Uncertain future for more US-prototype N scale models from Arnold/Hornby

[peteski]

I exchanged few emails with Arvids from Hornby USA and I asked if there were any more models in the pipeline.  He said "no".  Paraphrasing him, both of their recent US-prototype releases were liked by modelers but did not meet the sales expectations. So they are not planning on investing in any more US-prototype models for the foreseeable future.

[jmlaboda - RIP]

Well, the SW1 could and probably should be offered with many more roadnames... they will be cutting their own throat if they don't.  To offer just a few and then stop is foolhardy at best since they could be recovering more of the initial investment from additional sales... to do nothing doesn't bring in any money... a very stupid move.

[peteski]

Seems like a situation similar to Kato's RDCs. They made a large run with few road-names and they did not sell out for years (and only aided by few firehouse sales).  Kato will probably never run them again either.  Arnold made the U-boats and SW-1s with whatever road-names they thought would sell the best, and now they are sitting on unsold inventory.  I can see how they are not too keen to make more (even if they decorated them for other road-names).

[SirTainly]

that's a shame, was hoping they'd run some more since they don't seem to be in stock here in the UK, if they ever were.

[OldEastRR]

You'd think that anybody bringing out something not done before in N would only put road names on part of the run, saving a bunch of undecs to paint in case one road name sells out quickly, or a demand for another road name was overlooked. Especially for the SW1 and the RDCs. KATO never offered the RDC in B&M, and only used the McGinnis scheme for the NH ones. The two RRs that owned most of the real locos and they ignored 2/3s of the schemes. I wonder if the problem is European and Asian model companies don't really have the in-depth knowledge of US railroads they need to make salable items. Sure, they excel at copying preserved rolling stock but where do they get their research on road names? Old Lionel catalogs? (However, I have no clue as to what causes Walther's Nphobia)
And I can't believe running assembled undecs through a painting process would be prohibitively expensive, compared to sitting on a huge lot of unsold locos. If that's the case, our manufacturing model (for anything) is totally insane.

[w neal]

This is news? Really? You could see that one coming when they were selling them cheaply at the national show.

And then cancelling their appearance at Springfield last year...

[peteski]

This is news? Really? You could see that one coming when they were selling them cheaply at the national show.

And then cancelling their appearance at Springfield last year...

Sorry that I'm late to the party. Maybe you should have posted something as soon as you saw it coming.    The only difference is that yours was just a speculation while I got my info directly from a Hornby employee/rep.

And I also want to mention that while the Arnold division of Hornby only makes N scale, Hornby itself is a multi-scale model train manufacturer.  Both make many models of prototypes from different parts of the world. US-prototype is just a small part of their offerings.

[peteski]

You'd think that anybody bringing out something not done before in N would only put road names on part of the run, saving a bunch of undecs to paint in case one road name sells out quickly, or a demand for another road name was overlooked. . . . I wonder if the problem is European and Asian model companies don't really have the in-depth knowledge of US railroads they need to make salable items. Sure, they excel at copying preserved rolling stock but where do they get their research on road names? Old Lionel catalogs? (However, I have no clue as to what causes Walther's Nphobia)
And I can't believe running assembled undecs through a painting process would be prohibitively expensive, compared to sitting on a huge lot of unsold locos. If that's the case, our manufacturing model (for anything) is totally insane.

Save a batch on undercoated models from a production batch?!  You are serious?  Where have you been for the last 20 years? There has been some much coverage of how the Chinese companies operate.  They don't even like providing undercoated models or spare parts to the company that hired them to make those models!

I do however agree that is seems that their market research often misses the mark. But I'm sure someone familiar with the industry will chime in stating that what seems obvious to you it is not so clear to everybody.  And I also agree that the current manufacturing model is a bit insane.

[ek2000]

Well, it's certainly news to me and not a good one at that. The U boat and SW1 switchers looked great and I believed their next step was  offering more models and dcc options. I personally feel Hornby should milk more out of the models theyve already invested in like the previous poster said. Add a decoder, more road names etc.

[coosvalley]

I had a feeling something like this might happen, as the locos they made for the US market can be picked up for some pretty good bargain prices.

