Perhaps you are right, JGL, that the recent example candidate locos that I listed could be a "bridge to far". I looked first in the online Lionel catalogs which go back only go back to 2010.
However, for an older loco, checking the archives, the SD-60 was cataloged in 2005 as a conventional engine with fan-driven smoke for $249. It seems likely that the tooling must have been paid for for the SD-60.
Your K-Line suggestion is another great idea. Perhaps the K-Line SD-75? That would be awesome!!
So, the idea of a pair of LC+ modern locos with the existing LC+ consisting and distributed power capability already demonstrated with the FT release, which I have, may still be feasible with the SD60 or the SD75. We have some interest in the posts so far.
