Richard,My son is 40 and been fooling with computers for years-He built his first gaming computer when he was 17..Darnest thing I ever seen..Every week he would order a part and first thing I knew he had a gaming computer that was very fast-in fact this would become my first computer after he built a much faster one..
What I like about this deal is every time he upgrades his gaming computer he rebuilds mine with those "older" parts..Needless to say I have a very fast computer.The only stock part left of my Compaq computer is the tower.
BTW. He's self taught...
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Hah hah Larry,
I built my first computer in 2000 when I had been kicked out of the house. I wanted to build a gaming computer for low cost - at the time the "Coppermine" Pentium III FCPGA processor was a good deal and I was able to over clock it from 550 mhz to 733 mhz easy. I've built some 40 computers since then but not for a while now, but it isn't hard if you do a little research and get some good advice!
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I have to make a confession - I am one of the bad guys who does all his sourcing through the Internet. I would not mind shopping at a local hobby shop, but there is none around. The nearest, about 10 miles from my home, is run by a close to 80 year old gentlemen, who is just selling off his inventory before he ´ll close the place - he has been doing that for the last 10 years. Next in distance is a place in Hamburg, that´s over 30 miles to drive, but I don´t go there. First of all, the price of gas is prohibitive, second, you have to add a parking fee, as there is no free parking, and third, the shop does not carry any of the products I need for my layout. My layout follows Japanese prototype and I use mainly Woodland Scenic products for my scenery. Structures are made by Tomytec, Kato, or Greenmax, brands hardly known in Germany.
I mostly shop directly in Japan, because it is much cheaper than buying at the only source in Germany which carries Kato or Tomix trains. It is also much faster, about half the time from order to delivery at my doorstep.
Even so I wish I had a hobby shop nearby - I still prefer to see things before I buy them.
You could always try to help bring the next generation along in to the hobby. Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H, etc all would love to have people volunteer to work with kids even if it is just one day a month.
4-H especially would be a great place to start. Invite a different local 4-H club to your Club and let them view the layout... run the trains.... maybe even do some hands on construction etc... Exposing kids to the hobby is going to be the best way to get new kids involved. After a while you will definitely gain a group fo young kids who love the hobby and want to be a part of what you are doing. 4-H is the worlds largest youth organization... it is located in every county in every state in the country through your states Land Grant Univ(s).
A good question would be how many clubs have youth outreach programs and youth days etc to help bring this next generation in?
Sir Madog The nearest, about 10 miles from my home, is run by a close to 80 year old gentlemen, who is just selling off his inventory before he ´ll close the place - he has been doing that for the last 10 years. Next in distance is a place in Hamburg, that´s over 30 miles to drive, but I don´t go there.
The nearest, about 10 miles from my home, is run by a close to 80 year old gentlemen, who is just selling off his inventory before he ´ll close the place - he has been doing that for the last 10 years. Next in distance is a place in Hamburg, that´s over 30 miles to drive, but I don´t go there.
Oh My! The nearest TOWN is 25 miles away. The nearest hobby shop is in Bismarck, 75 miles away, and he is going out of business soon anyway. And besides, nobody in North Dakota sells subway trains. Sure, they can order them, but then so can I. And I can order from a retailer who offers a lower price than Walthers.
Gas? Expensive? At $3.35 a gallon? ☺ Maybe it is your TAXES that are too high.
[Edited by moderator to remove off-topic image]
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
BRAKIE Richard,My son is 40 and been fooling with computers for years-He built his first gaming computer when he was 17..Darnest thing I ever seen..Every week he would order a part and first thing I knew he had a gaming computer that was very fast-in fact this would become my first computer after he built a much faster one.. What I like about this deal is every time he upgrades his gaming computer he rebuilds mine with those "older" parts..Needless to say I have a very fast computer.The only stock part left of my Compaq computer is the tower. BTW. He's self taught...
That is so neat. Shows a lot of intelligence and persistence.
Richard
Sir Madog I have to make a confession - I am one of the bad guys who does all his sourcing through the Internet. I would not mind shopping at a local hobby shop, but there is none around. The nearest, about 10 miles from my home, is run by a close to 80 year old gentlemen, who is just selling off his inventory before he ´ll close the place - he has been doing that for the last 10 years. Next in distance is a place in Hamburg, that´s over 30 miles to drive, but I don´t go there. First of all, the price of gas is prohibitive, second, you have to add a parking fee, as there is no free parking, and third, the shop does not carry any of the products I need for my layout. My layout follows Japanese prototype and I use mainly Woodland Scenic products for my scenery. Structures are made by Tomytec, Kato, or Greenmax, brands hardly known in Germany. Even so I wish I had a hobby shop nearby - I still prefer to see things before I buy them.
