How much can we justify spending?

[Green_Elite_Cab]

It's a lot more expensive than it was even 10 or 20 years ago. There's DCC and sound, great if you can afford it, then the cost of everything else has skyrocketed. Would you have ever been presented with the chance to spend over $500 for an engine or $6,000 for one model back then, no matter how finely detailed?... That's what has changed.

You're not kidding. ten years ago, I switch to HO at the age of 14 because it was cheaper. I actually have a 2004 Walthers catalog, and I was looking at the prices. compared to today and a few years ago, and the prices have grown so high for what appears to be such a minor improvement to what we get.

What would you all do if you had unlimited funds to spend on your railroad??????

The first thing I'd do is buy every book even vaguely relevant to what I model. I would also use the money to help me dig deeper into research projects, and maybe even pay veteran railroaders to explain/guide my modeling.

Next, I would have models that don't exist be custom made (hopefully this will benefit others who can tag onto my order for neat trains like the GM10B).

Next, I would plan a colossal "Philadelphia to New York" layout, which would not only include the northeast corridor and various PRR electrified lines, but the parallel Reading Company lines, and some patches of LV and EL tracks where they pass those lines.

Since I have unlimited funds, I will pay people to help me achieve this before I'm dead. Not that I won't want to work on it, but at least I can skip the tedious parts.

But you know, thats probably not 100% practical.