......the big shift in the hobby IMO is the desire to buy one's way to a layout without ever once doing anything more challeneging than write out a check or putting a loco on the tracks.
-Steve
And what's wrong with that? At least it provides economies of scale for the manufacturers and allows a lot more people to enjoy the hobby. My schedule doesn't allow time for 'modelling' as such - you know, kids, wife, work, voluntary work et al. I have enough challenges without adding more to the list.
the point being that those that simply buy what is available have to understand that a specific car to a single railroad is not likely to be manufactured. i worked in the industry making locomotives - to get maximum return on the investment, the model has to sell in large numbers - niche markets are not known for having a good return. limited runs of special paint schemes applied to standard models are an easy investment - the tooling for the model already exists, new pad printing die are cut, which are much cheaper than tooling for plastic models. even then, limited runs are usually paid for by other "investors" who are taking the risk - i'm sure Jerry can speak to this with the Berwind hoppers he had made.
the bottom line is this; if you want to run trains, that's fine, but don't expect fine scale models of unique or oddball prototypes as the normal. who makes a Krauss-Maffei in SP paint in N scale? i doubt Atlas will be making that anytime soon.
there is an under current that i'm dancing around - there is no skill in writing a check. the instant need for gratification is well represented in the hobby. don't be fooled into thinking there is no money in being a manufacturer - model trains are a 100's of million dollar annually industry. ask Kalmbach how much they make on the hobby.
-Steve