Metro Red LineWhat bothered me about the article was that although it's true the average age of model railroaders is past retirement age, it seemed to give the impression that ALL model railroaders are only interested in re-creating the 1950s. Of COURSE young people can't connect with this, it's so foreign to them. As a modern-era modeler, younger people might be more responsive to the contemporary freight, passenger and commuter trains that exist today, which railfans see all the time. Yes, I know that most modelers live the Transition Era, but I've always loved the challenge of "modeling what I see," even when it means my favorite railroad growing up got bought by another railroad, and I have to model that one. Surely a family that took an Amtrak trip might have a kid who wants an Amtrak train.Yes, all you old-timers will think that's so boring, but remember, today's trains are the "trains I grew up with" for another generation.
Rich
Alton Junction
Being someone young and in the hobby, I get why/how many who do MR are retired or nearing that point. Yes, it's tiring to spend time at night working on trains or trying to carve out time on the weekends. Of course there's been days, weeks, and even months where I was betweeen jobs and didn't touch the layout. WHO else was bitten by that bug? I always return with renewed gusto.
The goal is to get my trains fully running so anyone can enjoy it. Enjoyment comes from asking help and making people feel appreciated for supporting me and not paying attention to such garbage.
maxman richhotrain maxman max, is that Tyco? Rich Sorry, but I'm either too young or too old to understand the reference. So far as I know it is just some poor random animal that got beaten to death after horsing around with threads such as this one.
richhotrain maxman max, is that Tyco? Rich
maxman
max, is that Tyco?
Sorry, but I'm either too young or too old to understand the reference. So far as I know it is just some poor random animal that got beaten to death after horsing around with threads such as this one.
What I thought was hilarious was the need for a drawing with the title.....'model train'.
richhotrain maxman
LION WAS HERE!
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
The hobby dying meme has been beat up quite well in this thread. Anyone who does think it's dying has never been on Facebook. There are just so many Model Train groups that I stopped joing them after 8 or so. They are full of young modelers who put up images of their models, so most are active too. YouTube is also full of videos of models and real trains.
The real point is there are huge centers of activity that are off the map for many of us. Kalmbach does not seem to have a facebook presence although many product manufacturers do.(Received a note on this an Kalmbach may not be on Facebook but MR and Trains certainly are. Hmmmm who's the slow one here now?) Then the entier Shapeways universe is distant from the traditional media. Just go there and search on your scale. There is more there than you would believe.
http://www.shapeways.com/
I really don't think the hobby is anywhere close to dying, but I do think to keep it healthy some adjustments will need to be made. First IMHO it's taking too long to get products to market, a year from annoucement to expected delivery is a long time ( and in most cases it's delayed beyond that ), and some LHS require a down payment when placing a order, then even if it does make it on time, if there is a quality issue sometimes it can take up to weeks to resolve if sent back to the manufacturer for repair. For me this is just the way it is, but my kids live in a world of almost instant gratification. If they go looking for something and the store or mall does not have it, they whip out the I Phone, go to Amazon place their order and expect it to be delivered in a day or two, if not they look for something else. I ordered an Atlas n scale Mopac gp38-2 that was supposed to be here at the end of last year and was told at the end of January it would now be May before I could expect it without any explanation as to why by Atlas or the supplier other than they received a partial order. I am willing reluctantly to live with that, but will the young people of today be willing to? I do think Scale Trains is moving in an excellent direction with their Operator or Rivet Counter options.
Thanks, Ralph
BMMECNYCThink about how you got interested in trains
Russell
Let me just say that this topic about the WSJ posted here was like tossing a huge piece of raw meat into a tank full of sharks. Controvesrial? You bet. Misinformation. Absolutely.
Honestly, we have beat this "hobby is dying" subject to a complete pulp. It's a dead horse long gone. Please - let it die!
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Well, I put in my $.02 on this as a 28 year old. I personally know 3 or 4 people in the 30-60 age group who are model railroaders, who are not in a train club! How did I meet those people? I brought this years NMRA calendar to work and hung it on my locker/toolbox. Excellent conversation starter. Brick and mortar hobby shops may be on the decline due to the internet, the ones that are thriving do both in store and internet sales to keep product moving. The number of train layouts that exist out there is staggering. The prices do keep going up, and yes it does take a while longer to be able to afford some of the niceties. The hobby is far from dead, you just have to know where to look. A guy my girlfriend went to high school has a 5 year old that can hand lay track better than I can... To say that kids aren't interested in trains anymore is a little off the mark. Think about how you got interested in trains? For me, it was watching a video of N&W 1218 run south from Cincinnati, Oh to somewhere in TN over and over at a young age (kind of like brainwashing I guess). My parents figured out quickly that I was transfixed by trains running down the track so a spent many a day watching train videos while my mother was cleaning the house, etc.
