world's greatest hobby? ?

[tatans]

I like model railroading, it's fun and interesting, and educational, but now I'm seeing "WGH" bandied about lately, are they referring to "stamp collecting??", it certainly cannot be model trains. In the U.S. alone there are 20 million stamp collectors, multiply that by every country in the world and thats a lot of hobbyists. We all know how much we enjoy this hobby and like to promote it, but to flagrantnly boast it's the WGH is a little much. I know, I know, the Dodgers are the best team in the world, the U.S. is the best country in the world, Mcdonalds make the worlds best hamburgers, etc etc etc, I think WGH is a company isn't it???? If a list is to be made of hobbies I think model trains would be down around 27th, who knows??  I like it.

[PA&ERR]

I like model railroading, it's fun and interesting, and educational, but now I'm seeing "WGH" bandied about lately, are they referring to "stamp collecting??", it certainly cannot be model trains. In the U.S. alone there are 20 million stamp collectors, multiply that by every country in the world and thats a lot of hobbyists. We all know how much we enjoy this hobby and like to promote it, but to flagrantnly boast it's the WGH is a little much. I know, I know, the Dodgers are the best team in the world, the U.S. is the best country in the world, Mcdonalds make the worlds best hamburgers, etc etc etc, I think WGH is a company isn't it???? If a list is to be made of hobbies I think model trains would be down around 27th, who knows??  I like it.

I cringe everytime I see that slogan! I'm sure the ad company that came up with it is the same one that came up with "Mission Accomplished!"

-George

[Anonymous]

I could point out that WGH doesn't mean the largest hobby, nor the most popular, nor even the best.

I could point out that none of your comparisons actually used the "G" word. In fact the word doesn't appear in your post.

I could point out you are using a straw man argument.

But why belabor the obvious? 

 

[tstage]

20M stamp collectors in the US alone?  I would like to see someone verify that statistic.  I find that highly improbable.

Tom

[Dave Vollmer]

Rather than dragging up arguments from the past regarding the effectiveness of the WGH capaign, or whether it signals good or bad times for the hobby industry, I'll just point you to the WGH site:

http://www.greatesthobby.com/

There you'll see what it really means.  It's really just a campaign organized by several model railroad manufacturers and Kalmbach to promote the hobby.

It's not a company by itself, nor is it asserting that Model Railroading is the biggest hobby.

I personally don't think anything of it; I've registered as a WGH ambassador and show my layout at train shows...  But I don't think it's any different than any advertising campaign.

That the hobby has never had to advertise so aggresively in the past is a sign of the changing times and the reality that there are more passtimes with which model railroading has to "compete" (witness the rise of online gaming...).  Overall, though, I don't read WGH as a sign of boom or bust, just a nod to a changing reality.

[MisterBeasley]

P.T. Barnum is credited with the phrases "Greatest Show on Earth" and "There's a sucker born every minute."

As soon as someone uses the word "Greatest," you should immediately think of old Phineas and his imaginative use of the language to hype his product.

I'm a fan of the Patriots, the "Greatest Football Team of All Time," who were also this year's Superbowl runners-up.

[Anonymous]

20M stamp collectors in the US alone?  I would like to see someone verify that statistic.  I find that highly improbable.

Tom

Why not?  Over 20 million bought stamps in U.S. last year...   just because most share their "collections" and send them to their friends, the phone company, or to pay their mortgage. 

 

[CAZEPHYR]

20M stamp collectors in the US alone?  I would like to see someone verify that statistic.  I find that highly improbable.

Tom

Why not?  Over 20 million bought stamps in U.S. last year...   just because most share their "collections" and send them to their friends, the phone company, or to pay their mortgage. 

 

 Most of us did purchase stamps last year and we sent them along their way by USPS.  I would guess most of us did keep our model trains longer than the stamps so model trains is ahead of Stamps for me.   I did purchase a page of the Daylight and the NYC 20th Century Hudson stamps, but those with just a few others could not be called a collection unless there is a catagory for the World's smallest collection of train stamps.  

  The World's Greatest Hobby probably is a good name for the one hobby you really like.   I would call Model Trains the World's Second best greatest Hobby, but no one asked me lately.  

 

 

[tstage]

P.T. Barnum is credited with the phrases "Greatest Show on Earth" and "There's a sucker born every minute."

Actually, it was David Hannum who was the real author of the often-credited saying given to P.T. Barnum:

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refbarnum.html

Tom

[CNJ831]

In fact, the hobby of stamp collecting in the U.S. is in the order of 10-15 times larger/more popular than model trains (assuming one includes the entire fringe element in our hobby). This is based on a 2004 report in Linn's Stamp News, one of that hobby's leading publications. There are an estimated 20-22 million stamp hobbyists worldwide. Incidentally, the last tally I saw addressing the current top 100 most "popular" hobbies in the U.S. did not even find model railroading making the list

CNJ831 

[tstage]

There are an estimated 20-22 million stamp hobbyists worldwide.

