RAYMOND T I think your question should be,Where in the world is model railways the most popular. the proper term is RAILWAYS. RAYMOND T
I think your question should be,Where in the world is model railways the most popular.
the proper term is RAILWAYS.
RAYMOND T
Isn't that a bit ethnocentric? I can think think of several other terms off the top of my head:
Ferrocarril, chemin de fer, eisenbahn, ferrovia, spoorweg, järnvägar, железная дорога ( zheleznaya doroga ).
Andre
Hi Marlon,
Don't put too much faith in Wikipedia, Universities here in Australia scorn the use Wikipedia as a reference. It isn't viewed as a source of reliable information.
But on such a question where can you get reliable information?
If you were to do surveys they would have to be very specific questions and then the survey transferred to other areas and normalised to determine if the data from the area the survey was taken was a true reflection of the total population as apposed to just that area.
It is amazing how the data can be changed by just chaging the ways the questions are asked and the number of posible responses you give a person.
For example if you give people the option of five responses a,b,c,d or e most will take the c option.
Sorry to ramble on, just finished a course on research and there is much speculation about survey data and its validity.
Forty Niner Hey Sir Madog, Are people who live in Hamburg known as "Hamburgers"? Mark ;-)
Hey Sir Madog,
Are people who live in Hamburg known as "Hamburgers"?
Mark ;-)
Imagine JFK having given his famous speech in Hamburg instead of Berlin...
Back to some of the figures. The link Graffen provided shows data from the BDEF, which is something like the German equivalent of the NMRA. Their data is based on membership figures and is regarded as quite accurate within the industry.
Model railroading in Europe is not a niche hobby for some "geeks" who have to hide their interest from the public. Social acceptance is much higher, as is the public awareness of this hobby. Would there be TV shows dealing with trains and model railroads if there were no public interest?
Per capita, in descending order probably: -
1) UK
2) Germany
3) Japan
4) U.S.A/Canada
Although two and three could switch as they are train mad in Japan.
Cheers
Roger T.
Home of the late Great Eastern Railway see: - http://www.greateasternrailway.com
For more photos of the late GER see: - http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l99/rogertra/Great_Eastern/
ngartshore350 Hi Marlon, Don't put too much faith in Wikipedia, Universities here in Australia scorn the use Wikipedia as a reference. It isn't viewed as a source of reliable information.
NMRA: Nope. Considerin it, but nope. ot right now.
As has been said, polls are onl as reliabl;e as the peop-le who answer them, and the writers. However, one can also operate that a similar poll should garnish similar information.If a poll in America and one in Germany still misses 80% of the population, but of the 20% polled, the answers are higher for one than the other, then ou still have a level scientific comparison.
-Morgan
ngartshore350 Hi Marlon, Don't put too much faith in Wikipedia, Universities here in Australia scorn the use Wikipedia as a reference. It isn't viewed as a source of reliable information. But on such a question where can you get reliable information? If you were to do surveys they would have to be very specific questions and then the survey transferred to other areas and normalised to determine if the data from the area the survey was taken was a true reflection of the total population as apposed to just that area. It is amazing how the data can be changed by just chaging the ways the questions are asked and the number of posible responses you give a person. For example if you give people the option of five responses a,b,c,d or e most will take the c option. Sorry to ramble on, just finished a course on research and there is much speculation about survey data and its validity.
I wasn't really basing any accurate numbers when I cited Wikipedia. I know their sources for information are gospel, but in the old days (yes, I'm old), publications would list their circulation numbers in the their staff listings.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Medina1128 ngartshore350: Hi Marlon, Don't put too much faith in Wikipedia, Universities here in Australia scorn the use Wikipedia as a reference. It isn't viewed as a source of reliable information. But on such a question where can you get reliable information? If you were to do surveys they would have to be very specific questions and then the survey transferred to other areas and normalised to determine if the data from the area the survey was taken was a true reflection of the total population as apposed to just that area. It is amazing how the data can be changed by just chaging the ways the questions are asked and the number of posible responses you give a person. For example if you give people the option of five responses a,b,c,d or e most will take the c option. Sorry to ramble on, just finished a course on research and there is much speculation about survey data and its validity. I wasn't really basing any accurate numbers when I cited Wikipedia. I know their sources for information are gospel, but in the old days (yes, I'm old), publications would list their circulation numbers in the their staff listings.
ngartshore350: Hi Marlon, Don't put too much faith in Wikipedia, Universities here in Australia scorn the use Wikipedia as a reference. It isn't viewed as a source of reliable information. But on such a question where can you get reliable information? If you were to do surveys they would have to be very specific questions and then the survey transferred to other areas and normalised to determine if the data from the area the survey was taken was a true reflection of the total population as apposed to just that area. It is amazing how the data can be changed by just chaging the ways the questions are asked and the number of posible responses you give a person. For example if you give people the option of five responses a,b,c,d or e most will take the c option. Sorry to ramble on, just finished a course on research and there is much speculation about survey data and its validity.
Circulation figures for virtually all magazines are still published annually. In the case of Model Railroader magazine it is in every January issue. For RMC it is in either the January, or February, issue.
