have a round nosed diesel Amtrak and 4 cars set where they all light. I MIGHT still have a round nosed diesel Chicago and Northwestern with at least 2 C &NW cars, as I had to have them being a was a downtown Chicago born kid. Lots of box cars, oil tankers, working lumber roll-off flat car; a few cabooses including the same red caboose you showed as that was with my first set in 1970. My Dad taught me not to abuse them but to treat them with care and later how to maintain them all. Nothing was ever broken at all. I’m excited now to bring the totes down from the attic and take inventory and then have a conversation with my son about starting up the hobby again to enjoy with his boys at their home!
You mentioned the brass tracks to be no good. When I was growing out of the hobby about 13 years old I remember nickel track was gaining popularity, but I couldn’t really say at this time what is better than either. Why is brass not good?
Greetings Spencer, That is a pretty cool story you shared. If I read it right 4 generations will be running some of the same exact stuff. Very COOL!! I hope you get back into running the trains as well. Sounds like you have them all packed away. It's a great way to spend time with your Son and Grandsons. I dont refer to brass track as bad. It worked for 60 years or more. It just needs to be cleaned more often then nickel silver, which also needs to be cleaned often as well.
I collect a lot of older Bachmann, Tyco, Life-Like etc rolling stock and all they really need to be in great working order is to replace the wheels and couplers with modern metal ones! They run like a dream with this simple change!
I agree with you there!!
My brother just gave me his Tyco Silver streak set from 1980. Cant wait until my 3yr old twins get older to get it setup and running.
Nice of him to do that!
Super. I love my Tyco and operate everything constantly with my more modern items, but that pulpwood flat for $172.50 is shocking. I bought four when I was a kid, for $1.99 each, then later on when I wanted a few more, they were $3.99 each, and I admit to paying $20.00 for a used, boxless Tyco train car when I really want it, but $172.50 for one Tyco car is incredible. 💙 T.E.N. Edit: Funny thing, but my next project is to take two Tyco streamline end cupola cabooses and cut them straight down the center of the cupola, switch ends, and glue them back together to make one really short and one really long streamlined caboose. 🙂
That pulpwood tyco has a rare road name on it. that's why its BIG BUCKS. The normal ones are still pretty inexpensive
Amen, Ron. I had two Tyco sets as a kid. And played the hell out of them. Now at age 56, I have more Tyco than the department stores had in the late 70s. 14 Tyco train sets, over half of every kit and building ever produced and just about one of every piece of rolling stock except engines ever made. I don’t buy to resell or even open. If it’s open when I buy it, I use it. Otherwise, it’s kept sealed.
Sounds like a NICE collection you have there :-)
Excellent video Ron. I have kept my eye on Tyco\Mantua models for most of my life (and collected a few along the waỵ). My most enjoyable viewing on RUclips is when a collector repairs these vintage models previously deemed as junk and sets them to running again. As I always say, anyone can buy the most expensive model out there with all the super detail parts that runs like a top. It is the true master in our hobby who can take a vintage retro Tyco\Mantua model and get her running again. That is what makes the hobby a challenge and a joy for myself and those out there who look for these models. Thank you once again for the inspiration and do make more videos.
Thank you and once again I like the way you think!
Great video Ron. As always entertaining and educational. Dig your style!
My first train was a Tyco set, small oval, but I loved it. That started it. Like you said as we get older, we collect what we like. My kids moved out and I just stole the basement back...lol. Just getting back into the hobby, now I can collect what we couldn't afford kids. Watching your videos, Im now picking up the odd lonely Tyco going cheap at the train shows and stripping them down and cleaning .
Keep up the great work, glad to be in with the 33 percenters !
Cheers
Thank you Robert. I big basement layout is in the making? Sounds Awesome to me!!!
Good stuff Ron,
In the late 70’s I received an Amtrak HO trains set with 5 cars for Christmas. It was all plastic but I didn’t car. It ran great until 6 months after Christmas and my parents trashed it. I’ve been looking for that set ever since and I’m 54 years old. Keep up the great videos Ron! 😊
Thanks Twisted, I hope you find your Amtrak set soon
I grew up with TYCO, Life Like, then Athearn after a while I graduated to Marklin and HAG. I sold all my 2 rail American trains and they fetched decent dollar number… pleasantly surprised!
