If I could run Lionel.....

[Big_Boy_4005]

We can all run trains in our basement, but what if we were given the opportunity to run the company. Given the recent developments, perhaps the company is looking for new ideas.[:D]

If I was in charge of Lionel, this is what I would do.

First, I would dump the large catalog, and split the offerings into a children's catalog and an adult's catalog. No single item in the children's catalog would retail for over $199.95. Basic sets should start at $99.95, and move up to the top level allowed.

All of the classic cars and accessories should be in the line. No need for fancy electronics and innovations, just good solid affordable trains. Sound familiar???

This line would be mass produced, and marketed through stores like Target, Walmart, and Toy's R Us. Repairs could be handled through the existing service station network. That's how you get people into HOBBY STORES!!!!!

All of the rest of the fancy stuff can go in the the adult catalog, and be marketed in the current way. No limits on price. If necessary, let the adult line pick up some of the financial slack for the children's line, though it may not come to that.

So, what would you do, if you were in charge?

Keep in mind that people who make the real decisions may be watching.[;)]

[Anonymous]

Do as much of the work in the United States as possible. Long supply chains are costing Lionel MILLIONS of dollars in lost Polar Express sales.

[cnw1995]

Gee, we've spoken ad nauseum of the near impossibility of introducing these items into big-box retailers who don't want 'em... But with apologies for the lack of political correctness, I would look at the tooling I have available and continue exactly what they've been doing. Apart from their abysmal bad luck in losing this trial, they've largely seemed to have been chugging along - though I'm unsure what sort of margin Wellspring continues to demand. But as the new king of Lionel, I find myself really stuck - I can't abandon what's left of my dealer network without having something totally viable to replace it - so I work to keep 'em really happy. I would try to sell a few things direct via the web or to 'club' members. And I would flog the brand as much as possible...sell the heck out of it - put it on everyone who's have me - from soap to soup. I'd realize my core market are nostaglia-driven soon-to-be codgers (for whom I'd advertise in AARP magazine and some other demographic-driven places), and a relative handful of O scale fanatics. I'd wonder whether some sort of industry collusion would be possible to avoid two manufacturers from producing the same K4s in the same year...

[3railguy]

QUOTE: So, what would you do, if you were in charge?

I would probably just nuke MTH and get it over with.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the other gentleman. Get Lionel to make things in the good old USA. If it costs more so be it. I want quality. That is what matters to me. I have had problems with three of theirs engines in the last 3 months. The stuff from China is junk. NO QUALITY CONTROL. Please bring it back to America, Lionel.

[Big_Boy_4005]

You know Doug, in spite of all of the talk about the "big box" retailers not wanting to do toy trains, I think that if they were presented with a proper deal, and some advertising to back it up, they might be willing to give it a try. I certainly wouldn't want it to be a seasonal item, birthdays happen all year round.

It really wouldn't take much to start, 25 or 30 total sets per store, that's just 5 or 6 each of 5 different sets. Those aren't unrealistic numbers for a year per store.

We are into all this family values stuff these days, this should be an easy sell !!!![swg]

[Big_Boy_4005]

I hate to say it guys, but profit margines are MADE IN CHINA. That may be asking too much from manufacturers to be considered viable. Where trains are made, doesn't really make a difference to children, only to us adults.

[tgovebaker]

The first thing I would do is take a long hard look at the markeplace and assess my competitive position therein. Lionel has a tremendous asset in its name and history, but market positioning remains fuzzy. To counter that, I would consider picking 1-2 market segments and seeking to dominate them.

The most obvious segment is the currently underserved lower end of the market, in which Lionel achieved some of its greatest success in decades past. K-Line and Williams have made headway in that segment, but Lionel's past marketing success should give it an edge, assuming the prices are competitive. To capture young railroaders, I would introduce a Railsounds Jr. package, similar to the 70s-era "electronic mighty sound of steam". Not too sophisticated, but intersesting enough to captivate a child. Finally, I would re-introduce the classic light blue and light brown track planning and maintenance guides from the late 70s. Those were targeted at kid's dreams, not the budget-busting visions of Boomers. Like previous posters, I would market these sets aggressively, on cereal boxes, in big box stores, etc.

