>>9917115Then I don't know what else to offer you given what's been said already.
You've already shunned Model Railways as being too expensive, so I'm assuming you're referring to HO/OO, N, and smaller scales here. You want something controllable which implies you want something powered, which crosses off Thomas Wood, Brio, or any similar toylines. You want good looking trains so Plarail is out since most of the detail on those are just huge stickers. You want something not expensive so anything O gauge or larger is out too (To be honest it's really hard to judge this properly when you don't know how expensive "Too expensive" refers to, but I'm gonna go on a limb and say that ~$300 for a new locomotive is expensive). You want a variety of trains and wagons so any of those cheapo bootleg sets you see on amazon for like $20 that are only meant to work with that set aren't gonna fly.
The cruel reality of trains as a hobby is that you are not able to get "Wide variety of trains", "Easy to operate", and "Cheap and affordable" all together unless you make some sacrifices. In this case Lego is literally the only option I can think of that comes close to hitting all three marks.
Pic related is the most recent Lego train set that sells at a modest $180, which might seem like a lot at first, but it nets you
>A full loop of track>A full assortment of electronic parts to build a train with (A motor, batterybox, lights, and remote control)>Parts to build 3 full train cars. >A station platform and a variety of passengersDon't like the bullet train? Rebuild it into something else. Any old Lego you may have laying around only expands on this and can be considered an early investment into your railroad.
>I'd prefer not having to build them It's fucking Lego, I'm not asking you to scratchbuild something out of styrene and brass.