CNJ831

Okay, that figure is more plausible to me...

Tom 

[Dave Vollmer]

Incidentally, the last tally I saw addressing the current top 100 most "popular" hobbies in the U.S. did not even find model railroading making the list

CNJ831 

Well that's good, 'cause I hate just following the crowds and doing what's "popular!"

[Dallas Model Works]

In my books, a hobby ain't a hobby unless you do something more than just buy stuff and put it in a pile.

Unless you are my wife.

 

[shayfan84325]

I don't know how one determines the greatest hobby, hamburger, etc.  I do contend that to be in the running the appeal should be similar regardless of one's gender.  The fact that so few women participate in model railroading cause me to feel that it cannot be the greatest.  I don't know what is, but I think golf might be it.

I'm not a golfer, but I can see what people love about it:  It's social, persons of varying skill levels can enjoy it together, men and women can enjoy it together, there's always room to improve (even Tiger has never had a perfect game - 18 strokes for 18 holes), skill is more important than gear, and it's something you do outdoors in what amounts to a beautiful park.  It would not surprise me if there are more golfers than stamp collectors.

For me it's not important that model railroading be the greatest, best, or any other "est."  I enjoy it and find it fulfilling.  For me, that's enough.

 

[loathar]

In fact, the hobby of stamp collecting in the U.S. is in the order of 10-15 times larger/more popular than model trains

And 10-15 times more boring...

[3railguy]

I like model railroading, it's fun and interesting, and educational, but now I'm seeing "WGH" bandied about lately, are they referring to "stamp collecting??", it certainly cannot be model trains. In the U.S. alone there are 20 million stamp collectors,

LMAO.

 20 million stamp collectors in the US? Did you read that in the Star tabloid? And where does it say "greatest" means "biggest"? If you are looking to stir the pot, find something interesting to stir it with.

[pusscakes]

Maybe you're in the wrong hobby and on the wrong forum????

[Paul3]

tatans,
Um, the WGH compaign has been going on for years and you just noticed?

As others have said, "greatest" doesn't mean "largest".  It is entirely up to personal preferance as to what makes something the "greatest".  To me, what makes it the "greatest" is all the skills one can demonstrate with one operating layout: carpentry, model making, electronics, computers, artistry, engineering, research, history, etc., along with the skill to operate in a prototypical fashion.  I cannot think of another hobby that has more.

BTW, it's ironic that you've picked stamp collecting to compare with model railroading.  The funny is that Kalmbach did the same thing 30 years ago in their movie, "Model Railroading Unlimited".  Check out the 1:00 - 2:00 mark of the following Youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09kM1AdjP40

shayfan84325,
Golf is something that I would not call a hobby, it's a sport.  Collecting baseball cards is a hobby.  Actually playing baseball is participating in a sport.  There are no actual rules when building or collecting model trains ("It's my layout and I can do what I want," is an oft used phrase), but one isn't about to get 4 strikes in baseball or be allowed to kick an opponent's ball in golf (that would be cheating). 

Paul A. Cutler III
************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
************

[andrechapelon]

Incidentally, the last tally I saw addressing the current top 100 most "popular" hobbies in the U.S. did not even find model railroading making the list

CNJ831 

Well that's good, 'cause I hate just following the crowds and doing what's "popular!"

Be of good cheer, Dave. You're going against the grain of popular sentiment. After all, the hobby is dying and you're one of the the few, the proud, the people who absolutely refuse to let it go gently into that good night. You come not to bury model railroading, but to praise it.

Andre

[NittanyLion]

be allowed to kick an opponent's ball in golf (that would be cheating). 

Yeah, apparently you're not allowed to defend the hole, what kind of crap is that?  You just have to stand there while the other guy scores!

Golf is more like a job than anything else.  Nothing goes how you want it to, you're getting angrier by the second, and when its all over you're glad to be leaving

[BlueHillsCPR]

Incidentally, the last tally I saw addressing the current top 100 most "popular" hobbies in the U.S. did not even find model railroading making the list

CNJ831 

Well that's good, 'cause I hate just following the crowds and doing what's "popular!"

 

[Dave Vollmer]

Golf is more like a job than anything else.  Nothing goes how you want it to, you're getting angrier by the second, and when its all over you're glad to be leaving

Truer words were never spoken...

Yet why do I keep going back for more punishment???

