Please, there is no reason for this to turn into a Battle Zone if you can’t discuss this topic without losing your cool, please find somewhere else to participate!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
No need for your thread to turn into any sort of "war", good point about those with little or no experience being more readily able to enter and enjoy the hobby from so many of the RTR products. Also opens up the fact that people w/ disabilities able to have decent equipment that they can use w/o help or others having to build them.
I feel that most involved in the hobby, tend to have been modelers in thier youth, and would almost naturally be more mechanically inclined, a creative sort or like tinkering or at least have such desires in creating/ building.
RTR products are great for the loco/ rolling stock, yet some various skills are still needed to build a layout regardless of how simple.
I too am now in my 60s, was an avid modeller in plastic cars, boats and military A/C. Slot cars, RC cars and planes and later moved on to wooden shipbuilding. Of coarse all the while I enjoyed my Lionel from the first set at age 6. Didn't return to the hobby until late 30s when my son showed interest at 5 year old. 25 years later, still at it and enjoying myself. Interesting to see others history and take on the idea.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
I'm also in my late 60's. Sharing a bedroom with younger brothers as a kid made building plastic models futile. I read, (still do), played board games and outdoor sports and hockey. At that time small town Canada had vacant lots that kids could play games on without being hassled, and without the land owner facing lawsuits if a kid suffered an injury.
I was in my late thirties when I became tired of static models and joined a club and got into trains.
Having both kits and RTR is good. Trying to put too complicated a kit together as a first project, or handlaying track without patient instruction would be overwheling. (I have never hand laid track)
Friends a big part of this hobby to me.
Dave
Born in 1949 I grew up in the Bronx, NY in the 1950's and early '60's. My friends and I were what are now called free range children. We went anywhere we wanted as long as our stay at home moms knew about it. We made scooters from wooden milk crates and roller skates, rode the subway and buses (alone), biked all over the place. Pedophiles and other vermin weren't running rampant as they are now allowed to do. I modeled trains, plastic airplane models, boats and ships. No one had cell phones, video tapes or video games. Soupy Sales, Captain Kangaroo, the three stooges, Laurel and Hardy were the funniest on TV. Stick ball, baseball and touch football were our seasonal sports activities. As I aged my hobbies influenced my occupation, and my occupation enabled me to afford my hobbies. So it was a win, win for me.
I did fly model planes, the older kind that were tethered to a pair of strings that let you control the elevators to make the plane go up and down, but that was all. One tank of gas and you'd be pretty dizzy from turning around in a circle so many times.
I did build other models, too. I had a cabinet of ships and airplanes. Nothing too advanced, just Revell kits. Who remembers the Visible V-8?
I liked the comment about being a free-range kid. We rode our bicycles everywhere. I'd keep my folks informed so they wouldn't worry, but then we'd be off to the park or over to a friend's house.
I'm 68 now, and I've been back with my trains for 10 years. It's re-established a bond with a hobby that's been mine since I was 4 or 5.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
My older brother wouldn´t let me play with his trains, so one fine Christmas santa brought me my own Marklin starter set and a kit for a depot as well! That was back in 1963 and I was a lad of 7 then. The depot I still have - it was assembled the same day! The Marklin trains, to which each year an addition was made fro Christmas and birthday, are long gone now, but the hobby stuck over all those more than 50 years now. OK, I have dabbled with plastic airplanes and ships, but that didn´t last long. At the age of 11, I finally got to the place to build a small layout.
Model railroading was done during Winter or when the weather was bad. As soon as it was dry or sunny, I was outside and out of sight of my parents. Miraculously, I always made it home on time for the meals - without a watch!
First hobby was model railroading. I have 8mm silent home movies of me running trains at age 2. We only ever set anything up from Thanksgiving to New Year, we didn't have space for a permanent layout in our house, but I stuck with it. Over summers I would read books and magazine and plan the biggest layout I could fit in my bedroom and still use it for a bedroom. Never could get my Mom to allow me to go ahead and build it. Eventually I was able to build a 4x8 HO layout and leave it up, until I got bored and switched to N scale and built a 3x6 which stayed up until I left for college. Around 7 or so I started building plastic models, mostly planes and cars - only ever built maybe a half dozen before I lost interest. Dabbled in slot cars, never really stuck. I later discovered a 1/32 scale slot set my Dad had along with some old slot car magazines from the 60's, and I stuckw ith it for a while, taking one of my plastic car kits and adapting it to the slot car chassis to make my own cars but I eventually lost interst and went back to trains. Same thing happened to my Dad in the 60's, he had a few cars, ran them at the LHS, but eventually lost interest and went back to trains. So, I've pretty much been in model railroading for over 46 years.
