While looking for something else I came across an interesting (to me) survey of model railroaders in the February 1956 issue of Model Railroader. As you'd expect things like average amount spent on the hobby per week ($2.88 or about $150 a year which MR said was half again as much as its 1950 survey) are amusing or sad depending on your mood and how willing you are to enter that into an inflation calculator and see what the "real" amount is in our terms. Average annual income excluding students was $6222 and that was a 45% increase over 1950.
The survey got into things like size of layout (er, "pike"), location, home ownership, education, marital status, hours spent on the hobby (6.8 hours per week, and remember in 1956 there were still plenty of folks who owned no television), scale and gauge, amount of equipment owned, and so on.
But the thing that really struck me, and the reason for this posting, was the discussion of age. Retired men accounted for just 0.7% of the hobby! Gulp. Average age: 32.7. One out of five was a teenager. Half the hobby was in the 25 to 38 age range. Average age of a beginner was 29.1. 23.8% were students. Average duration in the hobby was 6.2 years.
To say that aspect of the hobby has changed is to put it mildly, and of course age drives other factors such as income and home ownership, not to mention time horizon for major projects.
Lastly some points that might bring another smile. Of those in the hobby a year or less, 8% were scratchbuilding locomotives, 20% cars, and 40% structures (and there was a fair amount of ready to run locos in 1956, and lots of loco, car and structure kits). For those in the hobby 10 years or more, the scratchbuilders were 39.3% locomotives, 70.4% cars, and 68.6% structures. The articles in MR more or less tracked those ratios. "Locomotives" mostly meant steam, some diesel, but there seemed to be more interest in electric locomotives at that time as well. By the way the survey did not define "scratchbuilt" but I know the NMRA contest definitions were a bit more stringent then for what the term meant.
50.8% of modelers did NOT object to the use of plastic in models. Smile if you will but that was a big topic at the time and for several years to come. In reading the articles in that 1956 volume of MR I was again struck by how much use of Strathmore board there was in the hobby, and what nice and sophisticated work some of the modelers could do with that material, which in essence is a high grade cardboard.
Also in reading the issues, one thing that strikes me but is not mentioned in the survey, is that there was a thriving market for signal systems in the hobby.
There is no real "point" to this posting other than to amuse and entertain.
Dave Nelson (retired)
PS Amended post - my bad, the initial posting said it was a 1954 issue and survey. 1956 is the year
I love reading old issues of Model Railroader.
.
I recently read the entire 1966 year just for giggles and found all kinds of interesting gems in that year.
It is a shame that the hobby has become a haven for old men. I honestly believe that fantasy based model railroads will be the key to getting young people back on board.
Sometime when I say that I get a lot of responses like "if you want a fantasy railroad just go build one, no one is stopping you."
That is not my point. I don't want one. I want to model 1954. I think that is the key to getting the youth excited.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
dknelsonThere is no real "point" to this posting other than to amuse and entertain. Dave Nelson (retired)
Which is true of many of the posts here.
BTW, maybe it's getting late and Im tired, but what does the title have to do with the body of the post? Feed me with a spoon please.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
1954 There were still gas lights used as street lights in Baltimore. Anyone who was 32, probably served in WW2 or the defense industry.
1944 The was was on there was rationing, shortages.
1934 The Great Depression.
I don't remember my grandfather, born in 1888 died in 1953, but horses were a part of transportation and a common sight when he was young. There were no phones, refrigerators were ice boxes. He saw the Hindenberg fly over the city, with swastikas on the tail. Professional sports was baseball and maybe golf, but nothing like the multimillion dollar business it is today.
I don't think that most people who where over 60 in 1954 looked for recreation in things. It was the opposite of today's cell phone addicts, they interacted with people.
