And you are certainly welcome to your opinion. However, it is the old stuff that got me into the hobby and repairing / maintaining it is what keeps me in it. I find it relaxing to take apart a 1950 locomotive and completely rebuild it. I enjoy taking old, readily available Santa Fe shells and turning them into my own. Some photos of my take on some of Lionel's F3 are attached. It was certainly unfortunate that a motor burned up, but certainly not catastrophic. The cost to repair a 1950 EMD F3 is significantly lower than that to replace some of the fancier locomotives that have sounds and stuff that not only will I not use, I don't want. I just enjoy the sound of the growling of the motors and the clickety-clack of the cars going around and around. I can get that thrill from my old stuff, just as easily as I can with the new. And, when I want to modify a car or locomotive, I don't have to worry about what I am doing to the resale value. I do what I want to my trains because they bring me joy, at a time in my life when joy has been missing for a long time.
Scott