ALso got into computers, about the time the TRS-80 Model 1 came out. I was about 11 then, couldnt afford to buy one but they sold the manuals seperately for like $5 so I had those and taught myself how to program, I just went along every time my Mom went to the mall and just stayed in the Radio Shack the whole time. ANd I did have a stint in model rockets in HS, my best friend also had rockets, and we built some neat ones, and also I built a launch system that used my pocket computer to run a countdown and trip the ignitor so we could both stand back and watch the rockets go up. But no matter what I do in addition to, I always come back to model railroading. Even in the years when I wasn;t actively building or operating anything, I was reading magazines and keeping at least a little in touch.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
NP2626My question is for those people who did not build models as youngsters.
I cannot answer your question as I was a real builder in my youth. However upon taking a long hard think of the 46 kids that lived in the 14 houses on our cul-de-sac from the time at age three years of age in 1960 when I went out to play as a very "free range kid" as were all of the kids. The kids that built models were the same kids that were involved in hockey, baseball, scouts and generally took part in the community as a whole, as did their parents.
The Saturday morning and after school TV watchers to a person, that I can think of, were the type that went to school and watched TV and would occasionally come out for a game of road hockey.
Through facebook I have seen what has become of many of these kids from my childhood and from what I can tell it has boiled down to the fact that there are people that let things happen and there are people that make things happen. Generally I think the more creative "builders" are the type that make things happen and generally do well in life.
I have noticed with my own kids that when they are up for hockey, swimming, school projects or anything that requires their participation they keep on doing very productive things all day after they get home. There are down times when everything in our lives stops for a couple of weeks and the lot of us become a bunch of sloths in front of the tube. Fortunately for us, after a very few days, the kids are chomping at the bit to get back at it. Now I see why my parents were always exhausted.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I'm 67 and I can't recall not having trains in my life..As a "free range kid" I rode my bicycle to various railfan locations in Columbus,Ohio while most other boys my age was playing little league or football.Even in my teen years I was more interested in trains then cars or pretty girls.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I'm 29 yrs old and I have been around model trains and railroading my entire life. I was born with the railroading gift. The first real railroad that I fell in love with was Amtrak because of the red, white, and blue paint scheme.
My first train set was a battery powered G Scale locomotive with remote control at the age 5.
I tried to visit the SP now UP rail yard every year, but lately it's been difficult.
My first MRR magazine was around late 1995, and my first official train set was 1998 N Scale Little Joe. Santa Fe tank engine. I restarted buying equipment for my modern era layout in 2007.
No matter what railroad I model, I would like to model all of them.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
In my 30s now. Had a small train set that would come out for Christmas but that was it. I never modeled anything really. The only thing close to that would be playing with various airplanes - balsa wood with the rubber band powered propellor, big foam planes, or making parachutes for GI Joe guys out of plastic bags etc. I played in the woods a lot (also free range), or rode my bike to meet up with others for the sport du jour (wiffleball, football, hockey, whatever). I played organized youth sports, cub/boy scouts, and I used to draw a lot.
Another fifties-era free-ranger here, from Akron, Ohio. When I was about four years old, my mother put me in the back yard and soon discovered I was gone. She was frantic until she got a phone call from the local drugstore about 4-5 blocks away. They wondered if she knew I was playing in the junk pile behind their store. As I got older, I loved hiking & camping (often with my dad), and found that knot-tying and carving/whittling were among my favorite Boy Scout activities. I built plastic models of automobiles, tanks, ships, and airplanes, plus one balsa flying control-line model. My passion was always the railroad, and many of my hikes tended to be near the railroad. Never wore a watch or carried a cell phone (what's that?) back then. One of our favorite (unauthorized) play areas was a hilly, somewhat wooded property that was mostly vacant except for one area where Ohio Edison stored telephone poles. It was near the end of the area's first Expressway, and we could tell when it was time to go home by watching to see how far traffic backed up. When it was back to a certain point, it was time. Often went for hikes with Dad and/or other friends at Gorge Metropolitan Park. We just told Mom we were going to the Gorge, packed a sandwich, and generally made it back in time for dinner. Never got into organized sports much. Played C.Y.O. football in 8th grade. Mom was worried that I'd be killed or something, but I got through the season OK. A month later I slipped on a wet sidewalk and broke my leg in two places. Go figure.
I feel sorry for kids today. Much too sheltered. Do they ever have adventures?
Tom
SP&S modeler, 1960's give or take a decade or two for some equipment.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SGTDUPREY?feature=guide
Gary DuPrey
N scale model railroader
MisterBeasleyVisible V-8?
