I can understand the sticker shock, but this is nothing new, every year people see the new catalog and gasp. Even before inflation roared up in the economy as a whole, prices were soaring with new trains and stuff. Last year around labor day Mario's had a sale on the ZW-L that brought it down to like 630 (was a great price, grant you that), when it was like 700 elsewhere..today it is well over 900 most places. The top level engines from Lionel have been well over 1000 dollars for a long time, 1500 is a kind of median price in my view (absolutely no data science behind that!) for legacy steam engines, Diesels a bit more cheaper, but still expensive.
Some of this reflects the real inflation out there, among other things the cost of shipping thanks to Covid related issues, the cost of sending a shipping container has literally gone up 12 fold from China to the US compared to pre covid. The cost of chips do to inflation itself and reduced availability. Thanks in part to covid and in part to the MTH drama, you can't even get TIU's and the new Cab 3, and the old TIU's and Cab 2's are going for ridiculous prices used in many cases.
And it isn't just O gauge 3 rail. I get MR, and the cost of HO and N scale equipment has shot up, too, I routinely see N scale engines that are pushing 500,600 bucks.
And of course, as every other thread has pointed out, these trains were never cheap, just seems like they were looking back in time, and today postwar stuff is affordable because there is a lot out there and the old collecting frenzy died many years ago. That engine today that costs like 100 bucks (talking postwar) was selling at like 300 in the early 80's during the 'boom' (In then dollars, not current).
I sympathize, while I can theoretically afford the new engines, my actual list of priorities makes it that I likely won't be buying any of them either
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