Of course Al Kalmbach was not most people and he and others were there in the '30s starting the hobby. But I think it took peace, prosperity and free time to really grow the hobby. By then, guys in their 60's not involved in the hobby, were no more likely to get involved than todays' guys in there 60's are going to take up video gaming.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
For me, fantasy based is the train I am jumping on, for lack of a better pun. I have been fascinated with the miniature world since I was a kid. I am in my 40's now and nothing has changed. I have realized what I love the most is the scenery and imagining of my own place as opposed to operations so I would consider myself a diorama builder as opposed to a model railroader. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing prototype based model railroads. I am at a space in life where I have the room for a basement empire. I could come up with the money for a basement empire if I set my sights to it. But, I do not have the time.
I also have so many other interests, monsters being one of them, that I want to combine the two. I know it is an unpopular concept around here for the most part, but I want to design a moderate layout with a couple towns based on a spooky supernatural theme. Think Lovecraft, King, Halloween themes, etc. I dabble around with making HO structures and have 3x5 board I run some N scale stuff on. I enjoy the "real" train world but as I mentioned, I have too many hobbies and only so much time. I am really getting interested in On30 as I already am used to 1/48 scale WWII planes (another hobby) and I find that in a fantasy setting, many of the gaming minatures offer figures that fit scalewise (at least for me) that other scales do not.
So I will probaby continue to work on the 3x5 N scale table in some Applachian theme, and I will probably continue with HO scale buildings until I get a small HO shelf layout with a town and port (ports are my other big modeling love). But ultimately, I want a spooky dilapadated Halloween based On30 layout. And it could have operation, Pumpkin farm, Coffin factory, etc. My goal is to still have a high modeling standard, not just looking toyish, but a fantasy/dark theme. To each their own, and I know the cheese stands alone in this case, lol.
As a child I watch my dad scratchbuild a PRR 0-8-0 using brass stock and a Varney 2-8-0 drive. No,I did not inherit his scratchbuilding skills a curse of growing up in the era of Athearn BB and plastic structure kits and later brass engines. I did learn to kitbash somethng my dad refuse to do when scratchbuilding gave more room for a closer model.
My point? Back in the early years of the hobby one had to have tons of skills from reading blue prints,forming brass stock ,the use of a soldering iron and other assorted skills.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
This kind of plays into what people want out of the hobby. If the main interest is running trains and operations, the already built stuff is probably the easier road to navigate to. For my interest which is creating my own world, modeling skills are something I have to continually work on because a prototype does not exist and everything will have to be scratch built or kitbashed. Luckily, that designing process is what draws me to this so it works for me.
I think that is what makes this hobby so uniquely great, even if your interest is only in the research or electronic aspect, plenty of opportunity awaits in that arena as well.
For most of us, it is probably a combination of things to various degrees.
riogrande5761BTW, maybe it's getting late and Im tired, but what does the title have to do with the body of the post? Feed me with a spoon please.
The quote is not related to the novel or film of a similar title, but to their source: a famous poem by William Butler Yeats, Sailing to Byzantium. It is generally taken to be a lament about old age and the fight that we wage against age. He imagines that alternatives exist, mystical alternatives, in which age does not matter.
The relationship of title to post is, then, that our hobby and to a large extent, these Forums, have become in similar ways to the poem, about the experiences we've had with the hobby, and an expression of views about the hobby, by those of us who as "average" hobbyists are often retired or retirement age or approaching retirement age. Yet in 1956 our age demographic was just about a nullity in the hobby from a statistical standpoint. I find that amazing.
Look how often we post about how things used to be, or what they used to cost, or what Model Railroader or other magazines used to look like, comparing today to decades past. In 1956 this was a young person's hobby, often very young. It was not aimed at, or evidently attractive to, people our age. And all that energy and creativity and ambition involved in being model railroaders -- those are attributes of youth, and youth has gone from being a huge majority in the hobby to being a very slender minority. And thus to complete the circle back to the poem, those of average model railroading age who HAVE that energy, creativity and ambition have taken Yeats's voyage. They have found the alternative to age. And I envy them for it.
That's all.
Please return the spoon to the drawer when you're finished with it.
Dave Nelson
1956 was the year I was born. My dad was younger than my my son is today. My dad passed away 6 years ago.
