While I can easily afford it, I could never justify spending $1000 for a Chinese toy engine. I've never spent more than $500 for an engine and that was years ago for the two 5340 Lionel scale Hudson's in my collection. Most of my engines cost $225 or less but I run 100% conventional operation and must have rock solid reliability. If you wish to go this route you can run on a small budget. If you like remote operation gadgets ( as many do) , then be prepared to spend quite a bit more. It all depends on what type of layout operation you wish to run.
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