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As a practical nature, the first thing that will happen on ANY new engine is the smoke unit removed or disabled. I consider them wasteful of interior model space, wasteful in necessary smoke oil consumtion, wasteful in electricity use on a model and finally never really convincing outside of very large live steam models.I cannot have anything that puts "Stuff" into the air of my home. There are two people with health issues in my home. Indeed one of the reasons train shows were difficult was the use of smoke units. Therefore smoke units are not welcome and a automatic "Deal-breaker" for new engine sales.If MTH focused on smoke as a percieved necessary item in HO scale.... boy are they wrong.Once in a great while in O scale there is a little smoke but it's generally for show over a few minutes and then the fan is brought in to the room. I think I have a video on my machine of a O scale desiel set snorting smoke into the room. The cloud forced me to tape the thing from 30 feet away and use zoom to catch it. Away from the smoke.I wasnt going to say anything about the smoke until the review of the MTH post indicated that they considered smoke attractive in HO. That is not correct.Pulling power, All wheel pickup, smooth and compliant operation as well as protoypically correct or nearly so construction.The Virginian engine is incorrect. It needs a 4 axle tender set in the rear. How is it that one needs to buy one of these models then bash a some sort of Wonka-factory rig with 4 wheels under there. Yes perhaps there were production challenges with a longer tender or other issues... so.. what. Throw in a few dollars and make it happen at the factory.Maybe you get more sales outright instead of resistance from those who desire a correct Virginian model.Im sorry if I stepped on any toes here, but as a customer who is allowed to buy a few engines several times a year... I must be absolutely certain that X engine will be as trouble free and be very well built. If that puts me into the Brass steam, so be it.I might only buy one brass engine every 5 years instead of every year because of cost. What does that do to the rest of the hobby? Slows down the numbers of engine orders... that's what.I still consider the triplex but am more of looking at ways to butcher the product by disabling the smoke, removing the unit out of the boiler and ensuring good pulling power under there along with a possible powering of that driver set. I dont believe for one second that you can drag a set of steam driving wheels with it's associated linkage for very long without something going out of whack.Secondly, dont worry about that 18" or 22" radius. Ive stopped using those small radiuses long ago except in industry or yards where necessary and in places the big stuff cannot get into and derail. Yes I just have a loop or point to point with 31 inch radius... but I am a happy choo choo driver because my mind is stress-free about radius. I buy anything in HO and run it without a second thought to the itty bitty problem of 22" radius everyone seems to love.Throw in a linkage kit similar to a baggie of traction wheels for those of us large radius users so we can put that 3rd set of drivers to work. This isnt some Tyco train set engine with a tender drive and a flawed coasting front boiler/driving wheels. (Call them derailing wheels but a subject for another day, best left in the haze of the 70's)Dont misunderstand me, Im not bashing the triplex. But what I am trying to do is make MTH and all other maufactors in HO scale what I would like to see as a customer. Especially in the brave new world of 500 to 1000 dollar plastic HO steam.Of course I can stick with all desiel and eliminate just about all of my worries and run trains for much cheaper. That would be cheating wouldnt it?
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