Its been quite awhile since we’ve had a good old fashioned rip-roarin’ wishlist thread up here on the forum so I’m gonna start one. There are several new members here and this is their opportunity to weigh in with just where they would like to see the hobby go equipment-wise.
It seems to me that the number of new offerings in all scales has been just a little undernourished of late; it could well be that the manufacturers are waiting for the economy to improve. Let’s hope so! Let us also hope that factors will slow the inflation of prices that has also been so readily apparent of late.
I am an N-Scaler so my preferences are, of course, for N-Scale offerings.
Here goes:
I’d like to see some manufacturer offer a . . . . . . . . . .
All Scales:
1). Hancock Air Whistle sounds for DCC decoders.
2). Twin Alco 539T sound decoder for DL109’s.
3). A new Digitrax super-throttle that’s even better than the DT400.
How about if manufacturers make more batches of their products!! When something new comes out and you dont buy it right then…well… you might wait for a while before they get around to making another batch. How many $$$'s are manufacturers losing out on? Some of mine for sure. I also think that more,well detailed med to small steam locos should be built. Think Athearn Genesis Prairie or Consolidation.
Ditto to that one. Most of my fleet needs sound. (only my FTs and U28Bs have sound, need sound for everything else [GP 9s, SD9s, Gp30s, C425s, SD45s]])
Don’t have them yet, but I just got 3 Atlas/Kato C425s and 2 P2K SD45s for under 110 bucks.[:D] I also got a P2k Gp30 as an early B-day present. (which is next week)
I’d like a nice N scale VIA F-unit to match the VIA passenger cars Rapido is offering next spring. Those passenger cars have been at the top of my wish list for a long time and I’m very thankful to Rapido for them.
One other thing that perhaps I just haven’t been able to locate is more high quality N scale bridge kits that you can put together to make more complex bridges.
I have more than enough engines & rolling stock so right now, I’m looking at details… buildings and such.
In HO scale, good, plain houses (1930s-1950s) are hard to find unless you go the laser kit route. About 20-25 years ago, there were a few good ones but not today.
I’m also looking for interesting trackside structures… signal towers, interlocking towers, switch towers, etc.
Generic looking retail stores with some interesting details; cornices, bay windows, outside staircases, etc, would be nice too… but not priced at $30 and up.
Finally, how about all of those new RTR models being released as kits so that we don’t have to pay someone big $$$ to assemble them? Release them like the movie industry releases DVDs… about six months after the RTR version hits the market, let the kits go. I’m sure there are many like myself who can handle & enjoy the assembly process.
I’d certainly be interested in a 2-6-6-6 in N scale,Kato or Atlas made,DCC ready and optionally available with a good sound decoder.Wouldn’t be cheap…but then quality has a price,isn’t it?
We need a good HO scale 40 foot insulated box car Rb or Rbl. Just like the N scale ATLAS models. These would be with separately applied ladders and grabs like the 50 foot versions made by Branchline.
I’d love crossing flashers and gates, complete with all the necessary machinery and sensing electronics, that isn’t going to set you back over a hundred bucks per crossing.
I don’t care if manufacturers put out Ready-To-Plop buildings, but how about making them all in kit format, too? My gripe with most of these RTP structures is the plastic look. A simple, flat paint job and some weathering would make most of these into pretty acceptable pieces, but it’s hard to do that once it’s all assembled, decaled and has the window glazing in place.
But y’know, I’d been away from this great hobby for 40 years, and when I came back I found working knuckle couplers, individual control of engines, HO-scale sound, and lots of really nice engines that run like a dream. Instead of sitting up in bed at night reading the Lionel catalog when it came out once a year, I can now do the same with the Walthers catalog when it comes out every month! When it comes to what I can get vs. what I wish I could get, I think the current reality is a pretty good bargain.
My wishlist is pretty short: I’d like someone to publish a comprehensive guide to N.S. railways from the turn of the century (1900 that is) to 1960s with good, large photos of rolling stock and structures, with key dimensions, and perhaps some drawings to boot.
Im a BN fan but i would really like to see athearn re-release there ATSF GP60M’s and GP40X’s and atlas re-release there ATSF Dash8-40BW’s! I also wish athearn would make a 3-window SD60M and a SD70ACe in the genesis line.