Was looking through a 1984 ,Fifty anniversary issue of MR, and there was a forum discussion on the future of Model Railroading. Some pretty interesting stuff such as electronic books,with a cartoon showing a guy in a space suit reading something like a Kindle, Bruce Chubbs Computer Model Railroad Interface (CMR/I) Was discussed. Malcom Furlow talked about the use of foam for scenery, Also Computer simulators of Train operation was discussed. The future is here guys. Anyone have any thoughts about the things to come? BILL
I notice a few indicators:
1. DCC is getting better and better and I can imagine it reaching the point that every car will carry a decoder to actuate couplers and maybe brakes. Coupling/uncoupling seems to be the greatest point of "unrealism" in operations, so I can see operations oriented modelers creating a market for eectronically/remotely actuated couplers.
2. I can imagine a switch to radio control, so that the power in the track is only used to replenish on-board batteries. All control signals would be delivered "over the airwaves."
3. There seems to be a trend toward less toxic paints and materials - I expect that acrylic paints will improve and plastic adhesives will continue to becom "safer."
4. I can imagine a PC interface to control trains using a computer. I think there has been some experimentation and a few products like this - it won't be long until these become the "new" DCC.
5. Old timers like me will keep doing things our old-fasioned way until we croak. However, we are smart enough to incorporate new technology when it seems right to do so.
Here's to the future - it will be along any minute now.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
Yeah, I'll start w/ the usual suspects:
OLED (or equivalent) wide flexible (affordable) panels for animated backdrop displays.
Affordable milling machines (or equivalent like home 3-D printers) for in-home replication.
Full wireless control of locomotives (well, already here for a while), but with some sort of track-based recharging system (locomotive normally runs off battery, but recharges via live rail sections - this means you don't need to clean track every minute).
Finally, a good home laser saw (or equivalent) for perfectly straight, non-melt or burnt edged cuts.
I'll leave the nano-machines, the holograhic projections of people and vehicles, and the living, generic engineered micro-flora for others to describe.
Layouts become increasingly more animated. It will not just be trains moving on the layout: cars, trucks etc I am thinking of significant improvements of the Faller Car System. perhaps even animated Preiser figures (memory wire perhaps?).
Slowly building a layout since 2007!
I think as videocams get smaller, eventually we won't be standing beside the layout watching the train on the layout, we'll be using a TV monitor and controlling the train perhaps in something similar to the simulators used to train engineers, using prototypical control stands etc. You could have a camera in the cab of the engine, in the cupola of a caboose, or on the rear platform of a caboose or observation car.
You could also have "railfan" remote cameras mounted alongside the tracks...with those you would use a virtual reality helmet, so the camera's servos would move the camera as you moved your head to look around the layout. Similar set-ups could allow you to look out the windows of an interlocking tower.
Because of the reliance on minicams, layouts would be built more like a 'trough', perhaps 2' wide with scenery and backdrops on both sides, high enough that you couldn't see out the top of the trough from track level. Benchwork would be minimal, the layout base could be pretty close to floor level.
I think pretty much all of that could be done using today's technology.
I know a lot of DCC people are not going to like this, but I think RC self propelled trains (HO, too) are the way of the future. It would greatly simplify the electrical aspects of a layout, especially large complex ones. Battery and energy storage technology will advance to the point where a rechargeable will be small enough and have enough delivery to use in an HO shell or car. The first step toward this future would be RC powered from the rails. That alone would be more reliable due to less equipment and simplicity in rail power. Then comes a rechargeable battery as a backup for getting through short drop outs due to dirty track. Eventually an energy cell of some kind allowing hours of operation on un-powered rails. There is no reason why RC can't be multi-channeled with programmable functions like DCC.
I can only dream right now.
DC
http://uphonation.com
rekleinWas looking through a 1984 ,Fifty anniversary issue of MR, and there was a forum discussion on the future of Model Railroading. Some pretty interesting stuff such as electronic books,with a cartoon showing a guy in a space suit reading something like a Kindle, Bruce Chubbs Computer Model Railroad Interface (CMR/I) Was discussed. Malcom Furlow talked about the use of foam for scenery, Also Computer simulators of Train operation was discussed. The future is here guys. Anyone have any thoughts about the things to come?
