Kids and Trains

[Anonymous]

For all railroaders with kids, grandkids, and greatgrandkids:

Am trying to compile a list of kids' ages vs appropriate scale.

One cringes to think of a 6 year old grabbing your prized locomotive,
but in truth these little hands (with age and practice) can be far
more dexterous with small objects than our own will ever be again.
Watch kids as they manipulate game keypads, run rings around us on
the computer keyboard, and focus on objects 2 inches away. Or watch
the fingers of an 8 year old violin or piano virtuoso who has practiced and
learned these skills.

The question is: Can you supply from your own experience
some information about at what age a child (after a
wee bit of practice) can successfully rail a car in your chosen scale, and then a
locomotive? Preferably without breaking it? Uncouple cars without
derailing and work a throttle carefully? I know it took me a bit of
time to learn, and i've had years to work on motor skills. Half the
problem is not being able to see those black wheels in the dark under
the cars from a foot away.

I hear many folks say HO and bigger for kids, but has anyone tried
to find out where the age vs scale breakpoints occur?

Thanks for your help,

[Anonymous]

For all railroaders with kids, grandkids, and greatgrandkids:

Am trying to compile a list of kids' ages vs appropriate scale.

One cringes to think of a 6 year old grabbing your prized locomotive,
but in truth these little hands (with age and practice) can be far
more dexterous with small objects than our own will ever be again.
Watch kids as they manipulate game keypads, run rings around us on
the computer keyboard, and focus on objects 2 inches away. Or watch
the fingers of an 8 year old violin or piano virtuoso who has practiced and
learned these skills.

The question is: Can you supply from your own experience
some information about at what age a child (after a
wee bit of practice) can successfully rail a car in your chosen scale, and then a
locomotive? Preferably without breaking it? Uncouple cars without
derailing and work a throttle carefully? I know it took me a bit of
time to learn, and i've had years to work on motor skills. Half the
problem is not being able to see those black wheels in the dark under
the cars from a foot away.

I hear many folks say HO and bigger for kids, but has anyone tried
to find out where the age vs scale breakpoints occur?

Thanks for your help,

[Anonymous]

I'm 13 years old and I personaly think that HO is the best scale to start on.
Second I think the age of six is the best time to teach he or she about model railroads.
Thats the age I started at.
Third, the age of Ten is perfect time to show he or she the wonders of N scale.
Kids are the future of our hobby, teach them well.

[Anonymous]

I'm 13 years old and I personaly think that HO is the best scale to start on.
Second I think the age of six is the best time to teach he or she about model railroads.
Thats the age I started at.
Third, the age of Ten is perfect time to show he or she the wonders of N scale.
Kids are the future of our hobby, teach them well.

[Anonymous]

I have a grandson who is 3 going on 4 who can run a throttle, throw switches, and blow horns. He can rail cars with great difficulty on a rerailer. He isn't allowed to touch locos. I have a granddaughter 6 who can do it better, can rail a car without a rerailer, but she doesn't touch locos either. They both can do basic scenery like trees, dirt, and grass as well as me, just slower. They have both completed 2' HO modules (I did carpenter and track laying) which they are allowed to do as pleased on as long as the mains are left clear. The 6 year old's is fantastic. Its a small cattle/horse ranch with fences and a house. She painted the animals herself with acrylics on plastic and metal animals. Sure, she has some pink sheep, purple cows, and green horses. I asked her why she painted some sheep pink one day and she replied "they were just born". The 3 year old's is grass lands with rustled cattle on it from the granddaughter's. They are very proud of their work, as am I, and they also leave my stuff alone much better since they have their own. I also let them do grass areas for me as it saves me from doing a rather boring task. We do HO. Our layout is currently double tracks with 36 feet of connected modules 30 inches wide with a 4X8s at each end for turnarounds for loop running. We use DCC.

[Anonymous]

I have a grandson who is 3 going on 4 who can run a throttle, throw switches, and blow horns. He can rail cars with great difficulty on a rerailer. He isn't allowed to touch locos. I have a granddaughter 6 who can do it better, can rail a car without a rerailer, but she doesn't touch locos either. They both can do basic scenery like trees, dirt, and grass as well as me, just slower. They have both completed 2' HO modules (I did carpenter and track laying) which they are allowed to do as pleased on as long as the mains are left clear. The 6 year old's is fantastic. Its a small cattle/horse ranch with fences and a house. She painted the animals herself with acrylics on plastic and metal animals. Sure, she has some pink sheep, purple cows, and green horses. I asked her why she painted some sheep pink one day and she replied "they were just born". The 3 year old's is grass lands with rustled cattle on it from the granddaughter's. They are very proud of their work, as am I, and they also leave my stuff alone much better since they have their own. I also let them do grass areas for me as it saves me from doing a rather boring task. We do HO. Our layout is currently double tracks with 36 feet of connected modules 30 inches wide with a 4X8s at each end for turnarounds for loop running. We use DCC.

