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The Goingincirclez Guide to Tyco Trains

By Tony L. - Posted on 11 January 2009

Sometime in the summer of 2006 I paid a routine visit to my usual haunt in Frankfort - an antique shop that specializes in old trains, toys, furniture, tools, knicknacks and ephemera. Normally I would merely find the odd or interesting (and cheap) bit of rolling stock for kitbashing and other layout projects. But that day I found a particularly intriguing locomotive - an Alco Century 430 painted in Great Northern "Big Sky" colors. The only trouble was, it was the infamous model by Tyco Trains (when they weren't calling themselves Mantua). Or at least that's what the underframe trademark claimed, even though I'd often perused Tony Cook's excellent Tyco Collector's Resource and was pretty sure I'd never seen this one there.

I passed on the loco to double-check my research and sure enough, it seemed I'd found something special. What the heck, it's only twelve bucks and even if it's another typically dead Tyco piece of junk, at least it looks pretty. Maybe I could repower it.

I couldn't have imagined then that that one impulse purchase would reawaken the kid in me, and my appreciation for the derelict and forgotten. And reunite me with the very source of my fascination with mechanisms and repair.

So began a journey to chronicle, catalog, discover and appreciate all that was known (and unknown) about the mostly forgotten and disdained HO pioneer: Tyco Industries (nee Tyco Trains, nee Tyco / Mantua, nee Mantua Metal Products Co., Inc). And here I share with you the fruits of that research!

So the cover mockup's a little self-indulgent, but what the hey. The guide will remain online for now, with ongoing revisions and additions as new items come to light and I find time to catalog and investigate them. Maybe if enough interest is spawned it can develop into a published hard copy to give the Lionel guys fits. For now, I have nearly the entire run of standard "Brown Box" era production rolling stock from 1970 thru 1993 - over 350 pieces in all - including some true rarities and previously unknown items. As that collection has filled out, I've added more of the earlier Red Box and Blue Box era cars, and even some of the later Mantua (Orange Box?) releases. Much of this wouldn't have been possible without the generous assistance and donations from members of the Tyco and HO collecting world - you know who you are and I thank you!

The least I can do is share it here. More to come as I have time. In the meanwhile, feedback and new information is always appreciated...

To peruse the GIC Guide, use the dropdown menu at the top of the page, click the cover to see the Table of Contents, or... just scroll down for the TOC on this page.

Acknowledgments

The following people, through their sharing of information, time, examples, and other resources, deserve extra meritorious credit and thanks. They were instrumental in helping to demystify what we have so far, and I am indebted to and inspired by their assistance.