BRAKIEI have noticed the growth of highly detailed switching layouts with higher end cars and DCC/Sound locomotives.
I'm in the process of building one right now. I don't have the space, time, or funds to build anything grand, but I can build a small switching layout detailed in the best way that I can. Does anyone care? Not a bit. Over the holidays, when visiting the grand kids who live a five-minute drive away, they spent more time looking at small screens instead of joining in on conversations. I suppose once the layout's completed, they might want have a look. Hey, it's my hobby and my interest. Maybe when they ever do decide to stop by to visit us, I'll just go down to the basement and work on my layout instead of talking to them. That'll show 'em.
Russ
Modeling the early '50s Erie in Paterson, NJ. Here's the link to my railroad postcard collection: https://railroadpostcards.blogspot.com/
I miss the 1980s when Scale Rails of Southwest Florida put on a REAL train show every November.
.
The only things for sale were the consignment tables from club members. Everything else was just modeling skills on display. Other clubs brought layouts, there were clinics, it was really great.
The only thing that comes close that I know of are the train shows put on by The Villages, FL each year. Only problem is... you need to go to The Villages, yuck.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
BRAKIE Howard Zane A good train show is more than just looking for prices. How about clinics, display layouts, meeting friends in the hobby, and just spending a day with model trains. At our show..of course there were literaly hundreds of tables of vendors offering new plastic at competitive prices, but in addition to a 15 table consignment area, there were a serious mess of folks with tables of no longer needed trains for sale at way low prices. Then came the many estate sales........or how about seeing first hand what is new? I don't buy the get it on line bit as I feel this is what is hurting our hobby...and for several reasons which is a topic by itself. Howard,I couldn't agree more. I really don't understand my Grandson and his generation of modelers they seem to careless about the social side of the hobby as far as train shows and clubs and on the other hand they are well inform and know the mintute details of cars and locomotives. I fear the day of the end of small train shows may be on the horizon. Of course I can remember when train shows was exactly that..Modelers gathered to display their models and sell their unwanted models and junk.
Howard Zane A good train show is more than just looking for prices. How about clinics, display layouts, meeting friends in the hobby, and just spending a day with model trains. At our show..of course there were literaly hundreds of tables of vendors offering new plastic at competitive prices, but in addition to a 15 table consignment area, there were a serious mess of folks with tables of no longer needed trains for sale at way low prices. Then came the many estate sales........or how about seeing first hand what is new? I don't buy the get it on line bit as I feel this is what is hurting our hobby...and for several reasons which is a topic by itself.
Howard,I couldn't agree more.
I really don't understand my Grandson and his generation of modelers they seem to careless about the social side of the hobby as far as train shows and clubs and on the other hand they are well inform and know the mintute details of cars and locomotives.
I fear the day of the end of small train shows may be on the horizon.
Of course I can remember when train shows was exactly that..Modelers gathered to display their models and sell their unwanted models and junk.
BRAKIE Howard Zane A good train show is more than just looking for prices. How about clinics, display layouts, meeting friends in the hobby, and just spending a day with model trains. At our show..of course there were literaly hundreds of tables of vendors offering new plastic at competitive prices, but in addition to a 15 table consignment area, there were a serious mess of folks with tables of no longer needed trains for sale at way low prices. Then came the many estate sales........or how about seeing first hand what is new? I don't buy the get it on line bit as I feel this is what is hurting our hobby...and for several reasons which is a topic by itself. Howard,I couldn't agree more. I really don't understand my Grandson and his generation of modelers they seem to careless about the social side of the hobby as far as train shows and clubs and on the other hand they are well inform and know the mintute details of cars and locomotives. I fear the day of the end of small train shows may be on the horizon. Of course I can remember when train shows was exactly that..Modelers gathered to display their models and sell their unwanted models and junk. Brakie, Yup, I miss those years when the many local fire house train shows were billed as "swap meets" and often, that is exactly what they were. Time and trends do change for younger folks, and there is almost nothing we can do about it except to get used to it. As mentioned before, the market is now the newly retired and train shows do a lot to introduce the hobby to these folks. I have know many of these now retired who came to our show due to a newspaper ad and curiosity, or for the nastalgia bit, and left hooked as they kept coming back. I do miss co-running the Timonium show as it was/is a major part of the hobby for me. I still attend as the show is it in fine hands and will most likely continue for decades more. HZ
EilifNow of course the hobby can certainly be enjoyed in a smaller space and on a budget, but the hobby that you'll find in MR and most of your local train clubs is not generally a low-budget, apartment-friendly , short-time-commitment hobby.
