Ya boy Aggro here. I noticed that our 12 year old Mark seems to dislike steam engines. Is this a matter of what you see during childhood? I would take it that many of you older gentlemen love the steam. And I’ll bet several of the younger crowd prefer the “modern” and “semi-modern” diesels.
Well, do you think there is a correlation between your age and what your favorite locomotives are?
Do you think a railfans age has something to do with what they like? I’m not old enough to have seen steam locomotives in regular service. But I model the '50s and have a passion for awsome steam.
Even’in jones, I’m one of the older crowd here and grew up with steam in more ways then just railroads. Yes I model steam as I would assume some others my age do, because of my age. To be completely honest, I guess you could call it reliving the past, at least for me anyway. I think that younger modelers do prefer diesel as that is what they see and understand. They can do their thing and I’ll do mine.
There is definately something to be said for the kind of trains that you saw growing up. I’m 42, and the steam era had ended before I was born. I don’t have that attachment that people just 10 years older than myself have.
I certainly wouldn’t expect the yonger members to have the same feelings about steam that most of the older ones have. But that doesn’t mean that anyone should fight over his opinion.
By saying that your opinion is right and the other guy’s is crap, is just begging for a fight, and that is simply uncalled for. It is very easy to say things that will offend people, especially when writing like this. It is much more difficult to NOT say those kinds of things!
The truth is, for me at least, that each time I see a steam engine run, model or real, I gain a better understanding of how they work, and how the people who love them must feel.
I still don’t plan to have any steam engines on my layout, but I do have a respect for them which continues to grow with every encounter. Seeing 3985 LIVE and IN PERSON, will leave a lasting impression on even the most hardcore diesel fan!!
I am over 50 and like both steam and first generation Diesels.These machines come from a time when there were 50+ major railroads in North America.Now we are down to four major and four minor railroads and only two locomotive builders. Joe G.
You make an interesting observation, but if you think about it, railroad locomotives aren’t inanimate objects at all. THEY MOVE!!! Especially steam engines!
I was a member of the local club that runs 1" and 1-1/2" trains outdoors, on an 11 acre layout. The trains that run on that size track, and are fired by coal, propane, wood or oil, and boil water to run are called LIVE STEAM, and if you have ever tried to run one, you would quickly find out that they eat, breathe and even talk.
By the way, the guy who is now the president of the club always ends his messages with “Steam, its a living thing”.
Boys, this is how you politely disagree, and make a point without trying to start World War III.[:)]
When I was younger than Dougal, I prefered diesel for the fact that they were all I ever saw on the rails.
As I grew older, I read more & more about steam. The more I read about them, the more I learned to love them.
Riding behind 2816 clinched my love of steam. That was last year & I was 34 at the time.
I have an hours worth of video that I watch over & over.
Steam, there’s nothing else like it!!!
I think it likely there is “some” connection between what is seen in your youth and what you enjoy. However, I never saw a square rigged ship or world war one fighter and love both of these things. I have more than a passing interest in the Civil War, the Titanic and many other things. I’m 54 and can just bearly remember steam in the US. I was amazed that steam was still in us in Germany when I was there in the early 70s. I am more interested in steam engines than diesel. They have side rods, con. rods and valve gear that draw my attention! However, I find that diesels (like the prototype) generally operate better and are less maintenance. To argue one over the other is not something I’m going to spend any time doing.
When I wrote the one with the photo, I was definately thinking of you Gordon.[:)]
Oh, and Platypus, we can have feelings for things that are not human. I take my trains very seriously, and actually feel about them, the way some people feel about their pets.[:)]
The British Rail Southern Region was steam until I was 16. The steam was replaced with third rail electric. I only got to see a couple of diesel electrics in England and they weren’t impressive. In the last 36 years in Canada I have seen almost as many trains as I could spending a morning at London Bridge Station.
In my case I go with steam over diesel, although I have both (and a GG1). I grew up in the transition era (born 1947) and that’s what I’m modeling. Although if there was more available in S scale, I’d seriously consider 1900-1910.
