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Problem for the future of model railroading?

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I am not sure that I share all of the doom and gloom that everyone else seems to feel about the future of this model railroading. I have been an active modeler for since the 1960's which is long enough for me to have seen a lot of trends. Some of you who are old enough will recall the uproar about cheap, "shake the box" plastic kits which somehow was a sign of very bad things to come: all the "real" modelers were going to desert the hobby and there would be nobody serious left to perpetuate it. Then there was the slot car craze in the 1960's that was definitely going to be a nail in the coffin. It didn't happen. Now we have ready-built rolling stock and high prices. I'm not terribly nuts about the ready-built stuff myself so I search out whatever kits are available (and there still are a lot), or I scratch build what I need. As for rising prices, what else is new? I have some older cars on the shelf that cost under $3! Those days are long gone. As are $5 cars and $9 cars. Pricewise, the beat goes on, as does the hobby. Likewise, the neighborhood train store may no longer be around, replaced at least in part by mail order and high volume Internet sites. But who really knows if this is permanent? It may just be because of a soft economy since 9-11. In any case, I can recall when there was no such thing as a stand alone "train store." In my home town, the local paint and wallpaper store and the local camera store carried trains as a sideline. That was it, period. The 100% train shop, at least in smaller communities, is a relatively recent thing. It may be on the way out, but you can still buy whatever you want if you really want it. You just have to do it differently, which seems to bother some of us. My point is that all things change and that makes people uncomfortable and they fear the worst. I prefer to look at the bright side. First of all, there is an active, industry-wide promotion to encourage model railroading. Second, there has been a huge proliferation of rolling stock and locomotives in all scales, along with innovations such as DCC and onboard sound systems that were unheard of just a couple of decades ago. This would not be occuring if the market were truly dead or dying. Finally, the quality of what is out there is generally better. Yes, there are some exceptions and disappointments, but if you ever had to deal with nothing but brass track (code 100 only,of course), fiber ties, two-wheel power pickup, rubber band drives, funky couplers and plastic wheels, etc., you would quickly see that what's available today is far superior and well worth the price. John
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