Thanks for watching! -Drayton

Thanks for watching, Raymond. -Drayton

Thank you! -Drayton

Big mistake

Hi there, we actually do offer many products in that era, including the SD45 and the 4785s. -Drayton

You can learn from our ETA page by clicking here: bit.ly/ScaleTrainsProductETA

Ryne, the coronavirus is impacting the delivery of all products made in China. We're communicating with our factory daily and will post ETA updates once we have more solid information. -Drayton

Thanks Drayton! Hopefully it all get sorted out and becomes a non-issue. I’ve seen your responses to a couple people about manufacturing in China. Is it the startup that would cost so much in the U.S. (developing a supply chain, making molds, finding skilled labor) or general operation due to the higher cost of basically everything here?

@@rynetreatch9558 : thanks for your well-worded question. This is a multi-faceted answer and when we publish "How Model Trains Are Made, Part II" later this month, the reasons will become obvious. The primary reasons are (1) the cost to start a new factory (several million dollars); (2) the lack of a supply chain for materials; and (3) the higher cost to produce models in the US. We would like to manufacture models here but we would not be able to be price competitive with other companies and we do not believe most modelers would pay a significantly higher price for our models (approximately 3x). Shane

Thanks for the reply Shane! I appreciate your willingness to respond. I truly believe that the first step toward solutions to problems (and I mean that in the most generic possible sense of the word) is open conversation. I wish I had the means to help in a solution to U.S. based manufacturing financially (I’m not Mike Bloomberg after all) because the thought of being able to affordably manufacture here and create those jobs here is an awesome thing. It’s just getting over that hump of startup! The best I can do is support you guys by buying your products (well done, by the way, on some down right awesome models) and participate in as much free advertising in my circle of influence. Hopefully one day soon those hills will get climbed and we can see affordable, high quality products made in the USA. Until then, keep up the great work. You and everyone at Scale Trains should be very proud of the result of your efforts!

If the SD40-2 was made here in the USA it would be a $900 locomotive. The market is unwilling to pay prices like that for quality plastic models. If we could make them in the USA, we would. However, the infrastructure, supplier chain, or pricepoint is not in place to allow us to do that in a way that our customers would be willing to pay for. This teaser video only covers pad printing. The full video, which shows all of the remaining phases of production, will be released later this spring. -Drayton

@@Scaletrains This actually appears to be a canned response with no backup detail. There is little here that could not be produced equally well with modern equipment in the United States. One would have to know the actual labor hours required to produce the model. There would be a disadvantage in this area in the US but that is hard to estimate without knowing the actual labor hours. The real truth of the matter is there are no longer any facilities in the US to produce model railroad equipment. Those that did exist were closed when the manufactures became intoxicated with the lure of cheap Chinese labor and left town on the first boat they could find.

@@stude2896: you're right, model trains could be manufactured in the US. However, the cost of models would increase approximately 3x. When we publish "How Model Trains Are Made, Part II", the reasons why model trains are not made in the US will be obvious. Shane

If the SD40-2 was made here in the USA it would be a $900 locomotive. The market is unwilling to pay prices that high for quality plastic models at the Rivet Counter level. If we could make them in the USA at a price point our customer base would be willing to pay for, we would. However, the infrastructure we would need does not exist in Tennessee, nor does the supply chain, and the price point to make the models here will push our customers out of the market. -Drayton

If a modern factory was built in the United States the cost disadvantage would not be that great if at all. There is no domestic supply chain because wholesalers like you abandon US source for China, Your firm is not a manufacturer, just a peddler.@@Scaletrains

Saying we're not a manufacturer or just a "peddler" as Stude289 said is greatly oversimplifying the process to create model trains. This implies we tell a factory that we want to produce a model like an SD40-2 and they magically make it happen. If we were not involved in the process every step of the way, there is no way any factory would be able to deliver super-detailed railroad, road number, and era-specific locomotives and freight cars. The primary reasons model trains are not made in the US are (1) the cost to start a new factory (several million dollars); (2) the lack of a supply chain for materials; and (3) the higher cost to produce models in the US. We would like to manufacture models here but we would not be able to be price competitive with other companies and we do not believe most modelers would pay a significantly higher price for our models (approximately 3x). Shane

If the SD40-2 was made here in the USA it would be a $900 locomotive. The market is unwilling to pay prices like that for quality plastic models. If we could make them in the USA, we would. However, the infrastructure, supplier chain, or pricepoint is not in place to allow us to do that in a way that our customers would be willing to pay for. -Drayton

@@Scaletrains Understand completely. Thanks for replying.

If the SD40-2 was made here in the USA it would be a $900 locomotive. The market is unwilling to pay prices like that for quality plastic models. If we could make them in the USA, we would. However, the infrastructure, supplier chain, or pricepoint is not in place to allow us to do that in a way that our customers would be willing to pay for. -Drayton

How " free" are you?

@@joelvale3887 we were never free to begin with.