The other day a fellow S modeler and I came to an interesting observation about
S. Maybe the observation is new, maybe not. But here goes...
We are unique among all the modeling sizes in that the trains that generally
popularized 1:64 modeling (American Flyer) are still sought after, collected
and operated today by a considerable group of folks. In fact, these trains are
still in production today, in some cases using the original or identical
tooling. I don't think any other modeling proportion has this situation. We
can buy a newly-produced boxcar that looks and runs like one built 60 years
ago. That's not everyone's cup of tea, but it is for many. It's like if GM
were still building '63 split-window big block Corvettes for those that wanted
them.
At the same time, over the years some modelers, and therefore some
manufacturers, moved toward more scale appearing track and wheels and much more
detailed locomotives and rolling stock. The result is that today you can buy
everything from a inexpensive plastic 0-6-0 (Lionel Docksider) to an extremely
detailed and expensive brass articulated (River Raisin Alleghany) that sit on
the same width 2-rail track.
In 1:48, there is a clear distinction between 3-rail and 2-rail O scale models.
While both are in production today, the separation is much clearer because at
some point the guys (and gals) that wanted more 'realism' dropped the center
rail. The two kinds of trains aren't even close to "interchangeable" from an
operating standpoint. The distinction between 'tinplate/hi-rail' and 'scale'
is much clearer.
I've never been an S manufacturer, but I can see the dilemma our situation
presents for them. When they bring out a product, which segment(s) of the 1:64
hobby are they going to sell to? Freight cars are pretty easy as converting
wheelsets and couplers is easy, but to what level of detail re: grabirons, etc?
Even diesel wheelsets can be swapped in minutes. Steam engines...now there's
the rub! The bottom line is they sometimes can't afford to do every product for
every approach to modeling in S.
For those of us in 1:64, we should be thrilled that our original heritage is
alive and well and that some folks enjoy those 'old' trains as they keep some,
if not many, of the manufacturers in business. I still appreciate a '63 split
window! At the same time if one's interests lean to greater realism (to the
extent it can be achieved on a table top) we've got that, too! But just like
parts from the '63 'Vette won't work on a new ZR1, manufacturers can't make
every product work on both 'old' and 'new' approaches to approximating a
railroad on a table top. The fact that our 'heritage' is still 'in production'
is both a blessing and a curse. It's always fun to see how other modelers make
decisions and tradeoffs when building their layouts to find the 'blessings' in
1:64 and minimize the 'curse'. And we can all be thrilled that there is more
available in S across the entire spectrum than ever before!
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