I thought I saw an article of a modeler who already employed the RC concept in a recent issue of MR. He said his batteries last about 2 hours before recharging, which seems pretty long, for now.
Having a computer run your trains? Half of the fun is the control we have of the locomotives and the train. Heck you might as well not have any model trains and sit and use software and on a PC.
Just my $0.02
MRC makes there decoders work right.
Someone makes a high-quality (atlas, P2k, genesis, etc) C30-7, C636, and SD40-2 in plastic with sound DCC.
Upgraded manufacuering techniques make stuff cost less, if the manufactuers don’t go on the limited production crap even harder.
Athearn or some other companies bring back inexpensive kits (BB kits or similar). Locomotive kits of a similar variety also come around.
Some figures on the layouts will be sentient nanobots, who then sue you because your model train hit them as they were walking on the tracks even after you wailed on the horn and/or whistle.
About the CNC machine that makes a loco out of barstock, I’d be first in line.
The future is happening and will continue to happen. Not to worry.
Rich
But on the other side of the coin, wouldn’t it be pretty neat if you had a nice big basement layout where the rest of the trains out there on the main and yards were completely under AI control? You could still be running your peddler freight while keeping out of the way of the passengers and the through freights, but they’d be working to do the same with each other. Yeah you can do a lot of that already, but I’m imagining far more complex actions by the computer controlled trains. Like the AI yard switchers putting together the next train (RFID tags in the cars) for you while you’re off doing something else.
I thought that Bruce Chubb’s Computer/Model Railroad Interface from the mid-80’s was supposed to do this same scenario. Is that incorrect?
Keith Baker
This is actually pretty close to what I am building right now. At the very least, there will be an automated computer dispatcher that can control the CTC while one or more operators run trains; in the “grandiose” version, the computer will be able to automate trains as well as the dispatcher. Or, there can be a live body running and dispatching all the trains. Hopefully for my layout, the future is sooner rather than later. [(-D] Jamie
What future???[%-)] Haven’t you heard?? The hobby’s dieing![:-^]
LCD programmable, 3D back drops would WILL be cool!
15 or 20 years back, nobody would have thought that we operate our layouts by DCC, reducing the ammount of wiring and paving the way for double heading and sound. What will happen in the next decade? I guess that electronics will become even more refined, with sound entering even into N and Z scale. Landscaping materials will also change - making it easier to work with - just like we experienced with foam insulation board.
Level of detail will improve, making our models even more realistic, together with animated figures and sounds.
The type of layouts will not change - maybe a touch more of nostalgia will enter the scene.
I am pretty sure, that prices will increase dramatically as there will be less people in our hobby - we already fail to trecruit the next generation…
This long and winding thread reflects considerable naivette with regard to poster’s predictions, much of it being pure fantasy in my opinion and conflicts with what past reality tells us about the hobby’s way of advancing. As I pointed out in another thread recently, model railroading historically has evolved painfully slowly and the introduction and acceptance of new ideas generally requires decades to take hold.
Something missed by nearly all the previous posters is that to predict the future one must understand and appreciate the past. Nearly all of what folks here take to be great recent revolutions in the hobby actually date back in one form or another at least a couple of decades. By example, on-board cameras appeared commercially in the mid 1980’s. At the time they were touted as about to completely revolutionize the hobby…they didn’t and still remain a just a childish novelty. On-board electronic sound goes back I don’t how far (decades) in Lionel O-gauge and even in HO (perhaps the 70’s?). The list of other examples is surprisingly long.
So, on the assumption that we are looking perhaps 25 years into the future and extrapolating from what’s happening now, only one or two radical alterations in the way folks model might realistically be anticipated. Of these, I would agree that with the coming dramatic push for battery power for vehicles, the technology therein which is going to progress by orders of magnitude over the next decade maybe even just the next few years, is going to make self-contained power in HO a reality far sooner than most anticipate. When it comes, it’s huge advantages will quickly sweep aside existing DC and DCC.
I can see a large segment of the hobby moving to become simply collectors, rather than classic model railroaders who build impressively realistic layouts, as many will lack the basic skills to build much of anything. The possibly even
[quote user=“CNJ831”]
This long and winding thread reflects considerable naivette with regard to poster’s predictions, much of it being pure fantasy in my opinion and conflicts with what past reality tells us about the hobby’s way of advancing. As I pointed out in another thread recently, model railroading historically has evolved painfully slowly and the introduction and acceptance of new ideas generally requires decades to take hold.
Something missed by nearly all the previous posters is that to predict the future one must understand and appreciate the past. Nearly all of what folks here take to be great recent revolutions in the hobby actually date back in one form or another at least a couple of decades. By example, on-board cameras appeared commercially in the mid 1980’s. At the time they were touted as about to completely revolutionize the hobby…they didn’t and still remain a just a childish novelty. On-board electronic sound goes back I don’t how far (decades) in Lionel O-gauge and even in HO (perhaps the 70’s?). The list of other examples is surprisingly long.
So, on the assumption that we are looking perhaps 25 years into the future and extrapolating from what’s happening now, only one or two radical alterations in the way folks model might realistically be anticipated. Of these, I would agree that with the coming dramatic push for battery power for vehicles, the technology therein which is going to progress by orders of magnitude over the next decade maybe even just the next few years, is going to make self-contained power in HO a reality far sooner than most anticipate. When it comes, it’s huge advantages will quickly sweep aside existing DC and DCC.
