hobby for the better off?

Martin

Thats been my strategy for remaining in the hobby. I have not bought anything new in well over a decade, and although there are new, pricey tinplate offerings with all the bells and whistles added on, a little bit of sweat equity on my part has paid off. In the realm I inhabit, restoration has become a significantly enjoyable aspect of the hobby. Once something is restored, I can say with confidence it will run for another half century at minimum. Its satisfying to think that long after I depart, someone else can enjoy these pieces as a direct result of a bit of work.

Bruce

But there are still many bargains to be found for the 2-rail modeler.

And yes, the hobby is as cheap or expensive as you want it to be.

Hear Hear!  There is nothing less expensive than standing at railside watching the trains go by.

From my experience, the secret to being happy in this hobby is the same as in life.  Be content with what you have.  That does not mean you don't ever want anything else.  What it means is that whether or not you get that "something else" is not going to make the difference in you being happy.

The price of hobbies is why I satrted working at the hobby shop partime and started doing train repairs. All that money goes to my trains and slotcars or maybe if I need a few bucks for something else. I do this so I don't take money from my regular job and my family.

Every hobby has it's exspensive items. I have been racing 1/24 scale slot cars for quite a few years now and right now I have two controleers that are about 300 a piece and not to mention all the tools I have for them. If you want to compete it's what you need.

As for my trains I decided to go the 2 rail route where I have found kits for way lees than prebuilt car and with more details. Recently I have caught the scale bug pretty bad as I just ordered some Protocraft couplers and everything to do the working air hoses that Ben Brown did the article on. I have found myself liking the correct details then worring about having a thousand cars that ddon't have all the details.

All this is funded by working at the hobby shop and repairs. Even when I raced mountain bikes I worked in a bike shop for my bike otherwise I would never have been able to buy what I have with out it. Plus getting everything at a discount doesn't hurt either.

Ralph