AMERICAN FLYER HUDSON

Lionel was going to remake the Hudson way back in 1988. (In Santa Fe and Wabash!) They were going to retail for around $450-$525, a lot of dough back then.

No sound, maybe an electronic whistle, 3 position electronic reverse unit, smoke.  Secondary market Hudsons in very good to excellent condition were going for half that or less back then and there was a lot of dealer and consumer resistance to the price.

It's my understanding that very little of the original Gilbert Hudson tooling was usable.

Rusty

Rusty, has there ever been any rumors that Lionel would do a scale Hudson?

None that I've heard.

Rusty

This is a locomotive which has been done over and over again in O. It seems to sell well or why would they keep re-running it. So it would make sense to me to do one in S scale if it hasn't been done recently but Lionel knows the market much better than me. Thanks for the info.

No doubt about it, the NYC Hudson is an iconic locomotive and would be a natural for Lionel to give it the updated Flyer scale treatment.  With better detail and all the bells and whistles, it would probably not meet up with the same resistance that occured in 1988.

Perhaps in the future.

Rusty

Which one do you think would sell the best? A K-4 or a Hudson.

That is a good question Jim. If a K4 was never done in S scale than I would say the K4 although I do think an updated Hudson would sell well.

I think a K4, on par with the Mikado, would be a runaway best seller.  However, my guess is MTH will get there first.

Tom Stoltz

in Maine

A long time ago, I was interested in the NYC Hudson to use as a stand in for Santa Fe.  The  Santa Fe had a Hudson that to my untrained (bad pun I know) looked pretty close.   Should Lionel do a Hudson, I'd probably use one for a quick Santa Fe stand in. 

Greg

I too would love to see an updated Hudson like Lionel did with the Northern. But I feel perhaps an engine could be too iconic. A K-4 would only be offered as PRR. I believe a NYC J1a could be offered as NYC, Boston and Albany, and Toronto Hamilton and Buffalo, but the J3a that Flyer made, no. 

What I'm getting at is look at Lionel's previous S offerings. Everything was offered in multiple road names. This helps spread the cost of the tooling around. To tool up for a one trick pony like the J3a (Hudson) or K-4 may not recover the costs. If we see a warmed over version of another Flyer engine from the past, I'd say the 0-8-0. They could issue that in so many road names, thus recouping the tooling costs faster. U.S.R.A. engines lend themselves to this marketing strategy. An U.S.R.A. 2-8-8-2 may utilize the Y-3 chassis. I'd like to see a light or heavy U.S.R.A. 4-8-2 in multiple road names. Remember tooling costs are high, the S market is small.

You need a critical mass of consumers to justify the costs of producing a new locomotive and unfortunately it probably doesnt exist in S gauge to the same degree as O or HO.  S gauge is also split between those who run Flyer and those who run true scale.  Good S gauge Flyer Hudsons can be bought for under $200 and in my opinion are probably more reliable then anything coming from China and most likely will hold their value better as time goes on.  As for making a K-4 the difference between it and the K-5 (which like the Hudson is readily available on e-bay) is pretty small.   bertiejoa  

No Hudson in line.  The 2013 catalog shows a Gilbert like Berkshire with minimal scale design and no Legacy.  Looks like they will sell it only in a set.  This must be to aswer the requests of all the guys that don't want a locomotive loaded with technology.  It will have chuffing sound, bells and a whistle.  No price listed.

Speaking of Hudson's, look at what Broadway Limited is selling.

http://www.broadway-limited.co...nycj1edhudson-2.aspx

Look at the price for an HO unit.  Usual bells and whistles along with DC/DCC control offered. 

Food for thought,

Greg