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We are going to be talking to the DCC Mfgs to see what we can use in this application. not much room for much of anything.Joe
Sure there is, cost. Jason
Stunning news.Never expected that out of MT.Props to them for taking on the project.It's a solid addition to the hobby.
This is stunning news alright. At the National Z Scale Convention in Denver [well over a year ago] MTL announced an upcoming new switcher for.....drum roll....Z scale! So imagine how this "stunning news" affects the dealer [my husband] whose main customer base are Z scalers who have been holding their breath for them. Enter MTL's latest new product announcements and there it is, a switcher from MTL! But wait....drum roll...its in N scale which had never been promised so long ago.Don't get me wrong, personally I don't care about a Z switcher for myself. But those guys have waiting a long time and mark my word, this will not bode well with them. Maybe the same thing will happen with the N scale switcher, get you guys all happy and such but you'll end up waiting 2 years instead of one. If you are lucky.I would like to add that I am in no way blaming Joe personally with my comments.
I can only assume that they put forth a good effort toward the Z version and found a problem that they couldn't solve so why let the research go to waste, scale up the drawings and make it in N scale. (Just thinking out loud here)
This is a very sound hypothesis, but would it not behoove MTL to explain that to their customers who are waiting every month for their Z switcher to be announced? Something like, we regret to inform our Z scale customers that we found producing a Z switcher was more problematic than we anticipated therefore it will be shelved until further notice.I understand problems in production, I find it difficult for a company that large to ignore a promise so huge. Even if it is still in the pipeline I believe that communication should come first, especially with dealers who have to field questions they have no explanations for.
Who says it isn't still in the works? It may have been easier to get the N version to market and recover some of their R&D costs while figuring out the logistics for the Z version.
Those of us of the Z scale persuasion learned a long time ago just how good MTL's word is about announced projects.I would guess that if N actually sees this switcher it will be closer to 2015 than 14 in spite of the effort Joe will put into it.
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Topic: MTL Announces an SW1500 for delivery in Spring 2014 (Read 18619 times)
