Talking to several people lately in my local hobby store they mentioned that they were trying to build their layouts and that the cost of trying to get something that looked halfway decent was starting to price them out of the hobby. They mentioned how even basic box trainsets were getting expensive and trying to create even a decent 4x8 layout for themselves or for their kids was getting harder. I am wondering if this hobby is starting to price it’s self out of existence where people can’t afford to get into the hobby and it will drive people away from the hobby?
I’m not new to the hobby by any means since I’ve been doing this most of my life but I finally started building my own layout. By the time you count the benchwork, track, DCC system, wire, etc my 4’x8’ layout will easily approach 3 grand before buildings or scenery! [|)]
I totally agree that it’s getting way too expensive. Prices alone could kill the hobby. I think it’s sad that the generation just below me could easily care less about model trains in any way. They’d rather sit in front of the computer or TV 24 hours a day and play video games. [*-)]
I personally tend to believe higher prices will force younger modelers (those younger than 18 or so) without a high-income job out of the hobby until an older age… There’s certainly no shortage of inexpensive railroad simulator games available to keep these younger fans entertained…
I understand there’s been a push towards having highly-detailed, sound-equipped models that come fresh from the factory with all of the details you’d ever want to install, but personally, if I had the choice between paying $250-$300 for a locomotive that already comes equipped with all the details, or paying, say, $50-$100 for a locomotive completely devoid of any detailing, and I’d have to spend time applying custom details myself, I’d do the latter; not only because it’s cheaper but also because (to me) it sounds much more enjoyable, and would prove to be a good learning experience… I think many people on here will agree that assembling a kit from scratch, custom-detailing a locomotive, or even kitbashing one yourself provides a good sense of accomplishment, and that seems to be slowly disappearing, since we can have it done at the factory instead for a little bit of extra cash…
It’s the same story with freight cars… I can pay $40 for some highly detailed fancy ready-to-run car, or pay about $15 for an equally-nice (in my opinion) Accurail kit… Yes, it’s nice that the model makers are finally producing incredibly accurate, smooth-running, and fairly reliable models, but we’re all paying the price for it… Quite literally…
Well … there is more good track available to beginners now than when I started. More good scenery products. Some interesting structure kits, and many of the old reliables from Like Like. Beginners are no longer saddled with just horn hook couplers in HO but might actually get to start with Kadee or Kadee compatible couplers. The deals are out there – Blue Box at swap meets galore, for example – but you have to know so much about the hobby to take advantage of the deals that, yeah, maybe beginners are left out.
I think it is a mixed bag. I would agree it is harder and more expensive to be a mere dabbler in the hobby. And if it takes 10 dabblers to create 6 interested, and 10 interested to create one real hobbyist … we have some work to do
Model railroading is a lifetime hobby. “Instant-gratification” in model railroading spans most of your lifetime to come, and; it is never all-at-once as our media-rich culture might suggest to us daily.
Thus, it takes time to accumulate the layout from start to finish (or is it never quite finished). If you take the long-term visioning – the material costs of your model railroading hobby is spread out over many years – and our instant-gratification occurs everyday instead of just once. Do what you can as you can.
I am up around $7000.00 on trains since getting back into it in 2007. That is about $1750.00 a year. I use to fly R/C airplanes and would spend much more than that on transportation to and from the club airfield alone. I think trains is a lower cost hobby than most.
You must be part of the older generation, like I am, and your “instant-gratification” mode that you mention is indicative of younger people. I’ve been working on my current layout for almost 10 years, and I’ve gotten a lot done on it. When we wanted something, we SAVED for it. That included cars, houses, slot cars or model trains. We didn’t expect ANYTHING NOW!
The hobby has been trending that way for a number of years now. And not only is it driving off the newcomers, I known of many longtime hobbyists who have thrown in the towel too with regard to purchasing anything further new unless it is absolutely essential to keep their layouts operating. Long gone are the days when a hobbyist strolled into a hobby shop and bought stuff simply on a whim (once a traditional part of the hobby!).
I certainly don’t envy anyone coming into the hobby today who isn’t wealthy, because if they aren’t, they are in for a considerable disappointment. JFR posts that he’s approaching $3k with his 4x8 and has yet to get anywhere with his scenery and structures. Well, I can attest to the fact that a 4x8 of any real quality runs $5k to $7k these days and stepping up to a 5x10 will easily push you well past $10k.
Yes, you can still purchase a small selection of cheap junk; folks did that with Tyco back in the day. But that resulted in a great many of them becoming disillusioned and leaving the hobby for good. That might have been a situation the hobby could endure in days of yore, when hobbyists numbers were large and still growing, but that’s no longer the case. And after seeing the layouts in the magazines, running the cheapest junk on a bare plywood pacific clearly isn’t what model railroading is supposed to be in any sense at all.
Of course, as I’ve indicated in the past, prices aren’t nearly as high yet as they are going to get…and in the relatively near future, too. As the market shrinks, prices will rise, causing the market to shrink and so on. Model railroading’s future is with a small segment of wealthy individuals, not the blue collar element that drove it for three quarters of a century.
I think it depends on several things. If you just want to run some trains and not too worried about things like roadname, prototype accuracy, DC operations and basic scenery, one can build a pretty good layout for relatively little money. Remember, one has to look at the beginner as many of us began, train sets for Christmas and some extra cars that the relatives bought for birthdays cause they know you liked trains. When we first started out, most of us didn’t know a 2-8-2 from GP40. All we saw was a train with cars and we wanted to expand the track and buy more cars, especially if they were “cool”. As we grew more knowledgeable, we started getting selective (Athearn yes!, Tyco no!) and maybe started concentrating on modeling a specific railroad, after all, not all that many of us had the Santa Fe warbonnet F units screaming past our houses.