Wie gehts!
When I visited Germany several times in the 1990's I did have a chance to step into a hobby shop or two, but of course American trains were not generally on the shelves. I even got to visit a museum in Belefeld which include railroad stuff and I recall there was a model railroad being build there from scratch, hand laid track and all. A friend knew someone there so I got to go behind the scenes - very cool!
Anyway, most of us are forced to deal with online or mail order these days. I looked for shops in my area and not much here, and it would be more trouble than it's worth to order stuff, I mean why? I might as well just do it from home and cut out the middle man. Prices are higher in shops and online/mail order will ship directly to me.
Folks, let's keep our photos, as well as our text, on-topic. Mmmkay?
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Steven Otte Folks, let's keep our photos, as well as our text, on-topic. Mmmkay?
Thank you Steve!!!
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
On my last trip to the local hobby shop in Greenville, I went to get on I-85 South and saw the northbound lanes at a stand still. Turns out a truck took out one of those electronic message boards and blocked all six lanes. I had to take US 29 home and all the lights on that road seemed to be timed so you get ever last stinking one of them red. It took me twice as long to get home as it did to get there. Not dealing with that pain-in-you-know-what drive as part of the reason I buy online.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
cf-7 CTValleyRR: You need to be the instant gratification guy -- like when I use my last strip of 0.01 styrene at 9:00 Saturday night, I know where I can get more on Sunday morning.... you ARE open Sundays, right? Because the Internet is. I don't agree with this. The internet may be open, but you won't receive the needed styrene until at least Wednesday, probably even a day or 2 after that. Whereas the LHS will be open on Monday or Tuesday to purchase the needed item. I also order more by mail than in the past. My nearest train only store is about 40 miles away. Thankfully, I do have a full range shop a lot closer for items such as styrene. Plus, I model in a scale/gauge (Sn3) that is not the most popular and that stuff I have to mail order.
CTValleyRR: You need to be the instant gratification guy -- like when I use my last strip of 0.01 styrene at 9:00 Saturday night, I know where I can get more on Sunday morning.... you ARE open Sundays, right? Because the Internet is.
You need to be the instant gratification guy -- like when I use my last strip of 0.01 styrene at 9:00 Saturday night, I know where I can get more on Sunday morning.... you ARE open Sundays, right? Because the Internet is.
I don't agree with this. The internet may be open, but you won't receive the needed styrene until at least Wednesday, probably even a day or 2 after that. Whereas the LHS will be open on Monday or Tuesday to purchase the needed item.
I also order more by mail than in the past. My nearest train only store is about 40 miles away. Thankfully, I do have a full range shop a lot closer for items such as styrene. Plus, I model in a scale/gauge (Sn3) that is not the most popular and that stuff I have to mail order.
Perhaps you don't agree because I got caught up in being cute and didn't communicate clearly. My point was really that in our 24/7 world, stores that aren't open Sundays get left in the dust by retailers, or e-tailers, who are.
I'm blessed with 3 stores within a half hour's drive where I can buy styrene on a Sunday. Since I work on Mondays and Tuesdays, it's much less likely that I'll be stopping by one of them Monday or Tuesday. But a place that's open Sundays instantly gets my business, because then I could finish my project on Sunday. If there weren't a place I could buy it on Sunday, I'd be more likely to drop my order on the Internet on Sunday morning and postpone the project until the following weekend.
The point is that a lot of customers now expect you to be open Sundays, and if you aren't, you're at a disadvantage. When I worked in retail, my "weekend" was Tuesday and Wednesday.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
Blah,blah, blah.
Guys, this thread is beginning to resemble Elliot's Trackside Diner.
What is the point?
The LHS is dead. If it isn't gone already where you live, it will be gone soon.
When I first starting working after college in downtown Chicago in the mid-60's, there were 3 large hobby shops and several small ones that we would visit on our lunch hour. By the beginning of the 1980's, they were all gone.
When I started into the HO scale side of the hobby 8 years ago, there were 3 fully stocked local hobby shops within a 20 minute drive of my house in the Chicago suburbs. They are all closed now.
So, the Internet is where I go to buy anything and everything that I need.
So, the LHS is dead. If you can find one, and if you like it, enjoy it. It will be gone before you will be gone. So what?
Even when all three local hobby shops were still open in my neck of the woods, I couldn't always get exactly what I wanted if it wasn't in stock. No one gave me the opportunity to "try before you buy". If they didn't have it, I could order it from my LHS and get it within a few days and usually at a 20 percent discount. So, no big deal.
The one thing that I miss about the local hobby shop is the ability to ask questions and get answers and advice from a knowledgeable assistant in one of the three LHS. When the LHS closed and the owner retired, that knowledgeable assistant was gone for good. So, I turned to this forum for Q&A and solid advice, and I get it.
