@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. These engines were attractive to scale operators because they were DCC ready, they were not TMCC ready.
In O gauge MTH found a way to make the engines switchable between 2 and 3 rail. Lionel apparently has decided to not sell scale compliant engines. Were they in that market they would be including scale wheelsets with the S gauge diesels. It is trivially simple to swap the wheelsets, just take out 8 small screws to remove the truck cover plate lift out the wheel sets, drop in new ones and put the cover plate back on. Working slowly and carefully it takes me less than 10 minutes/truck to R&R the wheels on an SD70ACe. The engines already run on DCC as well as Legacy so the incremental cost might be $10 to pick up at least 20% more sales in S scale. If I were a OS2R operator I would not be optimistic Lionel will release engines with scale wheels for 2 rail track.
Well stated. I am not optimistic that Lionel will release engines with scale wheels. About 18 years ago I thought that Lionel would have entered the 2 rail market to compete with what MTH was doing but as we all know it never happened. I am now of the opinion it never will. Then again you never know. At one time no one believed a Big Boy would ever run again but I highly doubt Lionel will sell locomotives with scale wheels and fixed pilots like MTH did. And remember Lionel will also have to insulate the wheels on O scale engines which is something they didn't have to do in S scale. What Lionel should have gotten from MTH is the rights to use or develop their own 3/2 technology.
