It isn't a hobby for young adults. It's a hobby for very old kids.
PED Anyone notice who is responding to this thread? All are seasoned train modelers. Not one young adult has chimed in to make his thoughts known. That says a lot about who is is the game and reading this forum.
Anyone notice who is responding to this thread? All are seasoned train modelers. Not one young adult has chimed in to make his thoughts known. That says a lot about who is is the game and reading this forum.
Huh, my earlier comment must be invisible then...
BATMAN PED Anyone notice who is responding to this thread? All are seasoned train modelers. Not one young adult has chimed in to make his thoughts known. That says a lot about who is is the game and reading this forum. This is the only "forum" that has enough going on in it to keep me checking in. I have recently joined four facebook specialty groups that caught my interest and they are loaded with young people. They also have live ops sessions and live interactive tutorials on everything. There are plenty of younger people in these groups and at these op sessions as well. I am still learning to navigate and am not crazy about the FB layout but that may just be a "being old" thing. I went to a new product demo at a local train shop attended by about thirty people. The subject of forums came up and only two of us said we participated online on any RR forum. So this is not a good place to take a poll
This is the only "forum" that has enough going on in it to keep me checking in.
I have recently joined four facebook specialty groups that caught my interest and they are loaded with young people. They also have live ops sessions and live interactive tutorials on everything. There are plenty of younger people in these groups and at these op sessions as well. I am still learning to navigate and am not crazy about the FB layout but that may just be a "being old" thing.
I went to a new product demo at a local train shop attended by about thirty people. The subject of forums came up and only two of us said we participated online on any RR forum. So this is not a good place to take a poll
No doubt about it. Facebook is were most people my age participate in the hobby. Its so prevelant I sometimes like to think of Facebook as "Trainbook" with the amount of people active there. Forums are sort of a remnant of the old early net scene, sort of a "proto-social media" relic. Really the only reason I use forums is because I used them as a kid before Facebook took off, so the habit of forum surfing remains. The reason I am using this forum instead of other train forums though has to do with the community too... most other train forums are an angry collective of opinionated insiders. Railway Preservation News (were I have posted there about just three times and have avoided saying anything else due to the concern some established forum posters will blast my opinion) and TrainOrders (really, who would want to pay money to use a site ripped straight from the 90's school of webdesign!). I could go on about my dislike of TrainOrders for a while and the hysteria inducing panic they caused within the community about the rumors surrounding the UP Steam Program a few years back (guess what... 844 is running again it looks better than ever; so I guess their complaints were wasted bandwith!). This forum I have noticed tends to keep a level head, its a bit more calm than those other ones and more similar in tone to the best self-policed Facebook groups I read. Forum success depends on the moderators. If the mods can keep the community from crappy arguments and petty squables they can keep the community far more inviting and enjoyable.
A lot of angry people on the net. This site is a welcome change from all the shouting and angst.
I have two young adult sons, who, when young, were thrilled with my trains, but quickly migrated to video gaming with the rest of their generation. One off-shoot of this was that I had to explain the rationale of putting a train around the Christmas tree!
Perhaps all is not lost... one son freely admitted that gaming is the equivalent to watching cartoons - entertaining, but lacking in substance; where building a layout required planning, determination and commitment.
While the younger generation may be skipping the usual boomer steps of building plastic models and beginner layouts, I suspect that maturity will bring many back to the traditional hobbies including MRRing.
Jim
Maybe they spend their time building models?
Then there's the fact that forums tend to skew older in demographics in general. Young people tend to congregate elsewhere in social media.
While I very much appreciate the company I find here, being a participant here isn't a requirement to be a model railroader and doesn't define whether or not you're a model railroader.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I think I would be considered a young adult. I am a 28 year old, recent first time home owner. My grandfather actually collected model railroad buildings, engines, tracks, etc. when I was younger. I inherited them after he passed away back in 2006 and they sold his house. The accumulated railroading equipment sat for years through college, masters degree, etc. Luckily my parents were willing to store them in containers for me until I was able to move them into my own home back in 2017.
I am relatively new to model railroading in terms of big layouts. All my grandfather and I accomplished when I was younger was running trains on two doors placed together in his attic.
I am now just building my first large layout in my basement, I was lucky enough to marry my wife who supports this hobby, the space it took up, and its occassional expense, though we have some other bills to pay off now so it comes and goes as to how much I time and effort I can put into it. So far I have most of the flat sections of the mainlines run.
