Jim Krause: Okay, I hadn't made the connection there. From what little I know of Allen's life and finances, his frugal habits are part of what allowed him to have enough to work by choice, rather than by necessity, and thus have enough free time to do a lot of scratchbuilding.
There's a difference, after all, between making lots of money and being wealthy. Not sure if you recall a commercial that came out a few years back, featuring a guy showing people his stuff: "Like my car? It's new! I have a huge house in a great neighborhood! How can I do it?...Simple! I'm in debt up to my eyeballs!"
Sadly, most commercials don't show the risks of being a conspicuous consumer, so most kids (and most adults) learn from the Great Cathode Ray Teacher that they should spend money as fast as they earn it, if not faster. I was a suburban teen without much cash, and while I did do some model railroading, most of it was scratchbuilding with scrounged materials.
Perhaps another lesson Allen can teach is that you can start small and build your way to an empire--whether by carefully investing a nest-egg and having it turn into enough wealth to retire early, or by starting out with a sub-4x8 model railroad (remember, the first G&D was a 4x8) and slowly expanding it into a basement empire over the course of decades and a couple of intermediate stages. Because, just as most people can't just up and decide to build a museum-quality basement empire, most people can't simply decide they're going to be rich and expect their bank balance to start overflowing with cash. But just about anyone can build a small shelf layout, develop skills, and work towards the day when they can have the layout of their dreams--just as just about anyone can afford to start socking away money for retirement, even if they're young and don't have a lot of disposable cash. Frugality, patience and the ability to economize without compromising happiness are important skills for anyone, of any age, model railroader or not.