Are we asking too much of Lionel and Mth?

It was Richard Kughn who really started the downfall of Lionel with
some of his antics and attitude towards the model railroad hobbyist.

He immediately put an end to 3rd party parts suppliers with his
"cease and desist" litigations, he raised the prices of Lionel products
and lowered quality control all in the name of profit (that was NOT
put into improving the product or service).

Even the purchasing and liquidation of Madison Hardware (he wanted
to own all of that for himself, not to continue the Shur Brothers long
standing tradition of supporting Lionelers). 

And, sadly, after all of those shenanigans, he found that the old addage
I saw at York years ago on a truck up there, "He who dies with the most
toys ... still dies."  We will ALL eventually pass on, so we need to make
sure that the traditions and hobby continues on after us. We need to
NOT be greedy! ( Are you listening, Lionel, MTH and other major producers?)

Menard's seems to be putting the right effort into making the hobby grow,
making a decent profit and making a good, affordable product and backing
it with decent service. That will go far in continuing the hobby, getting newer
members into it with affordable, attractive products that are also durable,
detailed and will last for generations of "playing with" as well as "looking at".

Williams/Bachmann is still affordable, well detailed and durable compared
to the major producers and are somewhat (the older model runs are VERY)
repairable and rebuildable and are just as nice (and in some instances nicer)
as the major manufacturers.

Avoid disappointment, lower your expectations!

You hit the nail on the head el2558.

I have been saying it for years that mostly Lionel and Mth to a lesser extent has been using low quality components in the building of their products but charging top dollar.
I would say from 2000 to about 2012 were the best years of items built in China. The build quality was very good compared to today. Of course QC has gone down the toilet.
If your a collector of today's high end and never run trains then you may be in for a rude awakening in the future. If things Don't change there will be no more Lionel and no more well heeled collectors in the near future to sell your collections to.

Dave

Kinda like buying a new car or truck.