I have notice the growth of highly detailed switching layouts with higher end cars and DCC/Sound locomotives.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Howard Zane For the hobby, I feel the future is among the newly retired. They now will have time for a hobby, have funds, know about trains, and most likely have some sort of an affinity for them.
For the hobby, I feel the future is among the newly retired. They now will have time for a hobby, have funds, know about trains, and most likely have some sort of an affinity for them.
As much as I feel the "kids the days" argument is much overblown, I do think there is some truth to this. Maybe not only to the newly retired, but- the current cost of the train hobby as well as it's space requirements does shift it more towards those with not-inconsiderable disposable income, free time and home ownership. That population simply skews older.
Now of course the hobby can certainly be enjoyed in a smaller space and on a budget, but the hobby that you'll find in MR and most of your local train clubs is not generally a low-budget, apartment-friendly , short-time-commitment hobby.
Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading.
Howard ZaneA good train show is more than just looking for prices. How about clinics, display layouts, meeting friends in the hobby, and just spending a day with model trains. At our show..of course there were literaly hundreds of tables of vendors offering new plastic at competitive prices, but in addition to a 15 table consignment area, there were a serious mess of folks with tables of no longer needed trains for sale at way low prices. Then came the many estate sales........or how about seeing first hand what is new? I don't buy the get it on line bit as I feel this is what is hurting our hobby...and for several reasons which is a topic by itself.
BRAKIEnot in the last decade. Howard, Modelers like my oldest Grandson don't bother going to train shows when they know they can buy what they need on line cheaper.. All they need is their smart phone and wait 3-4 days for their shippment. Heck,you can grocery shop on line,pay the amount due then go to your local Krogers and pick up your order at curb side.. Its a laptop/smart phone world we live in.
BRAKIE Howard Zane There is so much talk these days about kids in the hobby. I've tried for over 30 years to bring kids to our huge show in Timonium, MD.....free admission, prizes, etc. Sometimes kids came...some with parents, and some teenagers by themselves....but not in the last decade. Howard, Modelers like my oldest Grandson don't bother going to train shows when they know they can buy what they need on line cheaper.. All they need is their smart phone and wait 3-4 days for their shippment. Heck,you can grocery shop on line,pay the amount due then go to your local Krogers and pick up your order at curb side.. Its a laptop/smart phone world we live in. Brakie A good train show is more than just looking for prices. How about clinics, display layouts, meeting friends in the hobby, and just spending a day with model trains. At our show..of course there were literaly hundreds of tables of vendors offering new plastic at competitive prices, but in addition to a 15 table consignment area, there were a serious mess of folks with tables of no longer needed trains for sale at way low prices. Then came the many estate sales........or how about seeing first hand what is new? I don't buy the get it on line bit as I feel this is what is hurting our hobby...and for several reasons which is a topic by itself. I'm 80 now and I still attend some shows.....not for more trains, but for the day with trains bit and seeing many friends. I just no longer arrive early to be the first in the hall. HZ
Howard Zane There is so much talk these days about kids in the hobby. I've tried for over 30 years to bring kids to our huge show in Timonium, MD.....free admission, prizes, etc. Sometimes kids came...some with parents, and some teenagers by themselves....but not in the last decade.
