There are a lot of new products available for model railroaders. Much more than ever before. That is the great news. The not so great news is the expense. It is costing more and more to build a layout. It seems to me that if there are more modelers to buy items, the variety and cost of the items might improve.[:D] The problem is where to find new members. The youth of today seems to be more interested in video games etc. They do not have the patience to build something like a model (of anything). How do we attract new members? A lot of current modelers are in their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s or beyond. We are dying off!![2c] Suggestions for getting new people interested.
Where is model railroading headed? Not to my fathers home, that’s for sure. He can’t see any point in watching a toy train go round and round as he puts it. I do however have a grand nephew who is absolutely nuts about trains. He’s just getting started in electric trains. When he saw my layout he was so excited he almost went into a coma! Now he can’t wait for his next visit. But alas, Virginia is more than a few steps away. Closer at hand is my neighbor who just hit 20. He’s been a train nut since he could crawl and I made sure he had a steady diet of trains. He has a small HO shelf layout in his bedroom and intends to expand. I have around a dozen friends in this area who have layouts varying in size from a counter top to a three room empire and most have their families involved. From what I can see here I’d say the hobby is in no danger of dying out. Maybe changing a bit from what we understand it to be but not dying out. How different is it today from say, the 1950’s?
Oh boy, here we go again !
What the heck. I will offer my [2c].
The model railroad hobby is on its way to extinction.
Cost is one thing, and it sure is an expensive hobby. But, it is not cost that will bring it down. It will be lack of interest. Today’s kids don’t grow up with an electric train set. The fascination that gripped the kids born between 1930 and 1960 does not exist, at least on the same scale (no pun intended), for kids born between 1970 and 2000. And why should it? Their area of fascination is are different one with video games and computer games and the like.
The kids born between 1930 and 1960 are growing old and dying off. Some of them have enough money and time to buy what they want so the hobby can still be sustained a while longer. But it is doomed, make no mistake about it. Will it disappear entirely? Probably not. But, it will eventually be a much smaller niche market than it is today.
Rich
This is, Just My Opinion,I find it hard to believe,that it is dying out,even in the 40’s and 50’s,not every kid was involved with trains,there were,model ships,wood&plastic,model car kits,planes and so forth…But then most kids,would not know it existed,without exposure…Therein,I believe is the key,‘‘exposure’’…The kids from the later years and now are being bombarded with tv and other similar adds of all this neat elect.tech…Which I am not against,but there is no more hands,experience any more,I’m willing to bet,there are a lot of kids,and for that matter,grown-ups,have never held a saw and hammer in their hands,let alone used them… Again it bowels down to that word again,‘‘exposure’’…And then there is the,‘‘Ready To Repair’’ side of the Hobby…I believe,again just my opinion,kids and grown ups,not all, are lacking a real important skill,if you will,called,‘‘Common Sense’’,Good Day To All!!
Cheers,
Frank
I really can’t answer this question. Being from the old school where there was Model-er in Model-ing, my feelings are the hobby headed for the Alf-Alpha when the RTR thing took on such a heavy proportion of the activity. So, my point of view is slanted towards wondering if building miniature railroads is even a hobby, anymore? Seems more like collecting collectables to me.
The hobby is what it is and what it is to me, is not what it is to others. I like to build things and have pride in what I’ve built and the effort I put into it. If it weren’t for the fact that some manufacturers are still providing me with kits, I would drop this hobby like a “Hot Potato”.
I agree, I think the prices are getting out of hand. I love steam locomotives! However, being retired and on a fixed income my ability to buy much in the way of steamers (or, Diesels for that matter) from a retailer is almost non-existent.
Given my opinions on how I see the hobby, I really don’t see too bright of a future! However, I am proven wrong on a daily basis in everything else I have opinions on, so given that, once again I have to say: “I really can’t answer this question”. I only see that the hobby will likely morph into something I probably won’t have much interest in.
Craig, I have notice a lot of young faces at train shows and trackside and I think the hobby will remain about the same in the coming years.One needs to attend train shows and go trackside to see this.I’m sure there’s a lot of young forum members.
Looking back the hobby has been “doomed” before from the lack of younger modelers.When I was young most Columbus Ohio model railroad club members was older in their 40-60s.At 65 I see a lot of young faces.
I seen many roll playing games come on strong and fade away…Video games,R/C cars and model trains seems to be a constant.I’ve seen my fair share of “hot shot” modelers* come and go over the years while the “average” modeler stays.
I do think the price bubble will burst or Bachmann will become the clear winner since they keep improving and can be had for around $35-64.00 while other manufacturers prices keeps increasing… A $89.95 RTR boxcar by 2015 is possible with the current rate of price increases…
Who knows we may see the raise of detailing articles and topics in the coming months.Return of kits may be a possibility.
*Hot shot modeler"…We all seen these modelers before…They hot shoot it into the hobby and go all out buying high dollar cars and locomotives,a small library of books,plan for that perfect Godzilla size layout,very active on forums,in clubs and poof! they’re gone never to be seen or heard from again…
All you have to do is look at the demise of the LHS to see where the hobby is headed.
If I need to buy something, anything, for the layout, I wind up on the Internet searching MB Klein, Caboose Hobbies, Hobbylinc, and the like.
If I need a discontinued loco or passenger car, I search eBay.
Half the time or worse, I cannot even find available something I need.
The hobby is dying guys, face it.
