Okay, looking at the two threads going now, I had a thought. This actually has its nucleus from the LGB bankruptcy, prior to the Marklin purchase. When Marklin appeared to not plan on releasing any of the later American stuff, I suggested to Aristo that they should inquire as to the plans for the molds for things like the hopper, tank car, mikado, etc. Obviously a moot point now, but it still set the thought in motion.
What would be the perfect manufacturer? (Keep in mind, I’m modern, standard guage, so some manufacturers won’t be represented here)
From my point of view that would be a combination of the following qualities:
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The quality of build/reliability of the original LGB equipment. My #2 Stainz, recieved by a 5yo in 1986, beaten to hell and back, still runs like a swiss watch.
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The design quality of USA. Nothing beats USA’s engineering. Their SD70MAC model is the perfect example. Where-as Aristo would have connected the very nose piece to the cab with hot glue, USA engineered a locking-pin mechanism which makes the parts solidly connected, while making repairs/modifications exceptionally easy. Another excellent example is the Intermodal double-stack well cars. If you remember, the single well came out almost fifteen years ago (if not more). I remember falling in love with the pictures & display product at Ridge Road Station. But my first hands-on was the 2001 ECLSTS on NHGRS’s Big Green. We were trying to run a huge train, but had problems with the well cars coming uncoupled. Flipping one over we figured out that we could reinforce the end platform with a single paperclip. At that time, I noticed that the end platforms were connected to the “bucket” proper by a couple of screws. I realized then that USA had engineered the design to be easily upgradable in the future to the articulated version we have now. (In fact, I used that very design feature to create two 3-packs from a single and 5-pack a few years ago.)
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The desire of Aristo to connect with their customers, and a drive to move forward. Regardless of your opinion on what they do, you can’t (or at least, I don’t see how you can) say they don’t try to keep their ear on what the customers say. While they may not move as fast as we’d like, when push came to shove, they did try to correct the problems with the steam drivers and the primemover axles. And, while we don’t all agree with their decision to cut out the dealers, it hasn’t completely killed the hobby off like many of us (me included) expected and whined about. Finally, while they stuff isn’t as finely detailed as USA’s, its usually a bit better than the stuff from LGB, but also more robust than USA, which to me, makes it a very little bit better… I prefer LGB’s hoppers over USA’s (centerflow/cylindrical grain type) because the USA ones are a bit fragile for my taste.
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MTH’s rapid deployment. While they pushed out fast, probably trying to bring enough 1/32 stuff to market concurrently so that people could convert/startup in 1/32, they didn’t make it. That being said, those molds are our there somewhere, and for the tank cars, boxcars and maybe coal hoppers, they represent a valuable asset: those types of cars came in all sizes, and even though they represent 1/32, mixed with freight from USA, LGB & Aristo, would make modern freights look a lot more realistic. As a locomotive engineer who passes (and is passed by) freight trains, I can tell you that three different size (height) boxcars in a train is only three cars… I’ve seen LOTS of different sizes in one train. Plus, their centipede tenders look awesome behind the Aristo pacific, lol.
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Bachman’s metal frame construction and working valve gear. Okay, this one isn’t as important as the other things, but considering their importance to the evolution of the large scale hobby as a whole, I felt obliged to include something. As a new owner, those Connie frames certainly do carry an authenticity that lacks in the Aristo & LGB steamers.
Okay, well you have my thoughts, what say all of ye?