Forget about the Local Hobby Shop. It's gone. Its era is over. At one time, the largest corporation in the United States was the American Leather Company. Can you find it today?
The more I think about it, the less I miss it. Long live the Internet!
Rich
Alton Junction
For me, the Train show has replaced the LHS. Each year there are 2 or 3 three within an hour's drive from where I live. And another 8-10 within 3 hours (don't go to all of those, but some).
Enjoy
Paul
cedarwoodron This forum does an excellent ( and entertaining ) job of serving as an alternative, in part, to that loss. Many of us are far less " the lone wolves" we otherwise might be, because of it. Cedarwoodron
This forum does an excellent ( and entertaining ) job of serving as an alternative, in part, to that loss. Many of us are far less " the lone wolves" we otherwise might be, because of it.
Cedarwoodron
That is a great point, and I agree wholeheartedly with it.
I have met some great friends through this forum that I never would have met otherwise, LHS notwithstanding. While I have never met any of them personally, through email, we have shared a lot of experiences and helped each other with our layouts and other train related agendas.
richhotrain cedarwoodron: This forum does an excellent ( and entertaining ) job of serving as an alternative, in part, to that loss. Many of us are far less " the lone wolves" we otherwise might be, because of it. Cedarwoodron That is a great point, and I agree wholeheartedly with it. I have met some great friends through this forum that I never would have met otherwise, LHS notwithstanding. While I have never met any of them personally, through email, we have shared a lot of experiences and helped each other with our layouts and other train related agendas. Rich
cedarwoodron: This forum does an excellent ( and entertaining ) job of serving as an alternative, in part, to that loss. Many of us are far less " the lone wolves" we otherwise might be, because of it. Cedarwoodron
Rich,Here's the other side of the coin..I've made several long time friends at LHS and got to visit home layouts that is usually kept from public viewing.
I have several friends on forums and have several invitations to visit their layout when or if I'm ever in their area.
I even got to meet several of this forum members at the Berea train show!
I do miss the Saturday morning gathering of the faithful at a well stock small hole in the wall hobby shop.I will cherish those enjoyable Saturday mornings as long as I live and I didn't mind the the 30 minute drive to get there.Of course I picked up the needed supplies and maybe a kit or two.
All to sadly this shop closed 16 years ago(seems like yesterday) and many of the group has passed including the owner..
BRAKIE Rich,Here's the other side of the coin..I've made several long time friends at LHS and got to visit home layouts that is usually kept from public viewing. I have several friends on forums and have several invitations to visit their layout when or if I'm ever in their area. I even got to meet several of this forum members at the Berea train show! I do miss the Saturday morning gathering of the faithful at a well stock small hole in the wall hobby shop.I will cherish those enjoyable Saturday mornings as long as I live and I didn't mind the the 30 minute drive to get there.Of course I picked up the needed supplies and maybe a kit or two. All to sadly this shop closed 16 years ago(seems like yesterday) and many of the group has passed including the owner..
Larry,
That is certainly an interesting perspective.
When I got into the HO scale side of the hobby 8 years ago after a 40 year hiatus after running American Flyer trains as a kid, I made my first visit to our LHS with my wife in tow because I felt intimidated visiting a model railroading only retail shop.
I no sooner got in the door when the owner pounced on me and quickly sized me up as a newbie. Although this guy suffered no fools, as I later learned, for some reason he took a liking to me and helped me time and time again even though I always amused him with my lack of knowledge about the hobby and about the prototype.
There were always a number of characters in the shop. They hung around and B.S.'d but never bought anything. Some were older than me, some were younger, but all were aged 50 or older. I avoided them like the plague, and my knowledgeable store assistant buddy often told me that I was wise to do so.
So, I never developed any friendships among the LHS crowd. Good to hear that your experiences were different. Sad to hear about so many passing away.
I am sorry to hear about the Happy Hobo closing down, I spent a lot of time and money there as a teenager. Loved driving the 20 miles or so from Brandon to shop there in the 80's.I travel around a lot and I notice most of the shops that survive do a good mail order/internet business and offer discounts. I have always heard store owners complaining about mail order, train shows, discount stores, customers getting older, etc. for the last 30 years!! Way before the internet was common. I never understood why these same shop owner could not use a train show to move inventory and get new customers or use the internet in the same capacity. A lot of Hobby shops I visit seem to be dust collecting museums of yesterdays merchandise priced at list. To be fair the shrinking of disposable income for many folks and lack of decent jobs in many areas isn't helping, but for a hobby shop to survive this would make getting into e-retailing ever more critical. I don't know why , but I always find these discussions interesting.
James Sanchez