With gas at $4 a gal here, and up everywhere, how has it impacted your RR hobby?
We like to go on steam excursions, and visit train museums. However this summer we may not be able to do much with the price of gas what it is. We are at the NY/PA border, and will do another excursion at Steamtown Nat'l park (a long hour away).
BUT, we were hoping to go to Strasburg PA and Steam RR again (4 hours away and an overnight away), and to go to W VA to Cass railroad (overnight and 2 day trip itself) and ride with the Shays and Climax trains. We were also hoping to go to Baltimore C & O museum.
The price of gas, though, has already put a kink in our budget and will definitely mean we may have to forget the other trips this summer. If we do manage to go, there will definitely be less $$$ to spend on the model RR hobby here at home, most likely:NONE if we take the trips.
SO, how has/will the price of gas affected your hobby??
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
I don't go to the hobby store as much. I go to the one in town for misc. items, but the one I go to for train cars is about 15 miles away. I don't go due to gas, and thats the cars I use on Ebay. I look at it as why waste gas money for a few train cars.
Other than that, its not effecting my hobby that bad, but more on the other things (food, entertainment, etc).
"Rust, whats not to love?"
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
howmus wrote:Not at all here as well. I was able to get a new car that allows me to leave the 16 MPG truck parked in the driveway. The car is averaging around 37 MPG so I am spending less on gas than I was a year ago..... Oh don't tell someone....you know who, but it is one of those terrible Toyotas..... It is a Yaris and I can even still cart a whole lot home from the LHS in it (as well as all the equipment needed to do on location recordings).
Actually, we have been looking into the Yaris. They have air and auto, but Doesn't seem to come with cruise control, though, a requirement. The Chevy Aveo has our interest as well.
We are hoping to also move further out into the country, which will mean more gas used to get around, so a high MPG car is a must.
-G
galaxy wrote:Actually, we have been looking into the Yaris. They have air and auto, but Doesn't seem to come with cruise control, though, a requirement. -G
Actually, we have been looking into the Yaris. They have air and auto, but Doesn't seem to come with cruise control, though, a requirement.
It appears to be available in a couple different options, so it should also be able to be added after market......
Mine was under $14,000 delivered including registration. Paid for by my Uncle. You may know him, Sam? Was able (thanks to a member of another forum) to get survivors SS this year so i was able to keep the truck and and buy a new car.
The price of gas has not really cut into my MR budget, I do car pool to the model railroad club with a friend. I do think twice about going long distances though. It normally takes about $50 to fill up my SUV(no, I am not selling it, this is rural Minnesota), and I usually put in 5 tanks/month. At least work is only a 5 minute drive, and I can work from home at least 2 days/week. I have friends who have a 45 mile drive to work!
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Not at all. Although I have a medium-sized SUV, I drive less than half the national average so it isn't a large element of my budget. Besides, I just finished paying my childrens' college expenses so that my disposable income will be higher than before. With gas at $4.30-.45 here, one does pause at the thought of gas costing more than 25 cents a mile. Good thing I don't have a diesel. Diesel fuel costs over $5 a gallon here (central California).
Mark
Not so much!! I just did a two week driving vacation down the coast, Napa, etc. to as far as LA. 5000 kms (3000 miles) - $800 for gas in my pig of a Jeep Commander Limited with a Hemi. More than I'd like to pay, but it doesn't really affect my overall finances much.
David
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
The gas prices hasn't hurt my hobby any nor will it other then making supply trips to my not so local hobby shop will be turned over to the UPS man when he brings my normal monthly order.
All of my major railfan trips is still a "go"..No need in giving up on life's few pleasures completely.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Fortunately, I have plenty of stuff accumulated over the years. Even if I didn't buy another thing I could model railroad for years. The result is that for the past couple of years I have been more selective and buying less. So this doesn't affect the hobby much. But I am starting to cut down on trips and eating out.
Enjoy
Paul
We just fill the tank once a week.
We go to the hobby shop once a month.
We dont plan to cut our driving until 9-12 dollars a gallon at which point, all hobby spending shifts to internet only. Not hard to wave a credit card and whistle at the Brown Truck to deliver some discontinued, long out of production, never to be made again widget.
