For several years I have been on a quest to acquire all I could in terms of O gauge trains. Sometimes I lost track of my pre-orders. Items I ordered 2 or 3 years ago were finally delivered and I sometimes wondered what was I thinking when I first ordered them. I have to admit when some advanced items were announced in catalogs like the Lionel Acela or NS executive train, I felt I had to have them. They were just too amazing. I would sometimes day dream about them and others in meetings when mindless topics were being covered. Like many hobbyists, I mistakenly lived the saying "he who dies with the most toys wins." I built 2 large layouts in a new house with a huge empty basement then there were the shelves I needed to store countless boxes. I went from the stock Polar Express to the full-scale one with the heavyweight cars and the scale Polar Express steamer.
In the past 15 years I was totally taken by the application of emerging technology to model railroading. It was finally possible to have everything be as realistic as possible. The more functions a locomotive had the better. If it had 10 functions, I wanted 16, etc. Along the way, the shear mass of what I acquired on this quest seemed to be rationalized during last January-March when we endured a very long, hard and cold winter. It occurred to me that my joy of the hobby was being swamped by the shear volume of what I had acquired. It became a real pain to box and un-box locos and cars to rotate them through. Sometimes I could not find a loco or set I wanted to run. At times I'd go into the basement and just not know where to start - to fulfill the need to work further on the layout or to play with it. What I had acquired seemed like over time it had become more of a burden and far less joyful than I remember as a kid.
It became clear to me that I was only temporarily mesmerized by the advances in technology, that I was plenty happy running what I grew up in the 50s and 60s: an F3 Wabash AB with aluminum Lionel cars and toy silhouetted passengers in the windows; a gang car; a trolley and an SW. That was a lot then but somehow I thought as and adult more would be better. The sounds of the toy train running without sound card operating sounds was plenty pleasing to me. In fact, I found rather than having the sound cards create a realistic sounding train, I longed for the simple but pleasing sounds of simple post-War trains. Sure, it was great to hear and see the Lionel Acela and subway doors open and close, the announcements, etc., but they carry with them a complexity and sophistication of operations. My father always said that options on cars are just one more thing that can go wrong. He was right.
Nonetheless, I am totally amazed at what the manufacturers have done to advance the hobby and make it more realistic. I am certain many more young people are attracted to the hobby due to the use of technology to make model trains more realistic. But, I realized last winter that the magic of model railroading is not in creating a mega-empire filling a basement with sounds and actions of the prototypes. I get a kick out of the advanced technology but there is something to the toy train aspect that so many appreciate. There is always the delight of young kids and adults in seeing these mechanical creations come to life whether realistic or toy-like. They might come to life with metal on metal sounds or from advanced sound micro chips and Doppler speakers.
Whatever it is that brings us to model railroading and to this Forum, I realize it doesn't have to be on a grand scale to enjoy or appreciate this hobby. All we have to do is experience it and believe in the joy it naturally brings especially at this time of year. I would just advise fellow hobbyists to not loose sight of when enough is enough. Maybe simple is better than all the sound card bells, whistles, action and operating sounds but there is a place for both and I am glad we have a choice.
And fortunately lots of folks have been reasonably fair about buying at prices that make it a win-win transaction. I'm not interested in win-lose transactions, and I'm seldom in a rush to sell toy trains. Like in real-estate, there's a buyer for every train. 
and make some progress on a new layout combining O-Gauge and Standard Gauge. Building a layout is a great way to KNOW exactly how much space you have to operate trains, and how much space you have on wall shelves to display product. Stashing stuff away in boxes is the WORST thing we can do, since you never get a handle on "how much" you've purchased until you're staring at a basement or storage space FILLED with endless train boxes that all look the same! 
