Rich, it depends on what type of layout you want. My original Lionel layouts from the late '70s were more scale like. As the 80s decade was nearing an end, my interest shifted to an operating accessory packed layout. Now that I have begun to amass Lionel trains in preparation for a future layout, my focus is on operating accessories.
Yes, they are toys. That's what I want to do, play with toys. I'm not interested in building a scale layout these days.
Dennis, Lionel did reissue most of their post-war operating accessories back in the '90s. Maybe they feel that there are enough of them still around and plenty of post-war versions also. So reissuing them again may not be profitable.
