What are the characteristics of the "average" Model Railroader

[rexhea]

Steam or Deisel .................Both
Gauge modeled ................ Ho
Age at nearest BD ............ 59
Student , Working, Retired ........... ( R )
Country............................................USA
Male or Female ........................... M
Number of years in hobby ......... Return 1.5yrs
DC or DCC, or Both ....................DCC
Track Code used .......................83
RTR , Kit, or Bash......................RTR,KIT
Size of layout ............................18x26 + 2.5x12, 657 ft. Track down
Shelf or Table Layout .............Table
Number of locomotives ..........14
Number of rolling stock...........60
Foam or other ( scenery).........Plaster
Sub base material ...................Plywood
Table top construction ...........Open Grid

REX

[camarokid]

Steam or Deisel ................. both
Gauge modeled ................HO
Age at nearest BD ............58
Student , Working, Retired ........... w
Country............................................USA
Male or Female ........................... M
Number of years in hobby .........34
DC or DCC, or Both .................... both
Track Code used .......................100
RTR , Kit, or Bash......................RTR, Kit
Size of layout ............................16' x 24'
Shelf or Table Layout .............Table
Number of locomotives ..........35
Number of rolling stock...........entirely too many to count
Foam or other ( scenery).........no scenery yet
Sub base material ...................3/4 particle board, painted on both sides and all edges
Table top construction ...........open grid

That about says it all.
Archie

[JimRCGMO]

Steam or Deisel ................. Mixed, probably mostly diesel
Gauge modeled ................ HO
Age at nearest BD ............ 58
Student , Working, Retired ........... W
Country............................................ USA (or did you mean Garth, Clint, WInona, and George?)
Male or Female ........................... Male
Number of years in hobby ......... about 10 total (8-9 back when I was a kid, and about 1 recently)
DC or DCC, or Both .................... DC for now, DCC later
Track Code used ....................... I'd guess it's 83 (using some donated track to build the layout with)
RTR , Kit, or Bash...................... Yes - plus some detailing (but I'm not a rivetcounter)
Size of layout ............................ Couple or three 2'X4' modules for now (shelf type later)
Shelf or Table Layout ............. For now, freestanding (is that table, if I'm doing modules?)
Number of locomotives .......... two for now, plus 2 or 3 RDC's
Number of rolling stock........... less than 30
Foam or other ( scenery)......... shell (of glue or plaster and paper towels)
Sub base material ................... 1/2 inch plywood, plus some homosote & cork roadbed
Table top construction ........... Likely, cookie-cutter over grid

Jim

[vsmith]

Steam or Deisel ................. both
Gauge modeled ................ 36" industrial Fn3
Age at nearest BD ............ none of yer beeswax! .....42
Student , Working, Retired .......W
Country.........................................(or Western?) USA
Male or Female ..........................M
Number of years in hobby ........off and one 10 years
DC or DCC, or Both ...................DC
Track Code used ....................... LGB code 225
RTR , Kit, or Bash...................... all
Size of layout ............................ 8' x 20'
Shelf or Table Layout ............. benchwork
Number of locomotives .......... 22
Number of rolling stock........... 30
Foam or other ( scenery)......... will be foam w/ hydrocal castings
Sub base material ................... see above
Table top construction ........... plywood

[egmurphy]

Okay, late to the party here, but these are the semi-vital stats:

Prefer steam with some early “diseasels”
N scale
58
Retired
Living in Mexico
Male
How long in the hobby? Hard to say. I started with Lionel as a kid, on and off through school and career, many years inactive, got back in seriously 2-3 years ago
DC
Code 80
Mostly rtr now, some kits, intend to do some bashing someday
3’ x 6’-8” (wood door)
Table style (portable)
15 engines +/-
100 cars +/-
Foam based scenery
Sub/base – foam on door?
Benchwork = hollow core wood door

Era modeled = 1945-1960 (very loosely)
Freelanced


I though it interesting that out of about 32 people who gave enough data for your study, 5 of us were either 58 or 59. Not to say that's the average, but funny (to me anyway) to have that many people within a two year spread.


Regards

Ed

[grayfox1119]

I would like to thank all the respondents to this Poll, and to give anyone who has not responded, and wishes to add their stats, a last chance before I add up the stats and present a total to this forum.

[espeefoamer]

Mostly diesel,2steam,2electric
HO
53
W
USA
Male
Since I was a kid
Code 100
Table
Right now just a test track
About 30 locos
Never counted them!

