Diecast Diesels ?????

[Seayakbill]

Do the large diesels that have diecast shells show an significant improvement in performance over their plastic shell counterparts ?

I have a number of the large diesels with plastic shells such as the SD70Ace that have 2 large motors and traction tires and they have no problems what so ever in pulling very long freight consists. I have never operated one of the large diecast diesels so can't make a comparison between the 2 types of shells. But there certainly is a gigantic difference in pricing. In the current Lionel catalog there is a SD70Ace with plastic shell for $500 list and a ES44ac with diecast shell for $850 list. Operational features seem identical.

Does it really cost $350 more to produce a diecast shell ? K-Line was putting out diecast conventional GG-1's for $150 before their demise.

[gunrunnerjohn]

Well, it's all about weight, driving wheels, and the type of traction assist.  If you have a heavier locomotive, all other things being equal, it should be able to pull more cars.  Most of my dual motored locomotives that weigh in the 4-5 pound range will easily pull 15-20 cars up a 3% grade, so I'm not sure how much more effective they could be.

[8ntruck]

I'd expect that tooling for die cast metal would more expensive than tooling for injection molded plastic.  The tooling for the die cast metal needs to be made out of tool steel that is more tolerant of the higher operating temperatures that the cast metals require.  It will also have a built in cooling system.

The higher tooling costs will most likely be spread over a lower number of parts produced, which will increase the selling price of the die cast metal diesel.

You've got to remember that the toy train manufacturers primary function is to make a profit for the owners.