Why Aren't There More Models of the Trains That Most People See on a Daily Basis?

[Jetrock]

Traction modeling is a subset of model railroading. It has always been a minority, just because most people, including most who ride subways, el, light rail or streetcars, don't really think of them as "trains" the same way we think of a diesel or steam engine pulling passenger or freight cars.

Ask ANY three year old in north America what a train sounds like--they will all go "CHOO CHOO!" even though no trains going "choo-choo" have operated in regular service in this country for nearly half a century. The trains that spur the imagination tend to be the above-ground kind.

That being said, there are trolley layouts--and despite what an earlier poster said, they can be VERY small. Trolley/streetcar equipment can handle very sharp curves, as narrow as 5-6" in HO--which means you can feasibly have a very nice HO scale streetcar layout on a 2'x4' board!

[IRONROOSTER]

I like most here, have no interest in subway/rapid transit. Also, the transition era is the most popular one to model and predates many of todays subways/rapid transits. Many (most?) of the rest have different equipment today than they had in the 40's/50's.
Enjoy
Paul

[dehusman]

Actually in the 1940's and 50's there was probably 100 times more commuter and "rapid transit" than we have now. Every city of any size had local train service and most major cities and quite a few smaller ones had some sort of trolley system.

The root premise of the question is wrong. That just because people ride on subways or a commuter line they will want to model them. That is flawed on two accounts. First that mass transit is common and the way most people interact with trains. The way most of the population interacts with trains is sitting at a grade crossing watching a freight train roar by.
Second that people model what is common. If that were true, then the most common RC planes would be DC-9's, 727's and 737's. The RC car industry would be dominated by models of buses or four door sedans and mini-vans. But they are not. They are dominated by fighter planes that few have ever seen fly in person, let alone flown in. And RC cars are dominated by race cars or dune buggies.

People model what they think a railroad is, what image they see in their head when they close their eyes and think of the word railroad, not necessarily what they came in contact with. Model railroading is a hobby, an escape. People don't model what is, for them drudgery, an everyday part of work. People model to escape. They model what makes and impression on them. What you ride to work each day doesn't make an impression.

Dave H.

[jecorbett]

I guess it goes back to the reasons people get into this hobby and for a lot of us, it is because it takes us back to our youth. For myself and a lot of other baby boomers, that means the 1950s. That was a time when a toy train was a cherished Christmas present and long distance train travel was not an oddity. I grew up in Omaha and I vaguely remember riding a streetcar down 40th street but the streetcars got replaced in the mid 1950s. One of my fondest memories was a Christmas train trip we took to Chicago via the Burlington in the late 1950s and it had the added bonus of a side trip to Milwaukee via the North Shore. I still remember coming into Milwaukee on the city streets and having our train stop for a traffic light. For most people riding commuter trains is a daily occurance, not an exciting event so the memories may not be as warm as that train trip was for me. I'm sure there are some who lived in outlying areas who rode those trains into big cities only on special occasions and might view those types of trains differently. A lot of modelers include commuter trains on their layouts but very few make it their main theme.

[Anonymous]

Because manufactuers make the most popular models. They sell best. They always will.

[jrbernier]

ira_g,

Unless you are located in a large urban area with mass transit, you just do not see the items you mention. Most of the folks are in out state areas or on the 'fringe' of metro areas(suburbs), and what they see are large modern freight trains.

Case in point:

20 years ago I moved from the Mpls/St Paul metro area to an 'out state' area. While in the 'cities', I saw a lot of models of BN and predessor roads, and Amtrak models.
In southern Minnesota/northern Iowa it seemed everyone was modeling really beat up/dirty C&NW stuff. Looking out the window - Thats what the modelers saw! Right now our club see a lot of BNSF/UP models. We have one guy who loves Rock Island, another with a lot of C&NW(and UP), and another gentleman who loves passenger trains from the 50's/60's(pre-Amtrak). The rest of the group buys/operates what they see when they go 'trackside'. Also 20-30 years ago, there were a number of HO 'Trolley' modelers and there were nice brass imports and craftsman type kits - not a lot of 'trolley' stuff anymore(maybe because it is so hard to find an operating prototype?).
I was surprised that Life-Like did the subway cars(and they picked a car that will have interest in the NYC area). Athearn/Kato/Walthers all have done nice 'bi-level' commuter cars, so I do not think the area is left wanting too badly.

Jim

[Jetrock]

Trolleys are making a comeback--partially due to the re-emergence of public transit in medium-sized cities, as well as the resurgence of "historic" trolley lines, many of which feature reproduction rather than actual historic trolley cars! As a trolley/interurban modeler (part of the time) I will agree that there is a shortage of trolley models these days, but there are some out there--mostly of the specialty/craftsman variety. But Bowser still does several trolley models, as does Bachmann, which are very cheap and actually pretty good runners, even if the detail isn't fabulous--but hey, for $25 brand spanking new i'll take it...

[Anonymous]

People want something powerful & good looking as well as another world in model railroading, not another copy of the real world( not that !) they see everyday on their way to work ( as far as routine goes)

Ps.[#welcome]WELCOME to the forums[#welcome]

[Anonymous]

By the way lifelike proto carrry's a subway & Athrean Genisis already makes commuter trains including the F-40, FP-40, & the amtrak genisis