What I find most disappointing about this is that the SW1's have exceeded my expectations, whereas the other switcher released at about the same time, the Atlas S2s, have left me wanting more. More in the way of slow speed operation, more detailing, and I wouldn't mind some gears that didn't split ..The SW1s are better on all counts, IMHO. In fact, I just picked up 2 more, for a total of 5. I will not be buying any more S2s, however.
 Point=Arnold Hornby.

I would have really liked to see some Undecs.... 

[bman]

My Hornby loco's are hands down the best overall loco's I own.  Of course picking a prototype locomotive to offer has to be the hard part. The Uboats that Hornby decided to release didn't sell all that well in the real world either.  If what I read is correct, only 113 U25C's  and 71 U28C's were built.  And neither of the Uboats were offered in PRR, or the U28C in UP paint which could have boosted sales a bit possibly as those are popular railroads.  That's not a lot of options for the model railroading community.  And in a world were the average U.S. consumer defaults to Atlas and Kato(that's slowly changing though it appears) there wasn't enough of a "need" factor for a lot of folks to step outside of their comfort zone and purchase them if you ask me. While I am glad they did offer them as I did mange to purchase a U28 in PC as well as the SW1, I wound up missing out the U25C as it wasn't in the budget at that time.

[thomasjmdavis]

As I recall, early reviews were not all together positive, and the U boats were seen as being "old technology"- so it is interesting to read here that these are seen by people who actually own them as top of the line.  That is to say, that the actual ownership experience is better than predicted by people who did the initial reviews *based on ones I read- YMMV.  Sometimes old technology is good technology.

Well, the marketing problem with SW1 sales is simple enough.  Just look at what MBK has left- PC (2 schemes, no less), BN, Amtrak.  Yes, these 1970s era railroads had SW1s- but the last SW1 was produced in 1953.  The early schemes sold out first (not a big surprise).  And given that the most common scheme, arguably, was "none of the above"- which is to say, small railroads and industrial users who bought 1 or 2, plus some major railroads that bought 1 or 2 in early years to test against their steam switchers- so this was an ideal candidate for undecorated models, and/or a "painted but unlettered" as Bachmann has done with its 70 tonner- for all those who want a switcher for their steel mill or other industry.

My speculation is that the marketing folks choosing roadnames and paint schemes were hoping to sell you a 70s era SW1 to go with your U boat.  In which case, an SW1001 or some such would have been a better choice.

And they might have paid more attention to what Atlas has done in recent years- where they have painted switchers for transfer roads (the ones I note are EJE and Belt Railway of Chicago, given my modeling interest).  EJE owned 15 or 20 of these (IIRC) and if you model the Chicago area, you buy an EJE switcher, create a transfer run from a staging yard, and you now have the created as much tonnage for your mainline freights as you would by installing several major industries.

[wmcbride]

I bought too many U25Cs and U28Cs and just one SW1 when they went on fire sale. They still are on eBay.

I really like these for their lighted number boards, ease of adding a decoder (well, once you get the darn couplers off but it is a 6-pin format after that), very fine details, and nice running characteristics. I'd buy more (maybe I will) because I find myself running them more and more.

[pmpexpress]

As I recall, early reviews were not all together positive, and the U boats were seen as being "old technology"- so it is interesting to read here that these are seen by people who actually own them as top of the line.

Neither the Model Railroader review by Eric White nor one found on Spookshow were negative.

Given how accurate and finely detailed the Louisville & Nashville models were, now dashed, I had been hoping that Arnold would eventually release a run of Clinchfield U28C locomotives.

[w neal]

Sorry that I'm late to the party. Maybe you should have posted something as soon as you saw it coming.    The only difference is that yours was just a speculation while I got my info directly from a Hornby employee/rep.

And I also want to mention that while the Arnold division of Hornby only makes N scale, Hornby itself is a multi-scale model train manufacturer.  Both make many models of prototypes from different parts of the world. US-prototype is just a small part of their offerings.

Eye. Tis tru, but all the signs were there. Its just not a revelation.