[Anonymous]

I think when choosing a scale for your kids/grandkids you should take into consideration the kid themself more so than just their age. I myself treated my toys very well and have my first HO trains from when I was 5 years old all in excellent running condition. I know a boy who's about 11 right now and loves trains. He has a large amount of HO trains and a basic layout. I've helped him a great deal with his trains and have taught him a lot of things. His parents are divorced and he lives with his mother and while his dad spends a lot of time with him and has bought him a lot of trains, he can't help him with his layout. Unlike myself, this boy is can be rather rought with his trains. Of course now he treats his trains a lot better, but it wasn't too long ago that I was doing a lot of repair work on a fairly regular basis fixing things like broken couplers, etc. When I first met him a few years ago he did have a Life-Like HO set that hadn't been operated in almost a year because it was all in pieces from him playing with it.

Children behave differently and some children might be very advanced for their age and others not. If you have a rather hyperactive child I wouldn't recommend getting them and N gauge set. Of cousre if the child's parent has a layout the child can then learn more and probably treat the trains better. I know one guy whose daughter at age 3 would run his expensive Kato HO locomotives on his layout unsupervised with no problems. However, he wasn't aware of this until he kept noticing that his trains were always in different spots on his layout.

My best advice is think about what gauge is right for YOUR child specifically. Another thing to point out is that even if a child is capable of operating a certain gauge, that doesn't mean it's necessarily the best for them. Children have their own likes and dislikes and may have a preference as to what scale they like the most. A kid might be a wiz at running Z scale, but could prefer O gauge instead, simply because they like it better.

All children are different. Whatever your kid is like there's a scale out there that's just right for them!

[Anonymous]

I think when choosing a scale for your kids/grandkids you should take into consideration the kid themself more so than just their age. I myself treated my toys very well and have my first HO trains from when I was 5 years old all in excellent running condition. I know a boy who's about 11 right now and loves trains. He has a large amount of HO trains and a basic layout. I've helped him a great deal with his trains and have taught him a lot of things. His parents are divorced and he lives with his mother and while his dad spends a lot of time with him and has bought him a lot of trains, he can't help him with his layout. Unlike myself, this boy is can be rather rought with his trains. Of course now he treats his trains a lot better, but it wasn't too long ago that I was doing a lot of repair work on a fairly regular basis fixing things like broken couplers, etc. When I first met him a few years ago he did have a Life-Like HO set that hadn't been operated in almost a year because it was all in pieces from him playing with it.

Children behave differently and some children might be very advanced for their age and others not. If you have a rather hyperactive child I wouldn't recommend getting them and N gauge set. Of cousre if the child's parent has a layout the child can then learn more and probably treat the trains better. I know one guy whose daughter at age 3 would run his expensive Kato HO locomotives on his layout unsupervised with no problems. However, he wasn't aware of this until he kept noticing that his trains were always in different spots on his layout.

My best advice is think about what gauge is right for YOUR child specifically. Another thing to point out is that even if a child is capable of operating a certain gauge, that doesn't mean it's necessarily the best for them. Children have their own likes and dislikes and may have a preference as to what scale they like the most. A kid might be a wiz at running Z scale, but could prefer O gauge instead, simply because they like it better.

All children are different. Whatever your kid is like there's a scale out there that's just right for them!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Sask_Tinplater

I think when choosing a scale for your kids/grandkids you should take into consideration the kid themself more so than just their age....
...All children are different. Whatever your kid is like there's a scale out there that's just right for them!

Very perceptive and very well stated (are you by any chance a journalist?). But here's the difficulty - a model railroad as a family hobby can take years to build. During that time children change from little kids to big kids to teenagers. At any one time, a family can have several kids across all ages. Add to that the high probability in today's society of families having to relocate several times during the course of a career; if lucky they move to more space, or they could just as easily move to a smaller space. Choice of scale then depends on available space at the time of starting construction and of unknown future circumstances. Can the railroad be taken along when they move? Or must they leave it behind and start over? So the scale choice becomes how much room is available at present and in the possible future, how old will the kids be when the railroad is finished and ready to operate, how many years will the railroad exist? Will the kids still come over and operate it when they have kids (and maybe railroads) of their own? Many factors go into choosing a beginning scale for a model railroading family that could eventually span generations. Knowing what scales are suitable for what ages can be a big help when faced with this tough decision.

