Even though I’ve only been here for a short time I’ve really enjoyed reading the posts and learning a lot and it makes me feel a lot happier about our hobbys future because of the broad range of input which has been unfailingly helpful, polite and generally upbeat.
Now for the rant bit!
What IS these guys problem? I won’t mention any names but I live in Woodhaven, Queens, NY and when the bug re-bit - about two months ago - I went off in search of some trains.
The person I wanted to get them for apart from myself, is a three year old girl, who has seen a ton of Thomas stories on TV and who has shown a huge interest in my various train related, books, magazines, catalogues and InterNet searches, sensible child!
Now I knew that if this devious plan was going to work the trains had to be something that I would want to play with AND they had to be tough enough to stand up to her. The former meant that the BRIO type stuff wouldnt cut it because not only is it too much money for what it is, quite frankly my creaky old self isn’t up to prolonged hands and knees action and anyway pushing the train along doesnt cut it. The latter requirement meant that whatever it was had to be (as well as) powered, simple, tough and fun to play with which means you have to be able to put things into wagons.
Space was a problem too.
What I really wanted isnt around anymore my son loved his Playmobil railway they used to make a road/rail system that was battery powered and used clever plastic clips that controlled cars and trains. It was a nice price too but they discontinued it.
Anyway I had a pretty good idea of what would fit the bill but I went around the various retail outlets including FAO Schwarz, Toys’R’Us, various toy stores and hobby stores and what I was told was that modern kids arent interested in trains anymore! Variations on this were delivered to me by all the above.
Wait - it gets better. So I went to a big local stor
I’ve been involved in the model railroading hobby for some 40 years (various scales at various times) and have viewed it from both inside the industry and from the perspective of an ordinary hobbyist. I’ve always believed that the best way to promote the hobby is one person at a time–by personal contact or by simply willingly and openly sharing one’s own interest and involvement in the hobby. That invariably trumps any promotional efforts the industry or retailers can do, and is the surest way of generating a lasting and fulfilling involvement.
I make it a personal goal to get at least one person actively involved in the hobby on an annual basis. If every person on every forum did the same thing, just imagine the sustained growth we would see in the hobby of model railroading.
Good stuff thor. The observations and comments you made come up on occasion on the forum. I think that it’s social and economic change that we’re dealing with here.
The mom and pop hobby shops and even the other outlets, tire stores, hardware stores that built the post-war train boom are goin the way of the dinosaur. Large discount, no customer service chains are the current “retail” trend. These stores hire low wage labor with little experience and knowledge.
Also it’s the computer age. Kids of today start on computers in preschool. The computer is a major distraction for me and for a kid it’s a way of life.
Where are the trains? Other than commuter trains and an occasional Amtrak, where are the trains. Kids don’t see trains anymore. I live in the burbs of Chicago, the shipping hub of the nation, and I have to seek out freight trains. My kids rarely see a freight.
And yes Brio is a big hit. Even my local hobby shop carries it. Thomas is big. It’s also for little kids. Does the train interest carry over into there teen years? Not to often.
Face it, the train hobby is for older adults. It takes time and money to participate in this hobby, something a great majority of us lack.
Time - The lack of spare time. I think I hit on something there. People don’t spend their free time on hobbies. Well actually, people don’t have spare time anymore. Look how the hobby has changed just in the past few years. In the smaller scales, premade structures and rolling stock, ready to run out of the box. The car “kit” was a staple in HO. It’s almost gone. Ready to roll is easier and less time consuming.
Hey there Im originally from Queens, South Ozone Park.My parents still live there and Im familiar with the dealers (and stealers) from Queens if your looking for trains.There are a few you want to stay away from because thell rip you off with there prices .[:O]Some on the other hand will talk trains with you for hours.If you have any questions about places in the area that are respectable train guys just ask or email me.Thomas is great for the kids and I like it also!!.Lionel has just come out with a new engine, that go along with Thomas and his friends that run on O-27.[:)]
I invited the guests to our party last evening to visit the layout and run some trains - trying to do the one-convert-at-a-time. I’m going over to one fellow’s house tomorrow to look at a set he mentioned he has and try to help him set it up. It’s the relationships that I find enjoyable in the hobby - a few ‘real’ but most virtual.
I also hope to hit at least three hobby stores in the two hours my youngest and I have free while the rest of the family are rehearsing for a church drama this weekend…there’s some sort of echo-effect or ripple-effect I’ve observed if you have toy trains as part of your family experience…there’s the trains / layout of dad / granddad - younger kids enjoy them - then disappear as they become older - and a few ‘re-appear’ as adults - they may take on the trains after dad/granddad passes on and the cycle may repeat - impacted also by a preference for electronics / lack of spare time / and one other thing: the relative ‘fragileness’ of modern toy trains.
Anyway, my 11 year old has gone through the cycle - and into his Play Station Personal - though I can still thrill him and his friends when they visit the basement - and I honor the cardboard factory and other things he’s created for the layout over the years… Now my 3 year is into it. My 14 year old is long gone. And another truisim - they all enjoyed the wooden train sets too.
Thor [and the rest], you are our best ambassadors. Here is an example of how it is done. “Adopted” brother [long story] has new first Gramdson [adopted Greatnephew]. His first Christmas, I send him a Thomas set. Pops had train when he was young. Pops sees how much Grandson likes trains. Pops gets Polar Express. Now small layout but it is going to get larger. [;)]
An older generation revived and a new generation started.
