Hi Bill -- Interesting point, but if one doesn’t gut the basic workings of the model, it should be relatively easy to restore to another form of control. I can see where the SHS locos with complex electronics might be a bit of an issue (or the new Lionel), but it shouldn’t have a huge impact on a plastic model’s value. So far, we have not seen high priced brass models with electronics complex enough or critical enough that removing what is there should have a big impact. In Peter’s FA-2 case, how much is he going to loose on the used basic model? Not enough to care about, I don’t think. Better that he should have the performance he is after...
Some of you might already know that I really don’t care about the ultimate value of my rolling stock. Very few of my pieces hit the rails in their original form, brass included, so the “collector value” is largely destroyed, not to mention that I RUN these things, and there is evidence of this on wheels and in their superior performance to most out of the box models. It is a form of entertainment, and by the time I am done with it, there will probably be so much of the stuff on the used market it will have no significant value anyway. Only my heirs will care, and they not much. I am seriously considering following Peter’s lead and converting my switch engines to S-CAB... Have fun! Bill Winans ------------------------- With all due respect to Peter and others following suit….. ... ... here is my point: We (including my P48 friend) are already in a very minority scale. Adding a “boutique” control system really removes your rolling stock from what is already a very small market. Eventually this all has to be sold. ... Bill Lane
