Does anybody find this hobby is getting expensive

[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

[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.

[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]

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 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.

[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]

Oh Ya!!!!!

[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!

[CBQ_Guy]

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

[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.

[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]~

[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.

[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.

[Roadtrp]

Yes, it is ABSOLUTELY getting more expensive. But of course everything else is too. I remember getting a set of 4 Lionel passenger cars in the mid 60's for about $40... which seemed very expensive at the time.

Now the same set of Lionel passenger cars would sell for just under $400; about a tenfold increase.

Of course in the mid 60's an average new home in the Minneapolis area cost about $25,000. Today an average new home here costs about $250,000; a tenfold increase.

I really don't think the cost of model railroading has increased more than anything else over the years. It is a relatively expensive hobby now, but it always has been.

[Sunset Limited]

I agree also that's it's getting expensive. I grew up owning Tyco and AHM. Too young to realize what quality meant. Then when I received my first Athearn GP-9. I LOVE IT! It ran great, it had a dual flywheel and you can put on the handrails and paint them. That was perfect for me! Not expensive, not super detailed, no sounds, but it ran great !! In 95/96 I bought the Life like E8/E9 P2K, I was so impressed with that locomotive with the blinking mars light! I forgot about that GP-9 I had for years! So yes I falling for these new products that are coming out! Their quality is better now and it seems that we just LOVE TRAINS!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Well there is always layaway
I am thinking of just buying off of ebay and remotoring
rewiring and making them DCC
I dont need sound it seems so cheesy anyway I just cant get into sound at all
especially since I have heard the real thing in person.
I refuse to pay 7-8 hundred for a bigboy
or any other engine for that matter
just start nabbing up the ones no one wants and improve them.

[Anonymous]

Most definately it is getting expensive,though with most rolling stock being ready to run,and locomotives with plastic handrails, I have officially stopped with modeling and have now been spending my money on railroad books and on my other collections and hobbies that I have. The hobby shops that I have shopped at for "many moons", they are very sorry and hurting due to me not going to their stores and buying stuff. Its a sad case when this happens,but until Athearn, and other manufactures start to LISTEN[banghead] to what WE want made (KITS!!!!!!!),.......................forget it............I'm done.[:(]

[n2mopac]

I am building a fairly large N scale layout (17' X 16') on a limited budget. The key is patience. Realize that that limited run that you think you have to pre order to get (don't get me started on that pet peeve) will be available on ebay for less money in 6 months. Save for those larger or more expensive items. I remind myself regularly that this is a life-long hobby for me. I suppose the real key to modeling on a budget is budgeting.

Ron

[Bikerdad]

If you want a cheap hobby, take up D&D. If you want a cheap craft, take up knitting.

I don't know if the hobby is getting more expensive, simply that it ain't cheap. As noted though, there's a lot of other hobbies that are more expensive, so its simply a matter of deciding for yourself: is this worth it to me? at the moment you're about to shell out the greenbacks.

[jdolan]

Most of my cars and engines came from the late 60's and the 70's but they work and after my last 2 kids are gone from home, I may have money for newer things. Girls in high school are expensive little things.The hobby is cheap compared with them.

[Jetrock]

You've got the right idea, Hawks05--make the best use of your cash. I could theoretically spend more of my disposable income on trains--but I'd rather go cheap, as I consider that more fun!

I kept more money for my hobbies in high school and college by NOT driving a car: I didn't even get my license until I was 24!

[railman]

trouble is, is that all of it's limited run nowadays, meaning unless you get lucky at a train show somewhere down the road, you're stiffed into paying the big bucks to get "that" engine or whatever in a reasonable time frame.

[Hawks05]

just in the past year that i've been in the hobby i've noticed a increase in prices. the kits at the LHS have stayed the same but some of the RTR pieces have increased by a buck or two.

i'm 18, senior in high school, have a car to pay for, have to start saving for college, have to have some spending cash for the weekends, and then the hobby. i bascially have no money right now. i work at a pizza joint and deliver so i usually make $20-$25 in tips each night i work. half that money goes into a hobby envelope. today i bought a $70 P2K GP60 loco off ebay, that is the most expensive piece of equipment i'll own. this weekend i'm going to a show so i'm surely going to buy a loco or 2, a book or 2, maybe some old MRR magazines, and then of course a bunch of blue box kits and other rolling stock. last year at this show there was a guy who had well over 1000 kits for half the price of a LHS store. of course not all were half but a good amount were in the $5-$7 range which is about $4 less than the LHS. shows are bascially the only place i'll buy anything, and the shows are few and far between. when i do go i usually bring no less than $100 with me. that way i limit myself and have money left over.

my advice is to save up until a show comes to town and search ebay for some cheap deals. i haven't really looked to hard into online places to buy stuff. i'll have to do that.

4884 - prices do go up and you do generally get more money, but as you'll find out as you get to be in high school and start driving and get a car of your own, gas, insurance, and car payments will be a killer. trust me i thought i'd have a lot of money b/c of a job, i do have more money but 1 check a month goes towards a car payment, the other goes in the bank which is spent on gas 4 times a month. it sucks.

[Jetrock]

When was this hobby NOT expensive? It has always been possible to spend yourself into the poorhouse as a model railroader!

The secret? Don't buy the expensive stuff!

I was a model railroader at 16 too--I learned how to scrounge, buy scratchbuilding materials, and find deals to feed my loco habit! Those skills will serve you well in later life, whether you're still model railroading or not!

(as someone who didn't even want to get a $20,000 Jeep and got a $3000 Volvo instead--but DID take it muddin' once)

[SPFan]

Compared to 1970 prices adjusted for inflation the hobby may actually be more affordable. If you wanted accurate models you either had to buy brass or build craftsman kits. Typical Ambroid/Northeastern kits were about 10 bucks plus trucks and couplers. The detail on the new stuff blows these old kits away for the same dollar amount. You can buy a nicely detailed steam engine today for about what a Bowser kit plus detail kit would cost 30 years ago. Some things like brass has seemed to increased beyond the rate of inflation but overall we are all better off. Keep in mind most buy today what many of us made ourselves back then, scenery details, hand laid track, etc.

Pete

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nscaleboy

and if u want to buy anything half decent yur gonna spend a fortune all the cheap stuff is junk,

There's some inexpensive stuff out there. I can't speak about Athearn since I don't own any but I own four A-B , F3 sets by P1K at $42.00 a powered set.. I think that's cheap.

[fiatfan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jamison1

I think Im the only one here that still runs my TYCO, Bachmann's, and LL's with my TWO Atlas'!! Oh well, three kids at home goes first I guess...I keep saying "SOMEDAY"

Hang in there, J1. It will get better. I went down that road with 4 kids. You are 100% correct - kids first, everything else second.

Best of luck to you.

Tom

[Anonymous]

i have to agree, im only 16 and money dont come by that often, and if u want to buy anything half decent yur gonna spend a fortune all the cheap stuff is junk, rly. Word of advise,

own a hobby shop, lol

[CNJ831]

BRAKIE is quite correct in his statement...keep cheering on the high priced items and the manufacturers will continue to offer them at ever increasing prices. Some of the latest high-end pricing is without question simply price gouging. The incredible drop in the price of Athearn's Challenger (from $600 to $260 or 60% off !) because of Lionel's dumping serves to demonstrate just how huge some profit margin's currently are. I fully expect that by 2007 or 2008 you will be seeing articulated high-end plastic steam reach the $1,000 mark...or maybe there won't be enough of us left in the hobby to make even hundred unit runs worth the manufacturer's while.

CNJ831