Next, I would rethink my high-end strategy. This would involve some rigorous market research about demand for scale reproductions. Assuming the research bears this out, I would winnow the overall portfolio, and focus on a much smaller number of new product launches each year. I would also seek to better balance the roadnames between "classics" (e.g. New York Central) and currently operating roads. Lastly, I would develop a TMCC upgrade that ensures compatibility with Proto.

I would probably dump Fast Track altogether, shipping tubular track with starter sets and Gargrave's Track with Premium Sets.

Finally, I would guard my resources jealously, appeal the MTH decision, and then settle out of court for a much smaller amount.

-Tom

[nitroboy]

Good question Big_Boy. I agree with the $99 starter sets, there should be no less than 4 of these types of starter sets offered. They should include at least one working car, and some trackside accessories, like sheds, plastic cars or trucks, some plastic crates. My first train set was Lionel's MPC "Trains 'n Truckin' " set. I loved it, plenty of action. K-Line already has sets like this, not for $99, but not to far off.

Second, I would take the "Lenny the Lion" and turn him into a cartoon for the Sunday comics. Where else better to get the kids into the hobby than the Sunday comics.

Advertise on billboards next to schools and bus pick-up points. There is this bus pick-up point on the way to Fostoria, OH in a town called Carey, and right across the street is a huge billboard that most of the time has beer ads on it. Hey, the breweries know how to intice younger crowds, right???

Put banner ads on kids web sites.

Only release one catalog per year, and here's an idea, maybe have the stuff ready to ship when the catalog comes out. Nothing worse than seeing something in a catalog and having to wait months to get it. If Sears and J.C. Pennys can do it...
I don't think that is too much to ask for. Just plan ahead. Thats why the designers get paid the big bucks. If your local hobby store doesn't have the item, they should be able to order it and have it directly shipped to your house within a one to two week period.

This next idea is a long shot and probably not ever going to happen. When I see a price in the catalog for something, lets say $50, if I actually pay that, I get ripped off, because some internet train store has it for $35, or I see it at a train show for a "$25 BLOW-OUT"
That sucks. Why not have the price in a cataloge fixed for a set time, say one year. No Lionel dealer can sell that item for less than that or lose their dealership. And to help dealers, you can only buy from a dealer, not directly from Lionel. This way local hobby store can remain competative with internet "slash and dash" dealers. Now, you would still have your Sears and other department store train sales, but those would only be starter sets, so not too much of a hit on regular Lionel dealers. Then, after the set time, any stock of these items left, you can have your blow-out sales or whatever.

Have a starter TMCC controller for kids. Not real fancy, throttle, bell, whistle. That way, little Joey can run his starter train just like Daddy (or little Sally and Mommy). If RC cars can run on remote control cheap, I think trains can.

Too many more ideas to list. Fingers tired.

[cnw1995]

Very nice ideas here!
Elliot, it's pretty hard to get in the door with the big box retailers these days. though certainly not impossible. As you might guess, connecting a train set to family values and into a market is pretty tough. Frankly, the traditional game sellers (the Hasbros still remaining in the world) are in much the same conundrum as our hobby - they similarly solve things on the nostalgia ('I remember this game') and price side.

[nitroboy]

Here are some more of my idea's if I was in charge.

Advertise during Saturday morning cartoons.

Put ads in magazines OTHER than railroad specific publications. The Lionel name is already mentioned at least 50 or 60 times in every Classic Toy Trains magazine. Dealers advertise, product reviews, why not put that advertising dollar in a magazine that doesn't have anything to do with trains? Try some of the teen magazines, or even Time, or People. Get the name out in a market that is fresh. Try ads in USA Today, or some of the major papers.

Join forces with Childrens Hospital or St. Judes. Providing free trains to these wonderful institutions can put a smile on a child's face, and once they leave, they may take those memories and start their own railroad empire at home. When I was in the Marines, we would always do a Christmas drive for toys. Become a fixed sponser with Toys for Tots. Every year provide train sets.

Start back up the dealer displays. Provide them to hobby stores and retail stores. Certain retail can almost be counted out. Wal-mart, Target, K-Mart. But your department stores could still be a way to get mom and dad to see trains as a good gift, a family activity. Give displays to Sears, Macy's, and so on.

I could go on endlessly about the high end market, but the major train companies need to get a new generation going. The pre-war era folks are almost gone, the post-war era is getting close, MPC era generation was screwed, we need to get those memories of trains engrained into the younger crowd. They will be the big spenders later in life, just as the post war era is now with all the scale offerings.

