Been out of it for about 10 years. Got a notion to get back up and running. Started looking around. The prices are gawdawful! This used to be a limited budget hobby. Now? Prohibitively expensive in the extreme. Was looking at N scale. $20 dollars a piece and up for rolling stock? $15 to $45 for model building kits consisting of maybe an ounce of plastic? Then factor in $50 to $250 for motive power. It’s insane. It would cost 3 or 4 hundred to build a small freightyard diorama at that rate. And a couple thousand for a small layout. Yeah, go ahead and say it. You want to play you got to pay. Detail’s better than in the past. Yada yada yada. This goes way beyond inflation and kind of takes the fun out of what’s supposed to be a light and entertaining hobby. 8 or ten buildings to represent a small town and you’re looking at 2 to 3 hundred dollars. This goes beyond absurd by parsecs. How do you justify 20 to 30 dollars for a 3 inch long box car or tanker? Guess if you earn 2 or 3 hundred grand a year it’s no big deal. A grand or more for a small layout kind of dampens my enthusiasm. Years ago there were gobs of model railroaders around here and hobby shops to serve them. There are now very few of either. What hobby shops there are have very little to offer the railfan. One store’s rail section was once 3 or 4 aisles. That section is now half of one wall. Now I believe I know why.
$6 to $10 for 3’ of flex track, and a trunout with motor is $40-$50. Guess it’s time to try handlaid track.
Just about everything is more expensive now than it was ten years ago. You just noticed it as far as this hobby is concerned because you haven’t looked at it for ten years. If you stopped buying food (or just about anything else) for ten years, and then started again, you’d get sticker shock there, too.
The internet has a LOT to do with over the counter retail sales. Is this hobby more expensive than others of similar ilk? I don’t think so… Costs have go up for lots of things… Inflation is only one way to measure things and it doesnt measure everything or every type of costs.
You can buy used equipment and still get away relatively cheaply… try ebay too and other type sites.
In 1975 I made $4.00 An hour at my first full time job. I am still on the same pay scale though the job is much different, I am making about 9 times that. So a $20.00 loco back then now cost $180.00. It works for me.[:)]
Brent
Ten years ago gasoline was $1.45.
What, exactly is your point?
You are not the first that feels that way and you will not be the last. This really is not the same hobby anymore. We are told by manufacturers that no-one wants to build stuff anymore so the lower cost car kits are gone and everything is ready to run. For the most part the hobby has eased towards adult modellers and away from kids. The demand is for greater detail, road specific details and higher quality lettering etc. The demand in locomotives is for more sophisticated control and sound. Perhaps generalizations here, but most certainly trends.
Smaller volumes of models with great variation = increased cost. There is no doubt that there are folks like yourself put off by this. There are many that struggle to stay in the hobby, but by shopping the trains shows and the discounters on-line deals can be had. There is of course the strange notion of actually scratch building structures using a wealth of materials out there. Things do not have to be pre-built, ready to plop onto the layout. http://www.picturetrail.com/gid20671873 my town cost no-where near $100 to build, just be creative, save money where you can and invest in some good rolling stock.
However, just as your thread theme is not uncommon, there are many threads that discuss how incredibly lucky we are with the wealth of choice that we now have, the quality and detail improvements and the technical enhancements that have come along. This hobby is not for everyone, but those of us that are in it, enjoy it very much. All I can say is that it is a lot less expensive than golf! and I get many more hours of pleasure out of it! Heck, I just priced out taking the family to a MLB game and frankly would rather spend that money in the hobby shop!!
Oh frabjious joy…another cost of the hobby thread…
OK…I’ll just attribute this to Rip Van Winkle Syndrome…
Well…the cost is what it is…I got a whole wack of HO scale cars from Walmart for about $1.89 each…a bunch of 40’ boxcars for about $2.00 a piece at a trainshow recently…no big whoop here…
This is another well hashed theme. The bricks and mortar hobby shops have really struggled to adapt to several trends, the Internet, the pre order demands of the manufacturers for special runs, and just the cost of doing business as a small independent retailer. It is not just in trains, pick any hobby and you will see the same trends for the small retailer. It is very hard for a store to compete with inventory and pricing with the large on-line stores.
My wife is currently on a retreat for quilters and needle artists. Guess what they bemoaning, the cost of the hobby and the fact that the local fabric and craft stores are all closing down!!
While I agree that alot of things are way overpriced. I dont believe it is enough to discourage you from getting back into the hobby. My example is this. I am one of the 30000 a year fellas raising a family of 6. But when budgeted right and you look in the right places you can get alot of what you need for the right price. A few of the places I use are the annual shows and swap meets. Although there are only 3 a year that I feel is affordable to drive to I get good deals. My best this year was a box of nickel silver snap track with 15 switches that all worked and an assortment of straight and curves for 20 bucks, an athearn engine box full of switch machines, screws and wiring for 5 and I was all see for the start of my shelf layout. HOYardsale on yahoo is good as well. You can list what your are looking for or just check out the listings and there are good deals to be had. I picked up 5 IHC structures for 24 bucks on that(For some reason I am stuck on IHC. I think their structures are very well made and attractive). The last place I would recommend is www.auctionzip.com. It is a website dedicated to local auctions. Go in put in your zip and radius and search trains and see what you get. I went to one from there a month ago and picked up 75 pieces of rolling stock for 80 bucks. Thats barely a over a dollar a piece. Picked thru what I wanted because they were in lots of 15-20. Now I have 50 pieces of rolling stock that I can sell and at least make my money back and turn around and put it back into scenery or whatever else I may need. It is expensive. But if you set a budget, stick to it, look for deals you can make it work because it is an enjoyable and relaxing hobby.
Just my opinion.
