I’m 62 and I like post 2010. But 25 years ago I preferred the years around 1995.
I guess that it just goes to show that we all like different things–though here we share a preference for modern stuffs!
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But i suspect the NMRA isn’t/wasn’t quite as diverse that way. Or like I said. Just got stuck and lost the concept of what history and modern is. The year 2000 is history. The era of fallen flags is like modeling the year 1910 to people of the 70s.
I think it is hard to make such broad generalizations about the NMRA. it is a volunteer organization made up of lots of different people.
But generally the people who have time for that kind of thing are older.
I’m 68. I grew up with HO trains in the house. When I was little my father setup a large Christmas Garden, 5’x18’ every year. He started every year on Thanksgiving, it did not come down until the end of January.
When I was 10/11 we moved into a house with a basement. My father set up the trains in the basement, built a more elaborate layout with elevated track, plaster mountains and even hidden staging tracks for multiple trains. Obviously this was no longer just a holiday thing.
Within a year he turned over creative ownership to me. I joined the NMRA and subscribed to Model Railroader in 1968.
I was briefly interested in the current modern trains of that day, 1969/1970, but my interest quickly started to go backwards to time periods before my birth.
Very soon I was working at the local hobby shop, was a member of a teen model railroad club, and shortly thereafter was accepted as a junior member at the Severna Park Model Railroad Club, something they did not do often without a parent as a regular member.
I don’t know that you can gauge people’s interests based on their age or when they got interested in trains. One member of our local group here is in his late 70’s and has always modeled present day - when new models of new locos or rolling stock come out - he buys them.
I don’t see any specific path for the NMRA to grow the hobby other than being welcoming and supportive.
I spent 7 years behind the counter at two different hobby shops. I was the train department manager of the second one. It was a great experience at the time, but honestly, I have no personal interest in the social side of promoting the hobby.
That is actually one of the reasons I happily pay my NMRA dues - to support those willing to do that work.
Sheldon
It’s my understanding that the NMRA has changed its logo from what looked like a steam loco driver to a modern csx style boxcar logo.
If the NMRA is supposed to represent the hobby, I think they should have moved away from the steam locomotive driver logo years and years ago.
Don’t get me wrong, the NMRA is a great organization with which to represent and grow the hobby, but I think the staleness of its old logo is symbolic. Hopefully the logo change indicates a freshening of its organization.
Honestly, I haven’t had enough experience with the NMRA to say.
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Why can’t you model all of them? The layout I’m building is designed to be able to rotate (say every three months) between four time periods, basically from late steam to about 2000. You can’t just change the trains (or just the engines), you need to change automobiles, billboards, even a few buildings. But you can do it!
the Dec '25 MRer has an interesting article on the genesis of the NMRA starting back in the 1930’s
I, as a matter of fact, would like to model all of them on the same layout. However, I’m far too broke to be able to afford four fleets of trains. My solution is to make my railroad a “tall tale” railroad, so poorly managed that its executives cannot realize that the railroad runs steam. I know, I know. But it’s MY railroad!
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Just received my copy today, just finished reading that article.
I knew most of that already, but it was nice to revisit that history. The article politely makes the several of the same points I made early in this thread.
I will continue to pay my NMRA dues out of the $10,000 I’m not spending to convert to DCC. And I’m perfectly happy if they spend my dues to advance DCC and other things that may not benefit me directly.
Just like everyone I knew in the NMRA and in the industry years ago who all worked together to advance the hobby.
Sheldon
Because of the new logo and this discussion, I may in fact join the NMRA. Good points have been made.
The logo change signifies to me that minds are active and not just the same group looking at things the same way, or at least a recognition they may have to increase appeal to every corner of the hobby.
I think that should be rewarded with a membership, if just to check it out.
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I was on the site yesterday, the technical info on the members side in the data sheets is fantastic - both what has always been there and new and updated stuff.
Sheldon
It wouldn’t really be four fleets of trains. 2009 and 2025 would have a huge overlap. A lot of freight cars from 1980 would still be rolling in this century. Amtrak had Superliners (and F40PHs) by 1979, and still have them. Obviously, modelling Union Pacific would be helpful, since they have existed (with the same paint scheme) for so long compared to other railroads that have merged out of existence.
You could probably model 1980 - 2009 - 2025 with a lot of overlapping equipment. A few engines and cars from older railroads (BN for example) in 1980, some newer ones (BNSF, NS) 2009-2025, and a large group that would work in all three.
Then for 1954, include a rail museum that operates railfan trains with vintage equipment, or say your railroad allows a railroad museum to run vintage trains on your tracks. I’m one of the “Friends of 261”, that would be an example of something you could run in a 21st century layout. A dinner train using vintage engines and cars.
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Actually, that’s not too far from what I’ve done. Since I’m modeling a small branchline, old equipment gets dumped there all the time. I do, in fact, have a scenic railroad on my layout, and that is of some help. However, due to a number of factors, I’ve decided to go on a less realistic–but somewhat more fun–route. I don’t mix eras, I just mix the trains from said eras. As such, my railroad still runs EMD FP7s today right alongside SD18s and Dash 8s because of an idiotic corporate rule, and still has some steam because of a big corporate frell-up. But, while this may not be terribly realistic, it is fun, it saves me money, and, most importantly, gives me the ability to create wacky stories about the L&M. The L&M, to put it simply, is not an exact representation of a real railroad; it’s a caricature of one, a tall tale railroad.
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Awwww man that purple on red is hard on the eyes. I showed it to my girlfriend and she asked if it was out of 1996.
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This is correct. But I will point out that a lot of new cars have been introduced since 2009. And if they do not run much in the big urban areas, they still do not have much graffiti, if any.
Not a comment. Just a fact for those who might want to model 2020 ish and would prefer to just add some mild weathering to a lot of the cars.
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