Why?


idiot

Member
Why do so many model train dealers not give enough information about their products? Looking for a locomotive.....just says DCC, nothing about "ready" or "equipped." Looking for a locomotive or car....doesn"t say what radius track it can use. Looking for a locomotive or car...doesn't say what couplers it has. Website says "backorder" but doesn't give any time indication....I don't want the item in 2025 or if not available in a month. I'm planning a new small layout, but will not buy from dealers that won't give me the info I need......They can "GO OUT OF BUSINESS!" Post the ones that don't give this info on your forum, Buy elsewhere !
 
Usually clicking on the specific image will take you to another page that will give you more detail. If that's not available, copy the model make and manufacture then google it. You should be able to find more detail there.
As far as track radius, I think most models will negotiate the tightest of the snap track that is on the market. Only the biggest of the steam locos would have trouble with the 22 or 24" radius.
As far as back order, can't do much about that. A lot of stuff is manufactured in China and they have to deal with union demands or dock worker bribes to get their stuff shipped. That's just how it is.
 
Manufactures have gotten better recently about given specifics, but still have a ways to go! On the backorder scene, welcome to what we are all dealing with. Pre-orders are a necessary evil if you want something. Unfortunately that product may or may not ever materialize, or get pushed back for months, or even years. It makes budgeting purchases difficult. That aspect of the hobby is not going away, if anything it may get worse depending on China manufacturing As Ken said....That's how it is.
 
One thing I would like to easily find is clear info about time period. I know about (and look for) the build date on freight cars, but can't always see them on mfrs pictures, and there often isn't that info about structures.
 
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Could the main factor be why manufactures limit the information on product(s) they sell is the small added expense or cost of the printing and design of the packaging?

Greg
 
14 years ago the information said, "DCC/sound", or simply DC, or "DCC ready." Many stated the onboard decoder's provenance because the industry was growing and some decoders were being left in the dust. People wanted the latest 'n greatest.

Nowadays, if it says DCC, it has at the very least a motive decoder, and if it's a sound decoder it will state as much. If it has no DCC capability, it will say only 'DC'. I think that's straightforward.

This day and age, with internet widely available and used regularly, it's a simple thing to google a locomotive, find the wiki, and read up on its dates of production and use. You can also find its weight, power, variants, etc. Or, go to the importer's site, find their product list, seek an example, and then click to learn more. Most sites offer a brief history of the type.
 
Nowadays, if it says DCC, it has at the very least a motive decoder, and if it's a sound decoder it will state as much. If it has no DCC capability, it will say only 'DC'. I think that's straightforward.

And further to that any modern-produced engines that are non-DCC are designed to accept a drop in decoder, so unless it's rather old stock it's pretty much going to be DCC installed or DCC "ready", so I don't think anyone even used "DCC ready" anymore. It either has a decoder or it doesn't.
 
Could the main factor be why manufactures limit the information on product(s) they sell is the small added expense or cost of the printing and design of the packaging?

Greg
I'm guessing it's because buyers let them get away with it. That information is information they already have, there shouldn't be much expense in turning it over to marketing and documentation for inclusion.

But, it's an expense, added complexity and it commits them to having feature X, even if they make a last minute change.

As long as people buy without having the information readily available, this will likely continue.
 
One thing I would like to easily find is clear info about time period. I know about (and look for) the build date on freight cars, but can't always see them on mfrs pictures, and there often isn't that info about structures.

That's not that easy. You pretty much have to do your own research if it's important to you.

For example, a car or locomotive might be a design that was first introduced in say 1970 and was in production for a decade.
Road name/paint scheme A offered by the manufacturer is an original as-built paint scheme from 1970 that had untouched examples last up until the modern day.
Road name/paint scheme B is a similar car that was built several years later in 1980.
Road name/paint scheme C is a 1970 built car, but it's a later 1990 re-paint scheme.
Road name/paint scheme D is a 1970 original, but the entire series of cars only lasted five years before being renumbered or sold off to another railroad.
etc.
So out of the examples above, one is pretty much good for about 1970-2010 (forty-year service life for cars built before July 1974; 50 years after July 1974), one is good 1980-present, one 1990-2010, and one only 1970-75. All the exact same car, just different decorations.

The manufacturer uses one standardized packaging for all the cars in this run and there's only so much room to print all kinds of stuff on the sticker label on the box end that identifies which specific paint scheme is in that box.

For structures, unless it's a specific model of a specific structure from a specific town with a known construction date, designs are fairly generic and could have been built any time within a date range of decades. And older buildings from many decades ago still stand today.
 
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