M.T.H. To Enter S Scale and S Gauge Market In 2013

Columbia, Maryland, May 22, 2012 --- M.T.H. Electric Trains has purchased the tooling and production related assets of The Showcase Line® and the S-Trax System® previously produced by S Helper Service, Inc. of Cliffwood, New Jersey. The sale includes designs, tooling, marketing and trademark assets related to all of S Helper's S Scale, 1/64 model railroading products. All in-stock inventory and the general business assets of the company will remain with S Helper Service.

“We are pleased that the S model railroading products of The Showcase Line and the S-Trax System will be continuing with a company whose standards of prototype accuracy, prototype detail, state-of-the-art technology and high quality are commensurate with the standards we had set for ourselves with the products we have delivered to S model railroaders,” said Michael Ferraro, President of S Helper Service.

Don Thompson, Vice-President of S Helper Service explained further that, “As Michael Ferraro and I approached retirement age, we sought alternatives for the continuation of the line of S scale model trains, track and accessories that we had developed over the last 20 plus years. The transfer of the Showcase Line and S-Trax products to M.T.H. will further boost the continuing growth of S model railroading within the model railroading industry. M.T.H.’s resources and strengths, in particular their digital sound and train control technology, will take S to a whole new level. The infusion of features like synchronized puffing smoke, LED lighting, cd-quality sound, remote uncoupling and a host of unique operating functions will make S more exciting than ever before and that has been our hope for the products we created.”

Founded more than twenty-years ago, S Helper Service was formed to advance the S scale segment of the model railroading industry by providing more new and diverse products, establish entry-level starter sets for S and provide products made to the highest standards in the model railroad industry. Since that time, The Showcase Line of locomotives, rolling stock and accessories has expanded to include eight locomotives, eighteen diverse freight cars and a variety of accessories. The S-Trax System now includes thirteen sectional and flex track components along with track accessories. At the time of the sale, both The Showcase Line and S-Trax System have additional products under development.

All of the products from S Helper Service had become the standard to which all products for S model railroading are compared. The detailed models and operational qualities of the products are unsurpassed in the model railroading industry. The S-Trax System is the leading track line for S scale.

M.T.H. Electric Trains, founded in 1980 by Mike Wolf, has become one of the very largest and most diverse manufacturers of model trains in the United States. The company originally began as a mail order toy train retailer before establishing itself as a model railroad manufacturer of classic tin-plate reproductions from the first half of the Twentieth Century. By 2006, M.T.H. had product lines in 3-rail O Gauge, 2-rail O Scale, HO, One-Gauge and O and Standard Gauge tinplate reproductions.

Today, M.T.H.’s DCS Digital Command System and its line of onboard Proto-Sound® digital sound and command control locomotive modules comprise a technology package considered the most versatile in all of model railroading. Proto-Sound 3.0, the latest onboard package found in all M.T.H. locomotives, will be incorporated into M.T.H. S Scale products in the 2013 product line which will be unveiled later in 2012. Proto-Sound 3.0 equipped locomotives operate under AC or DC track current, in conventional or command modes in both 2 or 3-rail environments. Most importantly, Proto-Sound 3.0 equipped locomotives respond to DCS or DCC command control protocols ensuring that M.T.H.'s expansion into the S Scale market will provide the S Gauge marketplace with locomotives unmatched in their versatility, features and performance.

PARTS AND SERVICE

M.T.H. Electric Trains will produce and sell products and parts under the M.T.H. S Gauge product line in 2013. While some of the M.T.H. S Gauge parts may fit older S Helper items, in some cases modifications to the tools and molds may prevent M.T.H. S Gauge parts from properly fitting S Helper items. For example, an entirely new drive train will be developed for locomotives meaning that motors and trucks on M.T.H. S Gauge locomotives will likely not fit older S Helper locomotives.

The remaining parts owned by S Helper were not included in the sale of S Helper's assets to M.T.H. Electric Trains. Since the sale, those parts were sold to Dave's Twacks and Twains who will be handling service and parts requests for S Helper products. Customers interested in obtaining parts and service work for S Helper items should contact Dave's Twacks and Trains and inquire as to the part(s) and services availability. Dave's Twacks and Twains 919-926-7386 Email: clay@davestnt.com