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PRR guys.......you think you got problems...? Try modeling the CPR, what with all their in house cars and locomotives, odd ball, CPR only designs and the fact that it's cold up here and on one loves us...sniff...sniff..tear.... Applies to pretty much anything in Canada. Yeah, I know they made a CN SD40W in N, 'cause we don't say nasty things about IM on forums... We love IM, and buy their stuff all the time.
If Kato made what you want, you'd quietly order it on line, and ask that it be shipped in a plain brown wrapper... The manufacturers DO cater to the market by producing models that will have enough mass appeal that they can run sufficient numbers to keep the unit price reasonable. Ergo, just because there are a few squeaky wheels demanding a Baldwin AS-16, or a PRR K-4, doesn't mean that a manufacturer is going to be willing to front the considerable capital to take such a risk.Yes, it would be nice to have an AS-16, but it is a rather dull looking engine, and the prototype was not widely popular so there aren't that many paint schemes that would appeal to the collector crowd.I don't know what the short answer is, but with current economic conditions, I don't see anyone going too far out on any limbs...Lee
They don't. Whatever diesels have been appropriate to paint in PRR and B&O that have been mass produced have been sold in those paint schemes, for the most part. Even Kato did F-3's and F-7's for B&O. Both have also been represented in steam, usually by sticking fairly accurate paint schemes on very inaccurate locomotives. But diesels are not steam locomotives. You can get "close enough" with diesels and still be economical with production numbers, while discerning modelers will not be satisfied with inaccurate steam.If you've been paying attention, and knew anything at all about both of these railroads, you'd know that they both designed and built a lot of their own steam locomotives. While the B&O utilized a number of USRA designs, they also had a number their own, most notably the President series pacifics, and the EM-1 articulated. Likewise, the PRR developed a whole host of locomotives that suited their very specific purposes.With very few exceptions, model railroad manufacturers these days are loathe to produce rolling stock that can't be offered in a wide range of paint schemes. The exceptions would be small, independent shops like FVM and ESM, which produce relatively small runs of very unique equipment. Steam on the B&O, and especially on the PRR, is NOT something you can simply paint another road name on and expect to boost sales.There are two, and only two, realistic possibilities of seeing any of these highly specialized locomotives produced in plastic:1) Kato decides that they've done well enough with the Broadway and the GG-1 that a nicely done K-4 is a logical extension of that line, OR2) FVM decides that it sold the Milwaukee Hiawatha in sufficient numbers to try another "name" train, and decides for a B&O streamlined Cincinnatian, or a steam era Broadway.More remote possibilities would be someone like Bachmann offering their K-4 in N (It's been a couple of decades since the HO one was introduced, so don't hold your breath), or Walther's following the Berkshire and Y-6B with an EM-1. (Right, Walthers doing anything new in N scale... )My suggestion would be to follow Bussey's advice. Pony up the cash and make it happen. As Clarkson would quip... "How hard can it be?"Lee
More on the point... would folks following this thread accept boiler shells to fit existing quality chassis or must they be complete locomotives only? GHQ offered a few boiler conversions but I don't see them often in shots of folks modeling and they appear to not be interested in trying any more... if more detail was included in a cast resin shell would there be interest? Some really fine boiler shells have started to appear... is there a market for such (not trying to poll interest, just trying to gain a little understanding of people's mind set)?
I see good times ahead for B&O modelers thanks to FVM (Wagontop HO & N), Exactrail (Wagontop HO), and Bachmann's (EM-1 HO) announcements this year. TheFVM wagontop was huge sucess and has sold out most everywhere. We sold more of the Wagontops in N scale than any other single car type since I have been at the shop. For a shop that normally orders cars in 2's and 3's, I ordered 45 of the N scale wagontops and we are down to I think 4-5 left. It doesn't hurt that we are in B&O country but just the same. That is an outstanding result and shows that there is a demand. We will see what happens with the Exactrail offering, it could be good or bad for the situations. If they flood the market and sales taper off, then it could hurt. If they sell out quickly, even better for us. The EM-1 will be the final deciding factor. If these all sell well, I see more B&O specific in the future.
If, as you say, manufacturers do cater to the market then how do you explain why they ignore the two railroads with arguably the largest following?
...when the latest Pennsy-specific items that had never before been offered in N scale (nor in HO scale at the time of release) didn't recoup the tooling investment.
Is this a fact or conjecture? I've heard that sales were "disappointing," but that could run the gamut between not making high enough stacks of greenage to actually failing to recoup costs. Did they actually lose money on the Broadway?
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Topic: Just wondering (Read 27247 times)
