While cleaning out a closet yesterday, I came across some old OGR magazines from 1996 that I had saved . Why I decided to keep these particular issues is somewhat of a mystery although it was around the time that I was transitioning into O gauge from N Scale. I know I was looking for some layout ideas but I think I was also trying to get the “lay of the land” so to speak in terms of finding what was going on in the hobby and to discover how it had changed since I had packed away my old Lionel trains from when I was a kid. One particular issue had the first official OGR review of TMCC that had just been introduced, which is probably the main reason why I saved it but there are several other things about that issue that I find of particular interest today.
The first thing that caught my eye were all the hobby shops, dealers and manufacturers of both trains and peripherals that are today no longer in existence. The second thing was a commentary by Barry Lewis, printed in a small box at the end of the TMCC review, calling for cross-compatibility within the industry. “What the hobby needs now is a single standard that insures compatibility of engines, throttles, sound systems and command systems from various manufacturers.” He also was hoping that either the TCA or one of the other organizations would take the lead in establishing an NMRA like environment for 3-Rail O Gauge. Finally there are the prices, and here I was pleasantly surprised. In 1996 a Mike's Train House F3 ABA with Proto-Sound was advertised by a dealer for $620 (I don’t know what the list price was). Today, while not an exact comparison, the 2013 MTH catalog has an FA2 ABA with all the bells & whistles listed for $730. That’s less than an 18% price difference in 17 years for a similar engine. Meanwhile Google tells me that $620 in 1996 has the buying power today of $927, nearly a 50% increase.
So what’s the moral of the story? I take away 3 things.
- While Madison Hardware and other dealers like them are no longer around, we now have Charles Ro, Trainworld and RMT, just to mention a few who I've bought from recently so from a competition standpoint we as consumers are in a pretty good position.
- I think that it would still be a great idea to have NMRA-like standards. Why this hasn't happened can only be answered by Lionel and MTH who appear, at least to someone like me who doesn't follow the industry that closely, intent on destroying each other. In this way we can base our purchases solely on features, price and quality and not have to worry about what features will or won’t work on either of their command control (or conventional) systems.
- On a dollar for dollar basis, we’re paying less now than we were in 1996. But I suspect, based upon recent posts on several different threads, the quality of the equipment from all manufacturers has suffered. So the key question is, would we be willing to pay more if we knew that we were getting a better quality product or has the transition to digital electronics along with the inherent quickening obsolescence of those circuit boards and software made the manufacturing of long-lasting quality products a thing of the past?
Regardless of the questions (or answers), I think I’ll put that OGR Run# 147 back in the closet.