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 Posted - August 13 2013 : 12:57:13 PM
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I have not been at this collecting thing very long (under 2 years) so I had a question for you more experienced guys. For two years in the 1950's Tyco produced in addition to the combine, coach and observation, a baggage, sleeper, diner and vista dome cars. I believe they were only produced with the "Tyco Steamliners" roadname. How hard are these to find? I really only hit the Bay as I can never find time to get to train shows . Are shows the way to go? Any advice? As always, thanks.
rich p
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waw47
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Posted - August 13 2013 : 3:24:43 PM
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| They were made in the 1956-1957 time period. The cars were illustrated as "TYCO STREAMLINER" in a catalog of that period. I don't believe the T-508 Vista Dome was made.
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Posted - August 14 2013 : 11:15:10 AM
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rich; If you are talking about the Aluminun bodied cars Mantua made , they are not rare. And yes there are many different cars made, including Vista domes. Here is a photo of my Pennsy set in a tray. Because it is Pennsy I don't have a dome car. Mantua did custom work with these cars, in any length. They would punch out any window design for any road name. They also sold blank sides for modelers to make any car they wished. I have one of those blanks.
Also in plastic one year Mantua sold passenger cars made by Gilbert. These would be rare. And there was a dome car.
frank
toptrain
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!
Edited by - toptrain on August 14 2013 11:18:30 AM
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Posted - August 14 2013 : 11:21:19 AM
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Top, is there any train you don't own???
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waw47
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Posted - August 14 2013 : 11:46:06 AM
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Frank, Do you have a metal Vista Dome car made by Tyco/Mantua from the 50's? I like to see one.
Edited by - waw47 on August 14 2013 12:56:46 PM
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Posted - August 14 2013 : 12:55:12 PM
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Thanks for the info Frank. Yes, I am referring to the aluminium cars. I assume Tyco went plastic in the 60's? Anyway I am looking for the ones sold by Tyco that have the "TYCO STREAMLINER" as the roadname. I guess I could "cheat" and get Mantuas and change the decals! I need to look at the Mantua catalogs to see if there are any differences. I see Mantua made a Vistadome in the 80's but don't see any from the 50's. Thanks again.
rich p
Edited by - richard p on August 14 2013 2:06:27 PM
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 Posted - August 14 2013 : 1:26:54 PM
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I needs the Union Pacific ones & I can't find them 
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Posted - August 14 2013 : 3:32:14 PM
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quote:Frank, Do you have a metal Vista Dome car made by Tyco/Mantua from the 50's? I like to see one.
Originally posted by waw47Â -Â August 14 2013Â :Â 11:46:06 AM
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The metal passenger cars by Mantua that were vista domes were made in 1986 -1989. They made 2. A standard dome coach and a dome observation car . The old run you can see in catalogs around 1959 to 1962. The dome wasn't made then. They show 6 different cars. ( info from HOseeker )
frank
toptrain
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Posted - August 15 2013 : 02:18:21 AM
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| There was a set of the old Tyco Streamliners with matching Sharknose diesel that sold on Ebay last week for about $300!
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Posted - August 15 2013 : 10:51:22 AM
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Interesting that Mantua did not make a Vistadome until the 1980's yet Tyco listed one in 1956. I guess waw47 is correct in that it was never produced.
rich p
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Posted - August 17 2013 : 09:10:42 AM
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quote:They were made in the 1956-1957 time period. The cars were illustrated as "TYCO STREAMLINER" in a catalog of that period. I don't believe the T-508 Vista Dome was made.
Originally posted by waw47Â -Â August 13 2013Â :Â 3:24:43 PM
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In HO seeker the 1956 catalog shows a vista dome, the 1957 doesn't. I cant read the text and have to guess that they are the aluminum cars.
toptrain
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!
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Posted - August 17 2013 : 11:24:36 PM
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quote:| In HO seeker the 1956 catalog shows a vista dome, the 1957 doesn't. I cant read the text and have to guess that they are the aluminum cars. |
Tyco's plastic-bodied streamliners are listed as "NEW" in the 59' catalog, so anything before that would have to be the aluminum cars. To my knowledge Tyco didn't even start making their plastic cars until 1960. The cars pictured and sold in '59 were re-boxed American Flyer cars.
cheez
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Posted - August 19 2013 : 5:59:03 PM
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Good catch Cheez - I never noticed. In 1959 the #'s of the "new" cars changed to 52x while before that the #'s were 50x. So One can only assume that the 50x cars were aluminum. And it is a good assumption that the Vista Dome was never made since it appeared only once and Mantua did not make it until the 1980's. Another interesting fact is that in 1955 the Mantua kit was 4.95 while the Tyco rtr was 7.95. That would be 43.15 and 69.29 in 2013 dollars!
rich p
Edited by - richard p on August 19 2013 6:19:03 PM
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Posted - November 09 2013 : 8:50:21 PM
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| The Mantua Aluminum Observation car with a Vista Dome near the end of the car is a limited production run. I have an Amtrak one. The Mantua Aluminum passenger cars are some of the finest HO Passenger cars made.
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 Posted - November 10 2013 : 11:27:56 PM
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quote:| The Mantua Aluminum passenger cars are some of the finest HO Passenger cars made. |
You're not kidding. I got my first pair of Mantua streamliners a couple weeks back. They feel rock solid and look amazing. It's nice being able to pick up a passenger car without several detail parts immediately breaking off *cough* WALTHERS*cough*... 
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