Ross Hall Wrote:
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> Looks do matter to John Q Public. Hang around a
> station sometime and ask people what they think
> (or just listen to first timers talk), you can get
> some interesting comments about the P40's. A
> Portland, OR area advertising group did a survey a
> couple of years ago and the "Euro" look was
> generally regarded by the public as ugly, F-40's
> and FP-45's got much better reviews and E and F
> units were considered "vintage" and "classic".
> Consider also that new crashworthyness standards
> will play a role in what units look like from now
> on.


I wish you were right... but you're offering opinion rather than actuallity. Sure, if you ask the public, they'll pick the units you note... but they will not ride the train because of them (they'll ride it because it goes where they need to go) and that's why what is being built is what is being built. I don't see how crashworthyness standards would result in a return to bondo sculpted bulldog noses.

Fact of the matter is that the MP36, P42, and F59PHI (discontinued) are the most recent examples of what is actually being built.

Again, I'm not arguing... and I'm on your side even. Doesn't change the reality.

Do EMD, GE, MPI, Alstom, Railpower or NRE have a "streamlined" cab unit in the design stages that I'm not aware of?

As to marketing surveys - many years ago I worked briefly in television marketing surveys. Highest rated show ever at that time? THE ROYALS (bet not a single person remembers that one). Lowest rated show a couple years later? E.R. (went on to be one of the most successful shows in the history of television.)

Marketing surveys don't always mean that much.

Finally, I've been hanging around train stations since 1971. I've never ever ever heard a non-railfan comment on an engine in my life unless he came up to me because he saw me shooting pictures and asked what I was doing. Maybe that's just my personal experience, but that's what I've witnessed.