Subject:
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Re: Some more infos on new trains (they were partly presented in Frechen/Germany)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Tue, 10 Jan 2006 16:19:05 GMT
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Viewed:
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3501 times
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In lugnet.trains, Jonathan Reynolds wrote:
> In lugnet.trains, Jason J. Railton wrote:
> > In lugnet.trains, Derek Lim wrote:
> > > Forgive me if it has been covered before, but the primary question I'd like to
> > > ask is whether TLC will continue to produce the old 9v track and 9v motors - and
> > > then, if so, will new sets be released based on those old units?
> >
> > There's still no definite answer. LEGO might not be willing to commit
> > themselves. Think about it - if they said they'll supply 9V track forever, they
> > can't keep that promise. If they say they'll make it for 2 more years, there'll
> > be uproar that that's not long enough. What can they say? The only thing they
> > could say is that they'll make it whilst there's still a profit to be made from
> > it. How much are you going to be buying?
> >
> > As for new units, I don't think there's any point asking for that as there's no
> > great need. For 9V you only need 5 units - straights, curves, points, motor and
> > regulator. Everything else (and all future train sets) are compatible - just
> > plug in your choice of motor.
> >
> > I'm just disappointed there's no stand-alone version of the IR unit. Kids
> > absolutely love little 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 engines, and this setup rules them out.
> >
> >
> > Jason Railton
>
> I'm no expert on the manufacturing process but I'd like to know if they have
> altered all the moulds for the track pieces and the clip-on motor frames. If
> these are completely new moulds then it shows there is a future supply potential
> for the 9v track-powered range. If not, we will have to rely on existing stocks
> until they run out.
>
> Although I welcome the new trains my gripe is similar to Jason's and I cannot
> see why someone starting with the playtrains would be persueded to part with
> serious £s to buy a new motor, regulator, metal track etc. in order to
> 'upgrade'. In this respect, it is more a one-way compatibility.
>
> Jon
To play devil's advocate for a moment - how is the situation different from the
conversion from 4.5V to 12V? That needed conductor rails, points, crossing,
motor and transformer.
In cost terms, including average inflation of 3% for 16 years (prices up by
60%), the conductor rails 7854/7855 cost about two thirds the price of 9V metal
track 4515/4520, £4.83 per box as spares in 1990 compared to £11.99 now, though
the cost of conversion was reduced by re-use of the rails. A pair of
unmotorised switch points 7856 cost £18.56 then, 4531 costs 22.99 now. That's
cheaper by 29%! The transformer costs about the same now as then (£40), so it's
cheaper by 37%. A train motor cost £19-£20 then, £22.99 now, cheaper by 32%.
Therefore all the more expensive items are cheaper to upgrade and the basic
straights and curves were artificially cheaper as a benefit of the versatility
of the old track.
For those who develop a serious rail interest and have a significant quantity of
LEGO plastic track and train-related sets, the question is whether the
conversion would be more worthwhile than a move to conventional model railways.
The new motor could be re-used to boost power to a long train, but this
mitigation depends on how much train-related LEGO the child has.
Would a child converting to the hobby train miss the horn? At least that would
still work from the remote control :-)
Mark
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