[Anonymous]

Steam or Deisel ............................Diesel, I run some steam as Exursions
Gauge modeled ............................HO and N
Age at nearest BD ........................15
Student , Working, Retired .........Student
Country...........................................Good Ole' USA
Male or Female ............................Male
Number of years in hobby ..........13
DC or DCC, or Both .....................DCC
Track Code used .........................Code 83
RTR , Kit, or Bash.........................Its a Mixed bag, i've got little bit of everything
Size of layout .................................Not big enough[:D]
Shelf or Table Layout ...................Shelf, with a penninsula that leaves the room when being used
Number of locomotives ...............20? I lost track after christmas
Number of rolling stock................???? Lost track along time ago
Foam or other ( scenery)..............What is this word "scenery" mean?
Sub base material ........................Plywood
Table top construction .................Yeah kinda, shelf style but its all plywood

[Anonymous]

My stat is

S,D,or E: Mostly steam

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Other hobbies: photography, rail art, & train watching.

locomotives: 16

stock: 35

layout's : mostly temporary, I sometimes operate at the San Diego Model RR museum

Type Dc, Ho scale

RR: mostly UP

[Anonymous]

It's all about fun, trains & sometimes just the locomotives. There was a time when I
had more locomotives than freight. It's the total opposite now !

[Anonymous]

Me????
Transition,,mostly diesel
HO
44
Working
Male
40 years
DCC
code 100 to 75
kitbash & scratch
2x16
modular
75 engines
350 cars
foam
open grid
Luan plywood grid frames (waffles)

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Biggie Smalls

The Characteristics of the average Model railroader is

Black Men
Under the age of 30 yrs old
above average IQs
Medium Build and in shape
A Badboy....

Oh that was just describing me sorry. No I am just playing. I am definitely not average I am a minority Modeler but its all good.

It's always refreshing to see someone buck the trends and stereotypes... I myself am much the same.
However, I'm no Badboy [:I]

btw, great home layout!

[willy6]

K-2
HALF-0
51
retired (USN) and working
United States of America
Male
14 plus
DC
100
all
4x8
table
14
125 plus
foam
air
foam

[BRAKIE]

Your poll may not show the true balance simply because a lot of the older modelers don't hang out on this forum.Some can be found on 1 forum.
No biggy though.Its still interesting.[:D]

[jlcjrbal]

Steam or Deisel ................. Steam for now but I am about to get a BLI switcher
Gauge modeled ................HO
Age at nearest BD ............36
Student , Working, Retired ........... ( S, W, or R )Working Pastry Chef
Country............................................USA
Male or Female ........................... Male
Number of years in hobby .........6 Months
DC or DCC, or Both .................... DCC
Track Code used .......................100
RTR , Kit, or Bash......................ALL
Size of layout ............................4 X 8 but getting ready for a 12 by 6
Shelf or Table Layout .............Planning on both
Number of locomotives ..........Just 1 USRA B&O Mikado
Number of rolling stock...........6 peices, all from when I was a kid
Foam or other ( scenery).........None
Sub base material ...................plywood
Table top construction Plywood

[Ibflattop]

QUOTE: Originally posted by grayfox1119

If you were to guess, what would you say are the defining characteristics of the "average" model railroader? Lets see if we can get enough info to determine. I tried to list as many things as I could that seemed the most important, it I have not listed something, please feel free to add.

Steam or Deisel .................
Gauge modeled ................
Age at nearest BD ............
Student , Working, Retired ........... ( S, W, or R )
Country............................................
Male or Female ...........................
Number of years in hobby .........
DC or DCC, or Both ....................
Track Code used .......................
RTR , Kit, or Bash......................
Size of layout ............................
Shelf or Table Layout .............
Number of locomotives ..........
Number of rolling stock...........
Foam or other ( scenery).........
Sub base material ...................
Table top construction ...........

Ok here is my stats to keep up with my fello Hobbiers.............
Steam or Deisel : Deisel with a little Steam
Guage : H.O. scale
Age : 43
Student, Working, Retired : Working
Country : U.S.A
Male or Female : Male
Number of Years in Hobby : 38
DC or DCC or Both : DC right now but when my Laout is completed it will be DCC
Track Code in use : Code 83 mainline
RTR, Kit or Bash : Kits mostly with a couple of bashed MOW cars.
Size of Layout : 13 x 25 ft . 3 levels ( lowest level: Hidden staging yards Middle level : Main line, Main yard, Upper level : Branchline
Shelf or Table : Shelf around the room with islands
Number of Locos : 130 N&W, NKP, Wab, Ann Arbor, DT&I, D&TSL and the Modern day LE&W
Number of Rolling Stock : 650
Foam or other ( scenery) : 2 "Foam with plaster cloth
Subbase : foam
Table top constuction : L girder
Number of pet squrrels to power : 6 with one hamster named Skittels that he thinks he is a Squrrel.
Number of times that I was in the Doghouse after coming home from the LHS :
Lost count , But always got out !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoooooooo Woooooooooo [:D]
Belong to a local Model club: Yes and also the NMRA
Thanks for being here guys!!!!!!!!!!!! Kevin

