As a young model railroader i am concerned about the little amount of kids in this hobby. Whenever I am at the TCA shows I am the youngest guy there. How can we promote this great hobby to children?
Just to toss some thoughts around.
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Start a modular club and set up at your local shopping mall during the holiday rush. Press Lionel for starter set flyers to pass out.
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Invite as many kids around your neighborhood as you can to see your layout. For the ones who are really thrilled, give them back issues of train magazines to take home.
thanks for the info 3railguy its not only the fact of getting kids involved in model railroading but also making it accesible to them, a locomotive and even a ytrain car are pretty expensive, it takes me months to purchase a new locomotive
Youth involvement begins with the adults. Look at some of the early postwar ads and catalogs for Lionel, AF or Marx. They show Dads and child. The same holds true today. Our local astronomy club works hard to get kids involved with the stars and science. The volunteers work with youth groups through out the city. They even help kids build their own telescopes for a small cost or none at all.
So contact a local train group and ask for assistance, you’ll be surprised by the response. I say that because I’ve noticed time and again on this forum, adults bringing trains to youth.
Rod L
I think that train manufactures should start making cheaper engins that kids can afford. K-line got the Idea when they started their huskey locos but then they went bust.
I let my grandson knock the cars off the track three times today[#oops]. Hands on is the way to go and smile at the accidents. Denny
Hope those were’nt atlas O cars!!
I wonder what will happen to the hobby in the future because of the lack of younge model railroaders.
I wouldn’t say that, I know plenty young modelers.
alexweiihman, welcome to the forum. You are really going strong on the posts. Good to see such enthusiasm on the forum. We’ve got some young guys [I guess they are all grown up now] who would be glad to help you out. Colin, Ben and Jerry for a few. I think there is a Texan hiding in the back ground somewhere [RRRedneck]. Some advice, do a lot of reading and think before you reply. A lot of smart older guys on here that have tought me a lot. They will do the same for you if you do not try to impress everyone with what you think you know. Again, Welcome.
If we don’t let kids have fun with them there won’t be a future for toy trains. Denny
PS, I have a bunch of cheap modern stuff for them to bang around and he taught me how much fun full speed off a curve can be[(-D][(-D][(-D]
Our club, SD3Railers, sponsors a kids program for 6 yrs and up. We always have a waiting list to sign-up and extremely high participation. One of the keys to it’s success is that it requires that at least one parent be in attendance with the child so it doesn’t turn into a babysitting service. As a result of this requirement we have had a few of the parents join the club.
You get kids–or people of any age, for that matter–interested in model railroading by approaching it one person at a time, on an individual basis. There’s no magic formula for interesting people of any age in toy or model trains. Some may show a spark of interest (which can then be cultivated) and others couldn’t care less. It has always been that way; the only difference being that trains were a far more important part of everyday life back in the 40s and 50s, and toy models of those real trains were far more visible in stores of all types because they represented something that just about everybody was exposed to on an almost daily basis. That era is gone, and it’s gone forever. Folks just have to learn to live with that fact.
Git em on the trottles and let them have fun.
I am a wood shop teacher and the only way to get younger people involved id to have lots of hands on approach. You can teach the intro stuff pretty easy buy showing the right example and MR BAD EXAMPLE. I do this all the time with 7th and 8th graders who think they know all, but thats another story. Anyway get them involved with a starter set til they know the ropes and then take it from there. They will learn fast, believe me they do.
laz57
This is, without a doubt, the BEST thread on ANY board on this
topic! A VERY GOOD approach! If this hobby is to survive, then
we must be pro-active and take newer, younger people into the
hobby and show open-mindedness and patience. laz57 has the
best approach. We should all use it.
I agree with Laz let them play with the trains! Granted my stuff is American Flyer and built as toys to be played with. My grand kids love trains. Here they are playing with their layout.
Ironically, they like to run them slow. As you can tell from the looks on their faces they enjoy what they’re doing. I keep my CTT mags in a basket and we sit on the couch and go through looking at pictures.
I didn’t get started till later in life. So there is a future in toy trains. They must stay affordable to keep going.
Jim
Adults play a important role in the hobby. Unfortuantly I’ve seen it many times. Adults ain’t involved enough with there children. When my son showed a lot of interest in trains I showed him my train set and took him places to watch trains run. The rest is history. The manufactures also need to expose them selves more to the public.
Send them to school with Laz as their teacher.
laz you can teach us alot