Was looking through a 1984 ,Fifty anniversary issue of MR, and there was a forum discussion on the future of Model Railroading. Some pretty interesting stuff such as electronic books,with a cartoon showing a guy in a space suit reading something like a Kindle, Bruce Chubbs Computer Model Railroad Interface (CMR/I) Was discussed. Malcom Furlow talked about the use of foam for scenery, Also Computer simulators of Train operation was discussed. The future is here guys. Anyone have any thoughts about the things to come?
One thing that is coming is that the person with average modeling skills and resources will be able to build a layout representing a somewhat unusual prototype, because the necessary items will be available in a somewhat "shake the box" way. This will be a boon to interurban enthusiasts and to those who model "brief interval" prototypes like the C&NW commuter service in the C&NW to Metra transition era (c. 1985).
More scratchbuilding as more and more ready to run stuff comes out and prices continue to climb. Could also make for more smaller layouts too.
Jack
Good stuff so far. Any thpoughts about cell phone operation?
Think of the possibilities for RC. Battery charging tracks could be located only at places where a locomotive would stop to refuel. Engine terminals, water towers (for steam), etc. The rest of the layout could be unpowered. Sounds like the next evolution in train control to me.
Power and commands will be transmitted through the air instead of the track.
Computer software will control all trains, dispatching, etc. for which no live person is available. So you can run a complete operations session with zero to however many people your layout supports.
Rolling stock and structures including bridges, signalling and track will be completely built, detailed and finished by on demand machinery making any prototype for any era - model building will be dead.
Scenery will be done in layers with grass, water, tree, shrub, etc spray machines.
Benchwork will be oozed out of a foam machine.
A 1000 sq ft layout can be built to museum standards in an afternoon.
What won't change is the complaining. For every 2 layouts built, 38 people will complain that the high cost of the hobby keeps them from participating.
Enjoy
Paul
HO will be eclipsed by N as the scale of choice, as tens of thousands of modelers are forced to move into mobile homes with no basements and unemployment skyrockets to 32%.
Micro Trains will stop producing "pizza cutter" wheels, just in time for Atlas to announce their full line of code 40 track in N (in response to the increase in demand noted above), so MT wheels still rumble on the spike heads!
DCC is finally accepted as the standard operating system, just in time for the invention of totally hands free telekenesis operating systems. Piles of decoders are put to new uses operating hand soap dispensers at the New Yankee Stadium, built to replace that old one built in 2009.
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
No, no, no. You're off by one order of magnitude. For every 2 layouts built, 380 people will complain that the high cost of the hobby keeps them from participating.
What those 380 won't tell you is that 25% of them own a $30k bass boat, 30% a $50k pickup truck and 55% a 3,000 sq ft McMansion that they used like an ATM until the real estate bubble burst.
However, there will be good news. There will still be only one individual who will complain that everything was better in 1955.
Andre
Another thing which will affect many areas has to do with the availability of books, both paper and online versions. The Library of Congress has been scanning all the books in it's collection, eventually I guess they will all be available online. At some point in the future, there probably won't be such a thing as "out of print", any book ever made will be available online, or reproduced as a printed version. Research of railroading and model railroading will be easier because the info will always be available.
BTW on a related note, if National Geographic can offer a CD-ROM collection for sale including all the National Geographic issues back to the first one, I don't see why Model Railroader couldn't also....
Hi!
Lots of good thoughts here, and I think my personal favorite is DCC coupling/uncoupling.
Having played with trains since the mid-50s, I've seen a lot of change and in some ways, some things have stayed the same. Frankly, the hobby has more to offer now than ever before.
One thing does concern me...... Many of us "war babies" and "baby boomers" grew up on Lionel & American Flyer and we are a good portion of the MRs today that spend the money and keep the suppliers in business. But sad to say, we are not going to be around forever, and the younger generation(s) were raised on computer games and other like interests - and not model trains (or planes) or model building. Hopefully some of these proposed changes will come about, and will create more interest in the Hobby. But, only time will tell......
Hey, in the meantime, lets ENJOY !!!!
