Tinplate Line starter set by MTH

Set aside all your prototype railroad reference books. This outfit is from the fun era of toy trains, when trains were actual toys and what people bought were representations of the real thing, not scale models. You get the prewar Lionel heritage, except the trains are made better!

Locomotion
This may be anathema to most train guys. Just like this locomotive’s prewar predecessor, it’s okay to knock, bump, and maybe even drop it (from a low height) just as a kid might have done back in the day. This is a throwback to the era of metal trains and the slogan, “Big trains for little hands,” so there is a bit of durability present that most plastic locomotives don’t possess.

The locomotive has the main reference points for steam power: oversize light bulb on the smokebox, brass accents for grab irons, steam and sand domes, steam and sand lines, brass smokestack, and simulated bell. There is even a simulated superheater over the smoke box.

The cab and tender have brass grab irons, and the tender has a stamped-in (versus a plastic or brass “cast-in”) coal load. The tender also has an add-on ladder and a simulated water hatch.

The 2-4-0 features MTH’s ProtoSound 2.0 sound and command system. This sound package has everything from authentic locomotive sounds to crew chatter. It has terrific speed control for low-speed operation.

Rolling stock
Rolling stock for this set is more limited. It features a no. 513 cattle car and a no. 517 caboose.

Both cars are all metal and have a baked enamel finish, and all the gear is equipped with metal latch couplers, just as modelers used back in caveman days.

The cattle car is gaily decorated with an orange metal body and a green metal roof and green guides for the opening side door. Each end of the car has a brake wheel that is vertical to the end of the car, and not flat against the side as in later railroad practice.

The caboose has brass window frame inserts and handrails on both end platforms as well.

Both cars roll smoothly, and, once locked, the couplers aren’t going to shake open!

Fear not at having too little to pull. MTH has made no. 500-series boxcars, coal hoppers, flatcars, gondolas, ore cars, refrigerator cars, searchlight cars, and tank cars in a variety of colors.

The equipment
The power supply is a no. Z-500 50-watt transformer. The outfit also includes a small receiver base and a handheld Digital Command System remote commander (controller batteries not included) that can direct nine basic functions of a DCS-equipped locomotive.

Wiring setup is simple: Connect a single transformer line to the receiver, and then connect red and black lines to the red and black connectors of the lockon. The remote sends the commands to the receiver, which sends the signals along the track.

The track is modular Standard gauge track, the first of this style that I’ve seen. The electrical connection is made at the plastic base (brass-to-brass connections), and the rails are conventional tinplate in shape.

While this is literally a circle of track (not a loop), fear not. The Lionel Corp. line has a range of roadbed track from 28-inch-long straight sections, to short fitter sections and 42- and 72-inch-diameter Standard gauge sections.

There are also adapter sections sold for regular Standard gauge track and sections for traditional-styles switches.

This is a pretty ambitious train set. Okay, this outfit might not be the right starter set for most seven-year-olds, but it is a contender for any grownup who still has the heart of the seven-year-old lurking inside. If your interests are more toward bright, shiny, and metal, the Lionel Corp. Tinplate line is worth a look.

Price: $599.95 (no. 11-5007-1)
Features: Metal steam locomotive with smoke unit and ProtoSound 2.0, two 500-series cars, a circle of 42-inch-diameter Standard gauge modular track, 50-watt power supply, and DCS remote commander