Case Study: M.T.H. Electric Trains achieves a modern, scalable online platform and attracts a new generation with Acquia

Drupal Brings Model Railroading to a New Generation of Enthusiasts

M.T.H. Electric Trains, a 30‑year‑old maker of high‑end model trains with more than 18,000 unique SKUs, needed to grow beyond a nostalgia‑driven customer base and support independent hobby retailers while appealing to younger enthusiasts. Their legacy ColdFusion site—heavily customized and dependent on a single webmaster—was hard to maintain, slow and offered poor search, limiting customers’ ability to find products and partners.

Working with Drupal Construction and Acquia, M.T.H. rebuilt the site on Drupal, using Acquia’s packaged distribution and Acquia Search to enable faceted, high‑performance searching and easier content management. The new site launched in six months (vs. an estimated 18), has delivered 100% uptime, faster page/search performance, measurable traffic and user growth, and cut employee inventory lookup time from hours to under a minute, while enabling new community and partner features.

M.T.H Electric Trains

Mike Taylor

Web Developer