Hopefully that answers some questions, I am happy to chime-in as needed.
-Andrew
Andrew,
Well said, you're a credit to the hobby as are just about all the other young folks I know who participate.
For my own part, I keep in mind that being a grumpy old man doesn't do anything for the hobby, only marks you as a grumpy old man. Remember, model railroading is fun and unless you're setting a good example, what's your excuse for not acting like you're having fun?
mlehman For my own part, I keep in mind that being a grumpy old man doesn't do anything for the hobby, only marks you as a grumpy old man.
For my own part, I keep in mind that being a grumpy old man doesn't do anything for the hobby, only marks you as a grumpy old man.
My dad recently turned 50 years old and applied for his AARP membership. I have been trying to explain to him that just because he is part of the AARP now he doesn't have to act so grumpy. Somedays it seems he is trying to ressurect the spirt of my late grandfather when he gets grumpy. Sooo yeah... don't get grumpy. (Ah who am I kidding... I am 24 years old but will get like a grumpy old man anytime somebody mentions the words "do... you... think... they... will... soon... be... running... steam... engines... on... the... Heber... Valley... Railroad... ?..." )
Model Railroading is like Nature.
It weeds out the weak in favor of the strong.
To be a model Railroader you have to be tough,resorceful,frugal at times and most of all patient.
All the skills needed come with time. Nothing has instant gratification. Nothing is easy. If you want it bad enough. You'll find a way.
If you're chasing the ladies. Just keep your trains packed up for now...
These will come in handy after marriage & kids. It is an escape from family life.
Patrick
Fear an Ignorant Man more than a Lion- Turkish proverb
Modeling an ficticious HO scale intergrated Scrap Yard & Steel Mill Melt Shop.
Southland Industrial Railway or S.I.R for short. Enterchanging with Norfolk Southern.
It's a requirement of adulthood - when you get past 50 like me, you too will turn into a grumpy old man. Now you kids get off my lawn!
Yes, mostly 'seasoned' modelrs are posting in this thread, but that's because we have the experience to relate - at least many uf us were in the hobby before we were even teens. In my case, I have film evidence that I was running trains before I was 3. I kept it up until my mid teens, when I finally was able to have a job that could feed my other hobby, that being computers. The last layout and the computers coexisted for a couple of years before I finally hauled the layout out of my room and down to the basement for storage.
College came, and I was pretty much oout of the hobby. Occasional things would come up and I would remember past layouts and stuff, but never thought seriously about getting back into it immediately, that was for something after I had a job and was settled in somewhere. First GF post-college, turns out her Dad was a model railroader, and had a good collection of MR from the years I was in college. Once I discovered those, I read each and every one - eventually he gave me the whole stack. Those years contained lots of electronic projects, like CTC-16 and CMRI, so it really connected my hobby and education, with my other hobby. Soon I bought some track, and a loco, and a couple of car kits. Through marriage, kids, divorce (and repeat, minus kids the second time), I've been involved in some way in model railroading ever since, more than 30 years.
So while there may be bumps or distractions - no reason why young adults can't enjoy this hobby as much as anyone.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I'm a young adult, I collected locomotives, freight cars a few vehicles. Recently I started buying tools and building supplies for my first layout.
I started buying my trains and hopefully structures and etc before I get serious into a relationship with a girl and hoping a job (if I'm lucky with my social worker).
This way I'll build little by little with free time and not worrying about buying new items. Where I know that money will get tight.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Says very little because a lot of modelers deems this forum to be for beginners not season modelers.
The majority of the young adult modelers I've talk at trackside are far more advance then a lot of us older folk.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I've recently turned 36 (which pretty much puts me at the two minute warning for the first half of life!). This also makes me the second youngest member of my modular club and by a couple to "a few" decades even. The next closest guy is in his late 50s. The youngest guy is the ~20 year old son of one of the other guys.
The original question of whether or not this can be a young person's pursuit I must answer with "maybe, but not easily." I don't actually think of it as an age issue, but a place in life issue. The thing I think some people are getting caught up in is that any hobby requires a certain level of stability that enables the free resources (in all terms) to be able to divert them to non-essentials. The life milestones that you run into between 18 and 25 or so require a certain level of thrift, shallow roots, and so on that work against the general pursuit of an involved hobby.
