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Re: (erielack) FW: [FC] News from Naperville

Seems reasonable, given the slow economy right now...   it's expen$ive to
research and tool a new model that only has a 3-4 week lifespan in the
market before you're lucky ot be able to give it away at cost (without
sitting on it for a year or more and maybe get lucky that it gets hard to
find and the value goes back up).  So I would expect them to cut back and
sell the things they just have to inject plastic into, paint it and sell it,
for the time being.  There's not a lot of money in models, by the time you
lay the cost of R&D, tooling, and production up against what the maker
actually sells their product for - which can't be much when so many vendors
can sell things for 55-60% of the retail price.  If they're still making
money at such a low price, what could they have paid for the items?

I overheard a convo at a train show by accident to the effect that Mikes
Train House is bankrupt and Weaver and another of the large-scale concerns
were looking at splitting up the product line between them.  Lionel was
supposedly near bankruptcy as well.  I have no idea as to the reliability of
the source though.

Bill K.

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Tupaczewski, Paul R (Paul)" <paultup_@_lucent.com>
To: <erielack_@_lists.railfan.net>
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2001 5:04 PM
Subject: (erielack) FW: [FC] News from Naperville


> Rumors about model manufacturers, from the Freight Car mailing list...
Don't
> know the truthfulness of it all, but it sure seems unsettling...
>
> - Paul
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Freightcars List [mailto:freightcars_@_sunny16.photo.tntech.edu]On
> Behalf Of Tim O'Connor
> Sent: Monday, October 29, 2001 1:00 AM
> To: stmcfc_@_yahoogroups.com; freightcars@sunny16.photo.tntech.edu
> Subject: [FC] News from Naperville
>
>
>
> Things I heard at Naperville:
>
> Proto2000 (LifeLike) has quit the freight car business, at least for the
> foreseeable future. (Although I'd expect reruns of existing cars.) Larry
> Grubb came but I don't know why -- unless he just likes trains!
>
> Athearn (and Genesis) has quit the freight car business.

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