The Devil is in the Detail

[Greygreaser]

Saturday I went to the East Kent MR exhibition and was again amazed at the growing level of detail in the locomotives and rolling stock. Lights are now superseded by smoke box glow, sound is now matched to speed, smoke now issues in puffs and smooth acceleration and deceleration are the norm. Buy any rolling stock and lights are an option with accessory packs the norm.
But, and it's a big but, it all comes at a price which I'm finding a bit too far ahead of my 'pocket money'. Does this mean that only the Waterman's of this hobby can expand and expend their passion for the creation of model railways?
It's not just the locos and rolling stock the whole electronics side has gone way beyond my pocket. "Why don't you run DCC?" I'm asked when I explain my DC panel - well my view is that DCC is expensive as you move beyond the basic control of locos. I can move sections of track between polarity using a £1.50 relay, not by using a module, decoder and at least the same amount of wiring. Then I read and experience at the shows that things like ancillary lighting might 'interfere' with the DCC coding so is separately powered!? The simple stuff still works ok but is browbeaten by plug together modules at a cost I feel is unacceptable.
The final 'devil' for me is track systems, modules of track which fit perfectly to preconceived plans of layouts fundamentally based on the train set oval. With built in ballast and detailed chairs they might look good as a single item but do they really 'model' the permanent way.
Brunel and Stephenson would have struggled to get round the first curve with a modular system and so modelling their prototype should only ever be done with Flexitrack - says I! How else will you achieve transition from straight sections into bends and be able to add cant? But the expense of buying multiple bits of track, multiple joiners/fishplates and adding multiple track feeds seems so uneconomic to put it out of my 'pocket money'!
I've deliberately omitted scenic items because the whole plethora of stuff out there covers too many scenarios to actually be critical of the costs of detailed items. However there is a rising trend of 3D printed stuff which varies in detail quality and accuracy often reflected in the price. One thing you can always pick up cheap is tunnel mouth mouldings - must be hundreds in circulation at any one time?

[njee20]

At risk of being patronising; as a sweeping generalisation stuff gets more expensive all the time. This includes toy trains. I personally don't think we're paying more specifically for the extra detail and features, so I think that's a bit moot.

Actually I'd say prices, if anything, are stagnating a bit. Dapol reduced the price of their (IIRC) Voyagers prior to release, and something else dropped too, I forget what. The Revolution 92 at £175 is the most expensive diesel/electric loco (I don't model steam) I can think of, and that was now 4 years ago.

I think a lot of the rest of your comments are personal preference. Yes DCC does add expense, and decoders have definitely got more expensive, with many decent ones being £35+, when a unit needs up to 3 decoders that can hurt. But it's not mandatory. Obviously adopting DCC is entirely your choice.

I don't particularly like modular layouts. Nothing to do with track systems personally, I find the differing scenic approaches jarring, and they tend not to be operationally interesting. My son loves them however. Each to their own. We all have different facets of the hobby we like and we want to see done correctly.

[PLD]

The counter point is that it is a wide ranging hobby, and while there is the all-singing-all-dancing check-book option, as you have actually inadvertently confirmed there are alternatives to suit lower budgets.. do a bit of modelling instead of buying... you don't have to go DCC & Sound (despite what some evangelists may preach)...

Just because one modeller can't afford or doesn't want to adopt a particular option, others shouldn't be prevented from doing so if the wish...

Variety and a range of options is good.

[Foxhound]

I recently looked at the incredible box files layouts created by Moor Boxes at my local show, and was inspired to have a crack at something like it myself for my KATO Glacier Express set - possibly in an old suitcase. Money does come into it so I would probably end up sourcing the track from Plaza Japan, but I would run DC. I was gifted boxes of catenary from a dear friend so that's all good, but I have to agree with the OP that to achieve the 'nirvana-state' of sound and DCC etc., you would need a very deep and very full wallet.
In terms of modular layouts, I also considered that for my forthcoming foreign layout but it's still much cheaper to use ply and a timber frame.
I do use Unitrack, and love the simplicity of it, I do recognise the beauty of sweeping curves made of flexi, however I don't have the space for that.
I've always been a firm believer in Rule One and have a natural aversion to Rivet Counters, which given my past career as an automotive quality engineer, and my current calling as a bone marrow transplant quality manager, is rather odd, but my model railway is my downtime.