[howmus]

Steam or Deisel ................. Steam
Gauge modeled ................ Horribly Oversized
Age at nearest BD ............ 58 (just feels like 90 some days)
Student , Working, Retired ........... Retired!!!!!!
Country............................................ like classical better oops! US
Male or Female ........................... Male
Number of years in hobby ......... a lot (off and on since I was a little kid)
DC or DCC, or Both .................... Converting to DCC now
Track Code used ....................... 83 and handlaid 70
RTR , Kit, or Bash...................... RTR, Kit and Scratchbuilt
Size of layout ............................ 12' x 14' basement room
Shelf or Table Layout ............. Table
Number of locomotives .......... 10 total (5 with DCC) other 5 probably not worth converting
Number of rolling stock........... 70 or so cars
Foam or other ( scenery)......... most scenery is hardshell, starting to use foam
Sub base material ................... 1/4" to 5/16" plywood and Spline lattice
Table top construction ........... L girder

DCC is sooooo fantastic. To see all my running locos lined up next to each other on the same track is awsome. Now if I can stop doing some stupid programing thing like I did last night and then spent an hour trying to figure out why nothing ran tonight and have to reset the decoder to the default settings and start over..... (sorry, run on sentence; Engli***eachers, no need to flame).[banghead]

[johncolley]

Gosh, you forgot a few things: right or left handed; nearsighted, 20/20, or farsighted; short,medium, or tall; craftsperson, or all thumbs; blue collar, or white collar; There must be more quantities that go to making an "average".

[Anonymous]

Steam or Deisel ............... .............Steam and diesel
Gauge modeled ..................................1:87
Age at nearest BD .............................21
Ethnicity...............................................Negro American
Sex......................................................strictly females
S,W,R?..............................................Working
Kids.......................................................None
Country................................................United States
Male or Female ...................................Super-Male
Number of years in hobby ......................9
DC or DCC, or Both .............................DC
Track Code used .................................code 83 and 100
RTR , Kit, or Bash.................................. Kits, few RTR
Size of layout ........................................11' x 9'
Shelf or Table Layout .......................around the wall shelf
Number of locomotives ..................20+
Number of rolling stock...................200+
Foam or other ( scenery)...............glue shell, plaster cloth

[grayfox1119]

Seeing I started this, I own pulling all the stats together and sending out a forum update with the results. I will give this another week or two to give everyone a chance to add to the list.

Thanks to all who participated thus far, it should be interesting to see the tally.

[AggroJones]

Steam or Deisel ............... ............Steam, few 1st gen diesels
Gauge modeled ............................1:87
Age at nearest BD .........................23
Ethnicity...........................................Black, Cherrokee, Irish blend
Hairstyle.........................................bald headed
Sex...........................................I like Asian and Indian girls, they just don't like me!
S,W,R?...........................................semi-unemployed
Kids.........................................I am unable to spawn children, as it seems
Other hobbies................................Video games, watching animals fight
Country..............................................United States
Male or Female ................................Male wolverine
Number of years in hobby .............about 10
DC or DCC, or Both .........................DC
Track Code used ............................code 83 and 100
RTR , Kit, or Bash...........................mostly Kits, few RTR
Size of layout ...................................overall 11' x 11'
Shelf or Table Layout .....................2' shelf
Number of locomotives ..................30
Number of rolling stock...................250+
Foam or other ( scenery)...............non-toxic glue shell
Table top construction ....................1" thick beaded white foam

[davekelly]

Biggie,

A minority? I thought you modeled HO which would put you in the largest group. Oh - you meant race/age? Well, as far as I can tell, this hobby is race/color/political/religeous/sex/wealth blind - which was the thought behind my original post concerning the "average" model rail. Like I've always thought - if trains make you smile - you're one of us!

[Anonymous]

Steam or Deisel ................. STEAM
Gauge modeled ................HO
Age at nearest BD ............34
Student , Working, Retired ........... WORKING ALWAYS WORKING
Country............................................USA
Male or Female ........................... MALE
Number of years in hobby .........10
DC or DCC, or Both .................... DCC
Track Code used .......................70 BUT 100 NEXT TIME
RTR , Kit, or Bash......................ALL OF THE ABOVE
Size of layout ............................18 X 20
Shelf or Table Layout .............TABLE
Number of locomotives ..........6
Number of rolling stock...........40
Foam or other ( scenery).........NONE YET
Sub base material ...................PLYWOOD
Table top construction ...........YES AND SOME OPEN GRID

[Anonymous]