The hobby was certainly very different from today, but so was life in general. In my country, all WWII rubble was removed and cleared and reconstruction almost done. People again had enough to eat and that was beginning to show. Not every household had a refridgerator, let alone a washing machine. Even a bathroom with a tub or a shower was a luxury to some. We were lucky, we had a real bathroom in our two-bedroom apartment. We three kids shared a room - unthinkable today! Cars were few and playing in the street was not a life-threatening affair at all. My family didn´t own a car before 1966! The streetcar took us around town, and traveling was done by rail. In those days, it was usually a steam engine pulling the train!
Compared to today, people were poor, but not unhappy. Sometimes I think they were happier in those days, when very little meant very much. Today, very much has no value to us, as we take things for granted.
The hobby was thriving. Whenever the railroad put a new type of engine on the tracks, it didn´t take much time for the corresponding Marklin, Fleischmann or Trix model to appear in the windows of the local toy shop. They usually ended up to be an item in the letter to Santa. A big and, at least for me, difference was that products presented at the Nuremberg Toy Fair were actually available in time for Christmas. You didn´t have to wait for a couple of years, then.
Life back then was a lot simpler and less complex. We had to make do with what we got. Things we could afford we didn´t have. We didn´t run debts, but had money in the bank instead, although the income was much lower than today. Moms stayed at home to take care of the kids, we didn´t wear helmets when riding a bike, nor did we have seat belts in the car to restrain us. We ate unhealthy food, no vegan smoothies or the likes, nor did we eat any of that prefab stuff put on the dinner table these days. It was a home cooked meal each day! It´s a miracle we survived!
I run the risk of getting carried away...
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
schief Think Lovecraft, King, Halloween themes, etc
This would make an interesting post - serious fantasy layouts. If you search, you will find a layout based on King's Derry Maine.
dknelsonPlease return the spoon to the drawer when you're finished with it. Dave Nelson
Thanks, I'll return the spoon after it is run through the dishwasher.
The title was wasted on folks like me who were never big readers; and what I did read back when actually had time for it was sci fi.
While I am creeping up there, I'm not yet in the habbit of living in the past and waxing nostalgic about how it cost me 25 cents to see 2001 A Space Odessy at the Travis Air Force Base Movie theater back when it was released. Wait, you elicited that from me!
I find all of this discussion a bit like morbid wallowing, like life is basically over and mostly all that is left is to remember the past. I like to model the 1970's because I like those trains the best, but not so much to live in the past.
Anyway, thanks for explaining that title. More pearls before swine like me!
Now while I am poor when it comes to literature and poems, some music has some thoughtful lyrics that kind of relate to this topic. A song by Alan Parsons Project - Old and Wise:
Tinplate ToddlerMoms stayed at home to take care of the kids, we didn´t wear helmets when riding a bike, nor did we have seat belts in the car to restrain us. We ate unhealthy food, no vegan smoothies or the likes, nor did we eat any of that prefab stuff put on the dinner table these days. It was a home cooked meal each day! It´s a miracle we survived!
This about sums that up.
RR_MelFor me model railroading has been a great ride, 68 years having the greatest blast of my life and will be until I’m pushing up grass.
Mel,I couldn't agree more.. I wouldn't take back one second spent in this hobby. The hobby has help me through troubled times and the death of my wife.
riogrande5761I find all of this discussion a bit like morbid wallowing, like life is basically over and mostly all that is left is to remember the past.
While I don't disagree, I think it also is a call to those of us who love this hobby. We can't stand the thought that in 20 years, the hobby as we know it will have died out unless new young modelers take it up.
York1 John
York1We can't stand the thought that in 20 years, the hobby as we know it will have died out unless new young modelers take it up.
And every new and younger modeler that joins up means more products to choose from for everyone!
More young people would be great.
