Rocco posted:There is one more thing I would add to my Engine selection and it’s Thomas the Tank Engine. This may not be popular with the clubs and members on this forum but this is as close to a sure thing for Lionel that I could think of. It’s like leaving money on the table or like taking money from Bachman. This would help sell more track and even repurpose existing AF accessories under the Thomas brand that we have not seen in years (Like a cow on the track). This potentially could give Lionel more money to invest in S tooling in the future. Just make it better than the Bachman HO Thomas and they have a big hit here with Flyer Chief control.
Rocco, et al.,
I ran my Tomas on my club (Southeastern Michigan S Gaugers) layout at the Spree, and it was a hit with kids of all ages. Even the fully grown ones! But the kids on Saturday were drawn to it like bees to flowers. One little guy in the arms of him mom dropped everything in his hands and lit up with the biggest smile I've seen in a long time. There was a group of four or five other kids that were chasing it around the layout. I had fun reversing it from time to time. But again, the electronics involved, even their FC ones would not fit in a truly scaled Thomas without a major revision of the board. If they could actually do a reasonable Thomas, I too agree it would be a hit. They'd better think about it fast since the whole Thomas thing may be on the wane.
And yeah. No zombie cars...