In our particular hobby, if one was so compelled, I'd recommend shifting into a build and display type hobby, more akin to scale modelling, for the young person until life circumstance stabilizes. I'd shy away from an actual layout, even a sectional, as I've found they travel less than you'd hope them to. I'm a bit of a module evangelist and it is easy to construct argument suggesting "you'll be moving a few times and they take up a predictable and easily allocated space in a small apartment."
Why shouldn´t it be a hobby for a young adult?
I think that model railroading is as well suited for younger folks as any other hobby. All hobbies require time and money, but both can easily adjusted to match them with the necessities of life - which vary over the time, of course.
I have been in this hobby for 55 years now and there have been times, when model railroading filled just about any spare minute I had, while at the same time I spend every "free" nickel and dime on it. There have been times, when other interests were more important and model railroading got on the backburner. However, I never lost interest in the hobby, being actively pursuing it or just armchairing.
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
NittanyLion I've recently turned 36 (which pretty much puts me at the two minute warning for the first half of life!). This also makes me the second youngest member of my modular club and by a couple to "a few" decades even. The next closest guy is in his late 50s. The youngest guy is the ~20 year old son of one of the other guys. The original question of whether or not this can be a young person's pursuit I must answer with "maybe, but not easily." I don't actually think of it as an age issue, but a place in life issue. The thing I think some people are getting caught up in is that any hobby requires a certain level of stability that enables the free resources (in all terms) to be able to divert them to non-essentials. The life milestones that you run into between 18 and 25 or so require a certain level of thrift, shallow roots, and so on that work against the general pursuit of an involved hobby. In our particular hobby, if one was so compelled, I'd recommend shifting into a build and display type hobby, more akin to scale modelling, for the young person until life circumstance stabilizes. I'd shy away from an actual layout, even a sectional, as I've found they travel less than you'd hope them to. I'm a bit of a module evangelist and it is easy to construct argument suggesting "you'll be moving a few times and they take up a predictable and easily allocated space in a small apartment."
Having been in this hobby my whole life, I am going to challenge your view somewhat.
Repeatedly above people have talked about choices.
Taking model trains out of the picture for one minute, who says being 18 to 25 requires "shallow roots" or a lack of stablity?
Those are choices you made, based on your earlier posts, but they are choices, other people make different choices.
Never in my life, at any age, did I move around chasing the lowest rent?
I have lived in the same general area my whole life, never had any problem making a good living.
And I did not go to college - read my earlier posts.
I have only lived two places since age 22, and only 5 places since age 19 when I moved out of my parents house. I am 61 now and shopping for my retirement house, to get out of the "big one".
I was rasing children at an early age, stablity was important. I obviously know nothing about you, but respectfully I most likely would not like your life style choices from what you have shared.
So, if you choose to be a gypsy, or choose a career that requires travel/relocating to advance, then you made that choice, and maybe model trains is not a good hobby for you.
I don't live in some "high rent" place like DC, I live in the rural suburbs north of Baltimore, and I work where I live.
Again choices, life is full of them. Yours may suit you, that's great. Others make different choices. Don't assume everyone your age is making your choices.
The people your age, that you know, are likely making similar choices, so that's why you think everyone is. Lots of people your age, that you will never meet, are making different choices - that's why you won't meet them.....
Sheldon
I do sincerely hope that my addition to this post does not anger or insult any one. Most certainly not my intention. Honbbies, be they model trains, stamps, or knitting, take up only the resources that are devoted to them. If I choose to go on a two day road trip rather than lay track, the same amount of time passed by. Model RRng requires no more time (or money) than any other leisure time activity. Go to the movies or run trains? Weekly night out with the guys or girls (or both) or join the local train club? All of these are choices individuals make. There isn't a time frame to be a modeler only or to shun trains altogether. Just choices you make with the time/options in front of you. Just my couple of shillings worth.
Old Fat Robert
BRAKIE PED Anyone notice who is responding to this thread? All are seasoned train modelers. Not one young adult has chimed in to make his thoughts known. That says a lot about who is is the game and reading this forum. Says very little because a lot of modelers deems this forum to be for beginners not season modelers. The majority of the young adult modelers I've talk at trackside are far more advance then a lot of us older folk.
Seasoned or beginner, this or any forum represents only a VERY SMALL percentage of the modelers out there.
And those stuffy "expert" forums, well I have forgotten more about model trains than some of those guys think they know, but who can stand them?