Forty percent inflation between 1950 and 1956?!!!?? It's not stated specifically, but if wages increased that much, so did inflation, even if only somewhat closely. Right after a major war, when people were grateful, elated, full of optimism, skilled at problem-solving of all kinds, who had learned to be thrifty and handy with tools and materials...yeah, I can see that so much more scratch-building was going on than it is today. People who had lived under a dark cloud for five years suddenly had money, work unrelated to war production or operations, had more time to kill, and wanted diversions of all kinds. Stand-up paddle boards had not been invented, motorcycles were related to gangs largely (The Wild Bunch, Hell's Angels movies...), the first snowmobile was still being putt-putted around fields in northern Quebec, and people were falling in love with cars and RVing.
Now, few people of any age work with their hands, few garden, fewer purchase and own cars...even homes!...the millenials can't afford to do anything except rent, often from their own parents at bargain....ummmm.....basement...rates. They put their money in electronics and services packages...and now into ready-made food delivered right to their doors. Skip the Dishes...indeed! Not much disposable income if you're eating out every day and earning barista wages.
Thank you, I will check that out.
I have not found much out there in my searches. One I am a fan of is by a gentleman named John Ott. He created the HO scale Miskatonic Railroad which has some beautiful photos on his website.
In good old Europe and the British Isles, the hobby of model railroading, while not (yet) up to the heights of its heydeys in the 1960s, is gaining momentum - also due to the industry catering for the young novice in terms of good quality at affordable prices. Brands like Piko do a wonderful job in that matter. IMHO, the situation cannot be compared to the US. Trains are still very much a part of every day life here and a growing number of people use the train for their daily commute, rather than being stuck on the freeway and having tompay horrendous parices for citry parking.
Remember, we didn't live as long back then. Modern medicine usually told a patient that cancer was a death sentence, and heart transplants were distant dreams. If you waited until retirement, you might not have the years that we do now to build a pike.
In 1956, I was nine years old and still running my Lionel's on a couple of 4x8s.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasleyRemember, we didn't live as long back then.
I think it depended on your job. There was a lot of hard manual industrial jobs back then that kept a person fit verus those who worked a 9-5 job behind a desk.
Love the thread title.
In 1960 on my third Birthday we moved into our newly built house across the harbour from Vancouver, it was on the edge of the wilderness as our street was as far as the sudivision had gone up the mountain. Our street had 14 houses and 38 kids on it and I had the perfect place to spend my childhood.
We would always have grand adventures and as long as we were home by dark all was good. If we were hungry while out playing we would just pull up a carrot and eat it dirt and all. Plums, apples and cherries were plentiful. I loved radishes and my pockets were always full of them from someones garden. All summer long sleepovers were the norm and we slept outside on a deck or on the back lawn of someones house. The dogs kept the wildlife away while we slept, life was perfect.
True we didn't wear helmuts and I remember a serious head injuries of some of my friends involving a skateboard, another one on a bike, and numerous ones on the pond playing hockey in the winter. Some of these kids had life long issues as a result and helmuts would have been a good thing.
My Dad had seatbelts installed in our cars long before it was law to have them, in the winter of 1966 they saved the lives of the whole family when at highway speed we were involved in an accident and everything that was not tied down was ejected from the car and thrown over a cliff. Thanks Dad.
We tend to only remember the good things of our past and I had mostly good times but I don't forget the bumps along the road including the loss of friends and family.
I don't know if life was better, it sure was different. People just don't like change, but change is growth and fulfillment comes from growing and learning. My life has been great and there is nothing much I would change. I have had challenges like most us do but moved to fix any issues as fast as I could and move on.
My kids do not sit and whine about anything and that makes me happy. They are on their way and I don't need to worry about them at all. They are living life to the fullest and it should be a good ride for them.