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Virtual model railroading will replace actual model railroading, and everyone can have an exact replica of their favorite prototype. No longer will we be confined by space limitations.
- Harry
andrechapelonHowever, there will be good news. There will still be only one individual who will complain that everything was better in 1955.
I beg to differ---there will be one individual who will be complaining the best of times was in----get ready for this---1975
Got to keep with the generational factor here---
All modelling, RTR, DCC, DC and all that will be nullified by holographic projections upon ANY surface you can imagine-----don't go there---Any configuration would be possible b/c reality itself will no longer be the ONLY one to be prototyped. Virtual reality? HAH!!! More like Hyperreality----or summat
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Instant layout, just add water.
Perhaps locos with more room so I can add sound and other extras without the hassle.
Peter
A CNC machine will be available that will produce any locomotive you want out of brass barstock. All you will have to dfo is insert the brass, scan the drawings and push a button.
Dave
Just be glad you don't have to press "2" for English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_ALEdDUB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s
http://s73.photobucket.com/user/steemtrayn/media/MovingcoalontheDCM.mp4.html?sort=3&o=27
andrechapelonWhat won't change is the complaining. For every 2 layouts built, 38 people will complain that the high cost of the hobby keeps them from participating. Enjoy Paul No, no, no. You're off by one order of magnitude. For every 2 layouts built, 380 people will complain that the high cost of the hobby keeps them from participating. What those 380 won't tell you is that 25% of them own a $30k bass boat, 30% a $50k pickup truck and 55% a 3,000 sq ft McMansion that they used like an ATM until the real estate bubble burst. However, there will be good news. There will still be only one individual who will complain that everything was better in 1955. Andre
Darn right! I can't even afford to THINK about this stuff....
:)
I agree the future is with RC. I also believe that on board cameras and remote PC control will be popular in the next few years. I believe club meetings will be done remotely using the internet. 10-2 people from anywhere in the world could log onto one site where the layout is located. Via on board cameras, as well as cameras located around the layout each person will have control of one locomotive. Communication will also be done via the web using headsets. I'm sure the technology already exists to do this but no one has attempted it yet.
As for books in file format. That already exists. My mother in law has a Sony book reader. It is awesome. Super clear screen, a charge that lasts 1700 page turns and room for an SD card to store a complete library. She logs onto electronic books stores all over the world and downloads books. She can also "borrow" ebooks from the local library. Neat stuff!
Todd
This is funny, I was just reading the April 1984 MR last night. Great article on making corrugated siding out of aluminum foil. It also has a story on the Mojave Western by this forum's Pastor Bob! Anyways, I was reading the letters to the editor and some familiar themes were present: The hobby is dying because everybody is getting old and everything is too darn expensive. I'm sure that the same thing will be said 25 years from now!
Why hasn't anybody mentioned the human shrinkage machine? This way we can ride our O/S/HO/N trains around our insta-layouts and control them from our laptops that we shrunk as well! Awww, that may be a few years off.
Keith Baker
steemtrayn A CNC machine will be available that will produce any locomotive you want out of brass barstock. All you will have to dfo is insert the brass, scan the drawings and push a button.
Should see the prototyping machines that are doing this now---if only they could get made a little less expensive---------
There's nothing more certain than change and most predictions for the future of our bobby are based on what may be described as wisheful thinking. This is not to denegrate those opinions for they include natural optomism and optomism is what sustains us. It's a younger cousin of - Hope That Springs Eternal.
What ever the future may bring to our hobby it's a safe bet that those who have driven the hobby so far - the post war baby boomers, will have long left their models behind and gone on to a far greater cause - subject to personal belief, that is.
Those who remain will be in possession of the means to drive the hobby in what ever direction it takes. I wish all of our younger modelers all the very best in this and that those who sustain the hobby with products and services will do so as a contribution to our hobbies continuing longevity.
Personaly, I am unable to make any worthwhile predictions as to where the hobby will head off to in the future. There is too much general uncertainty in the world today that can have an impact on even the humble world that model railroaders inhabit with their hobby for us to be certain about much. All I am prepared to allow myself is that I should enjoy our hobby the best I can - help others where it is possible and turn a deaf ear to those I am not in step with.