I’m not going to contradict the OP - rather, I’m going to present him with a semi-supporting fact.
I recently passed up an opportunity to add one 6-car Diesel Multiple Unit train that I need to fill a schedule slot on my double garage filler. With price, tax, customs, shipping and currency exchange, I wouldn’t have been able to buy a McDonaldburger with the change from $3,000.
Yes, things do cost more than they did years ago. And, since models aren’t essential to life, their prices have risen more (on a percentage basis) than other commodities. OTOH, think of the other prices for liesure time activities:
ANY sporting event or entertainment venue - tickets cost more. than ever.
Traveling? Never mind gasoline prices, have you tried to reserve a hotel room lately?
The Feds even raised the price of admission to the National Parks…
On the other hand, have you been really hungry lately? Really bone-chillingly cold? Truly thirsty?
Don’t know about you, but model railroading isn’t on my survival checklist.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - within budget, behind schedule)
There has been a pretty big uptick in prices over the last year or so. Walthers kicked up everything about 10%. A lot of this the “new” cost of manufacturing in China. We lived in an unsustainable dream world, as far as prices go, for a long time while manufacturing moved offshore for many hobby and toy items. Now, the American dollar is weaker, oil and other materials cost more, and the Chinese workers are starting to ask for higher wages.
But, when I compare prices and products to what I used to get as a teenager, back in the 1960s, I’m still pretty happy. The trains are much better, and the Internet has brought a limitless variety to our desktops.
…As a ten year-old kid, I loved trains. I somewhere acquired some Varney kits, a couple of Globe F-3’s; eventually earned enough to buy a Hobbyline (yep-Hobbyline-built by John English Co.) set of an H-10-44, three cars, a caboose, and some of the God-awfull-est track I even saw! My buddy’s father was a tin-plate nut, and his market (which I lived above) was full of tinplate “O” running around the top of the walls, so was he also into it. His dad had a buck and would buy him things like a Tenshodo 4-6-6-4, and some pro-built Labelle wood passenger cars, so he had much more than I had ever hoped to have-then! I moved out of there around thirteen, and got “grabbed” by music and guitars-not rock, but more jazz; which I am still playing today.
A five year tour in the service followed graduation from high school, a disastrous marriage, and a rebuild of my life brought me to here and now…
Anyway, some twenty-five years ago, the train bug bit me again, this time, though; I had more money!! Started back in with HOn3, still have all of that, but went more into standard gauge HO. I make a hell of a lot more money now than I did at ten, and also now know how to approach this hobby so that I might enjoy it my way. A Varney kit-if they still made them (which would be the same quality as say-a Branchline or Accurail kit)- would be about the same price, as their production costs would have risen in concert with just about everything else.
In terms of the facts; we have a much wider variety of equipment and parts, much better constructed than in days of yore; access to more in terms of our approach and abilities (my take is that more is not neccessarily better) as well as pocketbook. I am not a collector, so brass does not interest me worth a tnkerer’s hoot; but those Bachmann, Proto, Paragon, etc, locomotives do make me very happy; and that, after all, is what counts.
My thoughts: If th
Actually the hobby grew up as more and more modelers demanded better detailed locomotives and cars and that demand came with a higher price…The Athearn Blue Box kits fell from favor due to RTR market…There are shake the box kits available from Accurail.
Now with today’s higher prices savvy modelers buy on line at the best discount,e-Bay,HO yard sale or N Scale yard sale.There is also the used market.
As far as layouts many budget minded modelers are now opting out for industrial switching layouts based on prototypical designs since these may require 3-5 switches…
There are many ways to model industries…Here’s a sample.
Hi!
I’ve been in the hobby since the mid '50s, and yep, the hobby has gotten more expensive over the years -(as has everything else of course - INCLUDING OUR WAGES AND SALARIES).
In adjusted dollars, prices are fairly close to what they were “back then”, but there is a much larger selection today, and certainly more detail and options. If money is the problem, I suggest that the OP get on Ebay and pick up some Athearn Blue Box kits, and some older Athearn locos, Atlas track and MRC powerpack, and look for other bargains to build that layout.
Think of it like buying a new vehicle… One does not have to buy a Lincoln, for a basic Ford will get you where you are going just as well. Translated to the MR world, one does not have to go with Broadway Limited Locos or full blown DCC systems or ready built cars like Rapido and the like.
BTW, why is it so many first time posters have such overwhelming complaints?
First post…kveching about prices. Hmmmm…[^o)]
- Learn to scratchbuild
- Learn to kitbash
- Put together kits vs buying RTR
- Shop at local train shows or online for deals
There are ways to economize in this hobby. Okay, next topic!..
A paperback book has seen a 25% price increase over the same time frame.
Heck, when I was a seven year old back in 1989, if I was good in church I’d be rewarded with a pack of hockey cards. Back in those days, you could get 14 cards, one sticker, and a stick of gum for 50 cents. The cards were marginal cardboard things back then too. Now its like $4 for ten UV treated ultra-high quality cards. Sound familiar, in a sense?
I miss the old cost of the hobby threads…[sigh]
[(-D]
To the OP First Welcome to the forums [#welcome]
I’m glad to see that your memory is good as far as what things used to cost.
As noted earlier most things have gone up over time. Another thing that has gone up is quality and realism. Models today have much more detail available than 10 years ago.
This has never been a cheap hobby. But there have been and still are ways to keep the cost down. Several have been mentioned above.
But really, you can get started in N scale for $300-500 which will get you a train set, materials for a small layout, some buildings and some scenery. This won’t be a finished layout, but you run a train and do some switching. Budget $25-$50 a month and you’ll pretty soon have all you need. Just stick with the cheaper lines that are available in N scale.
Enjoy
Paul