Right on! What are you running now?
Thanks for the video. I started with Tyco and moved to other brands. But they are not forgotten.
Thanks for watching James!
I hope they're finally getting their due! I alwyas loved the brown box Tycos. I still have a few. :)
They are finally!!
It's all collectable. If it makes you happy, that's all that matters period. I agree with you.
I like the way you think
i just got into the hobby and know nothing. But been buying broken trains on ebay and fixing them up. I found Tyco trains are my FAVORITE! 38 year old tyco train lover!
Welcome to your new Addiction :-)
I remember buying the petticoat junction set at an estate sale for less than 100 and i still have it.
Nice find!
I’m old Joe apparently - I remover studying the catalogs and the Lionel play world isle (ironically they had almost an entire row of Tyco. In the late 90s I found a furniture store that had tons of brown box era stuff on Clearance and I buy one of everything I didn’t already have. Then I was that guy selling on eBay in the early 2000s. Then I found myself collecting it again. Add to the fact that I can left the slot cars too and it’s dangerous. I have the dilemna that I have all these boxes and not sure if I want to keep them. Definitely the track and accessories are still pretty worthless. And I think I’ve thrown away a lot of building I got in estate lots. Love your discussion on this
Thanks for a great story. Them Tyco collectors want tyco branded track and the accessories as well. If your selling there Fellers out there that want the stuff now a days
I always bought athern my first HO engine was in 1984 for Christmas it was a sd-40 union pacific with a beacon light and directional lighting it ran great.
Right on!
That QR loco was a surprise. Never knew Tyco strayed so far from home. I was just looking at some of the modern models from Wuiske Models and SDS Models in that livery (FWIW).
Yup, they had two Australia road names I believe
Thanks Ron. Headed to ebay to peruse!!
:-)
Great video. As long as someone wants it they are collectable. We all like to get things that remind us of our youth. For many of us in model trains now that is TYCO. I know that is where I started. Thanks for sharing.
Well said John!
I know somewhere my Tyco stuff from when I was a kid is probably still around. I know they’re boxless and would not bring in money, but knowing there are people who might accept them as a freebie and replace a broken horn hook and give a home where they are appreciated is comforting…. Tyco and Bachmann were the root of one of the enduring parts of my life. And while I switched to much more expensive models long ago, I become quietly disappointed when the Tyco-bashing starts up. Appreciate for better or worse, your own roots and whether they want to accept it or not, for most of us that was Tyco. BTW… As for that caboose, Model Railroader once ran a kitbashing article on how to turn them into prototypical Pennsy Cabin cars. There was cutting involved that certainly takes away their “unplayed” value, however I don’t feel as bad when someone takes a mass market product and turns it into something they will be personally proud of and treasure and will bring recognition from other modelers. Well, except for those who measure the diameters of your rivets. 😉
I agree with you and that pennsy caboose project sounds interesting
Thank you for the surprise visit! Good show I Say! 99+%
Thank you William!!
Thanks Dude - Love the video. Spot on with the haters.
My Aunt worked at Tyco in NJ. She got sets of trains for like $15, one year I got like 6 sets of Tycos.
Still have them (no boxes tho), then my wifes father left me all of his stuff, alot of Mantua, even the old Mantua Couplers.
Getting ready to get back into it. I have one of those log cars and dumper thing ...LOL. Too funny.
That's awesome. I hope you get your layout ufo and running soon
Enjoyed the video Ron thanks.I got lucky a few years ago and snagged at a yard sale (cheap) a brand new diesel switcher complete set in brown boxes/gold metal transformer/brass track.After a lube and cleaning the little Santa Fe 4 wheeler runs just fine. I am going to leave it DC and stock, hell it still has its original headlight bulb working.
And the Mantua Classics are great.(get some !)...The little UP 0-6-0 shifter (DCC ready) I bought new runs superb with a digitrax DZ123 decoder ...even has split brass axle bearings in the metal frame and sealed can motor,Quality built.
