Why-O-why Lionel?

The set has locomotive #475, that's a 4-8-0 locomotive, something that Lionel probably doesn't have in it's stable.  I don't know of a Strasburg #275.  Besides this is an inexpensive conventional set locomotive, probably not a big budget item.

I doubt you'll be able to stuff four wheels under the pilot.

I think that Lionel has been putting road names on locomotives that don't look like the prototypes. They recently offered a New Haven 4-4-2 Atlantic that I considered buying, but I decided not to because, aside from the wheel arrangement, it did not resemble the early 20th century Atlantics owned by the New Haven.

MELGAR

I remember the recent Strasburg #972 10-wheeler that Nicholas Smith sold.  At least it was a real locomotive that Strasburg does possess, but it hasn't run in a very long time and appears it never will again.

@CALNNC posted:

Lionel, if you are going to make it run like a duck, and sound like a duck, please make it look like a duck.

They, and particularly this set, are toys (albeit expensive ones for some models and sets).

You're asking for too much.

Mike

I believe they've used that 0-8-0 loco in a lot of lower end sets in recent years, painted/lettered for various roads, most of which probably never had an 0-8-0.  I picked one up at York a few years ago as a blowout from one of the big dealers.  The set also contains "baby Madison" cars, so prototypical it ain't.

@Mellow Hudson Mike posted:

They, and particularly this set, are toys (albeit expensive ones for some models and sets).

You're asking for too much.

Mike

Great point! I would like to add while there are definitely some expensive models that are not perfect this is Lionel's low end starter set product. They should be allowed to put out a low end product without being chastised for it. We need to get new people into the hobby.

A lot of people recognize Strasburg these days but they don't run a locomotive that Lionel has in their low end product line.

"They should be allowed to put out a low end product without being chastised for it."   Maybe I am chastising them for it, yes it is a low end starter set, maybe those who paid top dollar for it when it came out are happy, yes the passenger cars are in just about all their low end sets with appropriate colors and road names, but the bellwether item of the set is the loco, so why not doll it up to at least be somewhat accurate?     I ran into similar issues with a Lionel made Florida East Coast GP9 diesels, the horns were on the side next to the cab windows, and they had dynamic brakes.  Both easily correctable, but still, Lionel could have left the dynamic brake plastic casting off the roof and the exhaust exposed.  

1 rivet, 2 rivets, 3 rivets, 4 rivets..........

Simple answer.  To keep costs to the consumer down for a starter set?  Slightly more nuanced answer.  Most purchasers of starter sets won't be concerned in the least.  It's been that way for about 120 years, give or take, for Lionel, once the world's largest producer of toys.  Sic transit prototypical fidelity.

@CALNNC posted:

I think I bellyached about this before, but I have been watching the price dropping at Trainz on this set for a while but just can't make the jump.  Why would Lionel make the Strasburg set #6-30133 with a properly numbered loco #275 in an 0-8-0 wheel arrangement when it was a 2-8-0, even if it is not exactly like the 275 in other areas?  Would that have increased the MSRP on the set significantly to add those extra wheels?  I have another 0-8-0 and have stared at the underside wondering if I could add the pilot truck with a fabricated bracket, but since I do not know what this Strasburg loco looks like underneath, not sure if I want to take the chance on it.  Lionel, if you are going to make it run like a duck, and sound like a duck, please make it look like a duck.

I believe it’s called toys, Lionel has been putting all sorts of interesting engines in their starter sets. Since the dawn of time this is a problem how?

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

........ this is an inexpensive conventional set locomotive, probably not a big budget item.

Yes, this is a fairly inexpensive set, listed as a starter set, which means it's really meant for younger operators, and newer buyers, who mostly don't care much about whether something is prototypical or not. Being a starter set, these engines are made to a lower price point, which means using existing molds.

On the one hand, I get why people are frustrated when Lionel's scale offerings are not as accurate as they could be, and I agree just shouting "they're toys!" in that situation is not great.  On the other hand, expecting Lionel to customize tooling for every starter set is ridiculous, those ARE toys and discrepancies from the prototype are not a big deal.

It seems like people have trouble with understanding that Lionel produces two different product lines.  Their starter sets, accessories, and add-ons - what used to be branded as "O-27" - which are your traditional toy trains, and their O-Scale offerings, which frankly are supposed to be scale models.  There's certainly some blending between the two, but they are two different lines, and Lionel has even tried to emphasize that in recent live streams and catalogs.

I'll give MTH credit, they did a much better job of differentiating their two lines with the Railking brand and different color boxes.  Lionel has had far too many attempts at rebranding parts of their scale line, and really could use to clean that up and thin down to two or three classifications.

It seems perfectly reasonable to nitpick the O-Scale offerings, and perfectly reasonable to say that the O-27 stuff is just a toy train.

In this instance; Lionel has said that the toy train sets carry the company.  That margin would disappear if they customized each set to match the prototype.  They need recognizable names and brands to sell those sets, and Strasburg is a big deal, so yeah they slapped the name on the same 0-8-0 that they were using in every starter set at the time.  It sold some sets, and presumably at some level those sets helped fund the engineering work that went into making what (they claim) should be a pretty **** perfect model of Strasburg 90.

@PSM posted:

It sold some sets, and presumably at some level those sets helped fund the engineering work that went into making what (they claim) should be a pretty **** perfect model of Strasburg 90.

And I'd sure like to see #90 show up on my doorstep some day!

Think of this, most Lionel starter sets still run fine…..our new latest and greatest scale ……..already having issues. “ the more complicated you make the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the pipes.” Scotty, chief engineer, USS enterprise..

@CALNNC posted:

Would that have increased the MSRP on the set significantly to add those extra wheels?

[And, in a second post:]

Maybe I am chastising them for it, yes it is a low end starter set . . . but the bellwether item of the set is the loco, so why not doll it up to at least be somewhat accurate? I ran into similar issues with a Lionel made Florida East Coast GP9 diesels, the horns were on the side next to the cab windows, and they had dynamic brakes.  Both easily correctable, but still, Lionel could have left the dynamic brake plastic casting off the roof and the exhaust exposed.

In answer to your first question, yes, it would have significantly increased the MSRP. Adding a pilot truck would likely mean an entirely new mold, but regardless, would destroy the critical margin on such a set, as @PSM said.

Regarding the FEC GP9, are you able to pull off the dynamic brake "blister." In the original GP9/GP7 mold the dynamic brake blister was a separate part simply pressed on to the shell. Here's a Williams GP9/7 which uses the original postwar mold. (I think the only difference between the postwar and current molds are the filling in of the two holes on the top of the long hood and the removel of the louvres on the battery boxes.)

In addition to the point that starter sets fund the new, more scale products, I think it is vitally important that there is an affordable way for new (younger) people to become involved with electric trains.