$2 million model railroad lawsuit

Put in perspective.
That's about a 2500sq ft layout.
The Great Train Story at the Chicago Museum of Science and industry is described as a 3500sq ft layout, and was built with contributions of $3.5M
Sounds like the guy got billed the going rate.
No wonder the the economy got so broke with bozos like this running things.
FIN alternatives It isn't exactly the great train robbery, but a Long Island hedge fund manager-and apparent railroad enthusiast-says a model builder ripped him off to the tune of $2 million.
Renaissance Technologies' Robert Mercer has sued RailDreams Custom Model Railroad Design, which he says overcharged him by $2 million. On Monday, Mercer filed notice that he would seek summary judgment against the company and its president, Richard Taylor, as they have failed to answer the suit.
Mercer says he should have been charged $708,669 for the model, which RailDreams' Taylor told the New York Daily News was about the size of half a basketball court, and depicts a specific location in New York. The lavish model was installed in Mercer's Mount Sinai, N.Y., mansion, according to Taylor, in time for his daughter's wedding.
The lawsuit accuses RailDreams and Taylor of "wrongfully and fraudulently" padding the bill, a charge the surprised Taylor, who says he thought the two sides were moving towards an out-of-court settlement, rejects. Taylor says the cost of the project ballooned as work progressed and Mercer imposed new specifications.
Not willing to leave it at that, Taylor offered a parting shot at a man who would pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a toy.
"He is a hedge fund guy, part of the reason why the country is in the situation it's in," he told the Daily News.

In general, I agree with you, especially about the bozo's at the top of the heap. But then, on hte other hand, I've seen the CMS&I layout, and I think the price was a rip-off

On 4/9/2009 12:01 AM Steve Caple spake thus:
I remember that layout very vaguely as a kid visiting the museum; I think I saw it only once. Isn't it O scale?
The layout might've been cool, but then the coal mine and the German U-boat there were far kewler.

The old one was O scale; the new one is larger and is HO, but it doesn't display the level of detail you'd expect for 3.5 mil - must have been a pretty steep profit margin built in.

Or possibly a hefty maintenance contract.

ONe thing that all have to remember is that things like this are built by artists. they get to charge whatever they want and the customer doesn't have to pay for it. Unfortunately for the buyer, the purchase is final.
-- Bob May
rmay at nethere.com http: slash /nav.to slash bobmay http: slash /bobmay dot astronomy.net