[palallin]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nitroboy

MPC era generation was screwed

I don't feel that I got screwed. But, then, I don't suffer from the common but irrational and unjustified prejudice against the trains of the MPC era.

My first Lionel was an 1970 uncaraloged Sears set; the 8020 has hundreds of hours on it and still runs great. Some of my best pulling engines are the MPC Frisco U-boat and the MoPac Geep.

Sears and Penny's did as good a job as they could carrying the line and promoting it.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Thanks Doug and Tom, and glad to see your fingers got a second wind there Dave.[swg]

There are a lot of good ideas here, I really like the one about advertising on kid's websites, low cost. Kid's magazines don't really exist like they used to, I think Nickelodeon has one, but Lionel trains would seem out of place in it.

OK, so Target and Walmart are out. Look what happened today, K-mart bought Sears. Sears and Lionel have a history, why not rekindle that marketing opportunity. The hobby store network is shrinking. Fewer and fewer people visit hobby stores every year. People won't buy what they don't know exists. If profit margins are an issue, this is a perfect opportunity to go manufacturer direct to retail, no middle man.

If we ever expect to have a future market for toy trains, we need to reach out to children. Hobby stores just don't cut it, they don't have the traffic and exposure. Adults are an easy sell, they are already hooked.

[MartyE]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Noel Sell

I agree with the other gentleman. Get Lionel to make things in the good old USA. If it costs more so be it. I want quality. That is what matters to me. I have had problems with three of theirs engines in the last 3 months. The stuff from China is junk. NO QUALITY CONTROL. Please bring it back to America, Lionel.

It wasn't any better when it was made here. Unless they actually take it seriously, it doesn't matter where the stuff is made. If I could make $30 bucks and hour to assemble toy trains and know it would be near impossible to get fired because I was backed by the UAW then would I give a crap?... Yep I would because that's the way I am. An increasingly uncommon attitude in the U.S.

[Anonymous]

If I could make $30 bucks and hour to assemble toy trains and know it would be near impossible to get fired because I was backed by the UAW then would I give a crap?... Yep I would because that's the way I am. An increasingly uncommon attitude in the U.S.
Marty, your statement that theUAW Brothers at Lionel made $30/hr is some kind of lie worthy of rush limbaugh. Fact is, America will be MILITARILY buried by RED CHINA if the political power of the non taxpaying big business plutocrats isn't smashed. Those Brothers at Lionel made $8.00/hr , NOT $30.

[cbq9911a]

Some things I'd do:

1. License the Williams Berkshire. This gets a top quality engine at an affordable price without much effort.

2. Bring back the Santa Fe warbonnet F unit. This is the iconic Lionel item of the 50's and 60's.

3. Develop plastic passenger cars that are the same size as the extruded aluminum cars of the 50's and 60's. Another iconic Lionel item.

4. Bring back either the Post Office boxcar or the "State of Maine" boxcar. Both these cars are red, white, and blue and will appeal to people who want something patriotic.

5. Make a deal to sell Lionel Trains with ONE big box retailer.

6. Open up company stores at key locations: Rockefeller Center (New York), Water Tower Place and Woodfield Mall (Chicago), Mall of America, etc.

7. Replace FastTrack with traditional tubular track.

8. Cut back on high end items, especially large O-72 steam locomotives.

9. Invest in tooling for two new high end items: a Baldwin Russian Decapod and a Nebraska Zephyr trainset. These items would appeal to people in the Chicago and Milwaukee markets because they're familiar items (they're the two trains that most enthusiasts will have ridden behind). Chicago and Milwaukee, together, are the largest model railroading market.

[Kiwi Down Under]

Dont want to start word war 3, or get too hung up on politics, but some of the coments about China etc and made in USA , some people need a reality check.
The USA has been doing that for years. Buying up companies in small countries ( like I am in), stripping the assetts, making staff redundant and then shipping the market offshore to places like China. One comment said they get $8.00 per hour, get real if your a worker you think its Christmas if you get 80cents an hour, more like 50cents ( depending on which part of China your talking about. but if your getting $8 thats a days pay for the boss.
My wife works for an American based firm, she has been involved in training people to do her job in Asia, for a third of what she gets, but the big joke is, no one understands their English. Someone forgot to check that fact, only looked at the profit line.
Its surprising that Lionel have gone belly up, but just keep your eye out for the same models under another name. How will you know?, they will have the same markings underneath as at present-- Made in China.
Tony

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't write off Fastrak too quickly! All of my track is Lionel 027, so that's what I use. But if I was starting over, I would probably prefer something that's not as hard on the hands as the ol' all-metal 027 track.

