A big reason why I often dispute the "conventional wisdom" of
manufacturers in regards to road names is because their sales
(or lack thereof) are often a result of their own mistakes or poor
choices. For example, Proto 2000 did some SD9 SP units in a
very light gray color, and they didn't sell well. Duh! And then it
was 3 or more years before they finally did a Tiger Stripes version
which sold out fast. Duh again! Or another example would be a
Union Pacific B-50-24 box car painted as a Rutland PS-1! Did the
Rutland fans swoon? They did not. So now I'm sure Trix thinks
"Oh, nobody wants to buy Rutland freight cars!"

Athearn these days seems to be the most receptive to making
corrections before producing models, based on getting appropriate
and timely feedback on upcoming models. What a concept -- let
the customers TELL you exactly what they want, and then produce
it for them.

Tim O'Connor