This is a real question...I am new to O scale, have had n scale all my life and I just recently noticed the well detailed legacy engines and I thought it would be nice to have a couple. My rude awakening came when my tender doors on my used Allegheny crumbled apart simply by daring to open them, now I see the sliding steam tube system in front has the paint cracking off from them so I suppose that is rotten also( I thought they were plastic? Maybe not)? I had the absurd idea that lionel was a name brand to trust for durability and zinc rot to this extent is a new concept to me, have never seen it in any of the 20 year old corgi die cast that I also collect. The point of this post is to ask: in future is it likely that someone will start to manufacture all these small parts that lionel does not offer or will there be a market full of broken $1200. engines out there with no available parts? (I am not handy with parts making myself)...I can't think of anything that compares with this situation in n-scale. I put my o scale engines in a curio cabinet as I am afraid to run them now lest I break an irreplaceable part. I know many of you can run lathes, fabricate parts and program computers but I am just the average guy with basic skills and it seems like a dim future for the average o-scale modeler like myself. I may not be rich enough for this hobby as I cant buy $400-$1200 engines and then throw them away in a few years. Am I crazy to think this way? Please gently correct me if I am...Bryan
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