Hi all:
I am doing a presentation and need to know the latest figures for what the percentage of modelers is by scale. The last figures I saw showed about 2/3 in HO, 16% model N, 8% do O, and so on. I don’t know how old this information is and would like to have the latest information available.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Your numbers are close, and close is close enough. Unfortunately, there is no central databank of who models what scale, but a measurement can be calculated (with a degree of acuracy) by what is manufactured.
Ive always gone by HO being 70% and everything else is fighting for second…
David B
The first thing to decide is whether or not to count the O gauge and S gauge folks in with the O scale and S scale folks. Most polls don’t, but with the increased realism of the O gauge and S gauge trains along with some of the hirail layouts being done the case could be made that they should be included. In which case O is probably second. N is third, and HO is only about 60%. S, Z, and G are somewhere after that. But I haven’t seen a good poll in years.
Enjoy
Paul
79.3% of statistics are made up on the spot.
I believe N scale has a bigger following then most people think. In my area most clubs were HO scale only but with the amount of the old guys dieing off and a new breed of model railroader moving into their spots N scale seems to be getting more popular with the clubs. This new breed usually are guys that are just starting out in life, recently married, small kids, first house etc. N scale just seems to fit them better then HO because of the amount of space they can use. With all the great offerings N scale has to offer(minus the Trainman line[:o)]) N scale is no longer the 2nd class citizen some people use to make them out to be. I would guess that in my area its probably 60 ish to 40 ish with 5% being O scale. G scale I’m not counting but it has a huge following in my area as well. A lot of retired people move into my town after selling their house in the city and they come with large amounts of cash to spend on their garden railroads.
I did a survey for a class I took last semester, and it was roughly 80% HO and 15% N. The other 5 percent was O, Z and narrow gauge then. The survey data was culled from 500 respondants.
Based on all the various magazine and hobby surveys conducted over the years (need we really post these again?), all have indicated that there has been essentially no change in the percentage of HO vs. N since back in the late 1970’s…inspite of years of incessent claims by N-scalers that their percentage is growing by leaps and bounds.
Basically, two thirds of today’s hobbyists are HO modelers, around 20% are in N-scale and the rest are divided up pretty much among O, S, Z and large scale.
CNJ831
100% of the model railroaders in my house are N scalers…[8D]
I would strongly argue that N scale has gained market share in recent years with the evidence being the volume and variety of products now offered. Atlas alone has made a huge investment in new N scale tooling, and I dare say this would not have happened if their N scale sales were hovering around 16-20%.
Unfortunately, with Atlas being a privately traded company, we’ll never know for sure, but I dare say that N scale may be approaching 25 to 30% of the market, with HO dropping to 60 to 65%.
Another thing that should be considered is that many of the “lesser scales” are practiced by modelers who claim their main scale as HO or N.
Lee
CNJ831,In 2000 3 guys worked hard trying to form a N Scale club…It never got off the ground…Fast forward to late 2005 the same 3 guys tried again and the club came into exsistance.Today we have 19 members of those 19 members 3 of us model in HO and N however,I recently switch to N Scale as my primary scale and sold 2/3s of my HO.7 of the members converted from HO to N Scale since 2000.
IF N Scale hasn’t seen growth explain why many clubs are adding N Scale layouts?
100% of the modelers at my house are N scalers![8D]
I would dispute that N scale’s percentage of the market is still what it was in the late 70’s based on nothing else other than the volume and variety of items now available. I would suspect that the balance is still heavily weighted toward HO, but maybe more along the lines of 60-65%, with N now claiming 25-30%.
It should also be taken into consideration that many adherents of the “major scales” also dabble in one or more of the lesser scales, which will skew your overall numbers.
Lee
Must have been a sticky button… sorry about that!
Lee
I would agree that 16% for N seems a bit low. 25% sounds better. I suspect Lee is right that HO as dropped, as there are many more options now available…O narrow gauge is much more popular than it was (in large part due to Bachmann’s “On30” line), the various G-size trains, etc. Many of us in “Bifocal Land” find the larger scales easier to work with now.
As noted re: O scale, I agree it those numbers might be low too. If you count everybody - O narrow gaugers, Hi-Railers (using three rail track to run scale 1:48 models), tinplaters (both ‘runners’ and ‘collectors’) - as “O gauge model railroaders”, I suspect it’s in double digits now.
It’s hard to tell exact numbers because no doubt many modellers aren’t counted because they aren’t in the NMRA or MR subscribers etc., especially newer modellers and kids; plus the guys in the larger scales that have their own magazines (Classic Toy Trains, Garden Railways), organizations etc. If
say
[#oops]
[#oops][#dots] Computers are fun !! [banghead]
At the train club with 60+ plus members only 4 of us are hardcore HO scale. There are maybe 5-6 n scalers and the rest are all O scale and S scale. Most of the O scalers are into S scale too. I guess it depends on what trains you played with when you were a kid possibly? I think this percentage would be hard to measure. Sampling the population would be fun to see what the numbers are. You might be able to tell by what scale is biggest by the best sales or largest volume. You could Walthers or Horizon hobby which scale sell the most. I have a feeling HO is the biggest. Though where I live it is quite diverse.
This site is going to be biased toward HO and N. There are very few S and O scalers that post on here.
95% of polls are accurate 50% of the time! [;)]
[(-D][(-D][(-D]
When I was a working statistician I got my raw data from forms expressly designed for the purpose - and the data was still suspect. Having been a wrench bender, I knew how often minor repairs had been lumped in with servicing and routine inspections and never coded out separately.
A HUGE loose link in going by the value of shipped/sold scale product is that you can’t differentiate between Mr Frugal, who has a few pieces of rolling stock and a modest layout (or none) and Bigbucks von Filthyrich, who can, if he wants to, empty the Walthers barrel with a single order. If some club settles on a track plan and orders a full-scale mile of flex track, think of how that skews the curve!
The accepted wisdom is that, in the United States, your figures are accurate. In other countries, or worldwide, they probably aren’t. (What is the predominant scale in Uganda, anyway?)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - in a real minority scale, 1:80, aka HOj)
As many of the above posts clearly indicate, personal opinion or personal observation usually can’t be taken too seriously as a clear indicator of a particular situation that may, in fact, be highly localized, or skewed by personal views. In my area I can’t even name an N-scale club but can quickly list upwards of a dozen operating in HO. Nevertheless, I appreciate that this probably isn’t typical nationwide. There is a great deal of regionalism in our hobby which accounts for much of the strong deviations one sees posted on this form regarding things like the success/failure of local hobby shops, train shows, type of rolling stock most desired by hobbyists, etc.
As to the post by another individual that the expansion of N products by the HO manufacturers signals dramatic growth in N-scale, it is far more likely to be a reflection that the contracting of the model railroading marketplace has forced them to diversify ever more to remain in the black.
CNJ831
Last train show I was at seamed like 20% of the stuff for sale was G scale, which I suspect is alot higher a percentage than these small scalers here would care to admit.
To be accurate I would suggest contacting Kalmbach directly and finding out what statistics THEY have on record. Asking here is not going to give that accurate an account, unless someone has some real hard numbers that can be backed up by research.