If a begginer goes to a typcial model train show, they could walk out with a pretty decent selection of rolling stock and a locomotive from the usually large selection of used stuff. 40-50 dollars can get quite a few BB cars, most with Kadees and metal wheels. Another 50 could get a pretty decent running and reliable locomotive. Track and transformer could be found too, but even a simple loop with a switch can be purchased new for under 50 for track and another 50-80 for a transformer.
Horsetrading with other modelers can net even more as many of us have track and rolling stock we know we’ll never use again.
Wood for a layout could be less than 100 for a 4X8.
Bottom line, if you don’t need top of the line everything and basement empire right away, you can enjoy this hobby on a budget.
Depends on the ‘beginner’. If he is flush with cash, not at all. If he doesn’t have the cash, yes, it is too expensive. As an example of my logic, an RV is too costly for me, and I rightfully decline to try to change that. They cost what they do, and they should somehow keep their manufacturers in business, with some adjustments to production and prices now and then as seems right to do.
None of us can have everything. If you can buy it all, you are left unhappy because you have nothing left to buy.
I think the hobby is priced just right. When I decide that its acceptable fit with my budget is incongruous, I move on.
I don’t doubt that JFR has $3K in model railroad stuff, but how much is really invested in the 4X8? If he has ten $200 locos, how many can be run on the 4X8 at one time? Average cost for structures may be about $50 but how many can go on a 4X8, 10-15? Again, I’m not discounting what he has spent, but how much is really just for the 4X8 how much is extra for the next layout?
I’ve been building a Christmas layout almost every year for the last 13 years. Most of them would cost 1000-1500 and they are fully scenicked.
I have to agree it is becoming expensive. I modeled european trains (mostly ROCO) for over 15 years. The prices skyrocketed to the point about five years ago I decided to dropout and switch to US trains. In the last year or two, I am seeing the same type of price increases (although not yet close to the ROCO prices) which I am afraid will eventually drive me completely out of the hobby for good.
I am a lifelong table top roleplayer. Rulebooks and supplements for that hobby usually start at $20 and go up to $60 each. Many games can have a couple dozen of these. I also dabble in trading card games. These usually start at $20 for 50 cards and then $5 for 8-10 card booster packs. Since the cards are random, you end up buying many packs to get the cards you want. And generally a new set comes out every 6 months or so.
My point is that younger people are conditioned to pay a lot of money for their hobby. A post above mentioned video games, he didn’t point out the cost of the game system itself which go for $250-$600, and that isn’t adding in headsets and fancy controllers, etc etc etc.
Any hobby can cost as little or as much as you are willing to invest. If you have few financial resources you learn to be creative.
Yes and no. Yes that current equipment, locomotives, etc are priced well beyond what many of them would have cost on inflation alone due to the extras (RTR, DCC, etc) they come with. Alternatives aren’t readily available now days due to the limited run mentality of the manufacturers – better buy now at an inflated price or you won’t get it. While locomotives and such are available if you spend the time looking, it’s not readily available at the local hobby shop to pick up and buy on the spot; you have to search the web.
The other part of this comes in large part from the magazines. I know this is a hot button, but we are constantly presented with a bevy of large, expensive, layouts in the press. This will just discourage the newcomer. Same with all the “you must do it this way or you aren’t a real model railroader” style of writings out there. If I had seen what I see today back years ago, I would have been locked out too, only I didn’t know I wasn’t good enough.
And, scratchbuilding has become a lost art. Structures you can build for a few bucks with balsa and paper have been replaced with RTR structures that cost ten times as much and only produce a few seconds of modeling pleasure. Again, I think the press could help by including more on simple, economical projects.
My estimate was not counting locomotives or rolling stock. If we count that well I probaby wouldn’t want to know what I’ve spent, especially within the last 5-7 years…
What I have is a sheet of plywood with beautiful oak trim and then underneath the table to hide the wires and to provide additional support for the plywood is more oak in a rectangular type shape. Then I have a Digitrax system for my DCC needs. The legs are metal and fold under the table if and when I would be required to transport it. I’ve also got storage under the table for storing locos and rolling stock. Sure I could hav
I couldn’t agree more! Even DC locomotives from Walthers are way to expensive for me. After all teens have to worry about college and car insurance which is getting more costly ever year. And for hobbies, we like to while our time with expensive game systems. The inexpensive stuff from Bachmann isn’t getting as much attention as I think it should. Who can beat $80 for DCC equipped locomotive?
When I was a kid, Atlas/Kato and even Athearn BB were more premium products compared to Tyco, AHM, etc. Brass track was the norm an nickel silver was the premium stuff.
I think the hobby has moved upscale. its probably due to the lack of sales of the lower end product. The baby boomers are aging and have more disposable income to spend on better products, and younger entries into the hobby are not as numerous. Supply and demand dictates the lower end product has been pretty much eliminated. Even the Athearn BB, which was more of a premium product back in the 70’s.
Fortunately, today there are better outlets for buying used products or estate items than in the past. If you are price conscious, its going to take some unconventional searching and time to find things. Going to a hobby shop or even an internet shop and buying your complete layout over a six month period is the expensive way to do it.