[prewardude]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Gscalechuffchuff


Its surprising that Lionel have gone belly up, but just keep your eye out for the same models under another name.
Tony

For what it's worth Tony, Lionel has NOT gone belly-up.

[Anonymous]

Elliot, you've asked an interesting question and got some great answers. I'll address only the "get the kids interested in electric trains" part. To put my comments into context a little history helps, so I'll give you mine. I'm 50 and like many males of my generation I got a Lionel at Christmas at age eight. It was definitely a big moment in my life. I daresay it was almost magical. In a way it was a boy's rite of passage; nothing like getting a driver's license at 16 but oddly enough, somehow more important than your first two-wheeler.

But I know too that the Lionel was sent to the big toy box in the sky three years later, shortly after my folks gave me a Strombecker slot car set for Christmas. There was no magic in the slot cars; heck, I was a worldly 11 by then! But it sure was a lot more fun--there was skill involved; too heavy on the throttle and you wiped out in the corners; too cautious and your buddy, sibling, or parent mopped up. I know this sounds blasphemous but Lionel was just no match for the speed thrill, eye-hand coordination, and the competition offered by the slot cars. It was then and is now also a product of age--we know that younger children are drawn to big machines, so construction equipment and trains are hugely popular with toddlers. But their magic doesn't last too long. Soon kids are dreaming the American Dream and that means cars are cool, racing cars even cooler. Unlike the Lionel, the slot cars needed no permanent home. It was often set up on the floor in this room or that room but then taken down (a simple task that even my mother would do when required to make room for an afternoon bridge party). It would go in a box for a while when interest waned, only to be rediscovered a month later. Then the much loved hockey game would takes it's turn in the closet.

Lionel however needed a good chunk of dedicated space. No problem at first, lots of room in the basement. The old man (that was a term of affection then--even if they didn't quite see it that way) built a good 4X8 table for us. But America was on the march toward more and more convenience and in this case it was a coffin-sized chest freezer coveting Lionel's corner. Said the old lady (definitely not a term of affection, then or now) "Look I haven't seen him playing with it in months and it's so big!" Of course I protested and a compromise was worked out--a hinged table over the freezer attached to the basement wall--pull up on a rope to grab the t-bones. In those days almost all fathers were extremely handy carpenters, designers, and do-it-yourself electricians. But just like the ability to milk a cow, these skills were not always passed on to my generation. Even less so to the generations following me, so today I think it's safe to assume that an electric train set presents certain problems to many of today's parents: Where the heck am I going to put it? (Most of our homes today are overflowing with junk!) I've no time to build a table even if I knew how! And all that wiring! So it's all too easy to see why parents gravitate to gameboys, remote controlled vehicles and the like: parents are busy and don't have time for much interaction and supervision. These toys are portable, small, and if used with headsets, relatively quiet. They definitely don't bellow smoke and give off an odor that only freaks could enjoy!

Fast forward to the present. Today I'm one of those baby boomers who partied away the first forty years of his life and was still lucky enough to settle down and have a family. So at 50 I have been blessed with two boys, a five year old and a 9 month old. My wife and I bought a Lionel Fastrak set last Christmas when my oldest was four. Built a big 5X8 table in the living room( thanks to great advice from Elliot and others at this forum!) With supervision the then 4 year old had no problem operating it. At first the throttle was pretty light but now he lets her rip. Lionel always says 8 years old but thanks to this forum I realized that done right kids can slide into it much earlier.