As a matter of fact, for the end of 2010 the total monthly circulation numbers for MR were 139,921.
CNJ831
Sir Madog Forty Niner: Hey Sir Madog, Are people who live in Hamburg known as "Hamburgers"? Mark ;-) Imagine JFK having given his famous speech in Hamburg instead of Berlin...
Forty Niner: Hey Sir Madog, Are people who live in Hamburg known as "Hamburgers"? Mark ;-)
Closer to the truth than you think. A "Berliner" is one name for a popular German pastry. The consensus is that everyone understood what Kennedy was saying, and nobody really mistook his words for "I am a jelly doughnut".
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
stebbycentral Sir Madog: Forty Niner: Hey Sir Madog, Are people who live in Hamburg known as "Hamburgers"? Mark ;-) Imagine JFK having given his famous speech in Hamburg instead of Berlin... Closer to the truth than you think. A "Berliner" is one name for a popular German pastry. The consensus is that everyone understood what Kennedy was saying, and nobody really mistook his words for "I am a jelly doughnut".
Sir Madog: Forty Niner: Hey Sir Madog, Are people who live in Hamburg known as "Hamburgers"? Mark ;-) Imagine JFK having given his famous speech in Hamburg instead of Berlin...
No intention to hi-jack this thread, but to make things worse, we eat Frankfurters, Wieners, Krakauers, Berliners, Hamburgers, Nürnbergers and even "Amerikaner" (Americans) - that´s also a pastry. What a country of cannibals and model railroaders (or should I say railway modellers).
Sir Madog stebbycentral: Sir Madog: Forty Niner: Hey Sir Madog, Are people who live in Hamburg known as "Hamburgers"? Mark ;-) Imagine JFK having given his famous speech in Hamburg instead of Berlin... Closer to the truth than you think. A "Berliner" is one name for a popular German pastry. The consensus is that everyone understood what Kennedy was saying, and nobody really mistook his words for "I am a jelly doughnut". No intention to hi-jack this thread, but to make things worse, we eat Frankfurters, Wieners, Krakauers, Berliners, Hamburgers, Nürnbergers and even "Amerikaner" (Americans) - that´s also a pastry. What a country of cannibals and model railroaders (or should I say railway modellers).
stebbycentral: Sir Madog: Forty Niner: Hey Sir Madog, Are people who live in Hamburg known as "Hamburgers"? Mark ;-) Imagine JFK having given his famous speech in Hamburg instead of Berlin... Closer to the truth than you think. A "Berliner" is one name for a popular German pastry. The consensus is that everyone understood what Kennedy was saying, and nobody really mistook his words for "I am a jelly doughnut".
Yeah, but over here we have the NMRA, the National Model Rifle Association....
John
"Yeah, but over here we have the NMRA, the National Model Rifle Association...."
I belong to that one too!
Sheldon
ich wünschen ein berliner. Yum,yum.
Ken G Price My N-Scale Layout
Digitrax Super Empire Builder Radio System. South Valley Texas Railroad. SVTRR
N-Scale out west. 1996-1998 or so! UP, SP, Missouri Pacific, C&NW.
Sir Madog No intention to hi-jack this thread, but to make things worse, we eat Frankfurters, Wieners, Krakauers, Berliners, Hamburgers, Nürnbergers and even "Amerikaner" (Americans) - that´s also a pastry. What a country of cannibals and model railroaders (or should I say railway modellers).
Since this thread is now hoplessly OT anyway, could you please enlighten us at to what type of pastry an "Amerikaner" is? Something oversized and fattening, I'm sure...
i hate to bring this post back to thread..... however i will try
i would say that the countrys that have disposable income... germany america england etc may have a lot of modellers and that countrys where the people are just trying to live ... bangladesh cambodia etc may not have so many modellers
over here in australia i would say that the hobby is not being taken up by the youth they are more interested in computer games
another influence may be the climate.... in countrys that have cold winters... england germany canada sweden etc persons may lock themself indoors and have a hobby because it is too cold to go outside
ps bet the kennadys love the nra
stebbycentral Sir Madog: No intention to hi-jack this thread, but to make things worse, we eat Frankfurters, Wieners, Krakauers, Berliners, Hamburgers, Nürnbergers and even "Amerikaner" (Americans) - that´s also a pastry. What a country of cannibals and model railroaders (or should I say railway modellers). Since this thread is now hoplessly OT anyway, could you please enlighten us at to what type of pastry an "Amerikaner" is? Something oversized and fattening, I'm sure...
Sir Madog: No intention to hi-jack this thread, but to make things worse, we eat Frankfurters, Wieners, Krakauers, Berliners, Hamburgers, Nürnbergers and even "Amerikaner" (Americans) - that´s also a pastry. What a country of cannibals and model railroaders (or should I say railway modellers).
You bet ! And so sweet it gives you a toothache when only looking at it. Loved it as a kid, it was a real treat (and about the cheapest pastry one could buy).
Americans are a pastry???? That's "rich"............:-)
Mark
They are a very sweet, round pastry with a bulge in the middle - does that remind you of something?
