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kb1857
Switcher
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 Posted - June 04 2017 : 6:12:20 PM
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I didn't know where to post this topic so I figured I would post in the life like section of this forum and hope it generates some interest as a topic.It is getting outrageous the the prices out here in the model train market for good or decent used dc model trains.When I started this layout rebuild I had promised my self that at some point I was gonna invest in one decent locomotive like a proto drive maybe a stewart or a kato and it would be a C&O liv ery .A couple weeks ago on ebay saw three older decent used c&o geeps proto drives that the seller a hobby store was proably selling for somebody else.The seller admitted all three needed gears replaced as this model was prone to do.while I dont begruge the person who bought all three if they wanted to spend that amount of money but this person spent what amounted to $150 bucks for all three not including shipping plus the cost of buying enough gears to redo all three drives.My issue with the used model train market is it keeps getting worse,I quit at one 47 bucks bidding on one of the three units.ITs just gotta out hand man,after looking out there whats out there available on the market Iam just gonna invest the dough in a railpower aline setup or old second hand athearn blue box drive.even hobbyline second hand is outragous anymore.So I for one am gonna stop the insanity by jumping off the merrygo round. I did pick up a decent old hobbytown drive a few months a go for 35 bucks but it was remotored,thats a decent deal.JUST WANTED TO SPIN THIS TOPIC SEE ANYBODY HAD ANY THOUGHTS ON IT
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Posted - June 04 2017 : 6:27:45 PM
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Don't know what engines you are/were looking for, but I just bought a nice Athearn F7 chassis ONLY for around $25, I had shells I wanted to use on it. It's the nicer gold flat-can motor, not the older open-frame athearn, too. I didn't think that was an outrageous price, and I DCC'ed it quickly. If you are looking at Proto models and Kato, yeah, they are expensive, but worth their weight, they are high quality and last a long time. You can always bargain shop at train shows, there's usually a few good deals on under-the-table trains, or someone dumping an estate. It just takes longer to acquire engines that way, but if money is the issue, then that's the route to take. You aren't going to find highly detailed engines for under $50 much these days. Plenty of project engines out there, though. Since I fix'em, I don't mind that avenue, either. Where I live in the Mid-Atlantic area, there are plenty of train shows, and plenty of people dumping trains from older parents/grandparents who died or moved out of the hobby. I've gotten some good deals at shows, and at the train shop I work at, due to estate trains being sold off. Trains are an expensive hobby, even when bargain shopping. Just settle in for the "long haul" of collecting is my suggestion.
Jerry in Va
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - June 04 2017 : 6:52:00 PM
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Sometimes, I'm inclined to think of this hobby as expensive, when I see what a tab I can run up just buying parts, paint, etc. Then, I look at my other hobbies, most of which require me to go somewhere. It doesn't take too many tanks of gas to run up the same tab I complained about when buying model railroad supplies.
Unless you're trying to lay miles and miles of tracks or build up big fleets of rolling stock all of a sudden, this is pretty affordable as hobbies go. Perhaps the best approach is to go small and go slow. Gradually, you'll build up something pretty nice and have a lot of fun along the way.
My own approach is to be a bit behind the leading edge on technology and detail. New stuff is frightfully expensive, with cars costing what I remember engines costing. Remember, though, that the purpose of a hobby is recreation. I enjoy my 1970's / 1980's state of the art as much as I would the higher quality new stuff, because it's the tinkering I'm after, not having the best of the best. It's about doing not having, for me.
This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it serves my purpose.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - June 04 2017 : 8:56:00 PM
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I have to agree with shaggy. It's the doing for me as well. I only use the older stuff (pre-1980s)
and some of that gets outrageous as well. I just look for the repair/restore stuff most of the
time and rebuild/restore it myself.
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Posted - June 05 2017 : 01:46:03 AM
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Two words: Train show
I buy almost exclusively from train shows, the prices there flat out cannot beat any online retailer.
sim-al2
Also since they cut track maintaince the trains had huge trouble making over the railroad by the end
純那
yeah
They did a Rock Island volountarily
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Posted - June 05 2017 : 07:07:59 AM
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Remember, though, that relative to the size of the continent, train shows are sparse and scarce.
