This is pretty much what I was going to say about Lionel. Something I have always suspected is that they don't want model railroaders they want collectors. Collectors buy one of each car or locomotive in a particular series. Model railroaders tend to stick with one or two road names. Collectors buy anything that they fancy. Model railroaders tend to spend less because less is available for their particular road or era.
Just opinion. No offense intended to Collectors.
Hi Guys - All model train manufacturers in all scales prefer collectors to operators. There are never any complaints or warranty work on a model that sits in a box or on a shelf and is never run. Scott Mann told me that many of his customers never run the models that he sells.
Most model railroaders in all scales are collectors. I have only met a couple of people in this hobby that only have the equipment that they run on the layout. Many of my friends have tons of equipment that is sitting in boxes or is under the layout that never sees the light of day. I include myself in this group.
The biggest thing holding back the O 2-rail community are the large radius curves required. I think that if all O 2-rail equipment, including scale passenger cars, large engines, etc., could get around 36 inch radius curves, then the hobby would take off. Nearly all 3-rail equipment will get around O-72 (36 inch radius) curves.
The Europeans have maintained close coupling, etc., on tight curves by designing couplers that pull apart on curves and then return to realistic spacing on straight track. This could be done in 2-rail O. Also, more 2-rail O engines could be designed with blind drivers. I don't think blind drivers would hurt the scale appearance of most engines.
We shouldn't forget that 2-rail O was the dominant model railroad scale up through the end of WWII. People went to HO and N scale because they didn't have the space for O. A large segment of the O 2-rail community is into ON30 and ON3 for space reasons. I am in the hi-rail end of O scale for the same reason.
I think that the prospects for O 2-rail would be much better if most equipment could be run on 36 inch radius.
Joe