Bob Berger, C.O.O. N-ovation & Northwestern R.R. My patio layout....SEE IT HERE
There's no place like ~/ ;)
Gas here just hit $3.98 a gallon. We are down to one car, a 2002 Ford Explorer which travels about 8K miles a year or less ( yes, we are retired ). This car can be teased to get 21 MPG with level roads, tires at 32 psi, and not loaded with passengers or cargo, and an egg between my foot and the accelerator. It has not effected going to my LHS yet, as I go once a month. This is a 28 mile round trip. However, talking to the owner of my LHS, it has most definitely effected his business. Some of his regulars would gather at his store every Friday afternoon and evening, but now they only come once a month. Most are retired, and when you are on FIXED income, it is guns or butter ( Economics 101 ) or in this case, MRR or Butter. ( For you young ones that can't balance a checkbook yet, go to college and you will understand finances better.)
Now as for that comment about Gas station owners....this is a huge misconception as to WHO is making all the money. Please understand the bigger picture here. The U.S. dollar has been on a skid for years, and now is at an alltime low. The Saudis get paid for their barrels of oil in dollars. BUT, our dollars are worth far less than several years ago, so the Saudis are not happy campers. So what do they do.....they raise the price of a barrel of oil. And to make matters worse, we have investors called "Speculators" who buy oil on the Futures Market. What does this do? It runs the price of a barrel up and up and up. In simple terms, if I have one apple to sell, and 3 people want to buy this one apple, they will bid the price up ( you know like EBay? ) And now the Speculators come along with their money and they bid the price up even higher as they purchase barrels of oil, or apples in this simple example.
A point of interest, Exxon made around $25B in profit last year, but they also spend $14B trying to find more oil. They did find some small amount of oil, enough for 1 year sales, not so great is it? The point is, it is easy to critize what we don't understand, we need to understand the bigger picture. And the world is pumping oil at 78 million barrels a day to meet demand. The demand is due to hit over 100 million barrels soon due to China, India and other developing countries. Hang on to your wallets and lock your gas cap.
Okay, call me Un-American or whatever, but I have a German car. An Audi. My second car is a '63 VW Bug. A real Bug. Authentic. From the Black Forest, built by Elves. I use the Audi for longer trips, the VW for around town. Both are in the 40+MPG range, so I don't feel the pinch as much as a lot of the rest of you--and believe me, you have my sympathy. These cars were designed primarily for the Autobahn and in Germany (and the rest of Europe) gas prices have ALWAYS been what we're just starting to experience. Last time I was in Germany, about three years ago, the price was the American equivalent of an American Mob kidnapping ransom per Liter. So by necessity, German cars are more fuel-efficient.
With that out of the way, I'm still cancelling some long-range trips this summer. One I've left open--at least for the time being--is a trip to Colorado to ride the Durango & Silverton in July. Taking AMTRAK from here to Grand Junction and PRAYING that the Hertz in Grand Junction will have a fuel-efficient car for me to rent to drive down to Durango and tool around Southwestern Colorado for about a week. Which, I believe, will cost at LEAST the amount of the AMTRAK round-trip sleeper ticket. If not--well, THAT trip is cancelled.
But as far as eating into my hobby budget, I haven't seen a real chunk--as yet, because I don't really use gas that much--most of the conveniences that I use are pretty handy, within a couple of blocks, and the two hobby shops I frequent are each about 8 miles away.
But I'll tell ya--if it keeps up, I'll probably be screaming as loud as everyone else! From what I hear, it's not the oil companies as much as the idiots investing heavily in 'quick-return' Futures. I don't know how true it is, but if so, those greedy idiots need a really INTENSE lesson in History. Like, say, studying the year 1929 VERY thoroughly!
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
In a couple of words, it hasn't. My driving distance has come WAY down since my final retirement, so I have no heartburn about the high price of the fuel I don't buy.
That may change if my petrol bill rises above my vehicle insurance bill...
What I love is the computer-generated, "We think you're coming due for maintenance..." mail from my vehicle service agency. It's geared to people who drive farther in a month than I drive in a year.
Of course, I expect that what would have been several single-purpose tourist/railfan trips will be combined into a single multipurpose circle tour - which means that I'll actually spend LESS than I would have under the old system. Let's hear it for efficient planning.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Little, if at all. My wife and I plan our trips more carefully, and I now pay cash for all hobby items, as I finally got tired of the hobby following me home in the form of a credit card bill.
Patience keeps my trips to the LHS down to once or twice a month. There are a few ebay buys, but overall the amount allocated for the hobby hasn't changed but a bit due to the shift in payment mechanisms. After the monthly trip there is a flurry of activity on the layout, then minor projects or the continuation of weathering or detailing projects till trip time the following month. Patience, patience, patience.
As to railfan events, we tend to stay local for those when and if they occur, and save for vacations that both of us can enjoy, such as cruises, trips with the grandchild and such.
From the Black Forest, built by Elves.
Those guys also make cookies don't they?
