ok...ok...ok MY favorite loco burns something to make heat, thus steam and pushes itself down the track under its own power, having between 4 and 6, ......8, ok ...up to 16 drivers, could be geared, inside frame or outside frame, maybe British or American, short line, long line, plantation, definitely has to be prototypical but not down to the rivet, in a scale between roughly 20:1 and 32:1, and finished in candy apple red (because I never had a hotrod and this would compensate for that yearning).
Jeez-la-weeze people, most manufacturers of these toys are in it for the "fun" and love of the hobby NOT the money. Their ROI, ROE or simply return on time invested could be "better" spent pursuing many other endeavors, even for Aster. (If you've ever run a business, do the math.....it's amazing to me that Aster can afford to sell a fine scale operating steam engine for less than $50K each.) Offering the perfect G1 live steam engine is better left as a mission statement rather than an actual goal. The design variables are too broad and the market too small to draw any conclusions from a passionate group of enthusiasts that don't represent the whole G1 population. At last count I have, well a bunch, of locos made anywhere from China to Berkeley, the US to the UK and even down under. My favorite one? Whatever I pull out of the cabinet to run on that particular day. Each one offers something different in what it demands and provides. If you want more offerings and better value, invite non-steam junkies (neighbors, friends, and yes sparkie operators) over and expose more people to the hobby. The Ruby was an interesting phenomenon that essentially went where others hadn't in the past, namely a "real" G1 live steamer at the price of a Mammod. How many sparkies made the jump to (first time) live steam with this loco and have gone on to purchase another loco? What was the second purchase? There, you might have some relevant market info. My $.02 worth anyway. Jon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Lator" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Multiple recipients of sslivesteam" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 9:26 AM Subject: RE: Surveys/Polls > To All, > I am new to the Small Scale Live steamers and have been following these > threads for several weeks now. I was fortunate this year to attend DH and > observe the Mississippi Madness. At DH I ordered my Aster Mike and have > since completed the construction and test run the loco. I have been a > "Sparkie (N-Scale)" for over 30 years, I can tell you I have had more fun > with my Mike over the past two months then I have had in many years. The > discussion regarding what locomotive to build, how to fire it from the > manufacturers perspective is quite a risk. From my point of view as a > manufacturer of some Digital Command Control products it is a roll of the > dice. If a survey is prepared I would suggest the person taking the survey > should have a 1st, 2nd and at least a 3rd choice for the type of fuel they > prefer. In addition as to the locomotive of choice I would also suggest > generic locomotives like Aster did with the Mike. This was a USRA locomotive > owned by many US railroads giving Aster a broader market and not a specific > road and locomotive allowing the builder to detail it to his/her preference. > For the locomotive type have multiple choices for a wheel arrangement that > the manufacturer/builder could build a specific locomotive on top of. This > running gear could possibly be detailed for both US and European locomotives > with the same wheel arrangement and boiler types. The boiler shell, cab and > detail parts could be specific but the running gear remain generic. I think > the Ruby is a perfect example of this concept. To me as a newcomer to Live > Steam the most important issue is the locomotives performance, off the work > bench this locomotive ran like a Swiss watch. By giving the manufacturer > generic locomotives or wheel arrangements to build will open up their market > to a wider audience for sales and grow the hobby. > > Paul Lator > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of XXYZ > Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 10:35 AM > To: Multiple recipients of sslivesteam > Subject: RE: Surveys/Polls > > > > You're opening a can of worms now. I would be interested in hearing what > people have to say about this. I would guess that there are a few > "favorites" that are on the majority of lists. But the majority of people's > favorite locos are unique to their own list. One of the vendors had an > online poll with just this question (I don't remember who it was). I would > really like to see the results. I also think that a list like this would > reflect just how diverse this group is. NG, European, UK, Logging, Mainline, > etc. As far as the manufacturers as concerned, would a list like this > actually be of use? How many people are going to shell out for a highly > detailed Big-Boy. I'd be willing to bet that at least a few of the Aster > Alleganys have never been fired because it would lower their investment > value. I'd love to have one but I'd build or bash something before I'd buy a > loco that I only have a passing interest in, at least not for that much > dough. > > My list: > > DM&IR M4 Yellowstone > Rock Island R5000 series Northern > Milwaukee Road F7 Hudson > > My guess is I'll never purchase a commercial model of one of these locos > (The F7 should be next on someone's list, it's easily the one of the most > beautiful locos). Of course, I'll need appropriate rolling stock to go with > the locos. A manufacturer could make good money selling the 100 or so ore > jennies to go with the Yellowstone. But I'm rambling. > > > Ken > > > Surely a poll/vote for "the model I'd most like to own" would be > > more use? If we, (a very interested party,) had a permanent list > > with votes attached to each engine, then a manufacturer could get > > some idea what we (a small specialist email group,) are > > interested in. Wouldn't it be nice to chop the top item off the > > list because a manufacturer released it? > > > >
