Re: Other expensive hobbies
That one was a surprise. I actually have no idea what things in that hobby cost. Could you give us some rough numbers?
Let's put it this way-it's not too difficult to have even a not so elaborate layout set you back five figures. Locomotives retail at anywhere upwards of $40, often over $100. Most types of rolling stock are at least $10. Structures can be anywhere from a few dollars for simple stuff to hundreds for more elaborate things like large bridges or grain silos or factory complexs. Add to all that track (at least $1 a foot, turnouts are much more), wiring, power packs, lighting, scenery, benchwork, etc. There's a good reason I never built a layout besides lack of space and lack of time. While you can save big time by scratchbuilding a lot of things yourself, especially structures, and buying on eBay, you're still talking well into the four figures to do anything worthwhile. The proverbial circle of track gets boring. BTW, these are all HO scale prices. O scale and larger is much more expensive (and requires a lot more space).
Thank goodness for virtual railroading. Besides being way cheaper (rolling stock can be downloaded usually for free), you can run through fresh scenery for miles. You couldn't do that on any HO layout of reasonable size, except maybe one built inside one of those particle accelerators (i.e. the ones with tunnels a few miles in diameter). Still, nothing beats the thrill of seeing actual models running through a scene in miniature. Perhaps one day I may actually be able to build something once I can afford to buy a basement (oops, I mean a basement that comes with a house
).
