Christopher2035 posted:Yes it has. I'm done w/ new stuff. 2 kids & 1 more due in April - all that free money is evaporating quickly
I play w/ my trains w/ my kids. I cant justify buying a $100 6464 style boxcar. I look to the used market these days. I sold all my new scale stuff. The failure rate was alarming & most of these engines were only a few months old. Problems would just pop up for no reason. I would rather buy postwar & mpc stuff & enjoy it w/ my kids than shell out 500-1000 for an engine that may or may not work the next time I put it on the track.
I agree with Christopher's approach and his view on the new stuff. In fact, I have done something similar, although retirement is my reason. Guess what - I am having more fun with postwar, MPC and Lionel postwar reissues than I was before!
Lionel's high-end trains have far too many problems, what makes collectors think that ten years from now that this stuff will run, or even be repairable. I have a friend who keeps buying trains and doesn't even have a train layout. He seems afraid of failure since he knows he cannot build the museum quality layout he wants. By the time he gets around to running his trains, they may not run, or be fixable. Today's collectors sometimes convince themselves that this will not happen with their trains and point to how 60 year-old Lionel trains are still running. Today's Lionel trains are not your Grandfather's Lionel trains!
