@Ukaflyer posted:Wouldn’t they just need to tool for the engine? The tender I thought was the same basically as the one used on the Challenger, which is in proportion I believe and has a lot of detail for most people.
Also, could the chassis that they did use on the K line engine for ‘S’ be suitable for a new scale boiler shell? So bottom line, could they just get away with a new boiler shell with some mods elsewhere. Not my area of expertise on the BB’s and Challengers, let the experts chip in here.
The Boiler would definitely need a new tool.
Lionel could use the previous Challenger's tender tooling as the K-Line's is mis-prortioned. There is no difference in the prototype world between the 3900 class Challenger and the Big Boy tenders. Indeed, the 4014 currently is using the 3985's tender.
I'm not sure if there were any compromises for the drive, but it would need at least new cylinder tools. The Big Boy's cylinders were larger than the Challengers and the K-Line's are also mis-proportioned.
So, there would be some cost savings with some reuse, just as there was with the Legacy Berkshire.
Rusty