“There are a thousand things that can happen when you go light a rocket engine, and only one of them is good.” — Tom Mueller, SpaceX, 2012
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Posted - June 05 2017 : 08:01:21 AM
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quote:Two words: Train show
I buy almost exclusively from train shows, the prices there flat out cannot beat any online retailer.
Originally posted by Pokemonprime - June 05 2017 : 01:46:03 AM
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yeah but occasionally garage & yard sales have train stuffs
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Posted - June 05 2017 : 1:20:01 PM
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quote:Remember, though, that relative to the size of the continent, train shows are sparse and scarce.
Originally posted by southwestforests - June 05 2017 : 07:07:59 AM
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Fair point, but I don't live in a very large city and there's no real good hobby shops, but still a trainshow that happens 4 times a year. I guess I can consider myself quite lucky.
sim-al2
Also since they cut track maintaince the trains had huge trouble making over the railroad by the end
純那
yeah
They did a Rock Island volountarily
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Posted - June 12 2017 : 10:30:52 AM
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I buy most at train shows. If I use EBay early to mid week lat at night / early morning is when the best deals appear. Walthers overstock / openbox has some good deals too on new items. I purchased a pair of NH FA / FB Trainline for $40. Added 2 $12 basic DCC decoders and has an AB NH DCC pair for $64. Also bought some Mainline Alco DL109 engines at $65 each. Once again the pair of DCC decoders for $12 each and I am in at $78 for a new DCC loco.
The key is that I have had to wait and monitor what comes available to get the items I want. It may take time for a deal to appear. I also have had to become flexible in accepting close but not exactly what I am looking for.
If you are not looking at sound and want DCC buying a DC locomotive and adding a DCC controler made by NCE is a great option. They start around $12 a piece bought in bulk. The $12 ones are rated to support the Athearn BB locomotives so if you are looking for a used DCC locomotive you can get on under $45 with a little work.
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Posted - June 22 2017 : 9:00:38 PM
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I'll sum it up in one word: Inflation. Train show or retail, you're paying more dollars now than you were 20 years ago. People want to make their money back for what it's worth now, not what it was worth then.
On the retail side, here are some prices from then converted to now.
Athearn F7 (gear drive): 1960 - $9.95, 2017 - $83.11
Bachmann U36B (original geared): 1975 - $22.00, 2017 - $103.34
Rivarossi Big Boy: 1972 - $59.98, 2017 - $357.16
Tyco C630: 1975 - $20.00, 2017 - $93.95
Hobbytown E7: 1951 - $24.95, 2017 - $240.40
Atlas FP7: 1975 - $25.00, 2017 - $117.43
Now here are some modern prices.
Athearn F7: $89.98
Bachmann GP38: $105.00
Bowser F3A: $105.00
Walthers SW-1: $99.98
Mantua 2-6-6-2T: $174.98
BLI 2-8-2 (DCC+sound): $349.99
Pricing relative to market value is right where it's always been, and in some cases, lower than it's ever been. People keep demanding more features, more detail, more electronics, better quality, and all for the prices you would have paid 15 years ago. I mean, come on! A BLI steam engine with brass level detail, realistic sound electronics, lots of metal, and a smooth running drive for less than the value of a plastic Rivarossi Big Boy with no electronics of any kind? That's insane!
Darth Santa Fe, doing weird and challenging projects for the fun of it!
Edited by - Darth Santa Fe on June 22 2017 9:03:21 PM
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Posted - June 22 2017 : 11:26:13 PM
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Good analysis of the new stuff, Darth. The numbers do crunch out to fairly stable prices, in real terms.
Regarding used stuff, the rise in the prices of new products gives the sellers some head room to raise used equipment prices, as well. It'd be harder to track those prices, since they're not officially listed, anywhere.
Anecdotally, I get the sense that the stuff I want has gone up a little faster than inflation. It's mostly no longer made, meaning that it finds its new home and goes off the market. There used to be loads of old, used Mantua steamers at the train show nearest me, and some of it was from the lower-priced sellers. Over time, there seems to be a lot less of it there, and most of what's left is not from the dirt-cheap dealers any more.
For me, prices have probably tripled in the time it has taken the Consumer Price Index to double, but that's not too troubling, since I probably have three times the locomotives needed to run my layout. 
Carpe Manana!
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