Sir MadogI don´t think that model railroading is a wide-spread hobby in the People´s Rupublic of China. They make model trains to sell them!
I agree with Sir Madog: but because hobbies and leisure activities are a sign of realitive affluence and free time. Excessive work hours cuts into other activities.
Dave
fieryturboTrains are dirty, loud, huge machines, and the areas they inhabit are the same.
In Europe, they are clean, slick and incredibly fast and take to the right side of the tracks in town!
BigDaddy China rail has 2.3 billion passenger trips a year. That's where most of the model trains are made and WeHonest is a local train store. I vote China.
China rail has 2.3 billion passenger trips a year. That's where most of the model trains are made and WeHonest is a local train store.
I vote China.
PRR8259 Many communities here in the U.S. want the railroads to be "out of sight" screened all from public view as though they were some kind of "urban blight". It's small wonder that interest in the U.S. has waned, as today it is becoming more difficult to even see the trains in urban areas. I offer as Exhibit A: the plethora of expensive screening vegetation planted around the former Reading Rutherford Yard at Harrisburg, PA. You can't see the trains from the adjacent roadway network anymore, at least not well.
Many communities here in the U.S. want the railroads to be "out of sight" screened all from public view as though they were some kind of "urban blight". It's small wonder that interest in the U.S. has waned, as today it is becoming more difficult to even see the trains in urban areas. I offer as Exhibit A: the plethora of expensive screening vegetation planted around the former Reading Rutherford Yard at Harrisburg, PA. You can't see the trains from the adjacent roadway network anymore, at least not well.
Trains are dirty, loud, huge machines, and the areas they inhabit are the same.
Pretty much the reasons we love them are the reasons other people hate them, and that's unlikely to change. Even my town has the train station tucked behind the main street drag, and the track mostly hidden by foliage on either side.
Julian
Modeling Pre-WP merger UP (1974-81)
John Mock
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
This may be slightly , but each year we have a US Model Railroading Convention in Germany. The following video shows scenes from the layouts on display at last year´s convention:
This makes sense in Europe, since the train is regular transportation for many of those folks. It's still a part of daily life.
Out here, I found out my roommate had never ridden the commuter Metra, and lived in the Chicago area all his life. I was floored. For some of us, I guess trains are a freight nuisance that keeps us from getting from place to place in our cars.
I suspect we'll soon see an upswing in the MRR culture here in the US, with all the Arduino stuff going on and the ne-wish "maker" culture, and it becoming more computerized.
Perhaps Europe has more members given that trains are more commonly seen and used in cities. London, Paris, and other places depend on trains and I bet that is a large draw for people.
It would be interesting to read how many subscriptions MR fills with various European countries.
I can only guesstimate, as there are no figures available, but I think that Germany and UK are the countries with the highest number of people who are into model railroading. Some years ago, the number of folks being a member in a model railroading club in Germany was said to be above 6 million out of a country with a population of slightly less than 80 million people.
Ken - do your search in German, Dutch and French and you´d be amazed about the results!
I don't honestly know. However, I've noticed that a lot of the "how to" videos on youtube are from folks in the UK and Ausralia. I'm also amazed at how many overseas modelers are modeling US railroads. Ken
Recenty I was in a bull session about where model trains are the most prevelant.
One person mentioned that Europe has seven times the model railroad activity than we have here. Then Austraila, Japan and Sweden. Does anyone have close to what the actual figures are?
I do suspect that off shore model railroad activities are stronger, but several times as large??? When I was an active brass dealer 10 years back, almost 90% of my sales of anything over $1000 went overseas....but that was brass....not mainstream.
HZ