Would they consider a Flyerchief GE 44 ton switcher or Legacy Hudson with centipede tender?
Rich
Good Day,
My thinking all the train companies are still far behind in using the Internet as a marketing too.......
Would Lionel consider presenting a questionnaire form on their website? Perhaps a questionnaire with 25 questions on products. One questionnaire form per person because your email address would identify you.
Regards,
Swafford
Now that Lionel is adding Legacy electronics to Gilbert-era PAs, would they consider using the tooling for the Pacifics and Mikados to bring them back as Legacy locomotives with conventional AC/DC, Legacy AC, and DCC capabilities similar to the electronics in the SD70ACe and ES44AC?
Have they given any thought to updating the U33C and bringing it back with the same up-to-date Legacy electronics and the "pivoting pilot" they cleverly designed for the SD70ACe? (Lionel solved all of the electrical contact loss problems that this locomotive and the original SD70ACe had when they introduced the ES44AC. Amortizing the U33C tooling with another, updated production run might be economical now that they have identified and fixed most bugs and objections.)
The questions were already finished Tokelly but thanks.
By the way, Lionel can't make the TMCC Pacifics and Mikados as the tooling was lost. Also, the PAs have had Legacy for two earlier runs and it is not new for 2017.
"Lionel can't make the TMCC Pacifics and Mikados as the tooling was lost. " I'm assuming this happened when the China manufacture "dumped" everyone. This is ONE of the problems with outsourcing your manufacturing processes. Ying and Yang as the Chinese would say.
So, one assumes that they would have to start from scratch to build those steamers.
Crying shame, the Mikado is a beautiful piece!
Ben
David, no you are making a mistake. First, Sandra Kan did not dump Lionel. Second, Lionel doesn't know what happened to them because of so many management and location changes since the company made those. My contact at Lionel says that the tooling might have been owned by the Chinese company and not Lionel. Anyway I was told that to make those again all new tooling would be required and there was not much chance they would ever me made again.
Hi Bill & all,
I may have the "facts" wrong, but the results are the same: due to outsourcing production, there isn't close control over many aspects, such as ownership of tooling and preservation of tooling. Apparently Lionel doesn't even know who was supposed to have ownership!
The second part of your posting is perhaps the most troubling, "not much chance they would ever me (sic) made again." This means one of two or three things, 1) sales did not meet expectations or 2) Building from scratch is too expensive nowadays, due to market demands; which means 3) we aren't likely to see ANY new steamers other than ones for which the tooling still exists.
A sad state of affairs, for which I have no answers.
Of course, I preface this all with, "What do I know?"
Roundhouse Bill posted:David, no you are making a mistake. First, Sandra Kan did not dump Lionel. Second, Lionel doesn't know what happened to them because of so many management and location changes since the company made those. My contact at Lionel says that the tooling might have been owned by the Chinese company and not Lionel. Anyway I was told that to make those again all new tooling would be required and there was not much chance they would ever me made again.
Sad to hear that they've lost track of the Mikado/Pacific tooling.
SandaKan did not own that tooling, nor were they in the tooling ownership business.
Any project kicked-off by one of their importing partners was paid for, and owned, by that entity.
TRW
I have also recently heard that Lionel lost the Barrel Loader tooling as well.
That is really distressing, considering how long that tooling survived. However, didn't MTH make some too? If so, there are copies out there!
Please guys start another post if you would. Lost tooling is not my suject.
Aww, c'mon Bill, this is a railroad forum, threads get derailed all the time!! 
Besides, it does speak to what may or may not be made again.
(I'd start a new thread, but I lost it. . . .)
Besides, it does speak to what may or may not be made again.
(I'd start a new thread, but I lost it. . . .)Are they going to do build to order in S?
They already have, the SP and D&H Alco locos from about 2 years ago. I suspect much of production now is BTO, based on dealer orders.
traindavid posted:They already have, the SP and D&H Alco locos from about 2 years ago. I suspect much of production now is BTO, based on dealer orders.
Agreed. If they weren't following BTO, how come some folks got shorted on their Berkshires?
Rusty
My guess is the local hobby shops were the ones shorted on the Berks as they all go through a distributor and not direct from Lionel. I always use a major dealer like Charles Ro as they are never shorted and get any extras.
I already had that as a question for all the new items in the catalog.
Roundhouse Bill posted:My guess is the local hobby shops were the ones shorted on the Berks as they all go through a distributor and not direct from Lionel. I always use a major dealer like Charles Ro as they are never shorted and get any extras.
I already had that as a question for all the new items in the catalog.
I wouldn't be surprised if some of those dealers further up the food chain find they need additional units and get them at the expense of the smaller hobby shop.
Roundhouse Bill posted:My guess is the local hobby shops were the ones shorted on the Berks as they all go through a distributor and not direct from Lionel. I always use a major dealer like Charles Ro as they are never shorted and get any extras.
I already had that as a question for all the new items in the catalog.
Not exactly fair is it?
Penalize customers because they want to support their local hobby shop...
Rusty
Part of the fallacy of basing production on pre-orders is that quite a few of us are reluctant to pre-order, having been "burned" in the past. It's kind of a "lose-lose" situation. If you pre-order, and then a dealer "dumps" a bunch of the product at less than pre-order price, you pay "too much;" but if you don't pre-order, then the company figures there isn't a demand for that item and it isn't produced. . . .
They must not see it as a fallacy as they have been doing it for several years. It does give them a guarantee of sales and no leftovers that they have to discount heavily or dump to get rid of. Remember it isn't about you deciding not to pre-order till you see the product. It is about the company making a profit and staying in business.
Bill,
I well understand the need to stay in business: I'm third generation self-employed. The problem with that business plan is one does not push the envelope and stumble across gold that way. Yes, it guarantees sales of what you produce, but it also introduces mediocrity. Pre-sales is only one measurement of market potential.
That's all I'm saying! It would likely be a more accurate measurement if not for the long delays in past promised product. I know, the delays are not always (if any) the fault of Big L, but it is the nature of outsourced manufacturing.
I know, I'm repeating myself! Oh well, you know railroaders, they tend to be single tracked. . . .