Investors need to leave the toy market alone....go play w stocks or something and quit driving the prices up.
Thanks M.H. I would love to get a Mantua Classic. So far they've been kinda spendy ;-)
Hi Ron. I just discovered your channel this past Saturday, and have been binge watching ever since. Wow! Great content! I'm glad to say I'm a new subscriber and have been a 33%'ter from the very first video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, creativity, and humor with us all!
Hello gunslinger, Thank you for your kind words and Subbing my channel. :-)
Nice video Ron! Los of information about Tyco. During the Tyco “peak” period was almost impossible to import things like that in Brazil. Consequently we do not have here a Tyco affective memory.
Thanks Regis!
Great video Ron! Love it! Been around tyco and mantua trains all my life. Dad bought his first ho train set in 1965. Yup a tyco set! Been hooked ever since!
Thank you Bob!
I ran a mix of tyco and bachmann track together and they do great and all the old engine's run good as well
Good to hear your track is serving you well!!
Love your videos, love the way you present them. I have been a 33 per center for the last couple of years, lm a N scaler! Look forward to the next one. Keep up the good work 👍
Thanks and Glad you like them!
Great video! I couldn’t agree more! While I have many, more prototypical trains now, I still love my old Tyco’s! Even converted one to DCC.
Tyco did a great job making quality train sets and accessories. They were the Ford or Chevy of the industry back in the 60’s. Just a solid reliable & economical manufacturer in the industry.
The MU2 drive is among the most robust ever made. Mine still run after 53 years, with only general maintenance.
I just caught some flack with a group when I said, after purchasing some Rivarossi passenger cars of eBay, that I thought my old Tycos were better quality.
The hate is just snobbery.
Thanks Michael, You make some great points here!!
As usual great job Ron appreciate you Love classic model trains look forward to the next episode thank you
Thank you Lawrence!
This is your best commentary yet!!
Thanks Paul.
I have been picking up alot of old tyco goodies . you just never know. thank you.
You are so welcome!
I enjoy your shows and watch them all, some more than once. Also like your layout for running trains..
Thank you very much!!
I've been collecting tyco c630s and c430s for years. I wanted them when I was a kid and now I have them. Same with Lionel from the mpc era.
Right on! I collect them as well. Just a few more to have every one they made
@@classicmodeltrains I have all the c630s except the rivorossie drive. I have most of the c430s, and a Chattanooga choo choo that I got for Christmas when I was 8.
@@inscoredbz Yes that Riv drive is a tough one to score
Yep, that's me ...A collector to hold for the next generation.
Very cool!
Great video Ron: I own an Original Mikado 1986 2-8-2 Mikado GreatNorthern Complete Set Like new in its Full original Blue Box .I purchased new then. Cool thing it comes with the Full 1986 Mantua Catalog, certificate/warranty signed by the company Owners with their story about the company with their pictures.
Sounds like a really nice looking loco!!
Hi Ron, loved the video. Ive been collecting Tyco & Mantua since 1975. I have over 1200+ pcs of rolling stock and locos including many Tyco 1-offs, promos and pre-production models and most of the rare stuff. Ive enjoyed these more than any other brand from then or now.
Thank you and it would be great to see your collection. Sounds AWESOME!!
Raised on TYCO, trains, and slot cars. I have noticed not only the price’s going up, but their place at the swap meets, and flea markets has gotten higher, more prominent. They used to be thrown in a Rubbermaid bin under the table, now the engines and rolling stock are lined up on the table. Sometimes they even have price tags, the little string and cardboard tags, not just painters tape with a sharpie number written on it. Great video.
Right on! Glad to see even the dealers are recognizing the Tyco's are becoming desirable.
I had the Santa Fe railroad empire when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it. I also made another layout with a tycoscene board and that kept me busy for a while. Speaking of nostalgia I bought two more tycoscene boards in the last three years and gave them to kids “ down the block” like you were saying. Also, you were right. These
Were never made to be great, they were starter sets, but most of all they were FUN. As kids we didn’t know any better that the quality wasn’t high end, to us they were so fun with all their accessories and cool bright colored cars, we could of cared less. It also because of the joy they brought us during these times why we want them so bad, just like you said.
