... The newbies are interested in the pretty new tinplate. ...
That pretty much describes my venture into Standard Gauge tinplate a couple of years ago. So all of my purchases have been newly manufactured product with sounds and modern electronics. Will I regret opting to pass on the traditional locomotive motors in favor of PS3? Only time will tell. But coming into this from O-Gauge Hi-Rail, it seemed a natural choice.
I am an operator in this game, and I have no interest in paying premium dollar for original pre-war trains -- regardless of condition. The word "original" does nothing for me, since I'm not motivated to build a roster of Standard Gauge "original trains" in the way that a traditional collector would build a huge wall display.
MTH sure isn't giving away the new tinplate stuff either. When they re-ran the Ives trains last year, there was an approximate $400+ premium over the products produced nearly 10 years earlier. So from that perspective, MTH isn't undercutting existing "modern" tinplate product with their latest re-issues.
However, the effect on original pre-war trains? That's a collectors' niche all onto its own, but I wonder how long that market can sustain a "collector culture" that's gotten wrapped up with stratospheric prices for mint/LN-condition equipment. I'm more than happy to purchase new tinplate trains at a fraction of the price compared to what "established" Standard Gauge enthusiasts would want for similar pieces in their prized pre-war collections.
So I'm very glad MTH is re-issuing LCT Standard Gauge tinplate at somewhat "reasonable" prices. If they didn't, I wouldn't have ventured into Standard Gauge in the first place. 
David
