Dave Warburton posted:A surprising amount of HO in this catalog. I am surprised that Lionel is jumping into HO again as big as they are. Both previous attempts (1950s and 1970s) failed. Maybe the third time is the charm?
Well, HO is where brand loyalty isn't as prevalent as it is in O. Given there are already well established product offerings for all interests it will be interesting to see if Lionel can gain a foothold.
It's interesting that according to the catalog description, the HO Berks are being upgraded to "prototypical pilot and front end details and additional boiler details and separate handrails." Guess Lionel figured out that a relettered Polar Express basic Berk isn't going to cut it in the competitive HO world. Wonder if it will also get full valve gear.
Most of the freight cars are descended from old Marx tooling that Model Power owned. The have basic detailing that won't attract the serious HO modeler. The Pennsy style caboose is ex-Model Power and the Harriman passenger cars are ex-Model Power knock-offs of MDC cars.
Rusty
