are high track prices keeping people from entering garden railroad

[Anonymous]

I do agree with you mate the high price of trach definitely keeps people away from our hobby. What is ore it inhibits the construction of railways that we would like to have.

Luckily here in Australia oir club got sick of LGB high prices bought their own die and they make their own and it is about the best quality of any i have seen including LGB and Aristo.

My last shipment I got 120 feet for A$550.00 in kit form which i love as i can bend it to my requirements and lengths which once you have started doing it is the only way to go.

So $550 X 0.79 /120 ft = US$3.62 per linear foot. or $550 X0.41/36.6 = GDP 6.16 per linear metre.

This looks to me to be a very cheap and satisfying way to go.


Rgds Ian

[kstrong]

I think more than the price of track is the perception that a "proper" garden railroad need 1000' or more of the stuff. Like the current motive power heading towards the "bigger is better" side of the continuum, the size of the garden railroads seems to be headed in the same direction. That, I think, is the biggest faux pass that we as a hobby can make.

There's no reason that a railroad has to have x number of feet of track. Some of the most delightful railways I've ever seen have less than 100' of track. What happens otherwise is that folks build these expansive empires, then realize they don't have the time or energy to maintain it. I've been there! I had 600 feet down in the back yard, with little time to really do anything with it. When I did finally have time, I spent it removing the 3' tall weeds that had taken over. I'm here to tell you, it ain't fun! To borrow a phrase, "it's a helluva way to run a railroad."

I always advise people to start small, and build out as time and energy permit. That inherently keeps costs down as well. Spending $450 for 150' of track for a season's work isn't going to be anywhere near as painful as spending $3000 for 1000'. You can start small, see how much time you have to invest in the construction, and grow the railroad from there. And if you find it's not for you after all, you're out a far smaller amount of money.

(My suggestion for folks looking for cheap track, look for the aforementioned folks who bought 1000' of track, and are ripping it out in frustration. Evil? Perhaps, but if we can benefit from the mistakes of others...)

Later,

K

[Anonymous]

You get what you pay for, simple as that. Another way to look at it is work out what you can get into an area, say 5yds x 3yds. In N that would fit an amazing set up and would cost a fortune to fill, In HO still a good size and again a dozen trains costing loads of cash again. In G probably one circuit, perhaps a switch or 2 and a couple of loco's + cars/coaches. In fact our scale probably works out cheaper at the end of the day!
Hi Cabbage, nice part of the world you come from.
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]

[Marty Cozad]

If you buy right , i don't think I've payed over 2.42 per ft for Aristo's 332 brass and thats with shipping. Plus i tell folks you buy alittle each year. Much cheaper than a jet sky. Look at the price of a dinner and a movie for the whole family. Now we stay home and grill out and watch the trains. heheheh

[TurboOne]

HO is $0.60 per 9"
O-27 is $0.00 per foot.
good G is about $3.00 per foot, but outside it lasts. Seems pretty good value to me.

Tim

[cabbage]

Peco SM32 is £5.75p per yard.

regards

ralph

[Curmudgeon]

What are they paying?
Aluminum Llagas is $18.40 for a six-foot section.
TOC

[jmozz]

every person i try to get interested g scale say the price of track would stop them. but most of them liked the idea of scracth building their own trains jmozz