Whats the average age of O gauge train buffs?

[Reading T-1]

     I was just at the York pre TCA train meet and noticed that I was one of the youngest there. Now, I'm not trying to be negative in any way!! I'm just concerned about the future of the hobby. I'm 35 years old and it seemed to me that most people involved were of the age of 55 or older. Is this aspect of the hobby going to disapear in the next 20 years? Or will more young people become involved in it? Give me your opinion.

[challenger3980]

  I am 42, and have done my best to see that the Hobby stays strong, I have given O-Gauge trains to 6 Nephews, 2 Nieces a Grand Daughter and some Family Friends, and ALL have been Thrilled with them.

 At my LHS, Whistle Stop Trains here in Portland, OR Charlie the owner has said that while 3-Rail O-Gauge will never be the market force that HO is, it has been increasing in Popularity, and that sales are growing. Plus look at the improvements in the equipment available. It may not be the 50's again, but it is a GREAT time to be into O-Gauge.

                                                                                  Doug

[lionel2]

I am 27, I thought I was the youngest train collector too.  I have been collecting since I was 6 years old, started with Z, then N, then HO, Now at O scale.  I have been collecting postwar O gauge since 1994, and I probably have the biggest collection of anyone my age. I have umm 20 locos, 21 operating accessories, about 120 cars, few passenger sets, thats about it, few odds and ends.  As of now, I have no one to pass it down to, I am single, more money for trains, hehehe.  But, will prolly be an uncle in the next few years, then i will pass it to my brother's kids.  Yeah, when i go to train shows its always like men that are like 40 to 60 years old, never many younger men like myself, just keeps me wondering if the hobby will survive.  I think this is the greatest hobby and would like to see it stay alive.  Ebay and online things are helping beginners get trains for cheap, but train shows, no one is buying cause they are comparing to ebay prices.  I am not sure what the hobby can do to get more young people to join TCA or whatever to make the hobby have a younger croud. 

[laz 57]

I'm 51 and almost 5 months here.

laz57

[3railguy]

I turn 50 next week but have been involved in the hobby off and on for 25 years. Trains took a back seat to raising a family over many of those years. The hobby has been dominated by the 50 plus crowd for as long as I can remember. On a serious level, O gauge trains take up a lot of space and cash that many young families aren't willing to commit. Once the kids are off on their own and the home is paid off is when people get serious about the hobby. The hobby has grown imensly over the past 25 years. Today's Lionel catalog is 4 times thicker than the postwar and MPC Lionel catalogs. If the hobby were to die, the worst that can happen is a mountain of trains will become available for cheap prices. It is a waste of time to worry about the future. Enjoy trains for what they are today. We do a better job of promoting the hobby when we enjoy our trains anyway.

[anjdevil2]

Just hit 53. back in it (now about 4 years) after being gone since 1969.  Dabbled in HO for a while in the '80's but that realy dosen't count.  Had trains all trough my early years up to about 14 when we moved.  Just got to see and catalog Dad's stuff in January and FINALLY got his 1666 to run.  Never remembered it running, but it does now.  My oldest helps out, he's 29 and the youngest, she's 14 and she does all the artestry.  Wife, not so much, but she tolerates that and the car thing OK.

[sir james I]

There is no way I'm telling anyone on this forum that I am 68 until June, not going to happen.

I grew up in Toledo Oh. trains ran everywhere. The 20th century limited stopped in Toledo but It ran through town at 70 MPH. My dad would take me to the station to watch trains. So I can't remember anytime I did not like trains.

[cnw1995]

By sniffing around the major toy train forums, you'll find many, many similar threads about demographics and the future of the hobby - my reading on their consensus: Like many other hobbies, whilst there is a huge 'bulge' of baby boomers and pre-boomers, interest among us young'uns will keep it going. And whilst this might be a sort of second golden age for O gauge, the hobby has always been shifting / changing. I'm 45 for another two-weeks anyway.

[fifedog]

40-somethin'-something.  Back when I was 20-somethin'-something there was this concern for future of the hobby...

...breathe into this paper bag....

[Ingeniero1]

 ... I'm 35 years old and it seemed to me that most people involved were of the age of 55 or older....

I remember going to train shows in the Chicago area in the late 1970's (when I was about your age) and noticing that I was among the youngest there; most others appeared to be in their 50's and up. Now I am part of the older crowd.

I am 62 and have been involved with trains since I can remember. Let's say 4-yr old through 14 with Lionel; from 20 (when my first son was born) through 48, with HO; and as of just recently, with 'O' gauge.

I think perhaps, regardless of specific era, many kids in their teens have other interests that take up all of their time. Then, when they marry, finances are sort of skimpy. A bit later things look better and 'we' return to trains.

Alex 

[traindaddy1]

If you really want to know....2 x 33 + .....

[Bob Keller]

50 is the new 40 ...

[Warburton]

Bob -- not according to Dennis Hopper in those investment commercials!

 Anyway, uh, uh, what was the question????

 Oh yeah, I'm 60 (I think).

[3railguy]

...breathe into this paper bag....

NAILED IT.

 

[lionelsoni]

http://cs.trains.com/forums/368761/ShowPost.aspx

 

[zwbob]

I'll be 51 in two months

[Buckeye Riveter]

The Chief is 105 and I am 4 1/2, see photo on the left of this post.  Kinda look old for my age.