Hello Dan, Great story here in your comment. Thanks for sharing :-)
Yes, Ron there are snobs in every scale, and they believe their way is the only way. Disregard the haters and the snobs remember you are an ambassador All trains and scales. I am a three rail o scale person. But I enjoy all your videos It’s not the money you spend but the fun you have.
Love your comment! Thanks :-)
Hi Ron.. yeah some of the prices of locos here in Melbourne Australia are off the chart crazy... im like wtf... but they sell and it is amazing to see.... im gob smacked at ppl paying these prices for things... another great video..
Thanks Tim!
You nailed it with this show Ron. Loved my tyco and AHM trains from the 1970s. Rebuilt a couple AHM C-liners after the motor was destroyed (Wished I never lent them to my nephew) with northwest short line power trucks, LEDs, and built a proper pilot for them, (always bugged me how they looked, could’ve fit the Brady bunch in there with room to spare). 2 of the sweetest runners I have. I couldn’t even think about throwing them away. I have a few Tyco’s need some fixing (nephew ugh). Good projects and those old tyco’s mean more to me than anything. My folks gave them to me with their hard earned money. Would be almost a disgrace to discard such items as those. Most people nowadays overlook, pure treasure to most of us eh.
Glad you enjoyed it John
Hi Ron, I've really enjoyed cleaning and restoring my old Tycos. The only modifications I've made to the rolling stock was replacing the plastic wheel sets with Bachmann 33" metal wheel sets. Back in 1977 I only purchased the locos, 3 GP20's, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Durango, Santa Fe, and a Midnight Special Shark nose with the matching cabooses. I found an online source that has the old Tyco catalogs. I looked up the 77 train sets for my locos and I'm buying the rolling stock via Ebay to complete the train sets.
Hello Rick. Sounds like you found the website hoseeker.net It is a nice resource to reference when wanting to build out your era specific sets. Hope you get them finished off with out too much expenditure.
@@classicmodeltrains That’s the website.
Hello Ron, great video. Angie Dickinson is your classic model today. Thanks for the info on Tycos, I'll keep an eye out for them at the next train show . Keep up the great work. Michael from Stratford Ontario Canada.
Hello Michael, Yup Angie!
Train hobby history class…glad I signed up …well done!
Thanks
I'm the one guy that loves Lionel but I believe anything can be collectable. Heck the fact that people bye cars like the Yugo and keep them running. Is proof even the worst of stuff is still collectable.
I owned a Yugo. Loved it! Even "pimped it out" a bit
Tyco is a great starting point for getting kids into the hobby, and for kit bashing/scratch building. A lot of modellers who are into the 60s 70s and 80s have the Tyco GP20s as no other company until recently manufactured a good model of one. The cars with a bit of work can look and run very well. Add metal wheels, Accurail trucks that are bolted to the cars (drilled and tapped) body mounted Kadee couplers, NMRA weight, and a bit of weathering. For a more authentic look, strip the car, repaint, decal, maybe even add metal grab irons, and the cars are as good as any other production model and are cost effective. My sons and I have 100s of them that we have picked up cheap at train shows or given to us, a lot of which we have learned to kitbash and scratch build with.
I agree with you!
Seems like there is some debate from those online folks about VALUE. I'll give you my favorite definition. “‘Value’ has no meaning other than in relation to living beings. The value of a thing is always relative to a particular person, is completely personal and different in quantity for each living human-‘market value’ is a fiction, merely a rough guess at the average personal values, all of which must be quantitively different or trade would be impossible.” - Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers
If I want to build a Tyco Kit from the 70's... it's very valuable to me personally. It's definitely NOT a toilet roll. I get to build it and tune it. And with a little TLC, it can be a decent runner.
People that dont want them dont value them. People that want to re-live there childhood and want the tyco's they could never get / afford do value them.