Bringing back the thread to topic, there is much speculation about the numbers of active model railroaders in each country. It is difficult to actually nail down the figure, as the majority does not seem to be a member of a club or an association. The figures stated for Germany seem to be pretty close to reality and match with the sales figures of the industry, with most of the market players being large enough to have to publish their annual data. Getting the same set of figures for the US market is like looking into a crystal bowl - maybe the annual circulation figures of MR and RMC give a clue to the size of the market. In any case, the US market seems to be much smaller, than the German market, which is actually not a surprise to me after following many discussion in this forum.
I agree Ulrich, But I think that if the US have 4 times the population of Germany, it isn´t too far fetched to think that a number of 3 000 000 isn´t too big. That would make Model railroading roughly 6 times more popular in Germany than in the US.
And after reading this Forum for some years I think that the model railroad interest in the US is in some way "different" from what it is in Europe.....
Swedish Custom painter and model maker. My Website:
My Railroad
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Graff´s channel
Here's a bigger question: What defines a "model railroader," anyway?
Is it someone who owns a layout? What about people who don't own a layout but are members of a club? Someone who owns trains? What about collectors who have no intention of running trains but keeping them behind a glass display case? What about people inactive in the hobby? What about people who used to own a train set/layout? What about someone who doesn't own a layout or models, but reads MR (or any other MRRing magazine) and desires to be one?
A dangerous question, answering it could end in a flame war!
For me, a model railroader is a person who has an interest in model trains, builds or plans to build a layout or diorama and dedicates a good portion of his spare time to his hobby.
Wikipedia (UK) says:
Involvement ranges from possession of a train set to spending hours and large sums on a large and exacting model of a railroad and the scenery through which it passes, called a "layout". Hobbyists, called "model railroaders" or "railway modellers", may maintain models large enough to ride (see Live steam, Ridable miniature railway and Backyard railroad). Modellers may collect model trains, building a landscape for the trains to pass through, or operate their own railroad in miniature.
A fairly broad definition, but as there are so many different aspects to our hobby, it captures it quite well.
Metro Red Line Here's a bigger question: What defines a "model railroader," anyway? Is it someone who owns a layout? What about people who don't own a layout but are members of a club? Someone who owns trains? What about collectors who have no intention of running trains but keeping them behind a glass display case? What about people inactive in the hobby? What about people who used to own a train set/layout? What about someone who doesn't own a layout or models, but reads MR (or any other MRRing magazine) and desires to be one?
Now there's a question I can absolutely guarantee that you'll never see given an honest, accurate, objective answer to here!
Graffen And after reading this Forum for some years I think that the model railroad interest in the US is in some way "different" from what it is in Europe.....
Yes, and "different" in a very specific fashion. Whereas model railroading as a popular hobby has a long and continuing history spanning well over 100 years in Europe, public interest in America was/is centered around just a single generation: the Baby Boomers. This is because of several very specific reasons not reflected in cultures elsewhere in the world. Remove the Boomers from the equation and participation by Americans in the hobby actually becomes vanishingly small.
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Wow I did not expect such a huge response! From what I've read it doesn’t appear that there is a clear answer to this question.
I had just wondered if there had ever been a top ten thing published on the hobby. Seems unlikely as it would be very expensive to do a worldwide market research survey on such a topic.
Seems to me that the hobby is most popular were passenger rail transportation is still a common way to get around. I am from the Michigan Detroit area were the car is supreme and we have maybe five or six hobby shops dedicated to model trains in a region with approximately 5 million people. Several years ago I had a chance to spend the summer in Oldenburg Germany where I discovered three shops with a nice train department in a city with a population of around 160,000. Of course there people use the DB all the time. The fact that one of the stores was Spiele Max, a toy store, gave me the idea that the hobby was definitely more popular in Germany. Imagine if Toys R' Us had a train department comparable to your favorite hobby shop. I was in there at Christmas and the only train thing I could find was one Life-Like HO starter set.
With that said what about Asia, are model train as popular there as in Europe?
Gilshrat
Detroit Urethane - Urethane products for industry “We Get It Right The THIRD Time!”
I am from the Millennial Generation and I will do my part to keep the hobby alive for the next 30 or 40 years.
Well, whaddaya know! Oldenburg is not really far away from my place - about an hour´s drive.
Coming back to your question. I know that in Japan, model railroading is very popular. Other than in the US and Europe, N scale is the most popular scale - for good reasons, if you have ever been to Japan. Leading brands are Kato, Tomix, MicroAce and Modemo, but there are also many smaller suppliers. Japanese model railroaders appear to be the champions in building minute layouts, followed by UK railway modellers. I understand it is a rapidly growing hobby in Japan, as more and more mothers bring their kids into it, rather than into those PC games.
Btw, my avatar is a Kato N scale class D51 of the Japanese National Railway.
The rest of Asia is unknown. China is the world´s largest producer of MRR stuff, but I doubt that there´d be more model railroaders than in Liechtenstein. The average income is still too low for anything else than just covering the basic needs.