…and one that’s an affordable RTR with LionChief, not a top level Legacy type version that it is out of my market range?
With all of the recent talk on the board about what folks want the manufacturers to have in their next catalog, I figured I would mention that I was really disappointed when Lionel finally came around to offering a LionChief RTR Amtrak in 2015 and instead of it being a current Amtrak with a Genesis locomotive and Amfleet cars, it was a rehash of the tired old O-27 passenger cars (at least they had no silhouettes in the windows 
) with Phase 1 livery and a EMD F3 Locomotive. Maybe its me, but it seems like it’s been the standard practice to release product with base molds and just slapping on UP, PRR, NYC, SP, etc. on them – even if the railroad never used that equipment – and selling them because folks in my generation or older will buy them. They could have at least done a modern Genesis locomotive like MTH/Williams have done, and if they wanted to do a retro Red Nose, that would have been fine too. 
I know that molds and tooling cost money, but that’s not my concern. Yes, that's right, I just said that 
. You don’t run a business by just producing the same old item every year and not improving the product. If one wants to make money, one needs to spend money in R&D. What happened to the Lionel innovation of the Post War that is waxed poetically all the time about back then every year they came out with a new product, etc.? Yes, I know this isn’t the 1950’s and model trains aren’t king, but in today’s world Kato has released 4 versions of N Scale Amtrak locomotives in the past 5+ years since I re-entered the hobby. Started out with the P42 then added in the F40 and just this year, brought in the SD40PF with the Red Nose. It’s not tooling but a paint job, but at least the P42 has the Blue Wave, Phase IV, the 40th Anniversary Loco #156 (like MTH does) liveries. Kato has also just released the ACS-64 Amtak loco and keeps pumping them out. So in half a decade I've seen my choices in Amtrak N Scale multiply, while the O Scale remains static. To give Lionel big props, LionChief is a MAJOR R&D development, and I, for one, am in love with it as with the exception of my MTH Amtrak #156, every new O Scale locomotive or RTR that I have purchased has been a LionChief product. Time to spend some of the R&D funds now on updating the era passenger car rolling stock (not just Amtrak, BTW)... and add a Viewliner while you're at it.
It was posted on OGR about a month or so ago that young people are interested in playing with trains that they have actually seen, not the Warbonnet, UP, NYC, etc that may mean nothing to them. Part of the primary target market for the RTR sets are kids, right? Outside of “choo choos” as I believe steam crosses all generations, wouldn’t be the aim to provide product that that the kids would want?
Stepping off soap box now.
