Maybe if Lionel would move their offices out of the high rent district in New York City, they could lower their prices. Anyone seen any benefit at all of them moving from Michigan to New York?
This is not a cheap hobby by no means. I make decent money and it still hurts when I go to pick up a new locomotive. I think you just have to be more selective in todays economy I do not see prices dropping in the near future. If you can wait 1 or 2 years on an item I am sure you can save money, but a lot of people do not want to wait and they pay the price. With things being limited more and more it may be tuff to find things used in future.
Originally Posted by palallin:
The economics of it dictate the approach.
"Not a whit; We defy augury! There's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all. Since no man of aught he leaves knows, what is it to leave betimes? Let be." (Hamlet V, ii, 218-23)
How did life turn out for Hamlet? I forget. 
"The economics of it dictate the approach." That is an excellent reason, of course. Often mine as well. More than often. And there are so many other things.
"The word "now" is like a bomb through the window, and it ticks." ~Arthur Miller, After the Fall
Maybe we shouldn't forget how fortunate we are to be in a position to discuss the cost of O gauge trains. It's not quite the sport of kings, but it feels like it sometimes.
People on the Forum bemoaning prices of Lionel trains are way above average to have disposible income of the magnitude to be able to spend it on expensive O gauge toy trains, after all. They're too expensive to even think about for most people.
This discussion is a luxury.
Just a thought. And how about those escalating prices on the Mercedes SLs? Really hurts, doesn't it?
I thought this was an interesting exercise. My Greenburg's Guide to Post-War Motive Power and Rolling Stock says that the 726 Berk retailed for $37.50 in 1946. Using Dollar Times converter http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm, I found that converts to $465.00 in 2012.
The Lionel Catalog shows a 726 Conventional Classics set with 3 madison cars for $555.00. So, it would seem from this example that toy trains are in the same relative ballpark price-wise. Those with electronics and other goodies today seem to justify a higher price if a conventional 726 from 1946 equates to $465.00 today.
Due apologies if anyone finds this analysis is overly political. 
For the first time in I can't remember when I didn't really enjoy reading the new catalog. They certainly have some nice things but they've exceeded my threshold for price pain. Naturally everyone has their own level of worth but for me it is a good bit above what I personally think its worth.
The good news about this catalog for me is that it makes me have an even better appreciation for what I already have. And there is so much on the secondary market that I'll have no problems finding almost new and exciting items.
Thanks,
Ed
I still recall MPC's 8550 CNJ "Red Baron" Geep arriving at the local train store in 1975 but, as a high school student of very limited means, I was unable to afford its $44.50 price tag.
It's all relative. That $44.50 may not seem like much now but back then it seemed like $450 to me. It's the same situation today. Just the numbers are bigger.
Bob
I think this is their new business model, copied from Apple and Nike. I think they are hoping for collectors to camp outside of the LHS for the latest release of a "Collectible" $700 fantasy DD35, with gold plated flywheels
Originally Posted by electroliner:
My twenty year old son died two years ago and I would throw everything I own out the window for ten more minutes in his company. Some things don't come with a "sticker price"
I am sorry for your loss. It gives me pause, thinking about those we love and what's important. Perspective, it is.
Originally Posted by killian:
Originally Posted by Allan Miller:
This hobby can be as expensive or inexpensive as YOU allow it to be. It never really was a "cheap" hobby for those who become heavily involved.
Allan's comment is right on. Spend what you can and enjoy what you have.
I agree.
Mark
When it comes to motive power, I have become a discriminating buyer. The engine has to negotiate O-31 curves and switches (and look good doing it!), it has to have RailSounds, it has to have at least TMCC, and it has to have Cruise.
This limits me to mostly LionMaster. But I'm not a modern diesel guy, so those NYC SD-80's don't move me... even on blow-out. So I wait... for just the right engine with just the right features.
I'm only 48. I can wait.
Jon 
Nothing about prices surprises me anymore, I see an item and if I can't justify spending that amount I don't buy it.
A couple of years ago I wanted to get an E7A painted in Seaboard Air Line colors. The only one I could find was a WBB unit that went for around $150, unpowered. I bought the engine, bought the repower kit ($120), then bought the ERR Cruise Commander kit ($105), then bought the MRC AC Sounder ($25). Also had to strip the shell and repaint it, then apply decals. No telling how many hours of my time I put into this.
So for almost $500 I had what I thought to be a nice looking Seaboard E7. Next thing I know, 3rd rail is coming out with a Seaboard E7A for just under $600, with an excellent drive system, command control, and sounds.
$600 sounds like a lot for a single diesel, but when compared to how much I put into the WBB E7A unit to bring it close to what the 3rd rail unit costs, I see the 3rd Rail unit as a good deal.
I would LOVE to have a 3rd rail N&W K2a, but when I see the price it brings me back to the first sentence of my post.
I guess when the price approaches/exceeds the $1K mark I start having second thoughts.
3-4 years ago my price threshold was $300, so you can see there's been a slow creep on what I consider "too much $$$".
quote:So for almost $500 I had what I thought to be a nice looking Seaboard E7. Next thing I know, 3rd rail is coming out with a Seaboard E7A for just under $600, with an excellent drive system, command control, and sounds.
I hope you enjoyed most of the time you spent doing your modifications. And now you can look at your engine and know that your labor made it into what it is.
While I don't customize trains like Bob did, I do enjoy taking basket cases and bringing them back to life. It's the major part of the "value" I receive when I purchase such items.
C.W.,
Sure did!
A number of years ago a co-worker asked me to take a look at a box full of trains he had from his youth. There was maybe 6 Lionel steamers in the box. I took them apart and found burned out headlights bulbs and carpet lint clogging the drives. Once cleaned and lubricated they ran fine. He was most pleased!
He past away a few years later, not sure what happened to the trains. I'm not sure he had much of a family left at the time other than his mom and she may have given them away.
Thing is, I enjoyed making them come to life just as you do. I may have to buy an old Lionel engine at the LCCA meet in Norfolk just to get it running again.
Right now I have a Weaver 4-6-0 drive I'm trying to fit an extended MTH boiler on, as well as building a Vanderbilt tender. So far I doubt I have $50 in the project. It may not be very prototypical with the Vandy tender, but at this point I don't mind.
