Lionel dumping high-end HO

Now see Challengers popularly advertised at $225. Are they clearing-out all existing stock. Surely not preparing to retool in face of Bankruptcy.

Now see Challengers popularly advertised at $225. Are they clearing-out all existing stock. Surely not preparing to retool in face of Bankruptcy.

I think you will find these are long gone and Lionel is out of the HO business.

A friend of mine at a wholesaler says that Lionel voted out their board after losing the suit to MTH. The new board favors the typical Lionel product line and decided to dump HO.

Lionel is getting out of the HO field AGAIN.

Don

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I never knew they made anything in HO scale. It must be a well kept secret. None of the Lionel shops around here carry them.

Bob McConnell N2SPP

Do they think of themselves as "Lionel shops", not "model railroad shops?"

Lionel offered an HO Challenger and an HO UP gas-turbine electric recently. Pretty good engines, from all the comments I've heard.

HTH

And, over the years, they've tried getting into HO trains SEVERAL other times, each was a failure. At one time they also made OO scale trains. The whole OO scale size died of it's own accord. Their HO efforts were misguided by a total lack of understanding of the scale vs tinplate markets.

Some of these earlier Lionel HO trains were 'home made', and some were imports. Quality varied, but most were inferior to other contemporary models.

Dan Mitchell ============

scale vs tinplate markets.< While the Challenger and Turbine were nice engines the same understand prevails to this day and includes their rival MTH! I find it interesting that MTH still plans to come out with a HO K4 while BLI has already sold the market out.

In one case, the front room and a quarter of the back room are all Lionel displays, boxes and parts. The other three quarters of the back room are split between G, HO and N. The hallway between is lined with display cases holding the owner's private collection of older Lionel stock, and the shelves behind the counter display the latest Lionel releases. Some of the Yankee and Red Sox cars from last year are there, the others are still on backorder. While he advertises as a Model Train shop, but it is obvious that he prefers Lionel. The sign out front says he has "Gone Loco".

Bob McConnell N2SPP