Howard, Modelers like my oldest Grandson don't bother going to train shows when they know they can buy what they need on line cheaper.. All they need is their smart phone and wait 3-4 days for their shippment.
Heck,you can grocery shop on line,pay the amount due then go to your local Krogers and pick up your order at curb side..
Its a laptop/smart phone world we live in.
Brakie
A good train show is more than just looking for prices. How about clinics, display layouts, meeting friends in the hobby, and just spending a day with model trains. At our show..of course there were literaly hundreds of tables of vendors offering new plastic at competitive prices, but in addition to a 15 table consignment area, there were a serious mess of folks with tables of no longer needed trains for sale at way low prices. Then came the many estate sales........or how about seeing first hand what is new? I don't buy the get it on line bit as I feel this is what is hurting our hobby...and for several reasons which is a topic by itself.
I'm 80 now and I still attend some shows.....not for more trains, but for the day with trains bit and seeing many friends. I just no longer arrive early to be the first in the hall.
HZ
BRAKIE Heck,you can grocery shop on line,pay the amount due then go to your local Krogers and pick up your order at curb side.. Its a laptop/smart phone world we live in.
Rich
Alton Junction
Howard ZaneThere is so much talk these days about kids in the hobby. I've tried for over 30 years to bring kids to our huge show in Timonium, MD.....free admission, prizes, etc. Sometimes kids came...some with parents, and some teenagers by themselves....but not in the last decade.
My kids (late teens/early 20s) have no interest in trains, but that doesn't bother me. As a kid I was into trains, cars, computers and photography, things my father wasn't into, and we still got along fine. Happily I had a friend, my father's age, who was into cars, and happened to have no kids. He mentored me in the old-car hobby and we kind of filled those roles for each other.
I think expecting your kids to share your interests is a recipe for disappointment.
One of the nice things about being part of a club is that we can share the hobby with kids, even if they aren't our own. We have a few young members, and none of their parents are into trains. I like mentoring them in the hobby, and with one in particular (who I believe to be mildly autistic; one of my sons is "on the spectrum") my parenting skills come in handy. Another member ran a bunch of classes for the kids, and they proved popular with adults as well.
Not all of the members participate with the kids -- some just want to play with trains with other like-minded adults -- but for me it's one of the more fulfilling aspects of the hobby, and, I suppose, a kind of responsibity. Trains may play a lesser role in our lives today, but they're still magic. :)
All I can add to this topic (and it’s slightly off-topic) is that, over the years, I’ve had many various service professionals (furnace maintenance; internet technician; plumber; electrician; appliance delivery) come into the basement of my house and go by my layout, and never once did any of them mention or even seem to take note of my trains. I wondered if they just felt they should remain professional at all times? It didn’t bother me, it just surprised me. Other than one female furnace technician, the rest were all men as far as I can remember.
Alan
Bubbytrains
NittanyLion riogrande5761 NittanyLion Eilif Complaining about "Those darn kids and their _______" is the refuge of the defeated and wasn't true when your parents said it about you. Especially because the whole thing isn't any different than any other time since the Industrial Revolution. The smartphone, the sports section, cards, whatever. All the same. I don't know. The smart phone (especially) seems to be a much bigger addiction than the sports section, cards or whatever. It's a paradigm shift orderes of magnitude higher. History vigorously disagrees with this. Every single complaint people make about smartphones were being made on the same scale in the same phrasing about the same issues for the last 150s years.
riogrande5761 NittanyLion Eilif Complaining about "Those darn kids and their _______" is the refuge of the defeated and wasn't true when your parents said it about you. Especially because the whole thing isn't any different than any other time since the Industrial Revolution. The smartphone, the sports section, cards, whatever. All the same. I don't know. The smart phone (especially) seems to be a much bigger addiction than the sports section, cards or whatever. It's a paradigm shift orderes of magnitude higher.
