Joe makes a good point about location. He lived in an area where he could not find treadles, I live in an area I can't hardly give them away (unless I want to see them turned into tables or worse). So between the two of use, we made it work and now there are several more machines in treadles where they belong.
Most of us do this because we love the old machines and want to save them. I've got around 150 of them, and I've probably paid $100 average on them. Adds up to a nice chunk of change! And then what I spent on attachments - and then the building . . .