We’re discussing wanting even MORE new models. even though the economy is still pretty crummy for a bunch of folks. So I’d imagine the market for something all new would be pretty fragile… with cost being the deal breaker for a LOT of folks.
All new tooling = expensive. PLUS China ain’t as cheap as it used to be.
But the manufacturers COULD make ‘new’ offerings by mixing and matching their off the shelf parts.
A late 4-4-0 comes to mind, folks have been asking for it since the 1880s version came out. That’s mostly just swapping in plain domes and cab side overlays. The Indy could easily become a prairie by using some of the Forney stuff, or combine the newer 0-4-0 Porter superstructure parts with the Indy chassis and they’d have a really nice tank engine, too. A simple rework of the frame casting to use the Indy drivers could allow the venerable Big Hauler/Annie to become a pretty good looking Consolidation or even Mastodon.
And that’s just Bachmann…