The MTH Dilemma
By Bill Laughlin
The new MTH 2003-Volume I catalog just appeared, in all its 169-page
glory. Inside are the seeds of a dilemma for any serious MTH collector
or operator---predicted but not realized until now.
In these pages we find the RE-RELEASE of the Premier Union Pacific
DD40AX, the 6600-hp dual diesel model, in the SAME ROAD NUMBER
already released (6936). The new version is PS 2.0-equipped, while
the earlier (1998) version was PS 1.0
For those of us collecting (and to a degree, operating) Union
Pacific in O-Gauge, what are we to do? Here are the options as
I see them:
1. Collect BOTH versions. (I already have both road numbers released
in 1.0, the 6936 and the 6900.)
2. SELL OFF THE 1.0 VERSION and BUY the 2.0 model. (I need to
do this before the 2.0 model hits the market and torpedoes the
1.0's value.
3. DO NOTHING: Keep the 1.0 models and be satisfied running them
in the usual way, ignoring the enhancements of my neighbor's 2.0
model.
4. KEEP the 1.0 models and PRAY that MTH makes good on the rumor
that it will release upgrade packages, which would likely be very
costly, as you are essentially gutting the innards, saving only
motors and lighting.
5. KEEP the 1.0 models and CONVERT them (and everything MTH that
you own) to the "enemy's" TMCC system.
6. SELL OFF the 1.0 models and wait for Lionel, K-Line or someone
else to make the same thing with whatever electronic control system
it contains.
7. GO RETRO: Sell off everything electronically-assisted that
you own, and buy only Williams engines or postwar Lionel.
Our good friend Henry Jones saw this coming over a year ago,
while everyone locally was focused on the controversy over TMCC
versus DCS (unreleased and delayed). Henry made haste and sold
off ALL of his 1.0 engines---and he had a FEW! In retrospect,
this was a very shrewd move, at least for a 100% operator.
We have seen precedents in society at large. With the rapid pace
of late-20th/early-21st century technological advance, we had
VHS overwhelming a Beta user base in home video, and the IBM PC/Microsoft
tidal wave swamp out an early Apple base in personal computing.
(I still own a number of Beta VCR's and a large tape library,
which mostly just sits, and is waiting for the introduction of
cheap optical-disk recording. Yes, I have Sony VHS machines and
use them mostly for logging purposes, and some dubbing. I avoided
the computer wars by being a late-adopter.)
Returning to the issue at hand, I can just see the "Lionel-only"
loyalists snickering in the background. (I own O-gauge equipment
in ALL the brands available, not just one or two.) Many of these
folks have not and may never get a DCS remote in their mitts.
They may never personally experience the incredible potential
that truly is there. But their "day" may be coming,
if the current Lionel brain trust decides the next generation
of TMCC isn't completely 100% backwards compatible. We shall see…
Neither can the dyed-in-the-wool MTH operator--like Mr. Jones--completely
appreciate the depths of this DILEMMA. The operator who wishes
to remain on the foremost edge of new technology in O-gauge electronic
trains by definition simply sells off the old---at the best price
he can get---and embraces the new. Always. What dilemma?
Unlike some, I do not fault Mr. Wolf for the 2.0's "break
with the past." Like him or not, his leadership and maverick
nature--which some have compared to Mr. Cowen---revitalized our
hobby (recognized as Number One in CTT's Top 15 list--Nov. issue).
He looked at the future, and it was COMMAND. He looked at TMCC
and saw it had severe limitations, being hardware-, not software-based.
He looked at the outside world (HO, N, G) and saw it going DCC.
DCS had to happen, for the future viability of the MTH line, and
the future of the hobby, if it was to stay exciting.
If MTH were to only make 2.0 models in road numbers not previously
issued, the problem might be ameliorated, at least for some collectors.
But apparently that is not to be.
The DD40AX isn't due until May 2003. I have a little more time
to study the options, and make my move. All these choices…who'd
have thunk…? ----Bill Laughlin
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