The "quote" feature in here never has worked for me, while using Fire Fox. It has worked occassionaly when I use IE.
I could care less about the OP's article, I just wanted to know more about Howard Zane, of which the internet has provided me with a wealth of info, including the WSJ article, through Howard's web site.
This whole thing reminds me of the slot car explosion in the 60's. Seemed like groups popped up all over the place with club style race track operations. People started scratch building and bashing cars for racing. All of this, including model railroading, was BEFORE todays mentality and attraction of all of the social media availiable now, such as this forum, and many others. Yes, I'm a "lone wolf" modeler, and I talk to a lot of other LW modelers, exchanging ideas. I got into this hobby because it's what I like, and if you are into it, and it's also your hobby, then great!
What I consider as my LHS is 26 miles away, Hiawatha in Pewaukee (Waukesha), and I see a variety of people in there, of all ages. And the stock that the store carries is proof of how much business they do, enormous!
Now I'll go back to checking out Howard Zane's work, and let this thread be.
Mike.
My You Tube
ATLANTIC CENTRAL A few thoughts: The hobby is not dying - BUT it is changing in a number of dramatic ways....... Where the hobby will go from here? I suspect it will carry on with no matter what anyone says...... Sheldon
A few thoughts:
The hobby is not dying - BUT it is changing in a number of dramatic ways.......
Where the hobby will go from here? I suspect it will carry on with no matter what anyone says......
Sheldon
tstage Ho, boy! Yet another "The hobby is dying" thread. This ought to get some mileage...and waaaaay too much of it. I'll amuse myself by ignoring it from this point on and predict that it will garner a min. of 90-100 responses by Monday morning. Start the clock...tick, tick, tick, tick, tick... Tom
Ho, boy! Yet another "The hobby is dying" thread. This ought to get some mileage...and waaaaay too much of it. I'll amuse myself by ignoring it from this point on and predict that it will garner a min. of 90-100 responses by Monday morning.
Start the clock...tick, tick, tick, tick, tick...
Tom
tstage I'll amuse myself by ignoring it from this point on and predict that it will garner a min. of 90-100 responses by Monday morning. Start the clock...tick, tick, tick, tick, tick... Tom Well, we're more than halfway there!
I'll amuse myself by ignoring it from this point on and predict that it will garner a min. of 90-100 responses by Monday morning.
Well, we're more than halfway there!
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Modeling the PRR & NYC in HO
Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/@trainman440
Instagram (where I share projects!): https://www.instagram.com/trainman440
alexstan Mark B Remove the phrase"model trains or train sets" and insert "newspapers and print media" Ditto.I'm almost 21 and honestly, I know of no-one around my age range even remotely interested in my hobby.
Mark B Remove the phrase"model trains or train sets" and insert "newspapers and print media"
Remove the phrase"model trains or train sets" and insert "newspapers and print media"
Ditto.I'm almost 21 and honestly, I know of no-one around my age range even remotely interested in my hobby.
Ah but this is important. Since most modelers seem to be in the closet, its hard to find other modelers.
Case in point, I've been modeling since I was 5, now 42. I have a couple customers that are also modelers (one actual railroader) but didn't know it for years. None of us ever really mentioned it.
The lack of LHS kind of limits our chances of meeting other modelers. We are still out there but don't have a convient place to meet frequently. Sure there's clubs that meet monthly but you have to find them. And yes the annual train show. And even here on the net but for some reason its hard to meet fellow posters.
There are lots more modelers than you are aware of. But you have to put yourself out there to find them.
Modeling the Cleveland and Pittsburgh during the PennCentral era starting on the Cleveland lakefront and ending in Mingo junction
Modelling HO Scale with a focus on the West and Midwest USA
Redvdub1 I am now 76 and have been hearing about the demise of the hobby since I was 16.
I am now 76 and have been hearing about the demise of the hobby since I was 16.
blownout cylinder Just a reminder...keep it civil here. As for the article itself, it is poorly researched thus making it dubious at best.
Just a reminder...keep it civil here.
As for the article itself, it is poorly researched thus making it dubious at best.
What an extraordinarily civil way of stating that the article has the essential quality most often associated with piles on the ground in cattle feed lots.
Andre
Yep.... Here is my reply to add towards that 90.
Is the hobby dying? Only if you don't count all the kids at shows, and only if you refuse to acknowledge those coming into the hobby every year.
Thomas is still very popular, as is now Chuggington... Kids are still being brought into the hobby. It just takes them a while to afford it now.
