jonnyspeed posted:Lionel doesn't need the chassis or the horizontal drives. All they needs are the shells. Jon Z told me there was plenty of room in a GP 7/9 if they went to a single vertical motor. New frame, drive, electronics, details, old shell tooling. Done...
As was done with the FlyerChief GP7.
However, add electro-couplers (which most Flyer enthusiasts would want,) where the current coupler gaps in AM shells won't accommodate the bulk of the coil, Lionel would either have to go with opening up the pilots or make the pilot move with the trucks.
Lionel's gotta keep the R20 folks happy.
Plus, I think Lionel would be very tempted to utilize the new FlyerChief Blomberg truck on the 4 axle locomotives...
...which while a vast improvement for the Traditional Flyer GP (and Baldwin switcher w/AAR sideframe) would be a giant step backwards on any AM product.
In the end, it would probably be less expensive to tool up new products from the wheels up rather than adapting AM stuff to Lionel's way of thinking.
AmFlyer posted:I would be concerned that if Lionel took over AM we would have no engines for an extended period of time due to the time and expense of putting modern electronics (Legacy and FlyerChief) in the AM product. Keep in mind the newest S gauge Legacy engines still do not have Bluetooth, unlike the O gauge products.
Right. After all, adapting the SHS F3 to MTH electronics went so quickly...
Rusty
