by Tony Lash

I've been collecting trains for 50 years. I started when I was 7 and passed an electric train shop on my paper route. Every week I saved up and bought another piece. I've loved railroading ever since I was a kid and my granddad, Sam Jones, let me ride in the engines on the N&W run where he worked as a fireman. I still run mostly N&W and N&S trains, but not always.

By now most of you have heard of the controversy over the model train designs that were stolen from the company that manufactures M.T.H. Electric Trains' product line. To see a rough photo of some of the people involved, click here.

Well I just happen to have a copy of a video that came directly from Korea, complete with English subtitles. It explains the investigation and gives some really good information about the "scandal."

The video is an avi file that I have zipped so you can download it. You can unzip the file with Winzip or any other zip software. To download a free copy of Winzip, click here.

You can watch the clip with Microsoft's Media Player or any other avi player. To download the latest MS Media Player for free, click here.

Here is some of the footage.
M.T.H. Electric Trains Plans Stolen:
Video Clip - Zip File

You can also check out the story on the Korea Times web site by clicking here.

Here are some pictures of my ¼" scale Hi-rail layout. It takes up a 70' by 45' room, has 5,000 feet of Gargraves track, 88 switches, and 4 levels of track. The two mainlines go up and down between the first two levels, and at scale speeds it takes about 7-10 minutes for a train to go around the loop. I use three M.T.H. Z-4000s to power the layout. It includes a reproduction of the Coal Yard in Bluefield, WV, a roundhouse and turntable, a grain silo, and several other factories and buildings.
Everything on the layout is ¼" scale. There are aisles built in the middle of the layout, so visitors and I can get inside, close to the action. When I got interested in O Scale modeling, I didn't like the toy-like look of Lionel's post-war trains. I soon discovered M.T.H. Their Premier Line engines are great quality and have realistic detail. I've also been impressed with their customer service. I'm sold on that company, and I'm convinced they're collectible. Here are some pictures of it for a sneak preview.

My layout is showcased in the video "Great M.T.H. Layouts" being put out by TM this year. For more pictures, click here.

Here are some links to my favorite sites:

M.T.H. Electric Trains
Proto-Sound 2.0
Classic Toy Trains