These are only the thoughts of a close to 30 year old, who has a friend in the hobby who just turned 45, two others in their 60's, and, one friend whose now 7 year old is extremely into trains, both real, toy, and model. And, these all live in a rural area, where the only show close by is twice a year, in Erie Pa, and is still attended by lots of people. Even more travel to Kirkland and Berea Ohio shows, myself included in this, ones in Buffalo and Rochester NY, and clear down to Pittsburgh Pa. All from the same rural area I am in.
Hobby shops? Well, Erie is down to one actual Train store, a couple of general hobby shops, next closest is in Jamestown NY, over the state line to Ohio, or Buffalo NY area. This is different from when I became a model railroader, but, online stores have boomed in that time frame. So, while I have far less stores to choose from that are actually located nearby, I have access to a much bigger selection.
So, is the hobby dying? Not IMHO it isn't. (WSJ, yes, this "techie" can use the lingo, the acronyms and all the texting lingo. He is also a model railroader who enjoys "playing with his train set" as you so not-so-subtly put it. So, you are wrong here.)
And, just so some don't feel bad, I couldn't read the article either, even after clearing cookies... Oh well. Don't think I missed much.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
I have been reading all of your responses and I can't agree more. I couldn't read the entire article, but I gather that the article lacked research.
Ironically, I attended a train show today in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The show was fairly packed and was full of families and some teenagers. I did see a few clubs have layouts setups of all scales. There were quite a few members who were my age (30) or younger. I was asked if I wanted to join a club even though I live over an hour away from the club, it sounded like a good idea. The club has 6 active members in their 20s and 30s and they were always looking for members of all ages and genders.
I was humbled to see a few teenagers buy some models at the tables.
Will
I wouldn't think so. Complex flight sim software didn't kill scale models or RC planes. What it did do, was start an entirely new hobby that didn't exist 20 years ago.
I can see the day when virtual model railroads replace 3-D ones. Graphics continue to improve dramatically. I think the day will come when photo realistic models combined with hi-def computer screens will make it possible to build a railroad in memory and operate it just like we do with our 3-D model railroads. Selective comphresion would be a thing of the past. We could build model railroads with prototype distances between towns. It would almost certainly be cheaper and faster to build a model railroad that way. The question will be whether tech saavy kids will actually be interested in that or will their attention be turned toward the next new thing.
I am now 76 and have been hearing about the demise of the hobby since I was 16. The hobby has changed dramaically in my lifetime and generally for the better. DCC was, in my opinion, the biggest innovation of all and dramtically increased the fun factor and simplified the wiring chores. And quality has also improved over time. Very few of us have the time to spend building kits any more so the RTR stock is a godsend. Brass engines used to be the only way to get really good looking steam engines and most of them didn't run very well. And the collectors out there drove prices up into the statosphere. Well, the bubble burst and most brass collectors have inventory they can't get rid of except at a loss..but the rest of us can buy steam engines that look pretty good and run even better.
Nuff said. Young people still crowd the shows and beg their Dads for a "setup". Yeah, they discover girls and go away for a while but they come back.
Have fun guys. Don't worry about this hobby.
redvdub1
The hobby is not dieing - BUT it is changing in a number of dramatic ways.......
We know from conversations on this forum that only a small percentage of those who consider themselves "Model Railroaders" belong to the NMRA - so much for the relevance of any stats from them - yes NMRA membership is aging faster than younger people are joining that organization. I belong to and support the NMRA, but they are not without their problems which clearly limits their membership.....
Regarding the "changes" in the hobby - the "subsets" of modeling approaches and styles have increased in number - seperating various groups by wider gaps in interests/skills/spending power, and most importantly, social or group activity.
At its core this is a hobby that can be "practiced" with little interaction with others - and as interests and approaches become more diverse, and person to person interaction (like clubs and hobby shops) become less and less, it becomes even harder to know who is doing how much of what - a real problem for those trying to gauge market potential for new products.
The new technology is a double edged sword - it has attracted new people, it has added to that diversity which has subdivided the hobby.......it has brought others back to the hobby, it overwhelmed others right out of the hobby.
Hey, relax everyone. The hobby dies with me, and I expect to live at least another 30 years.
Seriously, as long as there is a rail industry and kids play near the tracks, there'll be a fascination with trains. As long as steam excursions take place, there'll be an interest in steam trains. If we go to underground tubes, it might change, but right now the rails are king.
floridaflyerIf the NMRA is to be believed and the average age of folks in the hobby has risen from 39 in the '70's to 64 today, that is not a positive trend.
So? Millions upon millions of Baby Boomers are turning 60 every day. Nothing wrong with gray-haired rookies in the hobby, and with decent nutrition and reliable blood pressure medication and whatnot these days no reason to expect them (us) to be dropping out any time soon. Seventy is the new fifty. Now, pass the soggy corn flakes . . .
LINK to SNSR Blog