K-Line

[winced36]

K-line was a line of O and S gauge toy trains manufactured and sold by an outfit called MDK. I think it was founded back in the 1970s by Maury Klein, and much of the early product was based on old Marx 3/16-inch scale dies that were acquired by various means Later they made some really nice toys of their own design, many of which were the equal of anything Lionel or MTH was making at the time (although they had no proprietary command-control). Some of the gear they manufactured prior to their 2005 bankruptcy was top-notch and is actively sought today. K-line was an unfortunate victim of the free-wheeling, highly-litigious 1990s and early 2000s, a time when Lionel, MTH, K-line, together with a number of their South Korean and Chinese partners were taking each other apart. It all harkened back to the Lionel/Ives/Flyer battles of the late 1920s and early 1930s, an equally ugly period. But I digress.

I don't have many pieces of K-line gear; the few I do have fit the O-27 model best. They are well-made but a bit undersized. The graphics, however, are first-rate. Here's a PRR York Fair boxcar (K-5154014) I bought at Strickler's Hobby House in Hanover, Pennsylvania, probably twenty or so years ago:

K-line PRR York Fair boxcar

K-line 5154014 b.jpg (168.07 KiB) Viewed 24412 times

I think this was a commemorative piece which was part of K-line's "Keystone Keepsakes" series. The car body looks a bit like one from the old plastic Marx line. Anyway, an interesting car from the second heyday of O-gauge toy trains.

Paul II