More About Those Cast-On Handrails on the New AF Berkshires

I agree. It's suppose to be a hobby.  All the trains ( high dollar) trains that we all want with the applied ginger bread can't be put in the little one hands to enjoy and enjoyed.  I think Lionel is trying very hard to reach out for a more simple but fine looking product that is more durable but keeping up with the remote experience for the younger generation. Remember when trains were bought for children?

I too was disappointed the cast on handrails and lack of back up light. But looking at it as a toy train, maybe it's for the best. I was at a swap meet trying to sell a Flyonel Legacy locomotive, when some ham-fisted yahoo strolls by and reached for it. I said "please don't pick it up," and he looked offended. He looked like he was going to grab it amidships without care for details and handrails. His mitt was open like a fleshy clam-shell bucket

I've heard tales through the grapevine of some carping how delicate these new fangled Mikados are when they first came out. The details just fall off. I guess there is a market for rugged toys for the Neanderthals and children.

If the Berks were issued with the thick wire handrails the Gilbert Flyer stuff had, there would be more wailing on how clunky they looked. So maybe the surprisingly thin cast on handrails are not such a bad thing, but I'd rather have seen separately applied ones. 

Folks, remember the idea, make a scale engine that would have sound, remote control and back up lite (PE) or remote coupler (standalone Berks) that would be at a price where maximum numbers of people who purchase them.  Having increased sales allows new customers to come in and broadens the market for S scale, which allows more product to be developed, which brings more customers (if the price point holds).  In the long run, everybody wins - economics 101

If the demand is there, Flyonel will offer upgraded versions at increased price.

Also, it is a hobby, the rails can be ground off and replaced with wire and the control and sound systems the same.  In a world where O scale engines are $1,000 and up, an S Scale engine for the mid $300s is very reasonable.

There is no one, including me. Who will put a 1000.00 engine it into the hands of a child.  So if we want that child to learn and appreciate the hobby that we all enjoy (how many of us started with the basic set) and to keep in the hobby, there has to be simple good looking and durable products for them. I'm for one who is giving Lionel a hats-off for the Berks

I think I would have preferred oversized wire handrails, those could easily be replaced with finer wire. That's what I did on an American Models Pacific I detailed some years ago. (Interestingly, AM put finer handrail wires on the locomotives that came out after the Pacific and they are just as durable.)

However, removing the FlyerChief Berkshire's cast on handrails risks damaging the boiler and tender, (imagine how difficult it would be around the sand dome) plus a trip to the paint shop will also be required, I doubt one would be able to touch-up and match the reworked areas satisfactorily.  

It would require a lot of rework and I have other projects that are more demanding of my attention.  I'll give a tip o' the hat to anyone who replaces the handrails on their Berk, though.

Rusty

I do not care what they make, id probably buy it, but please be honest on what you promise and deliver