Steam or Deisel ................. Mixed
Gauge modeled ................ HO
Age at nearest BD ............ 39
Student , Working, Retired ........... ( S, W, or R ) S
Country............................................ USA
Male or Female ........................... M
Number of years in hobby ......... 32
DC or DCC, or Both .................... Both
Track Code used ....................... 100 then 83
RTR , Kit, or Bash...................... RTR, Kit very little bash (learning)
Size of layout ............................ 6 feet by 18" soon to be 2x8
Shelf or Table Layout .............soon shelf, Interchange/run on other layouts
Number of locomotives .......... 10 or so
Number of rolling stock........... 100
Foam or other ( scenery)......... bare wood for now, planning
Sub base material ...................
Table top construction ...........

Not much to my railroad yet. It is all under planning/construction. Has been for some time. This year I hope to drive the track in and start on the scenery.

[Anonymous]

See I forgot the last few questions before I posted.

Number of locomotives ..........5 D, 1S
Number of rolling stock...........50+, obviously not all on layout at once.
Foam or other ( scenery).........combination
Sub base material ...................2" foam on ply
Table top construction ...........ply

[Anonymous]

Steam or Deisel ................. Deisel w/ 1 steam for tourist/railfan excursions
Gauge modeled ................HO
Age at nearest BD ............59
Student , Working, Retired ........... ( S, W, or R ) Working
Country............................................USA
Male or Female ........................... M
Number of years in hobby .........1 layout; 30 armchair
DC or DCC, or Both .................... DCC
Track Code used .......................83
RTR , Kit, or Bash......................Kit mostly
Size of layout ............................4x8
Shelf or Table Layout .............Table Top, but aspire to shelf
Number of locomotives ..........
Number of rolling stock...........
Foam or other ( scenery).........
Sub base material ...................
Table top construction ...........

[cmrproducts]

Steam or Diesel ................... Diesel ( CR ’75 to ’85 time period)
Gauge modeled ................... HO
Age at nearest BD ................ 58
Student, Working, Retired ...( S, W, or R ) Working (only 4 more to go)
Country......................................US
Male or Female .......................Male
Number of years in hobby .....50
DC or DCC, or Both ................DCC (Digitrax Radio)
Track Code used ................... Code 100 Atlas
RTR , Kit, or Bash................... All types
Size of layout .......................... 25ft x 75 ft + 14ft x 28 extension (2267sq ft)
Shelf or Table Layout .............Around the walls – peninsulas (multi-level)
Number of locomotives .........60+
Number of rolling stock..........800
Foam or other ( scenery)........Foam/Plaster/Foam covered Heavy paper
Sub base material .................1 x2 lumber benchwork – OSB – Homasote - Cork
Table top construction ..........L-girder & open grid


BOB H Clarion, PA

[whitman500]

Steam or Deisel ................. Both
Gauge modeled ................HO
Age at nearest BD ............29
Student , Working, Retired ........... Working
Country............................................US
Male or Female ........................... Male
Number of years in hobby .........4 months currently, 2 years back when I was a kid
DC or DCC, or Both .................... DCC
Track Code used .......................83
RTR , Kit, or Bash......................RTR, Kit
Size of layout ............................12x4
Shelf or Table Layout .............Table
Number of locomotives ..........4
Number of rolling stock...........12
Foam or other ( scenery).........NA
Sub base material ...................plywood
Table top construction ...........plywood

I get the impression that the average model railroader is getting older. I remember 15 years ago when I was last involved in the hobby that most major toy stores carried a good amount of toy train products. Today they carry nothing. I think it is something to worry about in that it seems like most hobbyists start as kids and then continue on in or return to the hobby as adults. I'm not sure how many 30-year olds who never had a model train decide to get into the hobby. If this trend is indeed true and continues, it will be a bad thing for all of us since it will inevitably impact the range and cost of products and the availability of ideas and assistance.

[orsonroy]

[Steam or Diesel ................. mostly steam
Gauge modeled ................ standard (HO SCALE)
Age at nearest BD ............ 35
Student , Working, Retired ........... working
Country............................................ USA
Male or Female ........................... Male
Number of years in hobby ......... 30 (off and on)
DC or DCC, or Both .................... DC now, planning for DCC
Track Code used ....................... 83, 75, 70, 55
RTR , Kit, or Bash...................... RTR, Kit, kitbash and scratchbuild
Size of layout ............................ 12x25 three level
Shelf or Table Layout ............. shelf
Number of locomotives .......... 125 or so
Number of rolling stock........... 500 or so
Foam or other ( scenery)......... foam
Sub base material ................... 1/4" Lauan plywood
Table top construction ........... 1/4" Lauan plywood and 2" foam