I suspect the end of the line for me will come before the end of the line for model railroading so I’m not going to spend a lot of time worrying about it.
[:'(] How many threads proclaiming the “death of our hobby” has there been now?
As long as no one starts flaming each other I’ll let this stand…for now. [:-,]
I strongly disagree to your opinion. It´s not dying, it´s changing. What´s missing is good quality entry level stuff at a moderate price level to be able to attract the younger generation once more. I don´t mean the rubbish Marklin and others are marketing for kids and I don´t mean the cheapish trainset stuff sold by the other big brands. Trains will play much more of a role in our society in the future and so will model trains!
On the northside of Columbus, OH there are three hobby shops within walking distance of one another, one of which deals exclusively in trains. I’ve heard there is another nearby that specializes in Lionel but I’m not sure exactly where it is.
Well, we are all acquainted with MSM “journalism” as it is practiced these days- poorly researched, poorly sourced and all too often biased from the get go.
An enterprising reporter would do well to consider the incredible increase in product variety, sophistication, availability and the technological changes that keep model railroading fresh and innovative. Perhaps it would be better to consider that model railroading has evolved from merely a duplicate toy status to an authentic miniature art form, which incorporates a broad spectrum of skills and artistic focus, much as has become the case with the intersection between digital photography and sophisticated, yet easily learned image editing software, where the hobby is about more than just “taking pictures”.
In the real world, urban light rail and technology driven improvements to traditional freight rail provide a whole new frontier for modeling, and as for this being a dying hobby, I have observed an increasing number of 20 and 30 something adults at the flea markets and swap meets I attend regularly, along with their kids!
Cedarwoodron
No problem for me reading the article or watching the video.
I hear the same thing about other hobbies that I pursue. I also restore classic Pontiac musclecars. Go to a classic car show and you will find most owners are in their late 50’s and up, and they are saying the same thing. “Nobody works on their own cars anymore and develops the skills needed, etc.”
No doubt part of it is the expense- hobbies are expensive and financing a real model railroad with the space it requires isn’t in the cards for most younger folks. Same for classic cars.
And part of it is just the changing times. Young people don’t relate the world the same way we do, and don’t have the same feeling of nostalgia for days gone by.
But I like to think that there will always be “builders” who will want to create and operate something. It may take on a different form, but that’s OK.
I don’t think the hobby is dying , I think it just tends to get weeded out . I went to my first big train show at toronto convention centre back in 2002 and joined this forum straight away , wore my hand out mousing around looking for the perfect trackplan , got lots of great advice from guys here and oh I don’t know it must be 4-5 layouts later I’m still at it. We have a hobby shop here that carries very little in train stuff and even with the WS line of scenic stuff he tends not to reorder so its not easy and I’ve came to the realization that I have all kinds of supplies already and much that can be had that the elder modelers use to use and probably still do. This hobby isn’t for everyone.
They should have done some research and talked to the 10,000 people at the train show in West Springfield a couple of weeks ago.
Although I’m not a suscriber to the “sky is falling” regarding the future of the hobby, If the NMRA is to be believed and the average age of folks in the hobby has risen from 39 in the '70’s to 64 today, that is not a positive trend.
Remove the phrase"model trains or train sets" and insert “newspapers and print media”
Ah BS…it’s just the same old “doom and gloomers” still trying to put the psycological beatdown on people. If it bleeds, it reads…
Rich
So um… all the kids I saw at the New Eagle train show in January with tons of model train stuff in their hands are a sign of a dying hobby? What about all the youtube and facebook model railroaders my age (24) and younger? It’s not dying, the type of modeling and the expectations are changing is all.
Rich,
Try dumping your cookies on the PCs which do not work. Some of these greedy sites will set a cookie and after you visit a couple of times will block you.
That may be why the new PC worked…
No problems seeing the article on my iPad.
The demise of the hobby has been going on since the 60’s. Here it is 2016 and the hobby is better then ever. Advances in the hobby by manufacturers is outstanding, like better detail, sound, smoke, control, you name it.
We are in a golden era of model trains IMO. I’m having more fun now with the new technology then ever before before.
Let the doom Sayers have their say but for me I’m still going to have fun. Think I’ll go play with my train set now!
This sort of headline and article was also very common around 1960-62 when slot cars suddenly became “the” popular Christmas gift for boys. It was the slot car outfits themselves that repeated that mantra – to their self-serving benefit, but it got the headlines. As Linn Westcott pointed out at the time, the real pernicious effect of this sort of article is when a model railroad manufacturer or hobby shop (new or existing) needs financing, goes to the banker, who has just finished reading that the hobby is dying etc etc in the newspaper he relies on to help make business decisions, or a hobby shop distributor who knows little about the hobbies themselves, just what sells, decides to cut back on trains because the newspaper or “somebody” says nobody is buying them. Westcott was deeply concerned and later admitted that he thought the hobby as he knew it and MR itself had about 15 more years to go.
The train shows I go to all have big crowds and lots of kids, including a fair sprinkling of teenagers. It is not all gray haired guys with beer bellies [as he looks into the mirror]. I’d also say that the railfan (non-model railroad) events I attend seem popular and have a good mix of ages. But the statistics on average age of modeler are real and sobering, although one might wonder if they are gleaned from things like magazine subscriptions and organizational memberships which are not compatible with how many people now live their lives it seems.
It may well be that there are more barriers to easy entry into the hobby today. But that may be just yet another assumption based on the easy methods of entry that I remember and used (that is, fairly inexpensive starter Lionel and HO sets, plenty of hobby shops, lots of news-stands and Model Railroader and RMC at every news-stand) being sharply reduced.
Maybe I am an optimist, but if the
The NMRA may be correct on those they asked but,how about the thousands they didn’t ask? I see young folk at every train show I go to and we old folk must remember the ways of buying things is changing thanks cell phones and internet hobby shops.
Years ago the majority of us looked forward to Saturday’s trip to the hobby shop and the comradeship. Today we have forums that replaced those gatherings and on line shops that replaced the LHS.
TOUCHE!!!
Jim, I agree, that is exactly what is happening.
Rich
OK, for sake of argument, it’s not dying, it’s declining.
Can’t speak for Europe, Ulrich, but in the States, it is an old man’s hobby. Aside from those who are members of train clubs, most of us ask simply need to ask, how many people do we know who claim model railroading as a hobby, and how many of them are under age 55? I have lots of relatives, lots of friends, and lots more acquaintances. Me and my one brother-in-law are the only ones who are into model railroading.
Rich
On a related note, train simulator software is more popular with young people than with older. A lot of them simply do not have the space or money for a model railroad.