ASK S-HELPER TO MAKE 0-GAUGE MODELS

[Anonymous]

I have only been back into Lionel O-gauge for a year or so and I have bought every issue of Classic Toy Trains since - I often see ads by a company named S-Helper who make the most incredible models in S-gauge - if enough of us ask for it, I wonder if they would make some of these in O-scale for our Lionel layouts - I know I'd buy them for sure.

[Big_Boy_4005]

I doubt that S-Helper would want to branch out to O guage. There are a lot more companies making things for O. There are a few cool items that they make for S guagers that aren't available in O, but you might have better luck with your wishes, by asking Atlas or MTH. Be thankful that you are in O guage, you have a much larger selection of trains than those in S.

[brianel027]

JP, I agree that the S-Helper cars are outstanding. Of course, you can certainly write to the company with your suggestion. But I personally think they would hesitiate at the notion. There is no shortage of 3-rail stuff today. There is a shortage of folks to buy the stuff. I think the only reason the established companies sell as much as they do is because the adult modelers buy more than they need, and are selling (thanks to ebay) their lesser detailed and non-electronic items to make room for the latest electronic equipped and scale sized pieces. And I've certainly noticed the increase of blowout listings in the ads in the train mags, which says to me not enough is selling. Because companies don't drop prices unless things are not moving and operating money is needed (keep in mind all this new product means new tooling which means more upfront product development investment capital).
Yes, I look at those S-Helper cars and do think they're very nice. But I think what the hobby needs right now is a company like Marx Trains of days gone by. Marx Trains have this perception of being cheap. They certainly never were as collectible as their Lionel cousins. BUT Marx Trains were clever, well made and engineered (considering what they were), were low-priced and for sale EVERYWHERE! That's a key point. In the past couple years I've seen fantastic mailorder blowout prices on several Lionel sets. I can't help but think how many new kids would have train sets had those prices had been available at your normal trainshop, or local toy store. Unfortuantely I think many of those blowout sets get purchased by seasoned train buyers who break up the sets to sell on ebay. Fortunately I know a few do get to the hands of kids who get them as gifts.
But back to the topic: There are very nice scale sized three rail trains coming from Lionel, K-Line, Atlas, Weaver, and MTH (and others). I'm certain S-Helper would take that under very serious consideration. And being that the typical S-Helper car costs about $40, I can't imagine their prices would be that much lower on scale sized 3-rail rail trains than the current prices from the others.
If I were a true scale 3-railer, I'd probably be buying Weaver... their detail is good, roadname selection is nice and prices are decent. I sometimes wi***hat Weaver was making some rolling stock in the "traditional" non-scale size, but I could answer that desire with what I just said above.
brianel, Agent 027 [:)]

[lionelsoni]

Much O27 stuff was made close to S scale (much wasn't!). If you happen to be heavily into O27, you might consider putting Lionel trucks under S-Helper cars. As a matter of fact, I saw a (Lionel) American Flyer spine car in a store a while back, identical to their (undersized) O-gauge model, but with S-gauge trucks.

[brianel027]

Yeah Bob, I've noticed Lionel has done that kind of thing with several smaller O gauge cars, cluding the SP caboose. The S-Helper cars are actually just too darn detailed and would look out of place for that reason alone, though I love some of their paint schemes. I have taken the new K-Line "S" cars (which are just the older 027 cars with S-gauge trucks) and replaced the trucks with O guage ones. I hate paying more for the cars, only to ditch the S-scale trucks (actually I don't ditch anything - I'll find use for them!) BUT the paint jobs and scheme variety on the new K-Line "S" cars are much better than anything they ever did when the cars were used in 027 sets, so I shouldn't complain. Plus I always add a few extra details and make improvements to those former Marx cars, which is part of the fun for me. Combining the smaller 027 cars with the "traditional" sized 0 cars gives me some size variety that I can live with.
I've actually tried running some more detailed cars, like the Weaver ones or the new Lionel 8,000 gal. tank cars on my layout - and they look out of place with everything else. Besides, I can always imagine that my lesser-than-prototypical cars are more detailed than they really are.

brianel, Agent 027

[Andrew Falconer]

Most of the American Models rolling stock shows potential for being converted to O Gauge.

The O Gauge Trucks need to to have nylon washers, nylon tubes, and longer screws to make them fit on the S Scale cars.

They are very close in dimensions. The Lionel Traditional O Gauge cars are wider than S Scale Cars.

www.americanmodels.com

Andrew

[pbjwilson]

I'm having a blast with some old American Flyer trains I've fixed up. S gauge is a very nice size. And the Am. Flyer engines run really well. Just got a Flyer 303 engine that has choo-choo sound (a chuff chuff sound), a smoke unit to rival modern steam models, and a red light in the smoke stack. Cool stuff for an engine thats 50 years old.

I'm on the verge of unloading a bunch of O gauge as I'm finding the S more suitable to my space restraints. I always looked for the smaller Lionels which are close to S proportions. Really enjoy learning about all the different models AF put out. Most are reasonably priced. And the Steam engines I have run so nice.

The models being made by S-Helper and American Models are superb. Hope to add some as my layout and collection progresses.

[Anonymous]

I can't imagine that S-Helper, or any other manufacturer, would be interested in venturing into O gauge at this point in time. The market is already glutted with more than enough O gauge product to satisfy (probably not a good choice of wirds since nobody in this hobby seems to be "satisfied" these days) a consumer base that doesn't appear to be growing at anywhere near the rate that it did in the 90s.  If anything, I expect the market to further consolidate in the years ahead, with fewer manufacturers manufacturing fewer products.  Nothing I've seen, read, or heard indicates otherwise.

There's some great stuff available in S gauge, and even though I've never modeled in that scale, I'm sure glad to see that several manufacturers are giving it the attention it deserves.  If I was starting over in the hobby today, I would most definitely give S scale serious consideration. 

[Sturgeon-Phish]

I'm having a blast with some old American Flyer trains I've fixed up. S gauge is a very nice size. And the Am. Flyer engines run really well. Just got a Flyer 303 engine that has choo-choo sound (a chuff chuff sound), a smoke unit to rival modern steam models, and a red light in the smoke stack. Cool stuff for an engine thats 50 years old.

I'm on the verge of unloading a bunch of O gauge as I'm finding the S more suitable to my space restraints. I always looked for the smaller Lionels which are close to S proportions. Really enjoy learning about all the different models AF put out. Most are reasonably priced. And the Steam engines I have run so nice.

The models being made by S-Helper and American Models are superb. Hope to add some as my layout and collection progresses.

Whohoo Paul   You are seeing what is so great about American Flyer S gauge!