[Blueberryhill RR]

The Chief is 105 and I am 4 1/2, see photo on the left of this post.  Kinda look old for my age.

Right........and I'm 19.

[aurora351]

I'm almost 36. I've been involved one way or another through my dad, who is 70, since I was 6 years old.

[RRCharlie]

I'll be 67 in 1 month less a day. Have had trains since a Marx set in 1947 followed by my first Lionel in 1948.

 

[rtraincollector]

The real scoop on model rail roading (any of the major companies will tell you this) about 50 - 60 is when dad is done with the kids being in the house and can start looking into other intrest. So his child hood favorite comes back to haunt him and its Trains. And with the new gagets it makes it even more interesting to him. He has spending money again as no kids to suport or put thru collage anymore. Yes he has the grandkids but there not normally living there everyday .

So your answer really is as I've nbeen told is it just gets redeveloped when you get to be in your 50's now yes there are a few that manage to keep into trains thru there whole life but most can't because of expenses. Also the intrest of being with the kids and doing things with them is some of the reason some fall away from trains also again not all but some .

[Northwoods Flyer]

I'm 53, and some of the trains that I own were in my family before I was born.  We had a train around our Christmas tree every year when I was living at home.  There was a flirtation with HO when I was in high school and college.  After my wife and I got married I wanted a train for around our tree. I pulled out the S gauge American Flyer and that started the first phase of collecting.  Over the years I added pieces of Wide Gauge Flyer and in the last 2 years the focus has been on expanding the O gauge Flyer collection.  My 20 year old son has been aquiring materials and trains for an HO layout and we have a garden railroad as well.  I'd say the hobby is alive and well in many facets in our family.

Northwoods Flyer

[rogruth]

74 in two months.

Railroad fan as long as I can remember.

First Marx when five.First Lionel when twelve.

Went to college.Grandmother,with whom I lived,gave away all that "train stuff".

A friend gave me a Lionel starter set six years ago. Now have a layout again[without much scenery].

 

 

 

[jefelectric]

Well I guess I am older than the average.  Coming up on 70 in November and have been involved in trains off and on for about 60 years.  At one of Mike Wolf's presentations at TCA, Think it might have been last October, he stated that their market research shows the average age to be 52 and that it never changes.  Judging from what I see, that sounds about right.  I do see younger guys in the shops, but don't believe they go to York, there is this thing called work that a lot of them are invoved in. And I never go on Saturday.  The thing I like about the York crowd, is that it makes me feel young. 

[RockIsland52]

I'm 57 and "officially" got into the electric train hobby Christmas 1954.  I say "officially" because my father started buying trains before I was born, hence two engines I have that predate my birth.  Unless, of course, it was my mother who started buying them as a closet train fanatic.  My folks started giving them to me when Dad's thumb and forefinger wore out winding up the engine on some wind up train he had previously given to me.....he told me that later in life.

The first "permanent" layout lasted about 20 years along with a loop around the tree at each Christmas.  Then it all got packed away, the layout long since dormant, as some have said, replaced by girls, cars, and then families. 

As others have noted, this type of thread is very popular.  On this Forum there was one survey within the past 5 months (45 average age I think).  And the link Bob Nelson provided was from a 1/05 survey, no averages provided.

Either some of you guys are aging slower or stopped counting .  Just kidding.

Don't want to get off topic, but it would be interesting if everyone replied to their own post here, listing their very first train, if that's OK with the author of this thread, Reading T-1.

Jack 

 

[Anonymous]

Shocking! grown-ups still playing with toys! 

I'll give up my age...when you pry my driver's license from my cold, dead hands!

I guess it goes back to having received my first train set, at age 6, a Lionel 027 outfit, but I've never been interested in any other scale (excepting 1:1). And also, having been raised as an only child, a daughter, yet, I kinda got pulled into dad's hobbies--fishing, archery, shooting, and o-gauge trains (and I still kept my femininity).

My first set had a black steam engine and tender, plus several cars (do you think I'd let you age me by describing the exact set? Silly boys, I'm no .

[tex702]

Well Im 58 here but have always loved trains.  Being a military retiree, I just now have the time to get involve in it.  I was involved with it as a boy but that was a long time ago.  Just really got goin with it three years ago and my layout consists of 5 4x8 sheets and slowly trying to build a realsistic as possible layout.  Feels like this is gonna go on for a long long time.  Scenery is so hard to do

 

[Boxcar Bill]

 I would like to say that Iam 6 years old with fiffty one years of O-Gauge experience

[Reading T-1]

Don't want to get off topic, but it would be interesting if everyone replied to their own post here, listing their very first train, if that's OK with the author of this thread, Reading T-1.

Jack 

 

My first train was at age 9. It was an Ho set. My mother had a few loinel o guage trains in the attic that were passed down to here. Most were in pieces. I became interested in o guage about 5 years ago after my mom gave those trains to me. I spent time researching them and had them put back together. It cost me more then there worth but it was for the sentimental value. The trains were a 623 switcher 2025 steam engine and a scout engine . I hope this answers your question Jack

[sir james I]

That train set Donna Pass discribes sounds like one I remember from the 1948 catalog. Since she won't tell us thats my best guess.

My first set was at christmas, Marx 999 with lots of track my first Lionel was 1949,2025 with the green/gray roof passenger cars. Things went on from there.