@@classicmodeltrains I'm looking forward to building my "new" old Tyco loco kit. :)
As someone who collects early Mantua i see this as a absolute win. I got a sizeable group of 1946-1956 made models, most locos have been upgraded to can motor and if they had zamac rot frames i replace them with 3d print chassis with pickup wipers, brass bearings if they don't have em.
46-56? Thats pretty cool. How do you find any info on them? I see hoseeker.net don't go back that far.
@@classicmodeltrains i used to have the catalogs from then but they disappeared. No doubt got stolen at a place i used to visit often...
Absolutely spot on video! Question; what is the best Facebook group for Tyco? Thanks and I always look forward to your videos!
I'm not sure what the "Best" is. I'm in 4 of them and I dont notice much difference between them.
For the exact same reason as you describe Ron is why I collect Revell HO in the box......, locomotives, freight cars, buildings and accessories. Revell was a player in HO in the late 50's early 60's but for just a short while. Even their catalogs are collectible. The quality was decent for it's time and even today on many HO layouts you can find a Revell building or two. Although I am an avid Lionel Standard Gauge, prewar and postwar collector there was a time when most of us Lionel kids dabbled in HO and Revell and Tyco were two of the mainstays. We all have our reasons to collect things and mine just happens to be similar to yours. Great video!!!!!.
I really like the Revell stuff.
ok ron this was interesting. thanks for for doing all the foot work for us arm chair colletors.
Thanks for watching it all!!
Hi Ron. Love Tycos. 57 years old. Still have a 1968 (I think) Tyco Burlington locomotive. It has the mu-2 motor. I love the mu-1 & mu-2 motors.
Hello Stephen. Yup the MU-1's and 2's are good runners for sure!!
Great intro, had me literally LOL! 😅 I do like my Tyco cars, but the locos...ehhh they kinda drive me nuts! Thanks for another fun video Ron!
Thanks Jason!
I bought some boxed Tyco accessories a couple of years ago at our local train show.
I was going to sell it but for some reason I am hoarding it.
Maybe I will build a giveaway layout with it.
Thanks again Ron for a fun video.
Giveaway layouts are fun and hopefully might spark the interest of a young modeler to pursue this hobby
I've been buying and rebuilding some of the Mantua blue box tank cars. The underframes seem to suffer from the zinc pest. I just love the metal tanks.
I hear the really old ones did have Zamac frames. Sorry to hear the sink pest is getting them :-(
I have been replacing the frames with tank car frames from Tichy Trains. They are the correct length and size, and work well.@@classicmodeltrains
Hi Ron, I totally understand what you’re getting at. Model railway collector snobbery is world wide. Here in the UK it’s Hornby-Dublo and Wrenn diecast and Hornby tinplate collectors that look down as it were on people who collect Tri-ang, playcraft and other plastic model trains even though they were all made around the same time, 50’s and 60’s. I collect Tri-ang and even some of their rarer models fetch high prices these days on eBay or at swap meet’s. Though Tyco aren’t that common over here I do have one Tyco model in my collection, a Plymouth industrial switcher locomotive. Though I’m not really a North American railroad/railway modeller (my son is) I think you’re one of the best RUclipsr’s out there and really appreciate the time and effort that goes into your videos, keep up the good work 👍
Thanks for the information you shared and your nice compliments Ian!!
Hey, I like the content . I have some tyco stuff give sum to my nephew he loves trains just like his uncle.
Very cool!
I've got three pairs of the Queensland Rail C430 and caboose, plus a few of the yellow diesel shunter - sorry, switcher - with QR on the side as well, which is another rarity. However, I live in Queensland where they were almost exclusively sold, so that checks out. ;)
In fact, the photograph at 14:30 of the QR loco and caboose is my photo from around 5-7 years ago!
What a small world huh? I found that photo digging around the internet. Sometimes them QR's show up for sale on the eBay from an American seller but not very much. Cool you have 3 sets of them!!!
Great informative video, i learned a lot. Tyco seem to be the "Everyman" system, and you cannot say they ain't colourful!
