PRR8259 Many drop the hobby for awhile but still come back to it. Sometimes people need a break.
Many drop the hobby for awhile but still come back to it. Sometimes people need a break.
Of couse you won't know which will return to trains for sometimes 30 years or more. Some who have seen that scenario know those little boys who are into trains hit their teens and there are cars, girls, college, marriage, honey-do lists, career, moving around etc. Often it isn't until that boy isin his 40's the bug hits again and they start the train hobby back up because by then they have a little time, and money and the kids are in school.
Of course grand parents who are hoping little Johnny follows a life long hobby sadly may not be around to see if little Johnny returns to train. So much time may have gone by - by the time he is grown up and his kids are in school and Johnny can actually have a little time, and money and space to play with trains again.
Most of us had a variation of that scenario. I have always had a train collection throughout my life so it wasn't like I dropped the hobby and rediscovered it years later. But through my 20's I had N-scale trains and kept them with me throughout college and moving around - they didn't take much space. In the 1980's I abandoned N for HO because HO included tunnel motors and more Rio Grande useful models - and did research, and roster building while I moved around and made several attempts to build layouts - built to the plywood Pacific stage. So for me, it remained a life long hobby over the years without a "break"; the problem is I was always too transitory to built that layout that some have built and maintained for 40+ years.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
riogrande5761The best thing to do is to keep it real and hope for the best, but don't be too let down if trains don't last. Enjoy the present. Everyone has to find their own interest in the end including that little tyke there.
Jim,That's very true my son was never interested in railroads or trains even through he ran my N Scale.My youngest Grandson was also never interested while my oldest Grandson is and buys the higher tier models and has become quite the modeler and in his words" a counter of rivets and inspector of details". This from a young man that has roots in Athearn BB.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
ATSFGuy Lucky for me, I kept my in interest in railroading and did not succomb to dropping the hobby like many others did.
Lucky for me, I kept my in interest in railroading and did not succomb to dropping the hobby like many others did.
You make it sound like it's a bad thing to not be interested in trains. But I'd guess if you asked those people, they wouldn't think it's bad. In fact they'd say it's lucky they got interested in "you name it".
Of course every train fan wants to pass on their love of trains to the following generations, but to be fair, thats true for everyone's interest. Some want to pass on their love of sports, for example, and are disappointed when their progeny doesn't ultimately follow their interest , even after being taken to many games it doesn't stick.
Yes, this is a train forum, I "get-it", and I've always been a train nut, but I also have seen uncounted children, including girls, be interested in trains when young, but later on have no interest what so ever.
So you know what they say about "assumptions". You say in the title:
"so it begins"
... but only time will tell if it is a beinning to a life-long passion or simply a passing interest like my sisters son who was into trains early on but it was one of many interests that didn't last.
The best thing to do is to keep it real and hope for the best, but don't be too let down if trains don't last. Enjoy the present. Everyone has to find their own interest in the end including that little tyke there.
Hey Frank!
Way to go! I think the best thing you can do is let your great nephew take the lead. Let him make the decisions even if they don't work out. He will figure things out pretty quickly.
When my kids were little we got them into Brio wooden trains. I was able to make track sections in my workshop so the price didn't go through the roof. However, I made one huge mistake. Instead of leaving all the track sections loose and allowing them to make their own track plans, I made a permanent layout on a sheet of plywood. That was fun for me but it took much of the fun out of the Brio system for my sons. They played with the layout for sure, but the learning and creativity opportunities were severly reduced because they couldn't create their own track designs.
So, maybe give him a chance to play with the plan before you pin the track down. Maybe don't pin the track down at all for now unless he wants to. If it were me, the next thing I would do is buy another sheet of foam and more track.
Have fun with him!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Congratulations on having an interested young person, a family member yet, so close by. He certainly sounds like is ready for a layout.
Good luck to both of you,
Have fun,
Richard
I first got into trains around 1997, and now it's 2017, so I've been in the railroad business a while!
You created a monster maybe but only time will tell. My sisters boy was into trains when he was young but afaik it ended up being a phase, sadly.
Welcome to "light side", little nephew!
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
One of us!!!
Ed
And I started it. Well mostly My dad helped before he passed. My great nephew is now one of us. I set him up last night with a small loop of HO track on some pink form on a card table last night. And gave him some odd's and end's.
I told him when I got home today from work that I would get it up and running. He is 7 and live's down the street from me so he is close. Well when I got over there today he had changed it from a simple loop to this and moved it to the floor hoping for more room.
He had all the track laid out ready to be pined down. I ask him why the change? And he said he needs place's to put car's. Yep I would say he is hooked. He is thinking like that and it's only been one night. I am going to give a few day's on his own to set things up. And see what he make's. Have a nice day Frank