Thanks for your input.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Sask_Tinplater

I think when choosing a scale for your kids/grandkids you should take into consideration the kid themself more so than just their age....
...All children are different. Whatever your kid is like there's a scale out there that's just right for them!

Very perceptive and very well stated (are you by any chance a journalist?). But here's the difficulty - a model railroad as a family hobby can take years to build. During that time children change from little kids to big kids to teenagers. At any one time, a family can have several kids across all ages. Add to that the high probability in today's society of families having to relocate several times during the course of a career; if lucky they move to more space, or they could just as easily move to a smaller space. Choice of scale then depends on available space at the time of starting construction and of unknown future circumstances. Can the railroad be taken along when they move? Or must they leave it behind and start over? So the scale choice becomes how much room is available at present and in the possible future, how old will the kids be when the railroad is finished and ready to operate, how many years will the railroad exist? Will the kids still come over and operate it when they have kids (and maybe railroads) of their own? Many factors go into choosing a beginning scale for a model railroading family that could eventually span generations. Knowing what scales are suitable for what ages can be a big help when faced with this tough decision.

Thanks for your input.

[Anonymous]

To bryan9664 and flee307

I had an American Flyer at 6 years old. But didn't get into HO, N, Z till much later. Moving and space...

A well known Z scale display operator tells me the youngest he knows of to successfully build a Z-tree at a train show was a 3 year old. A 6 year old figured out how to operate most everything on his display layout after watching for a while, but had a little trouble with uncoupling.

To hear of an almost 4 and a 6 year old building scenery and railing cars is fantastic. And it seems that's the secret - let them play an active role rather than "Don't touch - you'll break it!" The fun challenges given to them at a young age are a good way for them to learn and apply these skills. We all have to start somewhere.

[Anonymous]

To bryan9664 and flee307

I had an American Flyer at 6 years old. But didn't get into HO, N, Z till much later. Moving and space...

A well known Z scale display operator tells me the youngest he knows of to successfully build a Z-tree at a train show was a 3 year old. A 6 year old figured out how to operate most everything on his display layout after watching for a while, but had a little trouble with uncoupling.

To hear of an almost 4 and a 6 year old building scenery and railing cars is fantastic. And it seems that's the secret - let them play an active role rather than "Don't touch - you'll break it!" The fun challenges given to them at a young age are a good way for them to learn and apply these skills. We all have to start somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Hi Glen,
No, I'm not a journalist. In fact, I'm only 16 right now, so I don't have a career yet. But I do enjoy writing. Being as young as I am, getting the younger generation involved in model railroading is an issue that I feel very strongly about. Today's kids are going to be the future of our hobby, so it's important that we do the right things to get them interested. It's up to all of us to see that this hobby will be around for future generations to enjoy.
Mitchell

[Anonymous]

Hi Glen,
No, I'm not a journalist. In fact, I'm only 16 right now, so I don't have a career yet. But I do enjoy writing. Being as young as I am, getting the younger generation involved in model railroading is an issue that I feel very strongly about. Today's kids are going to be the future of our hobby, so it's important that we do the right things to get them interested. It's up to all of us to see that this hobby will be around for future generations to enjoy.
Mitchell

[Trainnut484]

I think introducing children/grandchildren at the age of 3 or 4 to the hobby would be great. As long as it's larger than HO. I would say O or larger, because smaller scales would pose a choking hazard if put in mouth. Of course, they would be supervised, but better to be safer than sorry. As they get older and more familiar with the hobby, then you could bring in the smaller scales.[:)][^]

[Trainnut484]

I think introducing children/grandchildren at the age of 3 or 4 to the hobby would be great. As long as it's larger than HO. I would say O or larger, because smaller scales would pose a choking hazard if put in mouth. Of course, they would be supervised, but better to be safer than sorry. As they get older and more familiar with the hobby, then you could bring in the smaller scales.[:)][^]

[der5997]

Started #1 grandson off with a toy train set at about 7. He's a rip and tear sort of a guy, and watching things crash is a real joy to him! His younger brother is of a different temperament, and can run my N layout with real finess. #1 gs while declaring the layout "cool" doesn't seem to have the patience necessary to get the pleasure from it that his younger sibling derives. It takes all sorts![8D]

[der5997]

Started #1 grandson off with a toy train set at about 7. He's a rip and tear sort of a guy, and watching things crash is a real joy to him! His younger brother is of a different temperament, and can run my N layout with real finess. #1 gs while declaring the layout "cool" doesn't seem to have the patience necessary to get the pleasure from it that his younger sibling derives. It takes all sorts![8D]