Actually, because of the gas prices, I'm starting to spend more time at home and on the layout. I have a closet full of kits and supplies that need to be completed so financially it really hasn't changed much. I plan on a short vacation at the end of June and my daughters wedding in July, gas prices are one of many drains on my wallet lately.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
MY CLUB HOUSE IS 60 MILES AWAY ( 120 ROUND TRIP ). I WOULD GO TO THE CLUB HOUSE MAYBE 3 TIMES A WEEK, NO MORE. SATURDAY IS MEETING DAY ( IST SAT. OF THE MONTH ). YEA, I'M GOING TO TRAVEL THE MILES THAT USE TO BE SMILES. NEVER THROUGH I WOULD SEE THIS COUNTRY BECOME A THIRD WORLD COUNTY. IT'S GOING TO BE TOUGH RIDING A BIKE TO THE CLUB HOUSE ( HUMMM!! HARLEY MAYBE ).
HERE HOPPING WE ALL HIT THE LOOTO, BAYOUMAN.
No change here. My spending is down due to fewer new releases from the manufacturers over the past few years, not due to gasoline prices.
Engineer Jeff NS Nut Visit my layout at: http://www.thebinks.com/trains/
lvanhen wrote:My LHS is about 15 miles away (there are 2 closer but not as well stocked) so a $4 trip is now $6! Very annoying, but not going to make me stop going there!! BTW, I have a 20 mpg mini van and HATE small cars!!!!! BUY AMERICAN - THE JOB YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN!!!!!!
I already drive a minivan. An AMERICAN made one. Gas was $1.00 - $1.20 when I bought it 7 years ago. I hate small cars too. But in the interest of stretching my disability budget, may need a gas sipper to get around.
Long trips to tourist railroads and museums and hobby shops (part of this hobby to me) are going to be severely limited or cut out this summer.If I spend the $$$ on that, I won't have it to spend on the layout.
Was just wondering if others were in the same boat. There seems to be A LOT of people COMPLAINING about the price of gas, yet claim it won't affect what they do. If that is the case, they shouldn't be complaining!
Even IF oil comes down in price, it will still ALWAYS go up!
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
twhite wrote: Okay, call me Un-American or whatever, but I have a German car. An Audi. My second car is a '63 VW Bug. A real Bug. Authentic. From the Black Forest, built by Elves. I use the Audi for longer trips, the VW for around town. Both are in the 40+MPG range, so I don't feel the pinch as much as a lot of the rest of you--and believe me, you have my sympathy. These cars were designed primarily for the Autobahn and in Germany (and the rest of Europe) gas prices have ALWAYS been what we're just starting to experience. Last time I was in Germany, about three years ago, the price was the American equivalent of an American Mob kidnapping ransom per Liter. So by necessity, German cars are more fuel-efficient. With that out of the way, I'm still cancelling some long-range trips this summer. One I've left open--at least for the time being--is a trip to Colorado to ride the Durango & Silverton in July. Taking AMTRAK from here to Grand Junction and PRAYING that the Hertz in Grand Junction will have a fuel-efficient car for me to rent to drive down to Durango and tool around Southwestern Colorado for about a week. Which, I believe, will cost at LEAST the amount of the AMTRAK round-trip sleeper ticket. If not--well, THAT trip is cancelled. But as far as eating into my hobby budget, I haven't seen a real chunk--as yet, because I don't really use gas that much--most of the conveniences that I use are pretty handy, within a couple of blocks, and the two hobby shops I frequent are each about 8 miles away. But I'll tell ya--if it keeps up, I'll probably be screaming as loud as everyone else! From what I hear, it's not the oil companies as much as the idiots investing heavily in 'quick-return' Futures. I don't know how true it is, but if so, those greedy idiots need a really INTENSE lesson in History. Like, say, studying the year 1929 VERY thoroughly!Tom
You know, you should take the bug. It's compact enough you could proably fit it in the bike hangar on the Superliner.
Well, since I'm here, Gas hasn;t bitten my busdget yet either. Course, for the immediate, I'm on Mom;s gas card, until I have an opportunity to get a job. Then it'll matter. We really need a better infrastructure
-Morgan
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
The only thing gas prices have done to me is make me consolidate trips. And once I park the car, I leave it there if the other places I'm going to are not very far or don't require crossing a road that's probably none too safe to cross on foot.
That and not fill up the tank. I get around half a tank now every time I need to get gas. $25 every 10 days seems less painful than $50 every two weeks somehow.
Although I sure miss where I lived the last three years. I walked to everywhere except the supermarket and the mall. I got gas around once a month, and that was usually because I was driving somewhere 180 miles away. I got gas exactly nine times in 2006.