I do have one more question: Why would any S Gauger not want to see a new updated model produced that hasn't been made in 20 years? We all know that as technology has progressed models have gotten more realistic. Would not a new model of something desirable help S scale to grow? This line of thinking makes no sense to me.
Some of the long time S Scalers are a funny lot. My main criticism of some of my fellow S Scalers is they've been living in the S Scale bubble so long, they don't realize there's an outside model railroad world.
Almost every time some suggestions are mentioned for certain new locos, a few always pop up and say "But so and so already did one! You can still find them!"
Yeah, I've stumbled across a unique old time piece occasionally, but I for one don't feel like searching under various rocks or do a scavenger hunt to find my equipment. That's not how you get new folks interested in S (or any other scale for that matter.)
Fortunately, Don Thompson of SHS and Ron Bashista of AM didn't listen to these folks, otherwise, S Scale would still be stuck in the 50's and 60's. For me, the AM FP7 was part of that "perfect storm" I mentioned earlier.
As I mentioned before, Lionel's SD70 and Y3 really shook the S Scaler bushes like no other previous scale proportioned Flyer loco. I think it was the addition of DCC and Kadee brackets more than anything else. The fact that both models are darn nice helps, too. Attitudes are finally changing.
Believe it or not, I frequently point to the growth of the 3-rail O market over the past 20 or so years as an inspiration for growth in S. In the 1980's, the 3-rail market was nowhere near what it is today. And I think it's even helped the 2-rail O scale guys out a little.
Rusty