"advanced"? in what ways? It is a diverse hobby one can tailor to their own likes and skills. I'm uber advanced in some aspects, and choose to be basic in other aspects.
But again, it all still about personal choice.
I choose NOT to: watch TV, go on cruise ships, play golf, move every 3 years, take expensive vacations, etc, etc, so that I have the time, space and money for model trains.
I know I'm getting old, so please forgive my forgetfulness. But would someone please remind me how many times this same topic in its various iterations has been folded, spindled, and/or otherwise mutilated already this year?
maxman But would someone please remind me how many times this same topic in its various iterations has been folded, spindled, and/or otherwise mutilated already this year?
As a long time member to this forum just having re-registered, I have lost track of how many times similar topics have come up in the past decade. This seems to be a variation to the theme "the hobby is too expensive".
I don´t mind the re-run, there are plenty of new folks who may wish to contribute.
maxman I know I'm getting old, so please forgive my forgetfulness. But would someone please remind me how many times this same topic in its various iterations has been folded, spindled, and/or otherwise mutilated already this year?
I don't know, I think I skipped most of them. I think most of the other discussions focused on how to "recruit" young people, an activity I have no interest in.
I find this discussion of lifestyle choices amusing.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL"advanced"? in what ways?
IMHO whatever slice of the hobby you choose to study and excel in.
I can't wire a DP/DT toggle but,I can sit down with the best of the lot and talk about designing a ISL or operation. I don't know a SIECO boxcar from a FMC boxcar but,I can discuss various industries in which they go.
I love short lines and terminal switching roads..I love researching and visiting these "back alley" railroads.
I enjoy my DC engines as much as my few DCC engines..I still enjoy switching with a BB GP7 as much as I do my DCC/Sound GenKat GP9 or IM GP10..
That's my slice of the hobby.
It all comes down to the person. I was exposed to model railroading at a fairly young age, so I got into it. But I'm the exception, not the norm (at least I think so).
I can say, though the eyes of someone who is a teenager, that these kinda hobbies require one thing; a first hand experience in order to find them interesting. I don't find building kit cars and planes to be all that fun, but I'd say a good 10 of my friends, my uncle, and one of my cousins love them. On the flip side, they probably won't find superdetailing an SP Tunnel Motor or running a scaled down City of Los Angeles around a giant layout exciting.
It's not that teens don't have the time, money, or commitment to enter the hobby; most of us just don't have an interest in getting into it in the first place. And trust me, we have way too much of all of those things.
Okay, well maybe not money...
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Taking model trains out of the picture for one minute, who says being 18 to 25 requires "shallow roots" or a lack of stablity?
Because, according to actual demographic data, is true: that age range moves a lot, because of school or the military or just plain getting away from the parents.
Only 37% of Americans have lived in the same place their whole lives. More people have had to go to work for $9 an hour in their early 20s than jumping out at $50k a year.
Don't assume everyone your age is making your choices.
I don't assume, but I do know that the data suggests huge segments of my demographic range are making similiar choices. In general, we have pursued higher education (65%) and largely completed that (45% have a bachelor's or higher). While we have a higher rate of staying at home than previous generations (38% live with their parents), half of all the people moving in a given year are in the described age bracket despite being about 20% of the population. We came of age in a period of strained employment and depressed salaries. Our rate of home ownership is much lower than other generations, so we do have to chase rents, even in low cost of living places.
In my own life, I've had to move around a lot not always because of choices I made and sometimes because my situation was improving. Like when I got a raise and didn't need to have a roommate any more (a choice) or when my building was sold and torn down to be redeveloped (not so much a choice). I've also kept an oddly wide social circle and know everything from "working on my PhD" to "ex-military technician blue collar guy." Two things have been extremely common in everyone's history: a period where you didn't make so much and a few moves, sometimes over very long distances. It happens a lot, all over.
For a hobby based around filling up a room with lumber and plaster, its been taking us a little longer to reach that point in life.
I suspect many of us had a period where the hobby was on hiatus - perhaps college and post graduate education, perhaps when first employed or first married or first a parent. It does not have to be a continuous and uninterrupted involvement. It can be dormant for decades. But if a strong seed was planted earlier, the hobby is still there waiting for you. (Meaning maybe Thomas the Tank Engine will be a benefit after all; we can't know what or how deep its effects were.)