Rich
Larry,
I will certainly agree with Your last,paragraph,…
Cheers,
Frank
I don’t know? [:^)]
Small kids are playing with wooden trains. Youtube has lots of videos. Born in the early 60’s I have no plan on dying soon.
Changing YES; Dying NO. [I]
Having said what I just said above, my own grandson is very interested in trains and I got him started in Model Railroading this past Christmas. My own two sons had an interest in the hobby when I got back into it, in 1988. Who knows if they will get back into it; or, not? This hobby is multifaceted and a fantastic experience builder and it certainly would be a shame if it were to die! However, look at what young people do in their spare time now. Many can’t pull themselves out of their cell phones!
Albert Einstein said: “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots”.
Wierd, I can always find the products produced for my chosen prototype, most of the time on ebay since the ‘limited run’ productions where all 8-10 years ago, but I find so many of them I could have purchased them all 4-5x over - in fact many of them I DID purchase twice since I had to start all over a few years ago. Not too many new locos are made for my road, but luckily the paint scheme is pretty simple, decals are available, and they still do make undecorated things. The LHS is a Hobbytown, they have almost no train stuff except some Bachmann train set level items, but I can almost always find what I need at Klein’s.
Our club does shows in public locations such as hobby shows and, coming up, a railroad museum across the street from an operating steam railroad. There are TONS of kids still interested in seeing the trains, and NOT just the modern stuff rolling by on the main line.
–Randy
“Seeing” the trains. Keyword.
Sure, us old times build it and display and the kids are fascinated by it. But that doesn’t mean that they are going to get into the hobby.
Rich
Rich, I’ve always found predicting the future to be a great way to prove one’s self wrong. Still, I feel you are probably more right, than wrong!
These same discussions have been going on for decades. 50 years ago model railroading was doomed because of plastic ready to run models and slot cars.
It’s less a prediction than it is pure reality. It is all about demographics. All of us between the ages of 50 and 80 grew up owning and running Lionel and American Flyer trains as kids. That simply doesn’t happen anymore. Today’s kids have different interests. It is that simple.
Rich
50 years ago in 1963, a Baby Boomer was 17 years old and dreaming of a real layout with landscaping and mountains and forests and a determination to build it wheh he grew up and had the funds to do so.
A 17 year old today was born in 1996. How many of those kids have ever owned an electric train or built and run even a small layout?
As Don Meredith used to sing on Monday Night Football, Turn out the Lights, the Party’s over.
Rich
Hi,
I tend to agree, those of us over 50 likely grew up with trains as kids and our love for them stuck with us.
I’m 69, have 4 adult kids and several grandkids. All like to look at the layout and a few like to make the trains whistle and run around the tracks. But none are interested enough to want their own.
Sadly, I think that situation is more the norm, than not.
50 years ago the corner “Hobby Shop” was doing a good business in plastic models and slot cars. Hobby shops are a dying business, ask any owner of a hobby shop how business is and you will hear how tough that business is today and although there was RTR stuff back then, the vast majority of what was available was kits in wood and plastic. I think you’re putting the blinders on by referencing what has occurred in the past. What happened in the past is in the past and what is in the future, is in the future, the two aren’t mutually interchangeable.
Wherever the hobby goes in the future we’ll find out when we get there. Change is the only constant in life. Try as you might you’ll never change that. And change as always is going to be one of the biggest things in the hobby. There are many directions it can go but I don’t believe a dead-end is one of them. Yes, the brick and mortar hobby shops are a dieing breed. So too are the corner shoe stores and bakeries but you can still find shoes and baked goods. I can find all the modeling supplies I need online. There hasn’t been a hobby shop in Leesville since the 80’s and I didn’t start buying online until around 2005. Did I do without supplies in the meantime? Of course not. What I couldn’t get from a store I cobbled together or scratchbuilt. Craft stores supplied me with paint, glue and odds and ends i could use for scenery. Once in a while I’d come across train sets in stores and get them to use for parts. I made do and many future modelers will also make do.
Good Morning!
I know this has been discussed more times than you can count, but some interesting points have been brought up here. I would definetly have to agree with what Rich has said. The kids certainly have totally different interests than we did. Just look at how the country has changed since we were kids. Virtually every aspect of a kids life today is so TOTALLY different from what those of born in the the 30’s to 60’s era experienced. I have two grandaughters, age 15 & 17 and their whole life & mindset is so completely different from what mine was at that age that you can’t even begin to compare them. I suppose it has always been that way. I’m sure our childhoods were completely different from those of our grandparents too.
I also think the point that someone has made about “exposure” has a lot to do with it too. We grew up with a great deal of exposure to hobby’s like model railroading & kit building. That’s what kids did then. Just about every town had a LHS or two. And if it didn’t there was always stores like Woolworths & Newberrys etc. They all had hobby sections with model kits, train stuff, model paints & the like. When I was a kid we even had a local hardware store that had a hobby section. You saw hobby stuff everywhere, were exposed to it & most importantly for a kid, it was affordable!
Back around 1959-1960 when I was 11-12 years old, my best buddy & I would mow lawns in the summer, shovel walks & driveways in the winter. We could always find ways to make a few bucks. And we had two LHS’s, both within walking distance & the 5 & 10 was only a couple blocks away. Saturdays we hit the LHS, maybe each with a buck or two we could spend. We could go in, buy a Revell 1/72 scale airplane kit for 50 cents; Testors paints were 19 cents a bottle, so was a tube of glue & maybe 10 cents for a new paint brush. Spend a $1.00 or $1.25 & we had hours of kitbuilding en