Where is everyone from?

[Anonymous]

I get the feeling that the majority of model railroaders are in the midwest to the west.  It seems to be bigger out that way.  The biggest hobby shop in America is way out that way as well and I bet it is because it is a bigger market in the midwest and west coast.  Do you think my theasus is correct or no?  So I am wondering where is everyone from?  I reside in California a few months out of the year but my main residence is in Connecticut. 

[spidge]

I think you have gone awry in your conclusion. I hear about basement empires all the time, yet there are few basements in California. I do think there are many people active in the hobby but it seems there are more in the midwest and east.

Just my opinion.

[WCfan]

I think the majority is to the east. I see alot of people from the east in the MR mags and on the fourms. Plus the east coast has a HUGE shop in Spencer, little choo choo shop. And trust me, it's not little.  So I think there's a even share of people and large shops. It just may take a little longer to find. 

[KlickyMobster]

I would think the biggest places are obviously Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, etc.  These are usually where you will find large basement layouts, because that is where most will spend their winters.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I live in Sundown, Louisiana, a small (very small) community outside of Leesville. Sundown makes Smallville look like a metropolis.

[cchnguage]

I am from Alabama. I know of about 10 within 30 miles of me. This includes several in Georgia.

[lvanhen]

So far, most of the responders have their state and/or town/area in their sign in.  Updating this in your profile would answer this question.  I have often thought the same thing, and wished every one would at least give a state and/or section.

[loathar]

I now live in Lawrenceburg Tn. (hardly anything here) I'm from Cleveland and Columbus Oh. Lots of model railroaders and hobby shops up that way.

What gauge and road name do you model Jay?

[WCfan]

I'm smack in between the equator and the north pole. The climate should be perfect, right? Wrong! It gets Cold! Our towns name means "Far out place".  We're also in the middle of no where, no Big citys north of Madsion, east of Elu claire, west of Green bay, and south of Supiror. We also have the tallest building north of Madision, and the newest power plant in the state. We also have the famous Wausau depot is here.

[Hoople]

Says it right about....  |

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<---------------------There... Whoops... It says I like cereal... Umm its meant to say "Seattle, WA"  I think sue and I are the only people on this forum that are from WA.

[Pruitt]

Well, I'm from Wyoming, but I'm living in New Jerke... uh, New Jersey.

[NS2591]

I'm from Eastern Michigan. There is a few of us from Michigan on here. 4884Bigboy is from Western Mi. and Engineer Joey is belive is from Southern Michigan

[bb4884]

I live a few blocks from Caboose Hobbies in Denver.

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Kentucky now.

Previously..... Texas, Missouri, Tennesee, Illinois, Colorado, and Michigan.

Regretfully I'm not "a few blocks from Caboose Hobbies". Closest model train shop is over 100 miles away from here.

[R. T. POTEET]

I get the feeling that the majority of model railroaders are in the midwest to the west.  It seems to be bigger out that way.  The biggest hobby shop in America is way out that way as well and I bet it is because it is a bigger market in the midwest and west coast.  Do you think my theasus is correct or no?  So I am wondering where is everyone from?  I reside in California a few months out of the year but my main residence is in Connecticut. 

I reside in the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west.

I suppose THESIS is a valid word assocated with your question although I would probably have used "premise."

I'm not sure about the validity of your THESIS; there is a flaw in your topic narrative and that is your use of the word "majority'.  "Majority" is a pretty big word.  The majority of the population of the United States probably does reside between the Ohio River and the Pacific Coast but that doesn't necessarily prove that that region has the majority of modelers.  California has many; to the best of my knowledge Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have relatively few - boy am I going to get raked over that statement.  Define Texas!!! Western or Southern State.  I ask because Texas has very strong roots in both regions.  It also has Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio all major metropolitan areas.  Incidently, demographers advance that by the turn of the twenty-second century Texas will be the nations most populous state; Wyoming will probably continue in last place which doesn't bother those who reside there at all; after all, they have one representative and two senators up on Capitol Hill which gives them the most substantial representation in the country.