Russell
BRAKIEI can't recall not having trains in my life
In my early-mid 20s and cannot recall not having trains. Sure I've had tines where I've been "trained out", but I always come back to it. The other thing I do as a hobby is guitars.
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
I'm 68. As a kid I was mostly into board war games and when the weather was nice I was out playing - pickup baseball, exploring, shooting marbles, etc. I'm not sure exactly what free range kids are since the kids I knew all did that. I did build one model kit - U.S.S. Arizonia. Also did a lot of reading, especially in the winter.
Basically, I was expected to be home for dinner and in by dark. No big deal since all my friends had the same rules. Same rules for my kids in the 70's and 80's.
Enjoy
Paul
I was obsessed with trains from when I was little until I was about 13, then my interest faded until about 2 years ago (I'm 27 now). I finally finished college and got my career started and living in a house now with my very supportive wife so life is good. Bought a 4x8 and built up a table and having fun with my older stuff that I converted to DCC now as well.
To elude to the original question, up until 13 I built countless planes, tanks and cars along with my trains so I'm no stranger to building models. I enjoy putting together old blue-box kits but it also nice to have the instant gratification of buying a new locomotive or freight car and putting it straigh on the tracks. If you ask me, it's all good!
While my father had a decent sized lionel layout when I was very young, I could see that it was a kludge with its unrealisitc curves, etc. yes it was fun and amusing but not addictive.
So, I, like many others here built tons of Monogram, Aurora and Testors scale model ships and airplanes with a pal of mine. When the available shelf space was filled, we would have a "blow up day" and plant firecrackers in the least liked models in the back yard and have fun blowing them up, thus making room for more scale model kits to be built.
My first first true model railroad effort on my own was with a good scale model HO effort when I was 13 in 1959. Been in and out of MR ever since.
Richard
If I can't fix it, I can fix it so it can't be fixed
I didn't have the patience to build models. I'm 34, in the 80s my dad built a 4x8 for on top of the pool table. I enjoyed running trains and trips up to walthers. Any model I was involved with at the time only resulted in embarrassment and frustration.
In high school and college I kept busy on the bmx track, skateboard, video games, snowboard, and chasing girls. Trains were put away for years by this time.
In the last couple years my wife and I got married and bought a house. Upon searching for breweries to visit in Milwaukee, I came across info about the Milwaukee road's beerline and was right back into trains. Hooked.
Before spending the cash on a new locomotive and controller, I decided to build some accurail kits to make sure I wouldn't get frustrated and quit. I loved every minute of it. I love the challenge and especially the PEACE AND QUIET! I've since bought more challenging kits.
I'm not the invincible dude I was in my 20s but I'm having as much, or more fun with the layout and model building. Instead of hurrying up and going fast on wheels, I've discovered the challenge of hurrying up and going SLOW with models. I love it now but as a kid, I just didn't have the patience.
T e d
MisterBeasleyI did fly model planes, the older kind that were tethered to a pair of strings that let you control the elevators to make the plane go up and down, but that was all. One tank of gas and you'd be pretty dizzy from turning around in a circle so many times. I did build other models, too. I had a cabinet of ships and airplanes. Nothing too advanced, just Revell kits. Who remembers the Visible V-8?
I, too, did the 'spin-around' with the Cox airplanes, as well, as the various models, depending on the phase I was in. Since my father was a fighter pilot, I started out with airplane models (my fave being the F-4 Phantom). Then, when I hit high school, it was model cars.
But, when we were little, my father bought our first trainsets; first was a Marklin, since we were stationed in France at the time, then came the Lionel sets. I ventured into drag racing while I served in the military. When it came time "settle down", I built my first HO scale layout. It was pretty crude by my current layout's standards. Gravity and old age have taken its toll on the car thing; Gravity, "Well you got down there, you can get yourself back up.
Now, that I'm 60, I plan on sticking with model railroading for good, with photography as my backup.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
I got started with a Lionel "Scout" set at about five years of age. Christmases and birthdays brought more Lionel. Eventually we had a 4 by 8 train board in the play room with enough track, rolling stock and transformers to allow all three of us boys to run a train at the same time. Then there were Erector sets, wood burning kits, microscope kits, chemistry sets, cap guns, lead soldiers, and endless plastic models, Revel, Monogram, AMT and others. I got a bicycle at ten and that opened up a lot of possibilities. We did skiing in the winter and boating in the summer. They didn't have Lego in those days. We did have football in junior high school. By high school I discovered Heath kits.
