Subject:
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Price of automation... (Was Re: Say What???)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Thu, 16 Dec 2004 04:01:27 GMT
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Viewed:
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2268 times
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In lugnet.trains, Bryan Kinkel wrote:
<snip>
>
> I took my daughter to a Greenberg model train show this past weekend. I'm
> not and never have been into model railroading. But I was amazed at the
> number of different products available.
>
> I picked up a few Lionel, K-Line and MTW catalogs to use as inspiration for
> building. Browsing through the catalogs stirred up the wish that LEGO would
> produce automated switches, lights, crossings, etc again.
>
> I will take an remote automated switch over a light-up Darth Vader saber...
Why? A remote automated switch (assuming you mean one you can switch remotely)
from LEGO would run about $35-$50 per point! It's so much cheaper to do it
yourself using one of the half-dozen plans out there.
How do I figure that price tag? A pair of manual 12v electric points cost £12 in
1988. Adjusting for inflation and exchange rates, that's roughly $38 US in 2004
dollars [1].
In comparison, a pair of 9v electric switches (which are much less complex)
currently costs $28. That's about 25% less than the 12v ones cost.
Now take a look at a single automated 12v switch in 1988: £18. Running the math,
that comes to $43 PER switch [2]. I don't think they'd be able to sell enough at
that price.
On the other hand, I'm hoping that with a little work, Darth can exchange his
light-up saber for a train lantern, and do signal work in our train yard...
Rick Clark
Puget Sound LEGO Train Club
[1]
Cost of manual points in 1988: £12.00 [3]
Cost in 2002 Pounds: £19.78 [4]
Cost in 2004 US Dollars: $38.40 [5]
[2] £18 in 1988 = £29.67 in 2002 = $57.61 in 2004 * 75% = $43.21
[3] http://library.brickshelf.com/scans/catalogs/1988/c88uk/c88uk-26.html
[4] http://www.eh.net/hmit/ppowerbp/
[5] http://www.xe.com/ucc/
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Say What???
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| Thanks for the additional information, Tim. Too bad it is an just a production prototype and not an indication of something new coming from LEGO. I took my daughter to a Greenberg model train show this past weekend. I'm not and never have been into (...) (20 years ago, 15-Dec-04, to lugnet.trains)
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