Well said.
Greg Myers
----- Original Message -----
From: "nycbqfan" <jsauer@estee.com>
To: <BRHSlist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2003 6:39 PM
Subject: [BRHSlist] Re: Stingy or not Stingy?
For my two cents on this subject:
1. Actually, my opinion of late (after being in this hobby 35 years)
is that we have more great stuff in CB&Q than ever. I can't ever
remember being in a position where I actually have to decide I will
buy this but not that because there is more available than I can
afford. God bless the likes of Life-Like for the great plastic
diesels and the Heritage Steam, not to mention some of the brass
companies that have stepped up to the plate (cost notwithstanding).
I think this hobby allows a price point for anyone.
2. I do agree that part of what affects what is bought and therefore
what can be offered is the audience. I'm guessing that CB&Q
followers are not as numerous as the PRR group. I also think some of
these other groups enjoy better participation because the railroad
was more concentrated geographically. The New Haven society seems to
have a pretty good group, and geographically it was a small
railroad. But it was built in an area of the country that had a high
population. It's also easier to get a good attendance at an annual
meeting because most of its membership, I am guessing, live fairly
close to each other. Not so with the CB&Q group (including me, on
Long Island, NY).
I am continually amazed that the authors find the time and have the
knowledge and resources to put these books together. Free plug to Ed
Derouin on his CUS book. How the heck did you do it, Ed? I can't
imagine the time commitment. It's a wonderful book, too.
I think at the end of the day the free market rules. If people find a
product or service to be of value, they will buy it, if they can
afford it. If it is not of value or they cannot afford, they won't
buy it. Some very good things never get made or printed because they
are too expensive.
To take it one step further, our group and any RR historical group
face a huge problem as the members age. At 51 years old, I was all
of 18 when the CB&Q went into history (1970). How many 25 or 30 year
olds have a clue about this railroad - certainly none from first hand
memories. Not to put too fine a point on it, but as the people with
the information and recollections pass on, who fills in behind them?
These may well be the good old days of our model train and railroad
enthusiast hobbies.
John Sauer
--- In BRHSlist@yahoogroups.com, jkohl <jkohl@n...> wrote:
> >The cheapness of the Burlington in its heyday is exceeded only by
the
> >stinginess of its devotees. Now, I have 100R>
> >Bohemian genes and have been known to straighten a bent nail for
future
> >reuse myself, but some people seem to have
> >blinders on when it comes to the cost of the Hobby.
>
> Charlie, I agree with you to a certain extent, but I also disagree
(no, I'm
> not a polititian).
>
> I'm certainly not stingy, when it comes to things that I like or
feel that I
> need. I can't imagine what I've spent over the past several years
on both
> RR modeling stuff and CB&Q stuff. Let's put it this way...most
likely I
> could have been cruising on a nice skiff in the lake with what I've
> frittered on this hobby.
>
> But by the same token, most of my expenses were not "frivolous". I
value
> what *I feel* something is worth, and if it doesn't match up to my
ideal of
> what I should be paying, I'm not gonna pay it. I may live in NC,
but my
> heart is from Missouri, and I'll be darned if I'm going to give
someone one
> red cent more than my "appraisal" system feels it's worth.
>
> I'm not making any examples from our list per say...in fact, I'm
not quite
> sure what book was being referred to. I DO know, though, that while
> inflation may be increasing, there comes a time when some people
say "NO"!
> Maybe the person selling it really feels that it is worth that
much. Maybe
> just to make costs with a limited run they have to increase the
costs to
> make a tiny profit. Then again, like many things I find on eBay,
maybe they
> are just trying to make a quick buck at the expense of someone who
likes
> railroading.
>
> The other day I bought a collection of 500 railroad photos for
$20. I
> consider that a great deal. At the same time, someone else was
selling 130
> CB&Q negatives for a minimum bid of $700. I consider that highway
robbery,
> and while I can't stop someone else from making a fool out of
themselves
> (and catering to the greed of the seller), I can decide not to do
so myself.
>
> Sure, I'd love to have a nice brass CB&Q shovelnose for $1200. I
think they
> are great models, and if I could win the lottery (maybe I need to
buy a
> ticket?), I'd certainly grab one. But when it comes down in an
overall cost
> with everything else I have to look at, I can't do it. I could add
quite a
> bit to my layout, buy the rest of the Mike Spoor collection, more
photos,
> cars or P2K locos for that amount, all spread out over time.
>
> So, what I'm saying is that you are attacking some of us for being
stingy,
> and I don't think so. You may have the money to go out and do
that, I
> don't. How does that make me stingy?
>
> As far as the CB&Q comment (vs other railroads), the CB&Q
(unfortunately)
> will never be as popular as SF or NYC or so on. It was just never
given the
> "glamour" status that those other railroads were for some unknown
> reason...probably because of being situated mostly in the midwest
and
> northwest. So, that means that venders that choose to cater to
CB&Q are
> always going to suffer more than others...we can't do anything
about that.
> I'll support them the best that I can and then some, but I'm not
going to go
> on a splurge spree to support someone else's supper plate...I've
got my own
> to consider.
>
> Thanks for your time.
>
> Cheers!
>
> Jan
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