It is my firm belief that Lionel can never even come close to recapturing the glory days when they had a train in every pot. First off, in those days the Lionel train was really the only big ticket toy. Nothing competed with it then--now the sky is the limit. Secondly, train sets suck up a lot of space and while Lionel's Fastrak does offer a little more portability (i.e. you can hang the track intact on the wall) and operate it on the floor, carpet included (not a great idea), it is still not a toy any sane parent wants to set up and take down on a daily basis! Thirdly most train sets offer precious little playability as they come out of the box. They go round and round and stop and most child development experts would not advocate a child spending too much time parked at the transformer. Even though we've put lots of interactive play stations on our train set I still look at the Lionel as better than watching a video but not something I want a 5 year old playing with more than 2-3 hours a week on average. Finally, electric train sets can be safely termed a high maintenance toy whereas most other toys require little of the parent (there's a silver lining in this last point in that Lionel can flip the disadvantage into a plus by selling the train set as something that will assist the parent and child in bonding with each other. If I were CEO of Lionel, in any ads I ran appealing to the child market I'd downsize the age (for O only) from 8 to 4 and say something like "When you buy a Lionel you're really buying closeness. You'll have to be there at first to lend a hand and before you know it you'll be a kid again yourself. Just don't fight over the controls--take turns! " I don't know if Lionel has used this approach or not but I sure would try it if they haven't. Raising kids these days means parents worry about booze and drugs and sex at far too early an age. You never want to lose intimacy with your kids because if you do it won't be easy to get it back. Lionel has a toy and a hobby that truly can serve as a lifelong bridge between parents and children--capitalizing on that makes good business and civic sense.

And there are many other things Lionel could do to carve out a niche market with kids. I wouldn't aim it at the masses but instead target those that are most likely to buy: Moderate to upper income levels, parents lucky enough to have the time and space requirements (are single moms likely customers, or parents working multiple jobs?) I'd concentrate my marketing efforts on things like parenting magazines. The people who read these tend to be the concerned (sometimes neurotic) parent and here it would be easier for Lionel to pitch their brand of wholesome family entertainment. An example "Now that your son is 5 are you worried about the gameboy lurking on the horizon? Lionel offers so much more!" Those of us with preschoolers always pause when we see some ten year old oblivious to all around him while tethered to a gameboy--most of us don't wi***hat future for our fully engaged kids--yet we suspect it's coming! Again, Lionel is foolish not to play this card--after all they are a possible solution to a real problem. My guess is that once Lionel made inroads into the kid market, word of mouth and seeing the trains at their bud's house would kick in. Playdates at our house have definitely been kind to Lionel's pockets! We're solidly in the middle of the middle class and trust me when I say most parents in our income bracket don't think $200-$300 is too much to spend on a toy that should give you easily 3 years and perhaps many more. Amortize that over two or more kids and it's a bargain.

As CEO I'd Capitalize on Thomas the Tank Engine in O gauge. Quickly expand the engine and vehicle offerings--at the very least a Devious Diesel and a Lady should be added as soon as possible. Kids all over the country love Thomas. The company that owns Thomas is heavily into promotional events including the famous Day Out With Thomas weekends held all over the US during the summer months. On average kids begin to lose interest in Wooden Thomas around 4 or so making it the perfect transition age into Lionel. Lionel has done the right thing with their new Thomas passenger cars by designing them with removable tops so that kids can put passengers on and off. Lionel should run with this and make other sets passenger friendly, opening doors, sliding roof, little people in little chairs. Throw scale out the window, it doesn't matter a twit to youngsters. Kid sets can cost $200 or more but should include a basic plastic station, an engine shed, little people, a removable engineer, stuff like this. Lionel is only limited by their imagination. We run a MTH wedge snowplow through a canyon made of lego blocks that we've filled with 3-4 inches of Styrofoam popcorn and it's a blast. With a heavy steam engine we've yet to derail. And the snow goes flying everywhere! I've seen visiting 10 and 14 year old cousins, girls and boys, spend hours clearing the mountain pass. But if you look at a Lionel catalogue they simply show the bare circle of track, the transformer and the train! Fine for us adults but parents are going to think boring, sterile, and zero playability. If I were CEO I'd intentionally show the Lionel set used in conjunction with countless other children's toys. On our train table we have a wooden Cranky the Crane from Thomas, a ton of lego (which acts as stations, mountains, lakes, swimming pools, tunnels, walkways etc.), every manner of toy car and truck, plane and boat, plastic animals and even small stuffed ones that take turns riding in the coal dumper (also used for ejecting plastic animals found riding ticketless). Nothing makes a parent happier than the idea of recycling all those toys she or he spent all that money on. Put it another way: When you're selling furniture you seldom just show the chair, rather, you put it in a fully decorated room.

