First I want to raz you about cab1 not "really" being conventional
I don't think it plays much into it, but home repair & restore has been a part of the hobby for twice as long as I have been alive. Old & new breakdowns alike, its going strong. The electronics have only changed how we might have to repair them. I have trains running today that are 78 years old. 2 more PW took every childhood beating I could give them. If I had then, what we have now, I wouldn't have anything. No way it would have made it.
Even on a shelf, I don't think we see enough quality for that many years to go by, and to have it still run. Its part of what I meant by "disposable". Chips die, replacements are less likely than normal parts.
We'll see I guess