I surely hope not!
When the last catalog heralded USA-made traditional size freight cars listed at about $20 more than equivalent traditional size freight cars elsewhere in the catalog...made 'over there'..., I had my doubts how patriotic allegiance would win out at a more than 25% premium. Yeah, the flag on the box was snazzy, to be sure. Most boxes end up not being celebrated on the layout, however.
Well, as a participant in the LHS business...located in the remnants of the rust belt and bastion of union ideology...I can safely say that the homeland heritage has not been a demand feature. PRICE, however, continues...always and forever...to be a differentiator among like items.
That said, I tend to wince at the probable price differential that a USA-made aluminum passenger car/set built to the same bar-height as K-Line's final effort would garner. Three years or more ago I challenged a Bachmann representative (their China facility apparently had possession of the K-Line tooling) at a York meet to re-introduce those iconic passenger cars under their own banner. He said it wouldn't happen; it was studied, cost-analyzed, etc., and they would have to charge nearly $200 PER CAR to justify it. At that price, in this market, in this economy, it was a no-brainer.....going nowhere fast.
That was then. Nothing much has changed since that I'm aware of.
Yet, we can hope. Maybe altruism will trump decent wages and modest profit as a business plan?
Yeah, right.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