Thanks Darren :-)
Ron, That was an awesome video. I have to agree with you 100% . Tyco trains / Mantua are great model trains. I am 56 years old and I have my original tyco mantua locomotive and it runs awesome. I recently picked up the old red box Tyco trains from the 60’s and the locomotive is running strong. Even though I collect and run three other bands of trains I still enjoy my Tyco trains. I just want to say that I collect trains but also very much into AFX slot cars that I enjoy from my childhood. So you are right with us old folks wanting items that we grow up with. Unfortunately I have a sickness between my trains and my slot car collection. lol.😂 Be safe and Thank you for this awesome video.🚂🚂
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it :-)
Great video. Thanks for sharing. Oh, and who was the classic model?
Thank you, the model is revealed at the end of the video's with a sub title.
I loved watching Angie And you got me going on buying Mantua-tyco I did slow down a bit on buying now Im looking for one I donit have
:-)
While I prefer Athearn and AHM/Rivarossi for their detail and Athearns reliability, my first train was a hand me down Tyco set from my dad. Tyco holds a soft spot with me for that reason. They make some decent looking cars and the locomotives are cheap and simple. They're a good starter to the hobby and probably always will be.
I agree with you Sir!
I have Tyco that sit in my yards. I've put the steel wheels and cadie couplers on. Bought a many just for the spare parts bin.
Right on!
Limited run brass is considered collectable no matter what gauge it is
to some I agree.
Great video. Tyco brings back childhood memories. If someone doesn't like tyco, that's fine but they don't need to pick on those that do. I don't hoard toilet paper. I just like what I like. 33%
I like the way you think!
I had some of those harder to find locomotives "HAD" dang it ....... dang it I sold them a few years back for pennies if only I knew . TYCO coming around and being worth something . The rock island set was my first electric train and still have it . Great video Ron I agree the haters need to shhhhh be quite
Thanks Harrison!
@@classicmodeltrainsyou are welcome.
I got a Spirit of 76 Tyco train set in 1974. Still have it and started collecting tyco items ever since.
Right on!
I'm 52, and though I never really "got out" of playing with HO trains, I never really had the time or space to do anything more than build up a massive collection of it. But now the kids are moving on and I finally have time. I love a lot of Tyco stuff. I know that the PowerTorque motors are not all that great, but they are super easy to fix once you figure out how to get the cover off without losing the springs (you only lose a spring the first time -- haha). I have one of the Grand Trunk ones. Got it with a bunch of 'dead' stuff, it was a cheap lot...spent a couple weeks fixing it all up, and now it all runs great. But it's the billboard rolling stock that I really want. I have tons of it, even with lots of doubles of things. Don't care what people think. I've heard all the "that's a toy, not a model" crap, but I don't care. I don't buy train stuff for other people, I get it for me.
I like the way you think!
I grew up in Tyco trains and slot cars in the 80's, loved up. But once i gotta job, i bought my first Athearn, a BN SW1500. Then a BN RS1 if memory serves. Joined the Marines, put parents moved and a lot of my toys disappeared- wish I still had my Transformer collection- and in 03 while on recruiting duty on Long Island NY, joined a club that ran dcc. That was the only release i had fun a job I utterly hated. I amassed a collection of 134 locomotives and rolling stock. Running NYCRR, had a Dreyfuss Hudson, Mohawk, 2 Niagaras- all brass, remotored, sound, the works. Here I am now, 2 divorces later lol, and thanks to you Ron, I am again rebuilding my collection!
Them dang DE-Vorces sure can wipe out a train collection. Sorry to hear that. Glad your back at it again. Thank you for your service and thanks for your nice compliments on the channel. Glad to be helping one way or another!!
I love the TYCO Center St. series of buildings. They were one of the first companies I remember that had real stores like Baskin Robbins Ice Cream and KFC. The rolling stock was pretty cool too. I have a quite a few pieces. I was always a sucker for the piggy back crane. That will always be on any layout I have. I don't have a lot of TYCO locomotives though. Thanks for this video. Always great information in your videos.
Yes the Center St. series is a nice one for sure!
