@AmFlyer posted:I think there are some oversimplifications in the cost analysis above. The SHS engine Rusty posted above cost $200 and it would not have cost $150 without the scale wheels and pilots. The reason is the extra parts included add little to the cost when packed at the factory. The biggest cost mitigator is the greatly increased sales volume resulting from the same SHS product being sold to both scale and high rail operators. The sales volume would have resulted in the increased costs spread over at least 50% more units.
Bingo. Increased sales, reduced SKUs, and no dealing with packaging, stocking, and distributing the parts - it's an easy win for the manufacturer and the buyer IMHO.
