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MTH 2015 One Gauge Catalog


Rayman4449
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I wanted to share that the Big Boy #4012 model (70-3027-1) is now sold out. (I have directly confirmed this with MTH)  If you were wanting to order a Big Boy you will want to get your pre-orders in ASAP.   Based on this latest update it would seem to confirm the go for production has already been given and are not still in the waiting stage trying to collect orders.  

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Neither would Accucraft.  Friend of mine lost $1000 in deposit in the 5 year wait on two pre-ordered Alleghenys when St Aubins closed up as they took off with his deposit money.  (That was back when the engines were priced at around $2700 or so)

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On March 22, 2016 at 1:30 PM, Rayman4449 said:

I wanted to share that the Big Boy #4012 model (70-3027-1) is now sold out. (I have directly confirmed this with MTH)  If you were wanting to order a Big Boy you will want to get your pre-orders in ASAP.   Based on this latest update it would seem to confirm the go for production has already been given and are not still in the waiting stage trying to collect orders.  

How could it be Sold Out before they delivered any. If that were true then just make more. Should be easy since they haven't made any yet. 

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They've already put in the production order and just because they aren't delivered yet doesn't mean actual production hasn't started.  If they have already made the specified number of frames for instance you don't go back and do that process all over again just for a more limited specific number more, doesn't work that way.  

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I wonder if we'll be running the BB in the snow?B)

I'd love to test her on my layout to see how she pulls. I want to pair her up with the triplex pushing. I have a feeling there'll be some derails. I'd better get to work on the rolling stock conversions. I'd like to add some weight to the MTH car's trucks. I wish they were metal.

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Looks like the #4014 (70-3026-1) was moved from October to December.  The #4012 (70-3027-1) was moved to November.  Not holding  much hope of seeing these any time soon.  Would like to see a note from Mike Wolfe on this to explain what the delay is about.  If they're not going to be made, just say it so we can cancel our pre orders.

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The engines are being made and know this for a fact.  I have indicated many times previously that regardless what the current date is, always set your expectation that you will see the engine 2 years from it's announcement date which would be July 2017.  (Based on what I'm seeing I think it will be here before that.)  Once a model is delivered everyone seems to forget everything that lead up to it but the USA Trains Big Boy for instance was announced Feb 2005 and finally delivered June 2007.  So just like with the FEF that I hear USA Trains may be making, it may be here in a year but just plan on in taking 2.

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I have no problem waiting, it's just that they put dates out there creating expectations that are not good.  That is not good customer service.  Don't send a letter to the dealers putting dates out there that are not going to be met.  That is just not good marketing.  I'd just assume they put a date out a year from now and beat it.  That would make it appear that they are working to improve production dates etc.  

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Just may see the pre-production model at the York TCA meet in a few days. :)

 

I think Raymond has it right...be next summer.

 

Another comparison is where's the AML GP60's at?? Some dealers are still listing them as shipping winter 2015?? Or the AML 50' Hy-Cube boxcars that show spring 2016?

 

 

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Understood.  I've already gotten into this in detail many times before on the dates but I guess I'll cover it again...  This has to do (at least in part) with trying to get accurate demand numbers to know what to produce. MTH produces limited numbers (like Accucraft) on each run so they really want to avoid under producing what the actual demand is but they also don't want to over produce and keep years worth of inventory in-stock for a particular run as has happened during the great recession. (Inventory that sits in the warehouse, doesn't make money and thus doesn't keep the doors open)  Also, because this market is so small, it could be taking a year to even get enough pre-orders to justify a production run.  So they announce the product and set a date for 6 months and it could be that in that time they only have half the number needed to justify production so they push it out another 6 months to give more time to collect orders.   Accucraft took 5 years to get an Allegheny to market and so far only the live steam has arrived and it had date slips one after another.  Was this because they just wanted to lie about when they could produce it?  No.  They didn't have the pre-orders to justify production and they have no way of knowing when they first propose an engine what the demand will be or how fast pre-orders will be placed.  

 

The Santa Fe F7 that MTH just released demonstrated perfectly what I'm talking about on estimating demand and production.  Despite having many months to get pre-orders in, large enough numbers of people still waited till after the engine was delivered to place their orders and as result some missed out.  Every person I talked to in that situation was well aware of model and decided to wait.  Most everyone still got what they wanted, some however did not.

 

All this of course still doesn't include other situations regarding any issues with production that we can't know about and I can't speak to.  So there's more going on than what they are being accused of which is flat-out lying about a date. My point about setting expectations is to help those that are willing to listen to save themselves needless angst about a situation that has many factors (only some of which we can surmise) and a lot of it being out of our control.  I choose to stand back, look at the overall history of production in this market, understand the normal time-lines and set my expectations accordingly.  The bottom line is we can either choose to try and understand the factors at play and set our expectations accordingly or ignore all of this and just be upset.

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