Can the train market absorb this many triplexs?

They are selling so yes, it can.

I think so. Big enough to handle this volume of Erie Triplexes? Maybe not. But the world is a big place. People have different tastes so I think the fantasy schemes open up the number of sales.

I've never been one for buying two of a special engine but that Pennsy Triplex is really stuck in my mind.

I think so too.  Most dealers are out of the Halloween triplex's.  Brady was down to 2 PRR as of Friday afternoon.  Fantasy schemes are very popular. 

I have typically not been interested in the Halloween stuff but the Halloween Triplex is effortlessly cool. I'm not surprised they're hard to find.

I think it's a good sign that there are enough of us in this hobby that they can sell fantasy ( and "ultra" fantasy Halloween, Christmas etc) schemes. My 14, and 18 year olds like them. That's what we need, the younger gens getting interested. Some of us aren't so young anymore. Me included.

Mike

I suspect the minimum order quantity from the factory has not changed in sometime so in order to make the minimum order, Lionel had to offer all these paint schemes.  15 years ago, you could make the minimum quantity with one or two paint schemes, now it takes many.

Of course it can!

Easter

Star Wars

It's a Boy

It's a Girl

Penn Central

Conrail

Gotta get a Flash Blue in there too..

Since U.S. Army steam (WWII era or thereabouts) is a main interest for me in O gauge, I should probably consider the Army version, even if it is a fantasy scheme, but there are two intervening factors: (1) could not run it on the curves on my layout, and (2) I would likely be facing divorce if I spent $2,000+ on a locomotive at this point in time.

I've been waiting for a Legacy and RS Triplex for a long time, since Legacy started actually. MTH made their model around 2001 or so and was in fact the locomotive that turned me into an O-scale nut. Back in those good old days I participated in a group of fellow train enthusiasts, and we hosted semi-annual train running events/parties. I recall distinctly that Erie Triplex running on my friend Dave's layout - and I drooled over its mechanical splendor.

Over the course of several years, I subsequently sold all my Lionel and RailKing traditional sized trains and went through the onerous task of re-building my layout in order to accommodate O-72 curves. Eventually, I finally was able to buy an MTH Triplex with PS2 and run it on my newly constructed elevated O-72 minimum mainline. My only complaints about it were blister bubbles (that I later found plagued certain diecast molds) and the sound system. Although it was not a bad sound system, it was typical MTH sounds, which IMO always lagged behind Railsounds. I am surprised it took Lionel so long to make the Triplex, possibly the result of Ryan's creative input and love of steam locomotives. All during those years Lionel must've produced 4-6 runs of the Big Boy and Challengers.

IMO, the only other no-brainer engines that remain to be made in the VisionLine are the Allegheny and PRR T1.