NittanyLion Eilif Complaining about "Those darn kids and their _______" is the refuge of the defeated and wasn't true when your parents said it about you. Especially because the whole thing isn't any different than any other time since the Industrial Revolution. The smartphone, the sports section, cards, whatever. All the same.
Eilif Complaining about "Those darn kids and their _______" is the refuge of the defeated and wasn't true when your parents said it about you.
Complaining about "Those darn kids and their _______" is the refuge of the defeated and wasn't true when your parents said it about you.
Especially because the whole thing isn't any different than any other time since the Industrial Revolution. The smartphone, the sports section, cards, whatever. All the same.
I don't know. The smart phone (especially) seems to be a much bigger addiction than the sports section, cards or whatever. It's a paradigm shift orderes of magnitude higher.
History vigorously disagrees with this. Every single complaint people make about smartphones were being made on the same scale in the same phrasing about the same issues for the last 150s years.
Perhaps we'll have to agree to "vigerously" disagree.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
garya cedarwoodron When I was a kid, model rocketry was already a booming hobby and as part of the space race generation I was a motivated participant but I hear very little about it these days, despite the fact that we now have so many new players in the full size rocket industry- and about four times as many real life rockets to model. Model Rocketry is far from dead--in some ways, it's thriving. A common occurence seems to be someone who participated when young returning as an adult, or BAR (Born Again Rocketeer). There are some of the same complaints (LHS closing, kids today) but the hobby seems to be doing ok. See https://www.rocketryforum.com/
cedarwoodron When I was a kid, model rocketry was already a booming hobby and as part of the space race generation I was a motivated participant but I hear very little about it these days, despite the fact that we now have so many new players in the full size rocket industry- and about four times as many real life rockets to model.
When I was a kid, model rocketry was already a booming hobby and as part of the space race generation I was a motivated participant but I hear very little about it these days, despite the fact that we now have so many new players in the full size rocket industry- and about four times as many real life rockets to model.
Model Rocketry is far from dead--in some ways, it's thriving. A common occurence seems to be someone who participated when young returning as an adult, or BAR (Born Again Rocketeer). There are some of the same complaints (LHS closing, kids today) but the hobby seems to be doing ok. See https://www.rocketryforum.com/
I'd blame what I'd call, for lack of a better term, scope-creep on rocketry (and model trains and everything, up to and including Legos). Adults with deep pockets, compared to literal children, serve as a huge driver of the business that even the bottom end of the hobby caters to them. The bottom end now is what the middle used to be on a variety of angles.
Rocketry fascinates me, both from the point of view of someone that literally works in the space industry and as someone that fondly remembers his own Estes Alpha III from fifth grade or so. My mom has a cousin that got up into that "basically a surface-to-air missile" level of amateur rocketry too, and that always was like...holy cow to a kid. It doesn't take a lot to react your maximum in regardes to altitude and range when you're younger and I think that causes some level of stall out in interest. I had access to a farm, so everything came down on our property no matter how far down-range it could get. My nephews, with far more limited areas to fly, could never get beyond the fairly small rockets and 1/2A and A engines. Fittingly, they sorta lost interest once they couldn't "do more."
There is so much talk these days about kids in the hobby. I've tried for over 30 years to bring kids to our huge show in Timonium, MD.....free admission, prizes, etc. Sometimes kids came...some with parents, and some teenagers by themselves....but not in the last decade. I've found that from age 3-8 there is interest beginning with Brio and Thomas...then as said in NY..."forgetaboutit" !!!Times and interests change and we have to accept that.
Gary
I don't know. The smart phone (especially) seems to be a much bigger addiction than the sports section, cards or whatever. It's a paradigm shift orderes of magnitude higher. People of almost any age can't put down the precious. You see someone walking the dog or pushing a stroller, their head is constantly bent down on the smart phone. I am driving home and I can see the guy in the car in front of me, when backed up at a traffic light or 4-way stop, is constantly looking down at the smart phone.
