I really like the idea we have started here with this new sub forum. I got to thinking that it might not take long to get cluttered. Would we perfer single threads for each manufacturer, or individual threads for each potential product? My vote is for manufacturer specific threads. Ex: it would make it easier for someone like Athearn to come in here and find a thread specifically for them vs sorting through a bunch of individual threads to find what might fit them.
Your suggestion has real merit, and we also need to consider organizing by scale. Not all of us model in HO.