I've enjoyed the several threads by Norm, Mario, Howard, and others with their efforts to heighten the realism of our models by lowering the chassis and replacing the 'lobster claw' couplers. Are MTH & Lionel making any moves in this direction with their newer designs? Lionel's 'high-water' E7s & F7s are probably the worst offenders but as illustrated below with this Lionel PRR Shark, a beautiful model can be achieved with some work.
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My honest opinion...I don't think so. Mostly because like the smoke units, they like to error on the conservative side. With the diameter of the wheel flanges, and toggles on the bottom side of the frame on many of them, clearance is the big issue. Clearance with wheels and the motors inside. With my powered F3's, the wheels just barely clear some of the details underneath, and the flywheels were hitting the shell in a few spots. Nothing a Dremel didn't fix for me, but it would require a total redesign from the manufacturer to get clearance for everything. I just don't see an easy fix for any of the 3R models.
Well Sam , I am not sure if I should touch this one, but coming from a manufacturing/ engineering back ground, short cuts are taken all the time in lieu of making money.
These are great mods, and I will follow suite, but generally most 3 rail manufactures make toys... so allot of scale improvements are overlooked.
I was hoping they could lower the pilots that hover way over the rails ... and put some scale pilot wheels on these engines.
I suppose it depends on which manufacturer you are referring to. Many of the Premier diesel models that MTH offers can be ordered in either 3-Rail or 2-Rail, and the 2-Rail versions have scale wheels, fixed pilots, and full length handrails. I don't believe that Lionel offers such an option.
The big manufacturers must be sure that their locomotives will run on a variety of layouts with very different track characteristics. Sectional track layouts on uneven floors or a layout with warpy recycled lumber of different thicknesses would pose problems for low-riding locomotives. We've all seen layouts like these, and manufacturers would surely lose sales to owners of such layouts if their locomotives won't run on them.
The talented individuals who are making modifications to locomotives are also talented enough to ensure that the trackwork on their layout is smooth and level.
Limited production manufacturers like 3rd Rail do manufacture the kind of locomotives that the original poster is seeking.
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