I refer to smart phones as "the precious" because it reminds me of gollum in Lord of the Rings, with the "one ring" that has an irresistable power over him (until Bilbo outwits him and steels it). Then he is driven mad trying to get it back. Just take a smart phone away from a teenager and you'll see the similarity. No, it ain't the same as the sports page - not by a long shot. In my all my life I've never seen anything quite like addiction to the smart phone, and to some degree, electronics in general.
For a few months I carpooled with a co-worker and heald on to his smart phone in his right hand and didn't let go of it. Ever since the smart phone we've risen to a whole new level of addiction.
My wife is a nanny for a mixed marriage couple with 5 kids between them and there is one ADHD kid who is on medication for it. My wife is convinced if his parents had the fortitude to get him off the computer (which would surely mean weeks of withdrawel drama) he could be taken off the medication and his ADHD symptoms would be greatly reduced. I believe she is right. But the parents are constantly traveling and working long hours chasing the dollar and are tired and don't have the will to make the changes would really benefit the children. The irony is they are both PhD psychologist. Go figure.
Especially because the whole thing isn't any different than any other time since the Industrial Revolution. The smartphone, the sports section, cards, whatever. All the same. Even pre-industrial is littered with people griping over "he just sat there with his head down over a card game."
In my family, 36 year old me is the one trying to DO stuff and my 60+ parents are the ones I'm trying to get to put down their phones.
Mel,
I'm sorry the kids aren't into trains. I think it's just a hit-or-miss thing.
My son is loving trains, but he's 8 and we limit his screen time rigidly, so I don't know how that will go over time. My daughter is expressing a bit of interest but not really much yet.
I think it's on hobbyists to promote trains to the next generation. I broght 2 Lionel loops to my son's birthday and among the kids it was about one third each uninterested/curious/completely-engaged and I was competing with the 50 gallons of LEGO I had poured out on a tarp 15 feet away.
Further, one mom asked about getting trains for her son so I'll be dropping off an HO set made from assorted odds-and-ends later this week.
All this will probaly not heal the hurt of your family not taking up the hobby, but the outlook of the hobby is by no means hopeless. Complaining about "Those darn kids and their _______" is the refuge of the defeated and wasn't true when your parents said it about you. The future of the hobby is up to us!
JWhite I had two of my granddaughters 8 and 5 for the weekend before Christmas and Christmas Eve. They were helping their grandmother bake cookies on Sunday afternoon when the youngest came down in the basement to see what I was doing. I had removed all the turnouts on the two modules I have operable to power the frogs (tired of one locomotive stuttering on them if I operated at slow speed). She asked if she could run a train. I cleared off everything that could cause a short and freed up a 12' section of track. I put an RS3 with sound on that section of track, powered up the system and gave her the UT4. She spent an hour running that engine back and forth on the little section of track. I put a couple cars on the track and let her swtich them onto the boiler plant spur which was the only switch still installed. By that time her big sister came down to see what we were doing and the two of them ran that little train back and forth until dinner. So there is hope. Jeff White Alma, IL
I had two of my granddaughters 8 and 5 for the weekend before Christmas and Christmas Eve. They were helping their grandmother bake cookies on Sunday afternoon when the youngest came down in the basement to see what I was doing.
I had removed all the turnouts on the two modules I have operable to power the frogs (tired of one locomotive stuttering on them if I operated at slow speed). She asked if she could run a train. I cleared off everything that could cause a short and freed up a 12' section of track. I put an RS3 with sound on that section of track, powered up the system and gave her the UT4. She spent an hour running that engine back and forth on the little section of track. I put a couple cars on the track and let her swtich them onto the boiler plant spur which was the only switch still installed.
By that time her big sister came down to see what we were doing and the two of them ran that little train back and forth until dinner.
So there is hope.
Jeff White
Alma, IL
Not much I'm afraid by my observations over the past 50+ years.