[tatans]

It's true, no one really reads the posts, I had to go back 3 times to see if I really said any of those things: (and I didn't)  I said I love this hobby, by the way, it's the GREATEST, there. I said it !  now I know the origins and meanings of greatest.     hmmmmm, I wonder why, when I quoted how much this hobby means to me, someone would post: Am I in the wrong hobby and wrong forum ?????????  Also, I never realized myself just how huge stamp collecting is until researching it. Again: I like model railroading, I do not collect stamps.

[R. T. POTEET]

In my books, a hobby ain't a hobby unless you do something more than just buy stuff and put it in a pile.

Unless you are my wife.

O-O-O-O-O-O! I know somebody who is just dying to sleep on the mad couch tonight!

Actually, my wife says substantially the same thing about all the magazines that pass into this house each month, either through the mailbox or through the hands of my local. These eventually wind up in cardboard boxes and she insists that that industry would fail if I stopped buying magazines.

Anyway, the purpose of a slogan is to give some kind of product recognition.

-----KEEPS GOING AND GOING AND GOING -----
-----THE STANDARD RAILROAD OF THE WORLD-----
-----WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?-----
-----WHEN IT ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY HAS TO BE THERE OVERNIGHT-----
-----SO EASY A CAVEMAN CAN DO IT-----
-----EVERYWHERE WEST-----

Model railroading is, indeed, "THE WORLD'S GREATEST HOBBY" and you can tell everyone that R. T. POTEET says so.

Before I enrolled in the model railroading fraternity way back in 1962 I had tried my hand at constructing model ships - the plastic modern kind: I never did get into building elaborate sailing vessels - and I assembled an occasional airplane. I have never been a collector of anything; I have never been to a stamp show nor a coin show nor the like because I find no interest in those things. I will admit that when I go to one of my local hobby shops I always stop and examine the Second World War dioramas on display.

Ships - warships - would probably be the only thing to draw my interest - although I will admit that B-17s and B-29s will always turn my head.  I have seen some fantabulous warship modeling, but. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . the Yamato does not level those massive 18.1" guns at the doomed USS Gambier Bay in the famous Battle off Samar. . . . . . . . . neither does HMS Hood dissolve in a massive explosion at the Denmark Strait . . . . . . . . . . nor PT109 get crushed beneath the bow of the oncharging IJN destroyer Amagiri . . . . . . . . . . nor David McCambell launch his F6F Hellcat from the pitching deck of USS Essex . . . . . . . . . .

These things can all occur to one with a fertile imagination and the constructing of those static models does leave the builder with a deep sense of accomplishment when he/she can sit back and admire their completed work. They also make impressive display models - I was on a tour of a layout at the 1984 Kansas City convention where the model rail had a glass-encased model of the heavy cruiser {i}USS Des Moines[/i] on which he had berthed in the early '50s and so detailed was this model that it captured more attention for me than the layout which I - and several others - found just a little on the mediocre side at best - but . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . this model, as well as most other ship or airplane or tank models, was static; I know that there are motorized examples of all these things but with rare exception model railroading is an animated hobby - THINGS MOVE - and they move through a realistic geographical environment which we label as scenery. It may be in the pale of imagination when we announce that that UP double stack is headed for Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb but at least the train is going somewhere and shortly we will no longer see it - which is what happens when we are railfanning trackside in Sneaky Falls, Wis. or wherever.

It was the animation and the scenery environment which first attracted me to this hobby - and for that matter still does.

This is "THE WORLD'S GREATEST HOBBY" and R. T. POTEET says so!

[tatans]

RTP: You're right, It never entered my dusty mind, things actually move, could that be the draw towards the hobby, by golly, I think you've got it, I guess a lot of other hobbies just sit there, trains come and go, thanks for the insight.

[Dave Vollmer]

[loathar]

I checked E-Bay last night. Model Trains had about 80,000 items listed. Stamp Collecting had about 180,000 listed. Now does that mean there's over twice as many people getting rid of their stamp collections as opposed to their train collections?? Hmmm...

[PA&ERR]

You just have to stand there while the other guy scores!

Reminds me of any number of parties I attended during my college days!

-George

[PMeyer]

Model trains are the only kind of hobby store I've ever seen that are dedicated to only one hobby.

Okay - I saw one radio control airplane store but only one. There are lots of model railroad stores!

And the post office does not count as a stamp collecting hobby store!

 Paul

[loathar]

Model trains are the only kind of hobby store I've ever seen that are dedicated to only one hobby.

Okay - I saw one radio control airplane store but only one. There are lots of model railroad stores!

And the post office does not count as a stamp collecting hobby store!

 Paul

Dedicated coin/stamp collecting stores used to be pretty popular when I was a kid. Haven't seen any in a loooong time though. There are sports trading card shops still going pretty strong. Comic book stores too.
And I guess if you want to call video games a hobby, I have 5 of those shops where I live in a city of 10,000 people.