I have always thought that, at least from a business perspective, it
would make more sense to make a relatively cheap Royal Hudson.
Something along the lines of the Bachman Spectrum line or even the IHC
line. By keeping the cost down you might capture some of the tourist
and toy market. Places like the museum in Squamish or the CPR could
sell it in their shops. At $500 per locomotive you aren't going to
sell them to the casual tourist or general public, but at $150 you
would be able to, and you could include it in a train set with a
couple Rapido cars.
Just so long as they got the basic dimensions correct, I could always
add the details myself and be happy. The IHC line, while not as finely
detailed as the latest products, actually runs better than engines
costing 2 or 3 times as much. They are great as raw material, I am
much more willing to cut up a $130 loco and experiment with it long
before I would even consider touching a $500 one.
Brent
