If I understand it correctly, Lionel’s cylindrical hoppers with scale wheels may appeal to the S scale crowd who strive for the most prototypical realism. These hobbyists care about details, and these cars are:
- fairly correct—the profile for the wheels (the least visible aspect)
- wrong—the alignment of the wheels, which have to be adjusted to meet NASG standards to which their other wheel sets probably correspond
- wrong—lobster-claw couplers
- wrong—number of bays for the prototypical liveries
- half wrong—half of the liveries are glossy “fantasy” designs (but at least the prototypical versions do not appear to have the showroom gloss)
- wrong—wheel size (33-inch instead of 36-inch)
- wrong—body height
On the other hand, high-rail enthusiasts are typically not as picky about such details. For them, these very attractive cars simply don’t work. Anecdotal reports suggest they derail if high-railers use the common American Flyer Gilbert or Gargraves track and switches. I’m having difficulty understanding for whom Lionel intended these cars.