Thank you for sharing.👍
:-)
During tghe manufacturer's heyday, Mantua diesels were one of the smoothest running models albeit not the most detailed. The model I especially coveted and wish I had today were the dual powered F-7's.
I have found one of those in my collection. I was quit surprised
Excellent rant, couldn’t agree with you more 👍
Thank you :-)
I've got 3 Tyco diesels and all the insulated plastic wheels are cracked. I'd sure check that at the train show before plunking any dollars down!
Sorry to hear that Jim. good point to check on at the sale.
I still have my dad's old TYCO sets from when he was a kid in the 60's. The engines need some repair to get them to run again. However since they were passed down to me they were what got me into this hobby so they're just as special to me as they were to dad. I do want to at least get metal wheels and Kadee couplers on them, bringing them up to spec with my modern models.
-Edit- In all seriousness aside from Brand new models if I see something from the TYCO-Mantua era at a train show and it's moderately priced you can bet on me grabbing it. I love that era but again because of hand-me-downs from dad, that's what I had when I was boy. And for the record one of the eBay listed cars you showed a screen-cap of in this video, the Southern R.R. Pulpwood log car listed for $172.50, I HAVE IT. It was a Christmas present from Grandpa back in '05 or '06.
Them 60's Redbox Tyco's were/are good runners. I grab them up whenever I can as well
Bloody great mate 🥂👍
Thanks 👍
Great video Ron. I have a collection of Tyco. I grew up playing with tyco trains and accessories. It maybe not the best stuff out there but it was fun, and I still enjoy running and operating it. Oh yea the way prices are getting now, I could be rich and not know it lol. My 1st HO scale train set was a tyco and I still have it and run it.
Thanks and pretty cool you still have your first train set!
God I love Tyco and I wish Mattel didn’t kill them dead in the mid 90’s. They had a unique look all their own that is coming back in style, they were ahead of their time with fantasy schemes and they are rock solid and built American tough. Like a 454 Chevy truck. Their history is a story that rivals Lionel and in some cases is crazier than Lionel. Speaking of which, Lionel allegedly had the rights to those classic engines behind you and hopefully they can sort out their legal woes to actually make them again, hopefully with modern couplers and DCC. I have 4 Pacifics including that Chessie one there. Really solid locos and they adapt well to new tech. Thanks to your own videos there. My dad and I also had their slot cars and they are as tough as their trains! Things are older than me and will fire up tomorrow with little effort. God Bless Tyco.
Great comment Justin!
Is the 20 mule team Boraxo
covered Hopper car
one of the rear one's ....
I'm not sure about that car. Look it up on eBay and see how many is for sale.
Ahhh yah got me again on the Classic Model!
WHAT!! you were pitching a perfect game for so long :-)
@@classicmodeltrains I KNOW! Lol only remember her from Police Woman. Was never a fan. Well done sir!! 😂
What a polarizing subject! I grew up with tyco but I think it was more because my dad didn’t want me breaking the better stuff. My dad and uncle were part of a private club layout. Very serious guys, and unfortunately a tyco wasn’t powerful enough to pull a properly weighted train and also ran so fast that they would run through the stopping blocks of the time. So when I grew up I got away from the tyco’s for better models. At that time it was the athearn blue box. Now as an adult my father was right, there isn’t much from my childhood. No engines but a few cars that have been highly modified to run with the better equipment. I wouldn’t go out and buy it but I did put the time into the remaining stuff from my childhood.
There was a high nose tyco Alco C630 that was brought out in, I think Santa Fe and D&H that a guy in the club who has long since passed built into a beautiful model. He took and chopped the hi nose cab off and put on a low nose cab from a C425, loaded it up with some homemade detail parts and dropped onto a hobbytown chassis. Those engines are still running around that club layout, it’s not the original tyco drive but it fits this story and was one of my favorite engines.
The tyco caboose did make a nice looking Pennsy N8 cabin. You needed 2 of them because the cupola was not offset and it was oversized a bit. Everyone changed to the bowser cabins when they were released because they were so beautiful, prototypical and cheep.
Thanks for commenting and sharing some really cool stories from "back in the day" :-)