Your post reminded me of an experience I had a few years ago. I was launching Estes rockets in the park with my kids one saturday afternoon. A guy with a young family came over and introduced himself and we started talking about rockets. The conversation turrned to trains as we recolected other boyhood hobbies. Anyway, this guy got so excited talking trains he just had to go home and dig out his old train set. I think it’s great when peoples interests get rekindled like that.
At age 63 and retired on disability for the past several years I have no need for a cellphone as I never go anywhere and any business I conduct is done in person or over my regular telephone. My brother in law, sister in law and 18 year old niece just left after two short visits this week. They all had cellphones that had little video screens. All the while while chatting they were all three toying with their cellphones. How sterile! They would suddenly get engrossed in their cellphones and then there would be a tinkly tune played on the ringer and they would get all excited about it. Think about it, a rendition of Beethoven’s 5th tinkling out of a cellphone…Beethoven would be apalled. I’m sure he thinks I am daft for being interested in trains…but telephones? They were looking at things through their little cellphone cameras…Big deal. Is that the legacy to be left behind for posterity, cellphones? Aaa-ahh, it’s a brave new world, but I don’t care to be involved in the triviality of it all. Odd-d
Thor [and the rest], you are our best ambassadors. Here is an example of how it is done. “Adopted” brother [long story] has new first Gramdson [adopted Greatnephew]. His first Christmas, I send him a Thomas set. Pops had train when he was young. Pops sees how much Grandson likes trains. Pops gets Polar Express. Now small layout but it is going to get larger. [;)]
Good one ChiefEagles and the rest of you!
Chief I’d hazard a guess our ‘long stories’ are the same. Asherah isn’t my grand daughter, I think technically she’s a niece, as close as I can figure it but the truth of the matter is she might as well be our daughter but we won’t go into that! Good thing someone likes kids, whats the matter with biological parents these days? Ooops, sorry… grin.
Darn it the little guys are FUN! I mean how dumb do you have to be not to see a heaven sent opportunity to buy toys with a clear conscience? “Its for the baby…”
“Oh, really? Pretty advanced for a 3 year old girl then?”
“Oh yeah, sure, I mean you should see her matching the outputs on the ammeters to get a smooth triple header! Only thing she likes more is Lego Technic”
BUT all joking aside, people dont give kids credit for just how smart they really are if you’ll only give them a chance to show you. Sometime I’ll find and post pictures I took when she was 2 (no exaggeration) she didnt know I was watching as she quietly and competently disassembled a mechanism I’d bought for her to play with and then put it back together again. She was so absorbed she never noticed me peeking and taking flashless pictures. Okay so she didnt get it quite right but it was a small error and she wouldnt let me fix it, I had to tell her how to do it so she could do it herself.
Yeah kids have short attention spans and yeah they’ll sometimes throw a massive wobbler right when you wi***hey wouldn’t but they’re little guys
I indeed do sympathise with you! I certainly agree with what everyone else has said. There are various things to point fingers at. There are the train manufacturers themsleves, but we’ve hashed and rehashed on the forums what they could be doing to better promote the hobby, so I’m not going to elaborate any further.
Retailers indeed are also a culprit. How, may I ask you, are kids supposed to get interested in trains if they don’t see them for sale anywhere? Stores certainly aren’t going to sell more trains if they keep cutting back on their stock. If they carry fewer items, naturally fewer people are going to buy them. The really scary thing is that even in my lifetime stores are selling fewer trains than they used to-and I’m 19! Here are a few specific examples. As a kid, I would always eagerly await the Home Hardware Christmas catalogue, which had a large selection of trains, albeit HO, that took up a whole page. There were three different sets, plus a selection of add-on engines, rolling stock, track, buildings and other accesories. In their 2005 Christmas catalogue, they have just a single HO set, which unless you’re careful, you won’t notice. The Sears Wishbook also always had a full page for trains as well, which consisted of one or two HO sets, plus a G scale set. Today, not a single train set (other than toys for toddlers) is listed in their toy section! I can also remember as a kid going to Toy R Us to buy rolling stock, track, buildings, figures and Life Like grassmats for my HO layout. Today, all Toys R Us carries is a couple of starter sets.
I agree that Thomas and other wooden trains are a great way to get youngsters hooked. However, if they’re ever going to develop that interest in trains further, they’re going to need to get more advanced trains. The problem is that these trains aren’t out there! Sure, they might lose interest in their teen years, but there’s a very god chance that they will come back in adulthood, just as many here on the forum have. W
I think Allan M. has it right, one person or family at a time.
On Thursday night one of my wife’s good friends from the office brought her 5 year old son out and all of us just had the best time ever. We ran trains downstairs for well over an hour and then came upstairs for cookies and milk, in the kitchen area we have a “pencil” Christmas tree with an older Lionel G gauge with just a simple loop. After our treats we came in the living room and watched the Polar Express go around the big tree and he did great with the simple remote. His one wonderful comment was “there are trains everywhere” made us all smile, then his Mom said they would stop on the way home to pick up the Polar Express, a little extra track and the add on cars.
Will it be a lifetime committment, hard to say but the seed has been planted. Now I need to get his Dad out here to plant another seed[:)]
I have yet to have younger children over (elem school) that they didn’t really enjoy seeing my trains run. I also bought each of the neighbor boys a Lionel set for Christmas several years ago. But to tell you the truth, I’m wary of having kids in to see my layout now because of all the accusations of child abuse that you see on TV. So now when I do, I make sure to leave the door open and have another adult (preferably my wife) with me. Isn’t that sad???
Conventional wisdom demands that you should ALWAYS have another adult in the train room if there is anyone young. Kind of a sad commentary on our society.