lionel camera locomotive - could we see another in the future ?

it would be cool to bring it back with a companion app for the iPad/iPhone.  The app would show the live footage from the train, but it wouldn't stop there.  

Instead of just showing the live feed, it could have the actual inside of the train imposed over the top of the live feed.  Even have the controls and hands of the operator.  You change speed, the app responds by showing the hand move on the controls.  You would be looking out the cab!

it could be a fun mix of real and fake

jrmertz posted:

it would be cool to bring it back with a companion app for the iPad/iPhone.  The app would show the live footage from the train, but it wouldn't stop there.  

Instead of just showing the live feed, it could have the actual inside of the train imposed over the top of the live feed.  Even have the controls and hands of the operator.  You change speed, the app responds by showing the hand move on the controls.  You would be looking out the cab!

 

it could be a fun mix of real and fake

Exactly! That would be very cool.

I am ready for it, got my CC right here!

Why not build your own. You can buy FPV cameras like we fly on our rc  planes cheap from places like hobby King. Most can be linked to a phone or tablet for live feed. Not to mention they're small enough to fit in the cab of most scale engine's.

I built my own GoPro Camera Car. If anything the manufacturers should build a car specifically for GoPros.

I don't think the excitement would last very long. When viewing some of our layouts through a camera at the head we never see the trains. It makes for a very boring viewing of the layout.

Rod Miller

I don't think we are going to see one from Lionel or MTH

From what I recall, the Railscope, which was offered in "G", "O" and "HO" sold fairly well, even with the technological limitations of the day. I remember a local club including Railscope on their layout when they did public displays.

Here is the issue: Railscope certainly did present things more or less from the perspective of the engineer. But who has a layout that is sceniced well enough /properly for it to look good from that view. Don't most of us who are into nicely detailed layouts make things from the perspective of a real person looking down onto the layout?

So I don't think there is enough demand.
Of course, I could be wrong.

Not sure I'd buy anything from Lionel for this purpose when cameras like this . . .

are available so cheaply.

TrainWizard5972 posted:

I built my own GoPro Camera Car. If anything the manufacturers should build a car specifically for GoPros.

pictures.

Fleschmann has a camera loco in ho and it can be seen through the z21 ipad app or over a new ecos throttle. Check out a guy going by hovermotion on youtube. He shows it in action its kinda cool. 

romiller49 posted:

I don't think the excitement would last very long. When viewing some of our layouts through a camera at the head we never see the trains. It makes for a very boring viewing of the layout.

Rod Miller

I agree.  I watch alot of Youtube videos of garden railways.  "Engineer's view" films get real boring for the most part.  There are only a few I have enjoyed.  The one I made of my own garden railway isn't one of them.

Put a camera on a flat car behind the locomotive. Have the camera mounted on a platform that can be turned 360 degrees with a motor. That way the camera can be doing more than just one view.

It also helps if the O gauge tracks are long and the scenery is varied so there is something interesting in the video.

Andrew

I have the K=Line version of a camera on a flat car that rotates. It provides a view of scenery from the train riders perspective. It also picks up the pictures of visitors around the layout and they always enjoy seeing themselves on TV. Especially the kids.