Some good points, but I would remind that Standard Gauge (or the generic Wide Gauge) trains from the 20¹s and 30¹s are once again available as repros from MTH and now MTH/Lionel.
Roy From: bcgsteam <[email protected]> Reply-To: S-Scale <[email protected]> Date: Sun, 02 Sep 2012 14:38:21 +0000 To: S-Scale <[email protected]> Subject: {S-Scale List} A Blessing and A Curse 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!
