Rusty,
I wasn't putting words into your 'keyboard', I was very careful to use the term 'events', which covers a large cross section of what people to attend. Perhaps you should slow down on speed reading and take in what people say!
As to three elements in this concoction, I see that Flyer and Hi-rail have an awful lot in common and in reality could actually merge as one. Which just leaves two elements to worry about, lot easier for the manufactures then to see which directions to go?
Also, the few don't have the right to represent the many.
Funny... American Models, the former S Helper Service and S Scale America figured out how to attract Flyer, Hirail and Scale and make some money at it.
So, do people unfamiliar or vaguely familiar with S scale/gauge or a few S folks (be they Flyer, hirail or scale oriented) walking up to a manufacturer's display at a national-type train show have the right to represent all of S?
Do people on the various forums have the right? I guess we didn't have the right to encourage DCC compatibility and scale wheels on the SD70's with Lionel, then. After all, there were so few of us representing that obnoxious faction of S. Sorry...
You'll interact with more S folks at Spree's, Fests and NASG cons than any national hobby show or online forum. Seems like a good place to start to me.
Nowhere in any of my postings have I indicated "S scale only" and the heck with all the rest. Sure, I've shown an easy-peasy way to make the cylindrical hopper operate in a scale environment, but I've also shown how to make it look and operate better in the Flyer/Hirail world with AM hirail trucks and SHS couplers.
I will freely admit that in today's world, anything designed to the "traditional standards" of old Gilbert Flyer will draw little to no interest from the scale folks. The waffle side boxcar is looking like it's going to be one of these. Now, do I think Lionel shouldn't make it that way? No. There's a bunch of Flyer folks that will probably buy them regardless. But if the Flyer guys don't buy them, the scale folks certainly won't.
I've been one of the few looking at the Flyerchief Berks from the perspective of the common consumer and not the scale faction. Yeah, it would be nice if the assumed liberties aren't taken, but it's not the end of the S world if they wind up looking like the O27 baby Berks.
Rusty
