David,
I have to agree with Jeff and the others who were teenagers at the time of that letter -- and who are still model railroaders now. Being 16 y.o. at the time, like them I think it's a good thing we weren't offended by MR, just by the author of the letter. Talking about it now is a good reminder to try to avoid being an obnoxious old geezer, even as we chronologically sink in geezerhood.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Usually those are geezers. Ignore them and enjoy the hobby. Oh, remember that when you enter geezerhood and have a lot of modeling experience.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
It's an adult hobby? When did they pass that rule. I must have missed it.
I'll be right back. I have to go tell my grandchildren they have to stay out of the train room from now on.
I suppose I can bring Thomas The Tank Engine & Hogwart's Express out to visit them once in a while while I play hobby around with the real model trains.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
selector They actually printed that letter! Was there a response from the editor or from readers in subsequent editions? -Crandell
They actually printed that letter! Was there a response from the editor or from readers in subsequent editions?
-Crandell
TrainManTy That comment about Student Fare and younger modelers in the hobby really ticks me off... How does he think the hobby will survive without younger modelers? Is he planning on living forever?? Of course, I'm not one to be an outsider to that comment, he's basically insulting me and many of my friends... I'll get off my soapbox now...
That comment about Student Fare and younger modelers in the hobby really ticks me off... How does he think the hobby will survive without younger modelers? Is he planning on living forever??
Of course, I'm not one to be an outsider to that comment, he's basically insulting me and many of my friends...
I'll get off my soapbox now...
And I'll step up and take your place. This guy is a completly and total numbskull. We teenage modlers can build stuff just as good as you older folks. Just look at tyler's layout, or mine, or GG's, or a host of others. And yeah, this hobby will die w/o us young guns. This guy really ticks me off!!!
the is open for whoever else wants it next.
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
"No room in the hobby for kids?"
Who let that guy of his meds?
I'm with Crandell. I am surprised they printed a letter like that.
Geared Steam It just shows that grumpy old farts never change.
It just shows that grumpy old farts never change.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
What'd ya expect? A 1500 word essay?
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
Ya I kinda remember that I was a reader / subscriber back then. In June 1973 I would have been...let's see, carry the one...14. To be fair, the first few years of Student Fare weren't that great. A pic of a flat-top layout with RTR equipment, and a bunch of letters pretty much all like this:Hi!! My name is Bobby. I'm 12. I love trains!! If you like trains, write to me!! Bye, Bobby
Hi!! My name is Sam. I'm 9 and live in El Waco, California. I love trains!!
I'd forgotten about that letter. I was a subscriber at the time (and a student), and I recall feeling that it was out of character for such a letter to appear in MR. I also recall that I agreed with the author to some extent: It did seem that the magazine included articles that really just paraphrased the instructions from a kit, and Student Fare always bugged me: Even as a student (I was a junior in high school) I wanted to know that if I submitted photos of my work that it would be selected or not selected based on the same criteria as any other modeler - I didn't want any special consideration because of my age or circumstances, but that was just me. Student Fare continued, so the overall response to it must have been favorable.
That said, I continued to subscribe to MR because it also included articles that challenged me to learn to do new things; the photography was great; columns like Bull Session were both fun and educational, and At The Throttle (Linn Westcott's editorial) was worth the cost of the subscription all by itself. Then, as now, the axiom "Different strokes for different folks" applied well to our hobby (I think that was one of Linn's topics).
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
I was 12 when that letter was printed and it ticks me off even now at 48! I may have been just a kid then but I had already built a couple of good looking layouts. Where the heck does he get off thinking that there's no room in the hobby for kids? Model Railroading an adults only hobby? Maybe it is somewhere in the deep recesses of the cobwebs at the back of his mind!
Did y'all see this letter to the editor of MR?
"When I do buy MR, what do I find? What I find is a magazine seemingly devoted to shake-together kits and ready-to-run models....I think MR could be a great modelbuilder's magazine instead of the mediocre one it is."
What, you missed it? It's right there on page 13...of the June 1973 edition.
Some things never change...although the writer eventually got his wish on this count:
"And while I'm on the subject of valuable space, your column Student Fare is a fiasco. Kids have no place in an adult hobby, and just because a teeny-bopper lays a circle of N gauge track on top of a table and runs some ready-to-run equipment over it is no reason to print a picture of his silly railroad when the space could be used for something worthwhile--something that would interest a serious model railroader."
Clearly, the writer was no fan of dabblers.