There was an article in 1 of the quilting mags about a lady who pieces and quilts all her quilts with a treadle. She has several! Don't remember which magazine.
I learned to sew on my grandmothers, still have it too. It needs some work tho, hopefully just oiling and a new belt. I say go for it! They are good basic machines with a wonderful straight stitch.
There is a site - treadleon.net - I think. They're not just for power outages....after all I still need light when I sew!