In my 62 years I have made a lot of friends and acquaintances and there are a few of them that are terrified of dying, they are the ones that haven't yet lived. What a waste.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
selector Forty percent inflation between 1950 and 1956?!!!?? It's not stated specifically, but if wages increased that much, so did inflation, even if only somewhat closely. Right after a major war, when people were grateful, elated, full of optimism, skilled at problem-solving of all kinds, who had learned to be thrifty and handy with tools and materials...yeah, I can see that so much more scratch-building was going on than it is today. People who had lived under a dark cloud for five years suddenly had money, work unrelated to war production or operations, had more time to kill, and wanted diversions of all kinds. Stand-up paddle boards had not been invented, motorcycles were related to gangs largely (The Wild Bunch, Hell's Angels movies...), the first snowmobile was still being putt-putted around fields in northern Quebec, and people were falling in love with cars and RVing. Now, few people of any age work with their hands, few garden, fewer purchase and own cars...even homes!...the millenials can't afford to do anything except rent, often from their own parents at bargain....ummmm.....basement...rates. They put their money in electronics and services packages...and now into ready-made food delivered right to their doors. Skip the Dishes...indeed! Not much disposable income if you're eating out every day and earning barista wages.
I think that wage increase was tied to modelers responding to MR's survey not necessarily to overall income increase for the country which more plausible
selectorForty percent inflation between 1950 and 1956?!!!?? It's not stated specifically, but if wages increased that much, so did inflation, even if only somewhat closely.
Don't forget major industry was unionized and the pay was above average.. A high school dropout could make good money by learning a trade taught by his employer and in return the employee would spend the next 40 years working that job. This would include railroad work.
selector Forty percent inflation between 1950 and 1956?!!!??
Forty percent inflation between 1950 and 1956?!!!??
Actually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, the overall price level only increased by 17% between January, 1950 and December, 1956. OTOH, it increased 80% between January, 1975 and December, 1981. Prices actually slightly more than doubled between 1 January, 1975, and 31 Decembe, 1984. In the equivalent 10 year period 1/1/1950 to 12/31/1959, overall prices only increased 25%.
Inflation was pretty tame in the 50’s. Not so much in the late 70’s - early 80’s.
Andre
SeeYou190 It is a shame that the hobby has become a haven for old men. -Kevin
It is a shame that the hobby has become a haven for old men.
Allthough that is mostly true, There are two other "serious" teen modelers in our RR group. there is only one younger adult, everyone else is retired. My dad likes to say "you've lowered the average age in the club by about 20 years."
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
I'll have to check that survey out - I have the MR all-time CD-Rom which I decided to go through from the beginning, but I've only gotten up to WW2.
One thing I'd be interested in seeing is how many of the modellers reported being in a club. People back then were joiners - veteran's clubs, civic organisations, bowling leagues, religious groups (Knights of Columbus, Masons) etc.
The age thing isn't that surprising. Although it had been around a while, model railroading really got kick-started in the US by the model railroad display at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair - Model Railroader magazine and the NMRA started shortly after that. Model railroading was dealing with electrical stuff that appealed to young guys in the 1920's-30's, along with things like radios (also relatively new then), so attracted the same folks that in later generations would be interested in say computers.
One thing that's interesting is that as I recall a similar MR poll done around 1980 had similar results - the average age was around 38. It was noted that the most common modeling era was the 1950's, and MR speculated as to whether that would change - were 38 year olds interested in modeling their teen years, hence the 1950's now but maybe the 1960's in a decade, or were the 1950's transition era something special that would remain popular in the future.
What a timely topic! I spoke to my 1st train mentor about when is a suitable time to start in this hobby. He agreed with me that waiting until near or past retirement is a challenge for somen. I agree. There are plenty of difficulties I face doing this hobby while working full-time and raising a young family.
The hobby has certainly evolved. Here's hoping for an infusion of mutiple generations! Seeing life beyond a mobile phone and computer is a challenge. Something nostalgic about trains that I hope my generations appreciates!
wjstixOne thing I'd be interested in seeing is how many of the modellers reported being in a club. People back then were joiners - veteran's clubs, civic organisations, bowling leagues, religious groups (Knights of Columbus, Masons) etc.
That might depend on a modelers location. I know of 4 HO clubs within 30 miles of me here in Ohio.There is a live steam group as well. There may be a 5th HO group in Tiffin but,I'm not sure if they are still around.
Harrison There are two other "serious" teen modelers in our RR group. there is only one younger adult, everyone else is retired.
Somehow I missed that I'm retired. Darn, I could have used that time for my trains instead of working.