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[quote user="fwright"] I've been doing a little thinking about this thread, and the previous one about the hobby dying, and the current thread about project railroads.  CNJ may be on to something, but the not the way he intended. In the '50s, the objective of the MR project railroads (before the days of readily available scale train sets), was to show armchair model railroaders that they were capable of building a small table layout with a modicum of skills, money, and time.  The project layouts gave suggestions as to what track to use, how to lay it, wiring diagrams, suggestions for relatively easy loco and car kits, and scenery how-tos.  All aimed at helping a beginner get started (or an armchair mr get off their duff) in the hobby.  The implication is that there were (or at least thought to be) a fair percentage of readers who had never built a layout (armchair modelers).  Another obvious implication is that MR (as it still does) sees growing the hobby as good for its business. Fast forward to today.  A dad (could be a teenager just as easily) goes into an LHS and buys an HO or N train set for about $100-$150.  He sees himself playing trains with his kids, and even if the kids don't care for it after a while, he'll still enjoy it.  The set contains a reasonable locomotive (it runs out of the box), a few cars, some track with built-in roadbed, and a minimal power pack.  He sets it up at home and it works - reasonably.  The train goes around the circle. Now he wants to expand a little, maybe get 2 trains running on a 4x8.  Lumber for his table - probably $50-$75.  He gets told you want quality in that 2nd engine, don't settle for anything less than Kato or Atlas or P2K.  $100+ for that second loco.  A few RTR cars at $15 each - God help him if he wants passenger cars.  Don't forget the addtional track - another $100 (we're keeping to a simple plan).  Need another power pack, too, and it has to be a step up.  A few plastic building kits at $25 each, and all of a sudden his investment goes from $150 to at least $650.  In his eyes, his costs went up by more than a factor of 4, but he only got a second train out of it.  No wonder he is in sticker shock, especially when the wife finds out.  Ain't going to be any expansion beyond that table top for quite a while!  And because he built his layout in a month (pretty easy RTR, you know) and burned through all that money in the same time frame, things are not very interesting any more, either. What has happened is the the armchair and mr wannabes of the past now have as CNJ put it "train set layouts".  There are far more of them than there used to be.  At the high end, because of RTR and decent manufactured turnouts, basement-size layouts are now practical for those with $$.  This has spurred the manufacturers to go up-scale, too. In the meantime, what hasn't happened is a methodology and practical ways for the train set modeler to become in CNJ's eyes "a real model railroader".  It Mr. Train Set gets lucky, he finds a truly helpful LHS or club, or stumbles across a friendly online forum where he/she doesn't get made fun of.  But most LHSs hide the kits on shelves in the back in closed boxes.  The RTR is out front and visible.  RTR solves the nasty (and expensive!)problem of returns and service for both the LHS and manufacturer when a newb get in over his head with a kit.  And if Mr. Train Set doesn't find some reassurance, assistance, and ways to stay within the budget he drops out.  Interestingly enough, MR of the '50s and '60s used to be full of these types of articles - dollar models, kitchen table locos, encouraging pictures of average and incomplete efforts in the photos section.  I know in my case (before Internet), MR did serve as the bridge to make the climb from train set to more.  It was a Jack Work article in Apr '63 that gave me the courage to handlay my track.  An MR editorial about $$/hr encouraged me to use my limited budget on kits.  A '66 MR article encouraged me enough to finally try making some plaster scenery. Now, project layouts are fewer and less applicable to Mr. Train Set.  Layout visits seem to consume most of the magazine, and prototype plans and articles about scratchbuilding are very rare.  Kit-bashing outside of structures is non-existent.  When was the last time you saw an article on modifying a Labelle or other wooden kit?  Or about sources for detail parts for various eras of locomotives and cars?  How about teaching DC wiring for that majority that still use DC? While there is a lot of truth to the saying about only publishing what mr's write about, there is also a visible agenda at MR to promote the high end of the hobby.  Look at what gets reviewed - high end locos and RTR cars and DCC, and precious little else.  This contributes to the sticker shock that started this thread.  When was the last time an ordinary car kit (like a BB) was reviewed so that a newb could understand what they were getting (or not getting) if they purchased one?  Or using a review of a craftsman kit to explain the differences between it and a BB?  I look in my '60s back issues and I see reviews of trucks, detail parts, structure kits (not limited run!), and loco and car kits in addition to the then high end such as brass locos and cars (which were also limited run).  How about a review of an ordinary S or other minoirty scale/gauge item occasionally? enough of my ranting, returning to my hole Fred Wright in foggy, coastal Oregon where it's always 1900 [/quote] Behold! A story of the Hobby that has many truths![bow]
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