PRICES

[davekelly]

Rob,

That would be sooooo cool. Hope I live to see it!!

Dave

P.S. You forgot to add someone posting "BLI was good for its day, but next to today's standard the detail is horrible." lol

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by davekelly

Rob,

That would be sooooo cool. Hope I live to see it!!

Dave

P.S. You forgot to add someone posting "BLI was good for its day, but next to today's standard the detail is horrible." lol

Blashemy! [:D]

Good luck all.

[Leon Silverman]

I think at lot of the high prices you see today is profit protection by the manufacturer's. I was in my LHS last week and asked him why the newer cabooses offered by Bowser cost nearly double what the original run had cost only a few years ago($26 versis $13)
His response was that Bowser had taken a bath on the first run and hadn't sold nearly as many as he had expected to. The tooling costs hadn't been recovered during that first run. I wondered why the major manufacturers (Atlas, Kato, Athearn) all seem to be duplicating each other's models while no one offers special interest engines like the Baldwin Centipede. The LHS informed me that the O-gauge version of the Centipede has never sold well.
I think herein lies the problem: I was born in 1946 and can still remember the Pennsylvania Railroad. As a result, I would prefer to purchase PRR locomotive and rolling stock. As large as the baby boomer generation may be, we no longer represent the majority of the population, nor, for that matter, are we necessarily the majority of the market for the model railroad industry. The market (interest) is such that no manufacturer can afford to offer low priced models centered on one specific railroad.
The market can only be maintained for moderately priced prototypically specific runs in limited quantities.
Athearn has been maligned for their inexpensive BB line, but I have to praise them for a change they have made to these models. I can remember purchasing fifty foot boxcars that filled the boxes in kit form. Once you assembled the car and put couplers on the model, it would no longer fit in the box without cutting relief holes for the couplers. I recently purchased and assembled a 52 foot BB gondola and was able to store the complete model in the box it came in. The box was long enough for Athearn's passenger cars.

[MidlandPacific]

.......and if you think modeling the PENNSY is expensive, try the Colorado Midland!

Seriously, though, I think you've put your finger on the economic problem: it's hard to make affordable runs of low-demand items, unless you're running something out of your basement, and doing it as a hobby, rather than a primary source of incomce.

[Anonymous]

....and I would chime in and say that demand for PRR would be strong in one region and not another.

...I think another twist would be the many many Pennsy 4-6-2 K4's produced by just about everyone in the HO scale. While I kind of doubt such a model like one made by Broadway can haul 300 cars I cannot complain about the quality.

Why cant we just get a simple model of a Broadway 4-6-2 USRA heavy Pacific instead?

Would there be enough buyers in the market for such an engine? It is expensive to design, create the tooling and make a run of these items.

[Anonymous]

Maybe this is showing our age? [:D] Yes, it's a joke.
When I got started again after a long hiatus I was complaining about prices too,
they are double what I used to pay in 1984-87 and I told my wife "how can we afford this?"
Prices double but my wages have not, and to top it off I have added a wife, child, dog and house
payment to my list of expense's. Answer: How could we not? Family bonding would be the key
benefit, child loves the trains and more importantly is learning good lessons about hard work, how to be gentle, and now wants books about trains without pictures. (a 4 year old) My wife is losing her phobia of trains, in fact she has offered to go rail fanning with me (I drive she takes the photo's) She used to duck, turn up the radio, and close the windows. [:0]

This hobby is like any other; its cost is made of what you want it to be
or "your perspective will always be different than the next persons"
How I saved money on the n scale layout (currently about 60 sq feet)
Benchwork $3.00 free wood from a local woodshop (scrap) cost only screws
1/8" plywood $ 0 had laying around the house
Foam $ 18.00 major expense
Cork/track $ 35.00 asked for a lot of it for x-mas. Peco switches @ $2 ea at swap
Locos $ 56.00 n scale one @ 40 the other @ 16 on LL website
Other $ 50.00 plaster, glue, paint, rolling stock, etc... mostly found at swaps

This has been over the last five month's so time is a big consideration but as others have said here, it's a hobby and enjoy it the best you can. You can go cheap or you could have someone come in and build you one, it's up to you. Have fun no matter your method of getting there. [:D]

Chris

[Anonymous]

Look at what we as American's have had, then look at the European stuff, it has always been highly superior to American models. European passenger cars by Roco have alway cost in the $60-$100 range. We in America only recently started getting models of equal quality recently, the price is meeting up with the quality. Just my $.02.
Cheers,
Nick

[CNJ831]

QUOTE: Originally posted by NGotwalt

Look at what we as American's have had, then look at the European stuff, it has always been highly superior to American models. European passenger cars by Roco have alway cost in the $60-$100 range. We in America only recently started getting models of equal quality recently, the price is meeting up with the quality. Just my $.02.
Cheers,
Nick

Nick - Now look at the size of the hobby in Europe relative to that in the U.S. and you'll see the results of those higher quality/higher prices. Model railroading has been an elite hobby over there for years because of costs and hobbyist numbers a small fraction of that for the USA and Canada. Keep escalating the prices and that's where we'll be headed too.

CNJ831

[Anonymous]

If you think prices are high NOW, wait until the dollar drops on the world market. It is being supported for now by China (for good reason!) and others, but with the terrible national debt and one-sided imbalance in trade, it probably will not last.

THEN you will see REALLY high prices on all those China, Korea and Japan inports !!!

[Bikerdad]

QUOTE: Originally posted by davekelly

Or riding bikes bikerdad?

Got a 2000 FXST, what do you ride?

2004 Honda ST1300, 2000 Triumph Sprint RS

[davekelly]

Bikerdad,

Way cool! Of course I can justify the price of my riding. My doc says that it's good for me as a stress reliever. Now if I can only get him to write me a prescription!!!!

[oleirish]

I think the cost of buldings is out rageious,just looked at two I would like to have at my LHS there are conerstone,one a saw mill the other a lumber yard.$65.00 for the saw mill and $35.00 for the lumber yard.I think that is a little high for plastic,can't open the box to see what is so expenseive,did'nt see any gold on the box eather?I'am not a real good scrach builder so what do you do?I can't even think about campbell or walthars kits.

OLE'IRISH