Whatever happens in the future that determines the characture of model railraoding then I hope that it will give much fun and pleasure in the hearts of those who are left to carry on the tradition. To those who have a sense of maintining an interest in history and sharing their knowledge with others, then the hobby will be in good heart what ever aids are offered by manufactueres to make our pikes run better or more efficiently.
One thing for sure is that those who drive the various demands for technological change in this hobby will need to ensure that none of what they offer will create expensive niche's that can be poulated only by the wealthy and that in making changes they will not take much of the fun out of what we love to do now and try and sell it back to us again.
Bruce
Readily available, good quality sound in N-scale. Jamie
CLICK HERE FOR THE CSX DIXIE LINE BLOG
HarryHotspur Virtual model railroading will replace actual model railroading, and everyone can have an exact replica of their favorite prototype. No longer will we be confined by space limitations.
This I'd actually pretty harshly disagree with.
In my college years, which weren't that long ago, I'd gone off to other interests. One of these was getting big into Microsoft's Flight Simulator series. I was particularly involved in airliner repaints and a few terrain modifications. A lot like what virtual model railroading would be like. Had an undecorated aircraft with panel lines and such, that I had to "paint." A 3D model of a building I drew in a CAD program, then textured. Laid out taxiways, ramps, runways, etc in a CAD-like interface. Then loaded it all into the flight sim. All full scale. My biggest projects were Naval Air Station Pensacola and everything within about five miles of P'cola and roughly 50 miles of the Outer Banks. Its not the same. Yeah its easier to share and other people can directly enjoy your work without having to come into my basement or look at a simple photograph. But its a *** lot of work actually. And you get to redo it every two years! Big huge projects everyone wonders about futureproofing your airport or whatever, because the next version might handle altitude calcuations or a texture differently.
FS2000, 2002, 2004, and X all had a similar engine but handled things differently. FS2002/2004 didn't have a spherical earth and had a several trillion sided cylinder for a planet. So you could do special runway markings by placing a texture with transparency an inch over the runway to mimmick it being painted on. FSX introduced a true spherical earth. That crushed that trick right into electronic rubble. FS2002/2004 aircraft could work in X but for some reason, effects like propellers in motion would render behind trees and clouds, which looked quite bizarre. But if you viewed your aircraft from the outside, your cockpit glass would disappear. It looked kinda funny. And there was nothing you could do about it. As I've fallen out of it and don't know if it came to pass, FSXI was slated to be a complete rebuild and render most of our mods completely obselete.
These are all things I don't have to deal with with a little plastic cube painted to look like a house.
NittanyLion HarryHotspur Virtual model railroading will replace actual model railroading, and everyone can have an exact replica of their favorite prototype. No longer will we be confined by space limitations. This I'd actually pretty harshly disagree with.
Of course, this always assumes that the technology and software levels are static-----I'm never so sure that it always will be as difficult---
So, the next quarter-century mark for MR will come in 2034. Let's see. Chances are, I'll still be alive and complaining, but getting along to the caboose of life.
The allure of wireless will dim, as more and more of the available wireless spectrum gets filled and oversubscribed with communications, garage door openers and gaming systems. Instead, those who want rock-solid reliability will return to tethered throttles.
My layout will grow and shrink several times, as children and then grandchildren "move back in" with the parental units to deal with the rocky economy ahead.
Sorry, I don't see the battery thing. We'll still be running on NS track, possibly treated with something to keep it cleaner and improve connectivity, but battery-powered trains will be poor performers and will eventually be rejected.
The pile of unbuilt models in my workroom will grow larger. A few of them will get built, though.
Sound will improve dramatically. The huge consumer market for personal, iPod-sized headphones will drive small-scale speaker technology forward. Our bulky speakers-in-baffles that make sound installation so awkward will give way to thin audio transducer arrays, making sound in N-scale and even Z-scale a reality, with better quality than we have in HO now.
The stuff I ordered from Internet Trains last month will finally be shipped.
And the last "Ooops" will be recorded in 2031.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Reminds me of the movie Back to the Future 3. Get rid of your track because the trains will fly. And then time travel. Of course that will explain why my Dash-8 is traveling through downtown Chicago in 1920 with steamers all around.