I went on to get an degree in electrical engineering, which provided many many years of enjoyable employment. It was as much fun as Lionel trains.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Most of you who are above middle age seem to have happened upon your modeling skills the same way I did and spent your free time doing pretty much the same things I did. No one thing became all consuming to me, I was involved in many things. Sports, hobbies, hunting, fishing, exploring, etc. I remember my first models that were covered in smeared glue and danged poorly built; but, I didn't give up and became pretty skilled at building models by the time I was 9-10 years old. I think those who didn't build models where involved in all the activities the rest of us were. Maybe just got frustrated with the first efforts and because they didn't live up to what they had hoped, gave up on the hobby.
I'm hearing more from the people who are modelers than the people who I had hoped to hear from, those who did not build models.
I would imagine that by 1980, computers and the like were the younger kids main focus. Next came the huge computer gaming craze, then cell phones, texting and a miriad of other "hobbies" that take up a kid's time.
Few would be the MRs who did not build models or have early experience with model trains, planes, boats, etc.
We are just an older crowd whose youthful distractions were filled with working with our hands, making stuff. A lot of that stuff was model building.
Many younger 30-40 year olds and Future MRs will have to discover MR'ing on their own, cold, free of a big history of model building, I would think.
It would be nice to hear from those younger MR's who did not have a train set as a kid and who never built models. How did their interest in MR get kicked into gear? Internet? Friends who were MRs, etc.? Secondly, of these younger folks who never modeled how many of them go, solely, R-T-R and how many really kit-bash or scratch build?
narrow gauge nuclear wrote:
"It would be nice to hear from those younger MR's who did not have a train set as a kid and who never built models. How did their interest in MR get kicked into gear? Internet? Friends who were MRs, etc.? Secondly, of these younger folks who never modeled how many of them go, solely, R-T-R and how many really kit-bash or scratch build?"
I chimed in earlier about my hobbies as a kid, but to answer your questions specifically...My interest got kicked into gear by seeing layouts, the most notable being the one on permanent display at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh (which is really a model of Pittsburgh that happens to have a couple trains running around). I never even considered it a possibility to have a layout in my own house. Then my son was in his train phase and here we are. And since I've never really modeled before, I am mostly interested in going RTR just to get the layout mostly done. I have built two bridges from models and I will have to scratch/bash two buildings and a track structure for my incline later in construction. I've purchased built-and-ready buildings. But I figure once the layout is "done" I can replace buildings with scratch/bashes, add kit rolling stock, and hopefully recreate my childhood home up on a hillside.
i thinks its rare that a kid has a hobby. What's the difference between a kid "playing" with trains, playing computer games, playing baseball, football or hockey with friends. It's all about having fun.
while I had a model railroad, i wouldn't say I was a model railroader. At least not like I am now. At that time, spent a bit of time nailing some track to a board and ran trains around. today I spend most of my time building things.
like a stamp collector, I believe many model railroaders aren't super interested in finishing the railroad and just operating. I think like the stamp collector, they enjoy spending their free time working on the railroad.
Unlike work, they enjoy working on something challenging without having deadlines or specific goals. That makes it a hobby
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
NP2626............the people who I had hoped to hear from, those who did not build models.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I tell people that I've been in the hobby for 45 years...since I was 9. I'll be 54 this summer. Though I had quite a bit of exposure to the hobby before that...I consider 9 to be the starting point without parental assistance.
At that point, I was building other types of models as well...warbirds, ships, cars, even trucks. I dabbled in line control planes breifly. It was only natural to go and begin building model railroad kits as well...and I've built many. I've stayed with that personal 'tradition'.
There is some really nice stuff out there in RTR...very nice. But I still prefer kits. I like the customizable nature of kits. There isn't much out there in RTR in what I am looking for. Since I model a railroad that is becoming more obscure with time (Reading)...a kit, paint, and decals will make what I want readily.
Lastly...I enjoy the satisfactoin of building something myself...there's a pride in it.
Mark H
Modeling in HO...Reading and Conrail together in an alternate history.
Another child of the 50s, Lionel trains were our Christmas pleasure but for most of the rest of the year it was out door play, baseball both schoolyard and organized, touch and tackle school yard football, biddy basketball, playing with kids in the schoolyard, building forts in the woods, golf with my mom and dad, swimming at the Y, camping, summer day camp and scout and sports overnight camp in the summer. Built plenty of plastic models, boats, airplanes, military vehicles. Best was the Visible V-8, the Big T Hot Rod, and a large scale motorized Navy Destroyer. Back to trains in my 30s when I had children and back again in my 50s for the grandchildren. I have built four layouts, the MMP & R (Lionel 027), the PSS & M( HO), the Philipsburg and Milestown N), and the East Penn (N) and am currently working on the Philadelphia and Reading as an expansion of the East Penn.