I'd definitely change the transformer on kid sets. Little ones have real problems with the very thin switches on the CW-80. Lionel should make their kid's transformers lightweight and make a separate control unit. The transformer must have a switch (the CW-80 isn't switched and must be unplugged. Most sane parents don't want their young kids messing with plugs and wall outlets but care less about low voltage switches). The control unit should be handheld, ultra lightweight but able to withstand a beating (like any inexpensive TV remote control) and have large push button switches for bell, whistle, forward, reverse and neutral. Kids have trouble when the train switches to neutral when throttled down and the double clicks can get downright painful. A throttle stick is fine. Speed governors that parents controlled would be a plus. Everything should connect with jacks and sockets (when people see electronics like their telephone has they feel comfortable; throw a simple u terminal at them and it's starting to get scary for many. Make everything super user friendly and flaunt it in your ads and packaging. While I earlier suggested that single moms aren't a likely target market, you don't want to ignore them either! In fact there's probably no better way for a mom and her son to connect than through an electric train. And come to think of it, with all the aging baby boomers who know electric trains already now starting to retire it would be more than easy to connect these people with the single moms. Lionel could develop and sponsor these support links and then use it as a selling feature. Lionel wins, the single mom and child win, the retiree wins twice--he gets to talk trains while knowing he's making a contribution.

That's it. I'm grounded with the flu so rather than watch television or read, I thought I'd babble on about something I've spent a while pondering. I really do believe Lionel could easily expand the kid's market. This is obviously good for the long range health of our hobby, but more importantly, it's good for the kids. Thanks Elliot for letting me be CEO Lionel Kid's Division for an hour or two! I'd be tickled pink if someone at Lionel actually read this. Sadly, my limited experience with the company leads me to believe it's somewhat stagnant. But as Dennis Miller likes to say "That's just my opinion and I could be wrong!"

[brianel027]

I originally shyed away from this topic because I figured everyone might guess what I was going to say - and that I'd be the only one saying it too.

Well, gosh golly. Sure feels good to see others talking about seeing kids back into the hobby. Let me tell you folks, I bought my "nephew" a train set years ago. He really wanted a video game instead, and was probably bummed. BUT over time he saw that this was going to be something he did with ME!

I allowed HIM to make decisions on the layout. Then when he said it wasn't complicated enough, well we made it more complicated (referring to the track plan). He's now proud as peaches about the train layout. He tells all of his friends about it and shows them pictures. I'll bet good money (that I don't even have) that he is the ONLY kid in his ENTIRE school with a Lionel train layout of his own!! But with him talking it up, that could change.

It's a budget layout folks. No TMCC, nothing fancy... but some operating stuff that interacts with the trains including some stuff we made ourselves. There's an operating crane that we found at a drug store... we modified it to operate manually on the layout for well under $10 and he loves it!!! In part because he helped think of how to do it. We have an manually operating conveyor belt (that I designed) that he also loves. My own experience proves that everything on a kids layout doesn't have to be fancy or digital. Kids today see so much digital crap, that I have found they are utterly fascinated by simple principles of gravity and motion - because it's something they just don't see today.

The point made above about the use of trains as a family bonding tool has long been missing from Lionel's advertising - yet it is still a valuable tool.

I'm going to refrain though on shooting off my big mouth in great detail as to what Lionel should and shouldn't do. Obviously I don't know the books, or what is expected from the company from Wellspring. But you can guess from reading my previous postings on this topic. Despite the problems, Lionel is STILL in the best position to introduce this hobby to newcomers... they could blow the compeition out of the water in this area if they wanted to. I would make sure the established existing (what's left of it) dealer network got some solid REAL support, I would do a beginner's only catalog on paper as well as VHS tape (showing the kinds of trains and layouts a FAMILY would and could have - not stadium sized layouts with top-end product) and I would alter the entire product line to have more emphasis on beginner product. FasTrack would be dumped or made in tighter radius curves to make real layouts possible in a small space (which just are not possible now). And if that meant a few less scale items being made, then so be it. Maybe with less new expensive scale items being tooled up every year, there would be the potential to lower prices on some ot the other items. The market is already saturated with scale sized items anyways.

Well, in fairness, the market is saturated with everything. But it is with the lower end beginner items that possible real growth can be had, not with upper end items that only adults can afford.

Put simply, we adults are aware that we can buy from Lionel or K-Line, Atlas, Weaver, Williams, MTH, RMT, Industrial Rail, 3rd Rail/Sunset (whatever they're known as now) and others. The novice or beginner is aware of one company and that one is named Lionel!

Lionel has a distinct advantage here the others can only dream of... they should start taking full advantage of that.