I can see a large segment of the hobby moving to become simply collectors, rather than classic model railroaders who build impressively realistic layouts, as many will lack the basic skills to build much of anything. The possibly even exists of the hobby i
I predict that by the year 2015 our friend Spacemouse will finally have settled on a scale, and have developed a final plan for his layout. Construction to begin shortly thereafter…[:-^]
I wouldn’t put money on it, though. [:D]
I replied to MR about that article and they printed my response. There was a lot of future there and a lot of what was presented is in many ways true today. But I argued the magazine as it is may never dissappear unless we run out of trees.
Digitrax’x radio throttles work together with the infrared/direct connections to help integrate the best connection, an onboard radio reciever that could actually pick the DCC signal sounds extremely practical working in liason with the track power, and onboard supplemental power will definately help pickup.
A pure radio control wont mean much if your going to have live signals, you will still do wiring.
Sound quality will likely improve many fold and control. VMR will have its place but can’t replace the live models. The hobby dieing, nope.
Model building may improve and the more distinct off mainline locos may become more affordable and available to make and buy.
Technology can only keep ramping and applying it to this hobby could only make it better.
Ah…igorance must be a terrible cross to bear, no?. It’s certainly better to consider the thoughts of someone with some knowledge of the hobby’s past, rather then the juvenile babbling of armchair fools who pop up here all too often with nothing of value to say, those who clearly only pretend to be practicing model railroaders? Seems an obvious choice to me. [;)]
CNJ831
One thing that makes predicting the future difficult is that there often is a lag time between when something is invented / created and when it catches on. Sometimes this is for economic reasons, sometimes other reasons. For example Nazi Germany developed bombs that could be controlled electronically by a pilot or bombadier via a TV camera. It would be easy to call that a failure until recent decades. It wouldn’t become common until the first Gulf War.
I would expect on-train cameras may eventually become much more popular than they are now, but it’s a Catch-22 - they won’t be really popular until people start buidling layouts with train-mounted minicams in mind. I suspect the sight of fullsize people, basement walls, etc. in the shot is what turns many people off who have tried train mounted TVs.
Ah…igorance must be a terrible cross to bear, no?. It’s certainly better to consider the thoughts of someone with some knowledge of the hobby’s past, rather then the juvenile babbling of armchair fools who pop up here all too often with nothing of value to say, those who clearly only pretend to be practicing model railroaders? Seems an obvious choice to me. 
CNJ831
Ya know, something, CNJ. I wouldn’t have bothered saying anything if your leadoff line hadn’t been this bit of pompous self-worship (not to mention the lines above):
This long and winding thread reflects considerable naivette with regard to poster’s predictions, much of it being pure fantasy in my opinion and conflicts with what past reality tells us about the hobby’s way of advancing.
It would seem you can’t even attempt to make a point without trying to put everyone else down. Not one individual, mind you, but virtually everybody who offered an opinion, either serious or tongue-in-cheek.
If you had anything that even remotely resembled a sense of humor, you might find that the world, and esepecially this particular corner of it, can actually be fun. Who knows, you could write fractured lyrics to songs making fun of such nonsense threads as the one about being ashamed of the hobby.
Hmm. Don’t know why it is, but a certain Carly Simon song just popped into my head. Somewhere there’s a line in it about a total eclipse of the sun or sumthin’.
Smile. It’s less work than frowning (at least rumor has it. Snopes is unable to confirm).
Andre
I ain’t bettin on a completion date either…[:-^][:P]
I WILL predict that Officer O’malley will be putting the shackles on this thread soon.
Andre - The preface to my initial post in this thread r
Try telling that to the large scale BR (battery remote) crowd. They have been doing it for about 20 years, and still going strong.
Battery for HO? Aristo Craft has a rechargeable Li-ion now in the works that will fit in an HO baggage or dummy loco, and they claim it will provide hours of operation. As another poster pointed out, one can have sections of powered track where the train stops to refuel/recharge, just like the prototype. May be just a few long powered sections where the train rolls over and recharges. The majority of the layout could have un-powered track. Sounds simpler and less hassle than all the master control, boosters, hammer heads (cabs), panels/sections, power switches, power shields, cleaning, cleaning…
[2c]
No need to be sorry. It’s simply thoughts on the future.
DC
Some good ideas so far so I hope I’m not repeating any of them
Atlas will eventually make a tunout that is more reliable
An automated air brush that is computer controlled. You use a weathering program on your PC to set up what your rolling stock will look like, place the car in the booth and Walla, out comes a weathered car. [swg]
Wireless booster that accepts Wifi from a wireless router and can be controlled from any wireless device that has the software loaded.
All CV information is stored in the decoder. When you program, all options and descriptions are uploaded to your display with text descriptions and not just numbers.
I disagree on this call. There has been plenty of impetus for, research, and engineering of new battery techology over the past 15 years, thanks to portable computers and electronics, and hybird vehicles. Despite the obvious need, battery technology has not improved by even one order of magnitude in those 15 years. There will have to be major breakthrough in either fuel cells or “cold fusion” to get the gains that are needed to replace power through the rails on a universal basis in the smaller scales. Electrical current generating chemical reactions (today’s and yesterday’s batteries) aren’t going to overcome the physical space/energy output needed for small HO or N. And we add to this problem with the extra energy and space needed to satisfy our quest for realistic sound.
[quote]
I can see a large segment of the hobby moving to become simply collectors, rather than classic model railroaders who build impressively realistic layouts, as many will lack the basic skills to build much of anything. The possibly even exists of the hobby itself splitting into two distinctly different pursuits: one based on actual modeling and the other simply gathering together RTR stuff of all description and plopping it down on either a very basically scenicked board, or some commerc