If one of those girls stays interested in trains into adulthood, then it will be a bit like winning the lottery, which means chances are slim to none. Girls/women who have a life long interest in model trains are an extremely recessive and rare thing.
richhotrainModel railroading, for the most part, just isn't relevant to these younger folks. Rich
That might depend on one's view but,there are youth in the hobby and these are kids you see trackside and on youtube.
I suspect there may be thousands that is in the hobby.
My oldest Grandson had a fine collection of high end cars and locomotives that was bought off line just like his general of modelers.
There's a time/place for electronics. With young kids, I get that they want their "tech time." Part of the challenge is taking one of my boys who loves trains to the layout while the others do non-tech time. Striking a balance is a challenge. I refuse to have the kids spend their entire weekends on their respective devices.
I think showing youtube vids of model trains is a great entree to showing them your respective masterpiece(s).
With trains, either they "get it" or they don't.
Just like Baseball, Football, Racing, Basketball, or any other sport. Either you "get it", or you don't.
Can't force someone to like something, anymore than Ed could get his pig to sing.
Of course, if Ed were to trying to teach a Parrot.....
Those who "get it" can be encouraged, and yes, there are still some who "get it".
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.
mbinsewi richhotrain I really think that everyone needs to get over trying to make the younger generation(s) like trains, Mike.
richhotrain I really think that everyone needs to get over trying to make the younger generation(s) like trains,
Mike.
I tried to teach a pig to sing once.
Of course the pig couldn't remember all the lyrics
But the ribs and BLTs sure were good.
Cheers, Ed
richhotrain I really think that everyone needs to get over trying to make the younger generation(s) like trains, and just enjoy them for what they are - - - our hobby. Model railroading, for the most part, just isn't relevant to these younger folks. Rich
I really think that everyone needs to get over trying to make the younger generation(s) like trains, and just enjoy them for what they are - - - our hobby.
Model railroading, for the most part, just isn't relevant to these younger folks.
Sad, but true words of wisdom!
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Howard Zane Let's face it, the ubiquitous train around and under the Christmas tree will eventually be found only in folklore.
Let's face it, the ubiquitous train around and under the Christmas tree will eventually be found only in folklore.
Alas, I think you're right.
I have two sons in their early 20's, who inquired why I always put a train around the Christmas tree. I had to explain that in my generation (Boomer), the electric train set was THE Christmas gift of every young boy... once he pried his dad's hands off the controls!
They said "Oh." never looking up from their cell phones.
Jim
richhotrainI really think that everyone needs to get over trying to make the younger generation(s) like trains,
My You Tube
My daughter was raised amidst my model railroading hobby and fortunately appreciates it from a non-participant standpoint. She knows I have some skills working with my hands but she matured into a young adult who likes arts and crafts type activities. Perhaps that was the most likely outcome. I know she will preserve some of my stuff as momentos to me. Same with my wife, who sees the value of our hobby in its ability to keep me active on retirement. I recently went into a newer LHS in St. Pete (Zitnik Trains) and was suprised by the number of kids and teens there (on a Saturday) so there is hope for a new generation, but that is a very anecdotal slice of today's youth. When I was a kid, model rocketry was already a booming hobby and as part of the space race generation I was a motivated participant but I hear very little about it these days, despite the fact that we now have so many new players in the full size rocket industry- and about four times as many real life rockets to model.
Yes the focus on smart phones and tablets is pervasive among the current generation- and don't look for it to change. When telephones became part of every household, our grandparents bemoaned teenagers being constantly on the phone. Time oassed and that trend has multiplied greatly with Internet devices. Don't expect it will diminish- implanted devices are but 10 years away and if you think today's youth are distracted by and focused on interactive communication, just wait for that technology to hit. What can we model railroader types do? - just turn back to our workbenches and layouts and enjoy ourselves because progress is like time's arrow- it travels only in 9ne direction and quickly at that!
Cedarwoodron
My grand nephew (17) was over recently and was excited to see the trains. He zeroed in on the Arduinos and even asked what language they were programmed in.