MPC Era



By the late 1960s interest in model trains had waned, with some manufacturers going out of business altogether, and others looking to get out of the business and enter other fields. Lionel was one of the latter, having diversified into other businesses during the ‘60s. In early 1969 Lionel reached an agreement with General Mills to produce Lionel trains under license. General Mills assigned Lionel to its hobby division, Model Products Corporation (MPC), and its initials became the nickname of this era. The 1970s and ‘80s were a period of conservatism in the toy train hobby. Most MPC-era Lionel trains were made using Postwar-era designs, but with some slightly updated internal parts. The greatest innovation during this time was the use of more advanced decorating techniques, allowing for the production of highly detailed paint schemes that could not be attempted previously.The MPC-era ended in 1986.