@marty track posted:MENARDS COULD EASILY SWAY PEOPLE FROM 3 TO 2 RAIL WITH INEXPENSIVE INTRO SETS YES ??? NO ???
@Brendan posted:Look at their offerings; their market is clearly 3R. I can't see any reason that would motivate them to go in any other direction.
I can see this from both sides. Yes, pretty much everything that Menards offers is in the realm of "traditional" O gauge items, or at best equivalent to say Lionel's "Standard O" offerings. That said, when you are getting into a hobby you have to start somewhere, and a RTR starter set in 2-rail, even if it has rolling stock with fantasy schemes and less than accurate dimensions could lead to more interest in 2-rail O overall.
The entry-level offerings from the HO manufacturers were not all that accurate, prototypical, or otherwise... My first set was from Tyco, but that didn't stop me from eventually moving up to Athearn, Bachmann Spectrum, etc.
