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vsmith: You've hit on the essence of one of my favorite points. Here's the thing I've been saying all along. It's not so much that I'm an ADVOCATE of steam as I am a fan. The way I see it, folks who are fussy about having an authentic looking loco that are into electrics, (sparkies-again, affection & no offense) will spend 1to 2 k for a GOOD one and THEN more $$$ on a transformer, digital equip, sound systems, and the hassle of wired track to keep it running. Truth is, I don't have any money left over for high buck perfect looking layouts. Anything I can get for cheap in THAT area that looks "close enough for Rock n Roll" is good enough for me. It's a matter of priority. Perhaps I'm not a "true" train modeler as much as I am a loco modeler. There is ONE other issue worth noting that we've discussed elsewhere. High end Steam Locos (and Asters are among the best as well as Roundhouse) are solid financial investments. The C&S at $6900 Aussie translates to about 4k American. I paid $2800 for mine 3.5 years ago. I predict the Sandy River will go for 5-6 k within the same amount of time. One can easily tie up 10k in a garden layout. My layout may look like crap but my locos are a source of pride in that I actually build these guys with my own two hands and when I'm done, they run just like real steam locos do. Because that's what they are. Major Credit to the kit builders WAY before any credit to me. The folks that build these things from SCRATCH are the REAL artisans. In the meantime, I get to have a WHOLE lot of fun, and most of my hobby dollars are soundly invested in my estate, what pittance it is. They are outperforming most investments one can make these days. If they go worthless in the future, I'll still die with a smile on my face. Regards, LDH
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