from: Alan Lambert Lone Star Flyer Club Arlington, Texas Rich, Thanks for adding this to the List. They need to read your last line before spouting off. That was exactly what I was refering to before. The OGR Scale board is where they need to go. AS I said before write Lionel a letter, Now they know who to write to with questions. Bythe way scle guys Lionel is on the OGR S board and listening, Ive been there and know. Thanks again, Rich for your last sentence. It makes real sence. Thanks, Alan
________________________________ From: richgajnak <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, March 8, 2012 4:47 PM Subject: {S-Scale List} Scale Flyer SD70ACe Additional Information We have been discussing this on OGR S Scale board over the past week and I believe this information should be shared, if only to eliminate surprises and new information is better than no information. The SD70ACe's will have twin vertical motor drive and not the drive developed for the U33C. Now, before we go off on all sorts of tangents again, Lionel's Chief Technology Officer offered his explanation today: "We debated the drive system for some time internally, and simply could not get the features into the loco with a motor in a horizontal position. As a point of reference, the U33 was way late and the delays were due to the drive system. The electronics and motors would not work without burning up. I designed a completely new motor drive circuit for the U33, and by luck (and some long days) we made the U33 shipment last year. It almost was placed on indefinite hold due to the motor burning up problem that seemed to be unsolvable. If we could locate a horizontal motor in the shell area(not fuel tank), many of the problems we had with the U33 would have not appeared. We have U-Joints in the U33 that take very sharp angles; and I had to run the loco (code tweak) much faster than I would have liked to keep it running smooth. The Vertical motors will solve this for us by allowing the drive chain to have higher gear ratios and nicer low speed control. And, we get to add the functionality we think folks want with the extra space. I have tried to get the DCC connector spec'd in so that the TMCC electronics can be easily swapped out with DCC decoders; still working that crusade. Our hope is that we can meet schedules and deliver a smooth running, great sounding, nice looking loco. If folks are willing to let go of features, say smoke, perhaps sound, we could reconsider motor position in future products. Folks, post your replies as to what the loco needs to have in the feature realm, and if there is any common theme, it may help us deliver a product closer to your expectations. Jon, CTO Lionel LLC." There is also this little tidbit from Jon: "I requested a gear ratio change for this loco when we started the design process a few months back! The U33 is 10.5:1; I expect at least 15:1 on this product." Bear in mind that Lionel is not AM, SHS or SSA. They have their own proprietary electronics sound and control that they are justifiably proud of and will design their products accordingly. They are also making accommodations to the Flyer line in order to attract S Scale folks that they haven't done to the O Gauge line to attract O Scalers. I would suggest that if you have suggestions on how to make Scale Flyer more attractive to the S Scaler, contact Lionel with a friendly letter or e-mail. S Scale is uncharted waters for Lionel and they are willing to listen. Rich G(ajnak)