Jason Shron (at age 41) of Rapido wrote an interesting "think piece" on this topic that I gather appeared in the December 2016 Model Rairoad News. NMRA President Charlie Getz reprinted it in the March 2017 NMRA Magazine. Shron makes some very telling points about the 2008 Recession and its effects on those born in the 1970s and 80s, and perhaps even 90s. "Perhaps the biggest impact has not been on the Boomers, but on their kids." And by extension on their kids kids.
Dave Nelson
Well, this 32 year young adult didn't go to college, as I didn't see the need to spend thousands of dollars just to work in retail or flipping burgers for the double arches. (Two of my cousins my age did just that.)
My Grandfather was in the Navy, and I have numerous uncle's who joined the Army, or the Marine's, but they had zero given to them for their sacrafice, and I didn't see then, or now, any reason to join any military branch. (Stopping there to prevent this from turning political.)
I have lived in the same area my entire life, though I still live with my parents, as most w*^k in my area is not very high paying. (Most jobs are around that said $9 an hour range.)
So I must be the anomaly in those studies for that demographic data.
I have chosen to not drink, or smoke, so I am not wasting my hard earned train money on those silly things. (Smoking is repulsive to me, especially with my having asthma, and I never had a interest in drinking.)
I also don't "waste" money playing golf, going clubbing, buying the latest and greatest gadgets, going to every concert or sporting event in my area, nor do I own a brand new car. (The newest cell phone will only set you back ~4 RTR DCC/Sound locomotives....)
And I have had a lifelong interest in trains, from the time I was old enough to remember till now. While I have never had a large layout, I have had for many years a smaller sized one, from the age of about 15 on, with little interruption.
So, yes, it can be a hobby for young adults. But only if the young adults are interested enough to make it one.
However, I will ask, do you know of any "adult" that "plays with trains?"
Really, this is a hobby for big kids!
And this big kid enjoys it, anyway I can!
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
NYBW-John It isn't a hobby for young adults. It's a hobby for very old kids.
Being intelligent doesn't make you educated and being educated doesn't make you intelligent.
An awful lot of baby boomers my age went to University for no other reason than vanity as it was what our parents expected. Most of my friends and family work in a field that has nothing to do with what they studied. Like good parents mine started saving for my University education when I was born.
It was clear I was not going past high school as I thought it was a waste of my time. My parents gave me what they had saved so I could get my commercial pilots license. However, one day I was flying somewhere and had the autopilot on and decided that being a pilot for a living was nothing more than a glorified desk job, so on to other things.
I found a blue collar Government job that was a perfect fit for what I wanted out of life. Better still I got to spend a lot of time around airplanes and I quite liked what it involved.
ATLANTIC CENTRALCollege? who needs college. Libraries are full of books........and I can read.
However, the blue collar wages weren't what I wanted, so off to the University Of British Columbia and the bookstore. The friend that came with me that day was shocked at how much I spent on books on the world of finance and stock markets. It was the driest, toughest reading in the world, but at night I would sit in my truck out under a big light somewhere on the airport in sight of the runway waiting for a flight and read. I educated myself and have had a very comfortable life as a result. I am way better off than anyone in my extended family or any of my friends and they are all highly paid professionals.
If you want a career in something specific, go to school and get that piece of paper. If you just want enough to meet your goals in life, making money is easy if you have the discipline to self-educate.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Brent,
Are you purposely being vague here? If so, it's ok, I understand.
You have made a number of interesting life choices, and clearly they have worked for you.
Likewise my choices have not been real conventional either.
I have been self employed most of my life, in several different businesses, often in more than one at a time.
When I have worked for others, it has never been for any large company or for government. In fact, at age 20, I took a drafting job with a very large manufacturing company, I could not even stand it for a week. After three days I called another small engineering firm that had also made me an offer, they were happy to have me. The personel director was very upset when I marched in her office and told her I was leaving.
Additionally, I never stayed at any "job" very long. Self employment has suited me well.
My wife and I once had money in the stock market, and we did ok, but she did not have the risk tollerance for it. We have done well with rental real estate, which we manage ourselves, no property management fees.
College is necessary for some career paths, but I wanted to "create" wonderful homes and save old homes. Turns out an architectural degree is not really the best path for that. Lucky for me I figured that out early.
PS - And I reached my dreams and goals without giving up this hobby, or family life, and without moving around the country or doing any serious amount of traveling.