Demographics Then and Now?

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Demographics Then and Now?

Back in the day - let's say 1945-1965 what were the demographics of the average consumer and user of 'toy' trains?

I'm guessing the average buyer was a parent between the ages of 25 and 35 and the average 'consumer' was a boy between the ages of 5 and 13. Complete WAGs on my part - thoughts?

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As for TODAY's Demographics...

2 sources where I suspect we may get innacurate impressions would be the train magazines and the online forums. From the train mags I get the impression the hobby is somewhat more evenly distributed around the country and is made up of fairly wealthy retiree hobbyists. I'm not convinced that's entirely accurate in the bigger picture. From the online forum(s) I get the impression it's a somewhat 'younger' or evenly distributed age-wise demographic of hobbyist.  Again I'm not sure that's an entirely accurate perception of the toy/model/collectible train demographics either.

I'll go out on a limb and take a WAG: Today's consumers in the toy or scale model train 'industry' are that they are perhaps bought and used by the same person... likely a male, age 55 to 72 of anywhere from medium to upper income. I suspect a statistical bias towards living in or being from the East coast or Northeast and perhaps upper Mid-West? Again complete WAGs on my part.

Your thoughts on the demographics THEN (40s-60s) and NOW (2007)?

[edw]

Here's an interesting link that describes the demographics of todays CTT subscribers. Not sure whether this data was provided by CTT itself to this website, or was compiled independently. Perhaps one of the CTT members of the forum could comment on this.

The site offers the following description of CTT subscribers.

Classic Toy Trains is a magazine for toy train operators and collectors . Each issue reports on the newest trains made by Lionel, MTH, K-Line, and others. Readers learn about track planning, writing, and layout construction, how to identify and repair old Lionel and American Flyer trains, and visit the most inspiring toy train layouts - big and small - ever built.

Demographics

Predominantly male

Average age 56

Average HHI $73,500

78% attended college or better

Invest $1,500 per year in hobby

These middle-aged, male subscribers are well educated and earn above average incomes ($73K). They have a love for all things nostalgic. Their other interests include automobiles, antiques, coins, stamps, toys, and other types of collectibles.

http://search.alcdata.com/market?page=research/datacard&id=58778