Model railroading is PREDOMINANTLY an urban hobby and where you find a large urban population you are going to find a large model railroading population.  The midwest is richly urban but then so is the northeast; the south, as well as most of the west - even including Texas - is still predominantly rural.  California, with the nations largest population, is one gigantic traffic jam.  Model Railroader magazine used to publish data on "Where the Modelers are' based upon their subscription records - I haven't seen one of these in many years.

I would SPECULATE that the majority of modelers in the good ole' US of A reside north of the Potomac River, north of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River.  Throw California and Texas into that mix and I'll bet that you account for two out of every three (active) modelers in the country.

  

[pcarrell]

I think that the majority of hobbiests probably reside in their homes.

[steinjr]

I get the feeling that the majority of model railroaders are in the midwest to the west.  It seems to be bigger out that way.  The biggest hobby shop in America is way out that way as well and I bet it is because it is a bigger market in the midwest and west coast.  Do you think my theasus is correct or no?  So I am wondering where is everyone from?  I reside in California a few months out of the year but my main residence is in Connecticut. 

 Well, the majority of model railroaders probably are somewhere in the US. Hard to say. There are also quite a few model railroaders various places in Europe, some in South America, some in Africa, some in Asia, some in Australia etc. T'is a big, big world out there

 Grin,
 Stein, 
 hailing from Sørumsand, Norway 
 Which is in the southernmost part of Norway, at abt the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska 
 

[Anonymous]

I live in Denton Texas about 40 miles from DFW and am originally from Boyd Texas.

Peace.

[GGOOLER]

hey Hoople

Your not the only one from Wa. I'm in Gig Harbor.

glenn

[HO_Greg]

I don't know - I'm currently in CA (layout in garage) but I'm in the process of relocating to the Chicago area where the layout will be in the basement.  Long live basements!

[sfrailfan]

I live in NYC. We have Trainworld in Brooklyn and LI (both of which I've driven to.) Space is tight here but,... I actually am blessed at the moment with more space than I've had before. I have a 3 bedroom apt. (one of which is mine : ) ). The other thing is the club I belong to has 65'x35' room for a layout. Here's our site:

www.empirevalley.org

Note the name has empire in it and we reside in the basement of an apt building. I know there are a lot of mrrs out west, but there is quite of few in the New England area. Maybe if we all joined the NMRA ( I know a good amount of you already belong )....

anyway I model in HO, and I love the BN, SF and BNSF!

[fwdguy]

Houston, Texas here...and we have quite a few nice hobby shops here. And lots of fun railfan to offer.

Mark T.

[Don Z]

Austin, Texas here...about 5 miles from the UP mainline at the McNeil junction.

Don Z.

[csmith9474]

I am originally from the New Braunfels, TX area, but the Air Force has us in Colorado Springs, CO right now.

[on30francisco]

I'm originally from Cleveland, OH but moved to San Francisco over 25 years ago. Basements are rare in this part of the country and space is VERY expensive. The San Francisco Bay Area is a beautiful area with a mild climate (no snow!) and is very tolerant and diverse. There are a lot of narrow gaugers in this area.

[eric719]

I live in Cheney, Washington. A small town just outside Spokane.

Eric

[SilverSpike]

Originally from Louisiana and born in Lafayette, but lived in New Orleans most of my life.

We now are living in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

 

[Bill54]

I was born and raised in our beloved Nations Capital, Washington, DC.  Left there in 1970.  For the last nine years I've made Fredericksburg, Virginia my home.  That's 50 miles south of DC.

I only know of two hobby shops that I consider close that carry MRR supplies and equipment. The better of the two is 50 miles away. 

The better train shows in this area are in Timonium, Maryland.  That's about 110 miles away.  

Bill

[Wayzata Modeler]

 

  Wayzata Minnesota is home.   Along the pristine blue waters of Lake Minnetonka.  Fishing opener this weekend!

[Rangerover]

Jim from Elkins, Almost Heaven, West Virginia. The nearest hobby shop is 60 miles one way, so I buy my stuff on the internet.