Enjoy
Paul
Every person is an individual. Every person has their own interests. Every individual models that which interests them. I’m not convienced that age has anything to do with what interests an individual. I’ve seen 10 year olds that love the steam era and 60 year olds that love modern diesels.
I’m a nostalgia enthusiast and I love steam engines, early diesels, Model "T"s & "A"s, biplanes and square rigged ships. Although square riggers are way to early for my layout [:D], I plan to model during the transition period so I can have both steam and diesel locos. I most likely will have a couple model A’s and a couple model T’s on the layout. I have even thought about building a couple biplanes and hang them from the ceiling on extra fine fishing line so they look like they’re flying around in the background.
I think it really has more to do with your love of history. I’m 34, and can’t stand diesels (well, first generation is OK). I grew up railfanning with my dad and his buddies around the Chicago area in the early 1970s. The entire country was dirty and run down back then, especially the railroads. There was a thin veneer of new motive power on the rails (like the SD-45), but virtually everything else was dominated by the likes of PC, Milw, Rock, and C&NW decrepitude.
I much prefered steam when we had the opportunity to see it. Yes, it was dirty too, but there was a REASON for it being dirty. It belched smoke! (diesels, on the other hand, were only dirty through neglect. A new car that’s never washed looks bad very fast, for no good reason but laziness). I got hooked on steam quickly, and it’s reflected in my modeling preferences (I have 100 or so steamers, but only 10 diesels).
I know a lot of modelers my age who are steam modelers. My best friend (since we were 10) models the IC circa 1939 in N scale. He owns two diesels (IC E-6 set). A friend in our Ntrak club is 12 and wants to only model steam (he’s only seen it in person once). I’ve got two more friends in their 20’s who are converting to steam, and currently model both the 1940s and today.
Looking around at train shows, I always bring lots of high quality steam models with me, and loan HO steamers to our partner HO modular group to run at shows. Not only will steam draw a bigger crowd than any diesel lashup, but it will hold them longer, giving you an opportunity to talk to them and promote the hobby. A string of diesels is nothing more than moving boxes, with little going on. The only thing that draws a crowd faster than steam is a bullet train moving at full clip, and that’s an electric!
I also know a lot of older modelers (60+) who remember steam who are modeling the 1970s-1980s. That blows the whole idea of modeling what you remember from your youth out of the water too!
Snake, I aree with you and do not dispute that you find young folks interested in steam and older people interested in modern diesel. However, I will , respectfully, dispute your thoughts that age has nothing to do with an individual’s interests. May I suggest you show a young person a steam loco and ask that person what they see, then show an older person that grew up with steam that same loco and ask them the same question and see what answers you get. Better yet, visit some antique tractor shows or thrasher reunions and take a look around. Sure you’ll find young people there because it interests them to see the way things used to be, but the majority of us older folks are there because we lived it once and like to keep the good memories alive within us. With this said I hope I’ve enlightened some in the lives of us older folks and hopefully understand that age does make a difference in ones interest. We are all individuals and should model our individual interest. Best everyone, Ken
My question to Dougal would be “have you ever SEEN a real live steam engine like UP 844 or SP4449?” I ask this because it makes a very big difference in your perception of steam if its only been via the local railroad or only on the benchtop. If you’ve only ever seen Diesels up close but never a big steam engine I can understand why he’s so pro-diesel. As he gets older and has an oppertunity to experience more steam I suspect he’s opinion will change. I grew up seeing the steam engines at Knotts Berry Farm, two old K-27’s brought to the park to haul a consist of older D&RG cars, I’ve seen both the above beasts plus Santa Fe’s steamer (but not the Challenger) and it does make a palible impression when you can FEEL the heat coming from the firebox and the steam venting from the boiler. There’s nothing like steam. It alive! literally, and figuratively. Video does not convey it. Its best experienced up close. Say having 844 blasting past you up Cajon Canyon.
