Just purchased a Laser-Art model of an Aladdin catalog house.  The kit lists at ?19.98, & that is about 10% of the original price of the house,$218.
  If we take $200,000 as the average price of a home today, it's conceivable that some day the kit will cost $20,000, or maybe $15,000 for the kit & $20, 000 for the built up version.
   I know that ,along with many others, i complain about the high cost of the hobby, but if you really think about it , the cost has gone down as much as the quality has gone up.
  My father built my first engine for me in 1950. It was a Mantua 0-4-0, not much detail, but a fairly good runner. It probably cost him over 1/3 of his take home pay for the week, plus he had to scrape & file away mountains of flash, assemble, paint & decal it. 
   Another evidence of lower prices today is when you look at layouts of the 50s they are usually composed of 5 to 10 cars. You NEVER saw 25 car Coal drags or a string of refrigerator cars.  Most layouts consisted of one of each type of car.
   Today we have engines (not 0-4-0s) with all the "Bells & Whistles" that I couldn't even had dreamed of in the 50s for a lower % of our take home pay.   Jerry

 I did look this up finally & found that the Yellow Stop signs were that color for greater visibility even tho it didn't comply with the universal color for caution (Yellow) They couldn't use red because they were very hard to see at night.
In the 50s someone figured out how to make reflective paint.  The signs were then changed to Red. 
  Just remember, if you are modeling the transition era, you should probably be using Yellow Stop signs.

You are probably right. I put the signs near the height they are here in NJ & they looked high compared to what they used to be here. You can almost walk under the ones today.....seems the yellow ones from the 50's were a lot lower.

  Maybe some of you newer modelers can't remember, but back in the day, stop signs were yellow, not red.  It also seems to me that they were mounted lower than the red ones are today. Does anyone know what the proper height was for the yellow signs?   Jerry

 If you mean what # to use, I would use the highest # you can for the space you have.  The rest of the layout should also have the largest radius curves you can squeeze in.   Jerry

 Don't use acetone!! It will dissolve your plastic ties as well as your lungs.  It  can also destroy your kidneys.....Bad Stuff!!!
  I use denatured alcohol. I don't see the problem with it evaporating too soon as was stated in another post. It just has to stay wet long enough to make contact with the rails.   Jerry

I just assumed that we were talking about plastic trucks. If they were brass you would have a short either way. You would have to mount the pickup on a pc. of plastic & either glue everything or use a plastic screw.  But with plastic trucks you can put the insulated wheels on either side.

It's a shame that a lie can ruin it for everyone else.  I guess I must have contacted them before all this started.  By the way I did hear that the free gear offer did stop.  They really didn't have to replace any because the problem originated with the cars when they were owned by LifeLike & not Walthers.  Plastic is a great product for the bodies & detail parts..but not so sure about the running gear.   Jerry

I realize other mfgs. have had problems. The point is that they did something about it. I got new "improved" gears for my P2K engines free with no shipping charge. I onlty needed 1 set at the time, but they asked me how many P2K locos I had & they sent me enough for all of them.
  You may think this is a rant, but I don't think it's too much to expect a $200 engine to run for more than 6 months...especially when it's a "Spectrum".       Jerry

  I can't see where it would matter which side the insulated wheels are on, only where the wires are attached.

Seems there is something wrong with this picture.  More people are going to buy a Shay because for another $25 & an hour  labor, they will have a good running loco?
  Seems like buying a new car because for an extra $4,ooo you can get a good transmission & have a good running car.
  Bachmann should take some responsibility for the issue.  They won't replace ones with defective gears because they know they will be back again.  Maybe buy up a bunch of gears & sell them to Shay owners for a discounted price.
  I hope NWSL makes the Climax gears available before mine fails.  Maybe in the future Bachmann could strike a deal with NWSL to make their running gear.        Jerry

   If this is your first wood kit,you'll be an expert in no time.  Very Good Job!    Jerry

As a sideline issue. I bought a Laser-Art  kit of an Aladdin catalog home. The price of the kit was $19.98.  The price of the actual house in1917 was $207.  So we are paying aprox 10% of the price of the original house for the kit.  I wonder how much longer it will be unlil we pay $207 for the kit?

  Just got back from our local train shop & was informed that Bowser, Intermonntain as well as Athearn & Roundhouse are dropping the kits. We won't have a choice soon.   Yes, there may be some company that will take a chance on kits, but at what price?  Saw a Bowser caboose KIT for $28.95. today.    Don't really know how it will turn out...That's why I put a ? after Silver lining in the original post.   Jerry

   I, as many others, am saddened by the demise of kits, but there may be a silver lining. I realize it's a financial decision on the part of the mfgs. & it could save some of the struggling hobby or Train shops. After all you can make more profit on a $15 item than a $7 item.  I'm sure the shop owners would rather have $15+ items on the shelf than $7 items.
  As we have seen on the various forums, Hobby/Train shops are having a hard time if not closing.  Maybe this could keep them going a while longer.
                                                     Jerry