Roundhouse Bill posted:I have talked with American Models, Lionel, and MTH about the breakdown in their sales for S and other gauges where appropriate when I have interviewed them. About 15% scale 85% high rail is what they have told me.
I don't think these companies generally work too far in the future in their planning. The objective is to make a profit now. If Gilbert style products have the best chance at making money that is what Lionel will produce especially if 85% of the market is in that mode. MTH bought SHS, who spoke well to scale S, but in my talks with them scale will not be their primary effort in S. MTH made no mention to follow exactly in the footsteps of SHS where scale was their primary effort.
If HO and N are what's growing in the future I suppose manufactures will gravitate that way. However there are still people buying O and S so there is a market there till we all pass.
Someone earlier said us high rail people are the "Silent Majority" in S and I agree with them. 85% of the posts here are not high rail, but probably scale people, which is fine. We just need to keep talking here to keep this hobby alive.
If scale was SHS's primary focus, they wouldn't have shipped product with HiRail wheels and Flyer compatible couplers, nor would they have designed an electronic e-unit.
SHS realized that Flyer/Hirail was 85% of the market and built their products accordingly. That's why us scale guys had to buy our own couplers. Don Thompson even said the cars he chose were because they were visually compatible with Flyer (for the most part.)
Rusty
