I'm with several of the comments made by @Dave Warburton and @Madockawando. The vast selection of LC fantasy sets tells me Lionel has or is going after a different customer than me. No complaints or even disagreements. I won't be buying those fantasy sets NOW, but with one of my girls getting married in June, I could easily see getting a starter fantasy set in a few years to gin up interest in the family hobby either for myself or, more likely, for a grandchild. I did buy a WBB replica girls set and a Thomas LC when our youngest was 2 and 3, so while they aren't for me, I see why they sell and their importance to the suppliers.
Too small of a basement and layout plus other financial priorities keep me away from the impressive scale models.
That in-between, traditional/O27 market seems to be getting squeezed. There's rolling stock galore out there used and NOS, so that's not a worry at all. The supply of new locos, especially steam, in this space seems like it will be cut back dramatically. With the death of Rail King and WBB on life support (from a new model perspective), I thought Lionel would come with a wide array of LC+ 2.0 engines in 2021. Could be, though, that this 'tweener segment isn't big enough to support much more than a couple re-done models each year.
