Triplex- For those keeping score at home

Yes Trainworld is showing about 1 week later.

Drumroll for dealer's cash flow. Death knell for my CC balance!

 . . . or, perhaps combine the two, in a "March to the Gallows"?:

Straight from the mouth of Mr. Muffin, Lionel is expecting to receive the Triplexes 9-12. Not ship, receive.

In the past, I think that Lionel has drop-shipped new items to main dealers rather than receive them itself and ship them to main dealers afterwards. I believe that was the case with the first VL Big Boy and maybe certain other models. However, that was a while back as in some years and the current approach of shipping first to those customers who pay full list price from the Lionel Store may have put paid to that approach. The last model I bought based on a Lionel catalog was the Legacy Veranda turbine and whether or not it these went to Lionel for onward shipping they clearly weren't checked before reaching distributors/dealers because assembly issues, including trucks that fell off the chassis on unboxing, clearly were not spotted before they reached customers. 

I expect that the Triplex has been a big seller but you can only wait with trepidation to learn if they arrive in operable shape!

Watchful waiting used to apply to Woodrow Wilson's description of American policy towards Mexico during its' revolutionary period. (Bet you didn't expect to learn that little piece of trivia on a model train forum did you?)

That phrase has a new application to shipment arrivals of model train imports as we watchfully wait for announcements not only from Lionel , RMT, Atlas, and MTH but also from our savings and checking account balances as the financial reckoning get's compressed down to fewer and fewer months!

In the meantime, I have succumbed to the temptation of the wood side reefer virus with their eye catching color schemes and quant graphics. All unfortunately readily available seemingly everywhere. But then of course one must have the appropriate road name motive power for pulling which leads me to select a consolidation engine which I have here to for avoided buying. The Roadrunner diesel will just not do!

While others may be anxiously hoping for their preorders to arrive, I have switched to playing the long game when seasonal items did not typically arrive until late in the first quarter of the following year!

Consequently Triplex please take all the time you need!

Christmas items, there is always Orthodox Christianity Christmas!

So please train importers, do not hurry on my account, or at least space out your arrivals a little better pretty please!