Does anybody find this hobby is getting expensive

[Hawks05]

i couldn't live without a car. the reason i got it was because i knew i'd be delivering at work in a year so i figured get something now so i won't have to spend a fortune when i turn 18. i'm going to start saving up some money in a hobby envelope and some more in a new car envelope. first i have to pay off my current car before college. mine runs nice but i want something more trustworthy if i'm going to be driving 2 hours back home every once in a while. the girls part i don't have to worry about, don't have one. would like one but don't have a girlfriend so thats good. i do however have a poker addiction so i spend about $5 a weekend on that.

just have to save cash and spend sparingly when i find something i like. occasionaly i'll drop about $80 at the LHS, but thats about once every 3-4 months.

[Anonymous]

I agree the stuff is better, but nothing is getting cheaper. It seems that all people want are loco's with every detail the prototype had on 05/04/56, or such, with sound, DCC and more. Great for some, not for all.

Shop around, if you don't like the prices in one location, look elsewhere. Vote with your wallet.

Alvie.

[TrainFreak409]

Prices are getting way to high, and some times, the quality isn't what you would expect. I especially don't like the prices of Athearn Genisis series items. A high cube box car is somewhere north of $25. I think $15 would be more reasonable. I wish companies would think of the teenagers working low paying jobs, and lower their prices.

~[8]~ TrainFreak409 ~[8]~

[eastcoast]

The real question here is; Does anybody find that EVERYTHING is getting more costly ?
We are spending more on fuel, more on food, more on medical, more on taxes,
NEED I SAY MORE ?????
To have a hobby or even to live is costing more. MY PAYCHECK IS NOT MORE !!!
This is what is known as an economic domino effect. When industries have to pay
more to make a product, they pass it down to the customers and to the retailers.
I know I am making sense here.
My point is that you have to set priorities in life and make the most of them. I set up
my layout with a savings over time, ripped it all out becuase of moving and family,
etc. and saved what I could of the layout each time. I do admit that I am ( was ) way
over my budget for the layout. I now take time to enjoy what I do have and work on it
when time and money allow. Think of your railroad as a business, how do you profit
from it ? Do you get satisfaction from it or do you think it an "eyesore" if you cannot
progress?
Modelling is just like prototyping, if you cannot afford the equipment, it gets old quick.
If you are young, form a budget and a separate savings for your railroad. GO SLOW
and enjoy what you can do step by step, AND be patient.
That new loco that costs an organ and a set of toes ?, you'll see it again.

[CBQ_Guy]

Nah, why would you say that? [;)]

[Jetrock]

Part of the reason why it may seem that things are getting more expensive in proportion to our incomes (aside from regular inflation) is because disposable income has been shrinking--as real wages for working folks have shrunk continuall since the 1970's! I wonder how long it will be before folks start getting back to the roots of model railroading--in the Thirties, men got into model trains because they could scratchbuild cars and things out of old cigar boxes and assorted junk, purchasing only the few things they couldn't cobble up from scratch like trucks and couplers. Our modern society produces plenty of plastic and cardboard refuse, ready to be utilized by the enterprising and penny-pinching modeler.

Look at the bright side--a common "problem" among model railroaders is having too much rolling stock to fit on their pikes--this way, perhaps people will learn to settle for a few nice engines and enough rolling stock to operate with instead of a giant mound of equipment!

[Anonymous]

Oh Ya!!!!!

[jockellis]

You guys probably weren't old enough to read when, in about 1962, some minister wrote a letter to the editor of MR complaining about the high, $49.95 price of brass locomotives. It has always been an expense which must come after the kids but it is still possible to enjoy the hobby. And remember, your insanity is worth every penny.
Jock Ellis

[Anonymous]

I can remember back when I first got into model railroading in the early 80s I could go out and buy whatever I wanted or needed for my layout with little financial strain, and that was even as a teenager making a measally $4.70 an hour working part time at the local supermarket after school and on weekends. Hell, back then, even the 'real' things in life were cheap, gas was only $0.60 a gallon, a pack of cigarettes was under a dollar and I could take my girlfriend (who is now my wife) out to dinner at the local pizza parlor and to a movie for under $20.00!
Back then, when I was 15, me and a few buddies had a 8' X 8' HO scale layout in my parent's basement. It wasn't modeled after any road in particular, it was just a bunch of track, a few trains, and some buildings that were either kit or scratch built. A fun week-end for us was getting together, spending a few hours working on our cars in my parent's garage (we were hot-rodders too) and killing the rest of the night working on the lay-out. Our parents liked it cuz we weren't hanging out getting in trouble, and it was a time for us to just hang out and have a good time. As we got older, other interests came along, such as girls, and we stopped spending as much time on the lay-out.
When I moved out and got married at 19, my parents took the layout apart, boxed the track and trains and junked the rest. It sat in a box until about a year ago when I started getting back into them. Now, I find it a very expensive hobby and like many others, I can't always afford to get what I need or want for it. Other things take priority, like supporting my wife and children, paying the bills, and all the other usual expenses. What I find myself doing now is, when I have extra money to blow on the trains, I look for used locos and rolling stock and spend the time on repairing or fixing em up. I scratch build all of my buildings (I use stuff like old CD and cassette cases, popsicle sticks, and the like) and they come out just as nice as a store bought kit, sometimes even better. I look at it like this: it may be an expensive hobby, but, there are always ways around having to spend top dollar to get an end result that looks top dollar.

[Anonymous]

rocknroll,

I need to ask you this question. Which gives you more satisfaction . . . putting a new RTR locomotive on your layout or a used one that you fixed up, tuned up and detailed yourself?

[Anonymous]

I find that the hobby is expensive due to our choices. This hobby has greatly improved since the '50's and '60's. If the train brand doesn't matter to you, you could buy a $20 train set and have a locomotive, 3 or 4 boxcars, and caboose. But for more of us serious railroaders, we take advantage of the new technologies and buy the EXPENSIVE stuff. These trains with DCC and detail right down to the bolts are fairly new. Selling from the mid hundreds to the thousands. Does anyone agree with me?

[Anonymous]

There are also expenses that occur now that weren't around in "the good ole days." I dare say families have more cars than they used to. Computers? Who had those? Now we get a new one every 3 or 5 years or so. Internet connections - another 30 to 40 or so a month. Cable TV 40-50 per month. Cell phone 40 to the sky's the limit per month. Digital and video cameras. I read somewhere that Americans are eating out twice as often as they used to. I also believe the average house has increased in size and I know banks have increased the percentage of income in calculating mortgages, thus larger mortgage payments. Assuming wages maintained pace with inflation, these extra things we pay for every month leave less "disposable" income.

[IRONROOSTER]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dkelly

There are also expenses that occur now that weren't around in "the good ole days." I dare say families have more cars than they used to. Computers? Who had those? Now we get a new one every 3 or 5 years or so. Internet connections - another 30 to 40 or so a month. Cable TV 40-50 per month. Cell phone 40 to the sky's the limit per month. Digital and video cameras. I read somewhere that Americans are eating out twice as often as they used to. I also believe the average house has increased in size and I know banks have increased the percentage of income in calculating mortgages, thus larger mortgage payments. Assuming wages maintained pace with inflation, these extra things we pay for every month leave less "disposable" income.

I agree.
Life is choices.[:)][:)]
Not only on there more things competing for our dollar, we also want more model railroad. In the "good ole days" a 6x10 ft layout, 2 engines and 20 cars was an empire. I have an 11x18 layout under construction and have more engines and cars than it willl support. Still I have to really sit on myself to not buy more.[:I][:I]
Enjoy
Paul