As an example in my own adventure of Lionel trains, I was given a classic Lionel FM Trainmaster when I was first starting out. It had the classic "they left the horn D battery in it" syndrome and the frame was rusty, the handrails even rusted on the plastic shell, it looked rough. I decided to put an ERR AC commander and rail sounds. I cleaned it all up as best I could with a wire brush, painted the frame where it was bad, cleaned up the shell as much as possible, but I regret it to this day because later, I bought a K-line that is 10 times the details, can motored, TMCC with smoke for like $180. Yes, there is something quaint about the original FM and it is one heck of puller. All I'm trying to explain is how my mental picture changed. I didn't "save" any money upgrading to TMCC. In fact, I have a modified engine that isn't worth much, probably less than if I had kept it original and just cleaned up.
Hindsight is 20-20 is all I'm trying to get at.
