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Let's see. In 1970 I worked for the Postal Service during my college vacations and my gross pay was $1.80 / hour, or $72 / week. I had a 6x10 layout in my parents' basement that I had assembled piece by piece over a 4-year period (replacing a larger but temporary on-the-floor layout in my parents' previous home, that operated from 1959-1964). I chose the 19th century mostly because the larger steam, even the mass-market stuff, seemed far out of my reach. My track plan ws heavily influenced by, to me, the high cost of turnouts. I agonized for about six weeks before finally paying the $25 retail (BTW, this was before the time of reliable discount postal suppliers) for a Rivarossi 4-4-0. (Still a beautiful runner, which I put on the tracks out of nostalgia, but that's another story ...). So this was about 40% of my weekly take-home pay. Today, the same job (GS-5; postal service was still straight govt. back then) pays $530 / week gross, roughly $375 net. Just before Rivarossi went out of business, the same made-in-Italy loco (with a slightly upgraded motor) retailed for $99.99 - or 27% of the net pay from the same job / grade. I believe that if you look at items that still have some comparability (for example, Atlas track even though that too has been improved - how many of you remember the fiber-tie flex track?, Vollmer and Kibri kits, some of the locos), in most cases these items have gone up by no more than, often less than, the overall rate of inflation. So ... tell me about a cheap hobby and I'll gladly consider it. Meanwhile, much of the more expensive new stuff really cannot be compared to the old, any more than one can compare, say, a 2003 Camry with a 1970 Dodge. Having said that, for you diesel fans Uncle Irv single-handedly kept prices lower - seemingly, below-market. While the prices of Mantua locomotives went through the roof and I've never understood why. In summary, I would have to characterize some of the posts in this thread as whining - well-meant whining, but still whining. The real key to affordability is buying only what you need, not evrything you want, and not stockpiling kits, projects, etc. Don't be pulled in by the limited-run marketing. Its like a trolley car; there's another one coming down the track if you wait awhile.
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