Athearn asking for N scale suggestions

[Ike the BN Freak]

I would suggest that Athearn gets into N scale.

I suggested this once before, and not just rereleases of the old MDC tooling either.

I like how they told us N scalers to put "N Scale" in our post...why can't we just get our own post to start with?

[gelboy45]

I would suggest the CF7s!

Gerry

[peteski]

I like how they told us N scalers to put "N Scale" in our post...why can't we just get our own post to start with?

Because N scale is simply Athearn's (and most model model manufacturers in general) unwanted stepchild.  HoHoHo! 

[robert3985]

My suggestion to them was to just introduce N-scale products in the same order as their HO line.  The market research has already been done as well as any historical research.  That way, we could expect FEF3's pretty soon, then Turbines (Standard and Veranda)...and somewhere down the line, SP MT4's...life would be good! 

[casmmr]

How about just reissuing some of the MDC cars already in their possession--C&O 3 bay open hoppers, etc.  Why did they purchase MDC to only bury the cars?

[lock4244]

I bet I can: FEF-3

No... but it is a locomotive 

[PiperguyUMD]

I posted this on Athearn's Contact Us page, since I am not using FB.

An N-scale non-USRA type 4-8-2 Mountain or 4-8-4 Northern steam loco featuring:
- 72-75 inch drivers (spoked and boxpok styles)
- 19-20' driving wheelbase
- a chassis designed so that aftermarket or customized boilers could be easily fitted on the frame(or at least detachable domes and removable boiler and cylinder).
-DC and DCC versions
- 4 and 6 axle tenders

36 US and Canadian RRs owned and operated a total of 1,126 "Northern" type locomotives. Many were designed within this size range (e.g., ATSF, CNR, GTW, NYC, SP, others) although some RRs increased the driver size to 80 inches when rebuilt.

Ooow what we could do with that!

Michael

YES!  There are a great number of eastern steam locomotives that could be built from these.  An accurate 4-8-4 for WM, LV, RF&P, DLW, RDG, D&H, and C&O acoustic all be built from such a locomotive. While the wheel base wouldn't be perfect for all of them, I think it is safe to say the dimensions are within the realm of fudgability.  The availability of spare parts would also be very important.  Think about how many projects have been put on the back burner because Bachmann's supply of 6 axle commonwealth tender trucks disappeared!

[VonRyan]

I said anything pre-1956. Especially PRR prototypes.

On their post asking for locomotive suggestions, I gave them: T1, K4, M1, I1, N1, J1, S2, Q2.
With the T1 being my primary vehicle for such a frontal assault, I used the well known sales figures of the brass models as my covering fire so that my attempt to infiltrate Athearn would not be immediately thwarted.

-Cody F.

[Catt]

So what is the big deal about Facebook? I have no problems with it at all.The only people I know of who have had problems just posted to much personal info.There is a virtual wealth of modeling information to be found there.

To get back to Athearn,I posted my requests too.Probably won't do much good but it was one finger typing exersize.

[u18b]

I was thinking of the brass comparison too....

The Kumata Baldwin Centipede is a 100% piece of crap.  (well, they are OK if you TOTALLY redesign the drive train... but more on that for another day).

But these brass colored turds that barely run ..... go for $1,000 bucks and up!!!!!!  (do people NOT know they they don't run worth a hoot).

So.... does this mean that Athearn could sell a fair number with a good plastic design?
DC/DCC,  with a sound option?

[Scottl]

Facebook is becoming important for modelling information.  If people don't post personal stuff, it is fine.   There is no privacy on the internet.

[C855B]

[typical TRW thread drift]
[rant]

So what is the big deal about Facebook? I have no problems with it at all.The only people I know of who have had problems just posted to much personal info. ...

You "went there", so...

• Facebook cross-connects information gathered outside of Facebook. I used to be in this business and know how they do it. Joining or maintaining a FB membership provides confirming information and further authorizes them to data mine your personal information from elsewhere.
• Mark Zuckerberg. I've followed FB from nearly the beginning. He declared from the onset, "If you are online, you have no privacy." This attitude has permeated FB's operations, and in my experience with similar tech operations, the stink at the top goes all the way down. His public image has been heavily massaged by publicists in the past five years, so his visible 'tude has been softened. However, and IMO, he remains the Justin Bieber of the tech world - reckless, arrogant, invincible. And still a child. A very, very rich child.
• Constantly changing the rules. See #2. The unannounced changes to privacy defaults are legend. If you lose interest in FB in order to have a life, what personal information you have on FB - whether volunteered to FB or farmed - eventually becomes public, anyway.
• Loss of "arms-length" anonymity. FB requires a real identity. You (now) cannot disable the ability to be searched by the generic search engines if you have a FB account. There are people in my past who, frankly, I do not want to find me, for myriad reasons. Again, #2 - children do not have the life experience to understand that sometimes you don't want all the dots connected. People who have achieved closure in difficult situations don't need an anchor chain yanking them back.

Kapish?

... There is no privacy on the internet.

And FB's success is responsible for diluting the importance of personal privacy, since, again, younger people simply don't have the life experience to understand what's at stake.

[/rant]
[/typical TRW thread drift]

[Scottl]

Justin Beiber of the internet?   

You can be anonymous on facebook, just don't give them real info and post drunken vacation pictures.  I have a "Smith" account for these purposes.  You don't have to give them a real phone number and birth date, you know   

Google, Yahoo, etc all do the same thing- monetize our information.  Loyalty programs sell it, and your retail records are lost to incompetence.  increasingly, governments are losing critical data to theft and incompetence.  In Ontario, we recently had millions of voter records lost when a laptop was misplaced by someone.

If people don't like it, fine, but if I was a company I would choose FB to engage customers, over say, forums, where anonymous posters tear into companies about minutiae.   Do that on FB and you become a pariah.  Or no one "likes" you 

[C855B]

... your retail records are lost to incompetence.  ...

Geez. Tell me about it. I'm now dealing with 30+ spams a day to my business e-mail because of the Target hack, and that was mined from a correspondence two years ago. Since I run my own e-mail server, I now give each retailer their own account. Then I know who was hacked (or "shared my e-mail") and I cut them off at the knees immediately. Like Lowes, who spams like crazy.

As to Google... yeah, their personal data harvesting is insane, but at least at the moment it's just for fine-tuning their ad (and news content) delivery. That's easy enough to dilute, and I abandoned Google as a search engine two or three years ago. As to fake phone numbers... I have a favorite whenever a brick and mortar insists on one, and have the fortune of living in the St. Louis area with the 314 area code - 314-159-2654. (Get it?)

This doesn't mention the "find anybody (for a fee)" websites. I test those on myself every once in a while, and they always have a lot wrong.

[u18b]

Hahahaha!

Mike, that's a good one.

I never would have thought of that.

I guess telling them extension 5897 wouldn't work since you rounded.   

Afterall, there's only 10 kinds of people in the world:  those who get it and those who don't.