One thing I've noticed since returning to the hobby is that prices of Athearn and Proto 2000 locomotives have doubled since 1996. Athearn took shells from Rail Power Products, dressed them up a little, threw in a DCC Plug, and put plastic railings on them. I realize that since being bought out by Tower Hobbies this has something to do with it, as when I was in the business Tower Hobbies was one of the more high priced distributors. The Life Like Proto 2000 series is nothing more than a copy of Athearn, their truck sideframes even interchange. Walthers is the puppeteer holding the stings on Proto 2000 now, so I know why they are pricey. Not all of us are into DCC, but are made to pay higher prices because of the option to "plug in". My last layout had a mainline of over 200 feet, and I had no problem with walk around throttles and blocks, and I will build my new layout with the same setup...I figure why not use what I already have. Athearn locomotives used to be the inexpensive way to build up a fleet of motive power, and now it appears that Bachmann has replaced them as the "poor mans choice".