@AmFlyer posted:Thanks Ben, definitely something to keep in mind.
Rusty, thanks for the updates on my comments. I am hoping Lionel will make several new engines. My opinion is that if a high rail Legacy engine will not run on 20"R curves, orders will take a big hit. A 4-8-2 could be a winner, same as a Hudson, 0-8-0 or an 0-6-0. A 2-10-0 would be problematical to design for 20"R curves. Since I have 30"R minimum curves I would buy the larger rigid wheelbase engines but there may not be enough orders to get one made.
A 2-10-0 doing R20 wouldn't be impossible, it just depends on the 2-10-0. The Pennsy I-1 could be an issue, but the Baldwin Strasburg 2-10-0 has a shorter rigid wheelbase than a Santa Fe 2900 class 4-8-4, which AM has. A Hirail AM Northern will go around R20. Admittedly it looks a little ridiculous going around that sharp a curve, but it can be done.
Even the Y3 looks a little funky on R20 (picture taken from a passing Martian War Machine...) The Y3's saving grace is the two point articulation originally developed by Rivarrossi for their HO Models rather than the prototypical single point articulation Lionel uses on their O Gauge models, which does restrict them to O72.
One of the things that hinders S is being wedded to the R20 curves. But that's a different discussion...
I'm not expecting Lionel to make a 2-10-0 in S anyway. That's River Raisin territory.
But, I agree there are other Flyer locomotives that could entice S folks: SP GS4 Daylight (4449), N&W J (611), UP FEF3 (844) and even the NYC J1 or J3a Hudsons, as long as the Hudsons were not simple recreations of the Gilbert model. Even a rerelease of the Challenger or a properly scaled Big Boy (and not a rehash of the K-line model.)
Given the new and improved price of the Y3, I wouldn't even begin to speculate on what a newly tooled Flyer steam locomotive would be priced at.
However realistically, I would consider us lucky if the Mikados make the 2023 V1 catalog. Although if and when the Mikado comes out, I expect it be priced at least 10% higher than the Pacifics.
Rusty
