Is Interest In Model Railroading Dwindling?

[Roger Hensley]

No, I don't think it is dying. I don't post like I used to, but I read several forums every day.

I am 73 and road passenger trains to Chicago and Great Lakes and back home in Indiana. Then to Norfolk and then to Florida. Yep. I rode them several times in younger days. But that is not why I became a Model Railroader and a Railfan. I was given a train as a youngster. And then another and then...

I have been active this time since 1980 and I am still building railroads now at the History Center in Anderson Indiana.

It has become harder to join the hobby as there aren't as many hobby shops now to choose equipment from. That makes it tough but it obviously is still doable.

In my case, I have trains running near to my home day and night and I love the sound. As long as there are trains around, there will be modelers.

 

[DJtrains]

Hollywood and the entertainment world have a big affect upon what people want. If Hollywood were to put out some hit movies featuring a train or trains we'd see an upturn in hobbyist interest.

If a top pop singer sings about some particular train the shelves will empty. We live in a media manipulated world today.

We need more train cartoons!!! LOL

 

[Boris]

Hard to judge form online forum traffic - I mean, how many times can you debate plywood versus Homasote versus foam? Gets to be a waste of time wading through rehashed topics. That's not just MRR forums though - I've seen that in a number of areas.

LHSs have been closing for several years. Maybe that's because of the rise of web marketing instead of actual decline in interest. (Also debated ad nauseum in various forums.)

Also of note is the post-9/11 atmosphere. Around here, you can darn near get arrested for just hanging out by the tracks - not like my childhood when I could (ahem) climb into pulpwood gons on a siding next to my grandparents' farm. Might be spooking some potential railfans away and thus less interest in modeling.

One other factor is that while the railroad industry is more successful than it ever was, even in the so called glory years; the modern railroad business model is very different from what it was in the days of my youth. While the line still remains, the manufacturing customer base has dwindled, so traffic patterns are less visible. As they say, out of sight, out of mind.

Interestingly, most offerings sell well, so there is an interest.

 

[DJtrains]

One other factor is that while the railroad industry is more successful than it ever was, even in the so called glory years; the modern railroad business model is very different from what it was in the days of my youth. While the line still remains, the manufacturing customer base has dwindled, so traffic patterns are less visible. As they say, out of sight, out of mind.

Interestingly, most offerings sell well, so there is an interest.

What I tend to think is the market today is due mostly to aging "Baby Boomers" who still remember the "old days." Also a good number of pre-Boomers are still active.

We had 6 children and now have 15 grandchildren and none are in the slightest bit interested in model trains. My older brothers tell me that in the 40's and early 50's every kid wanted a train set. However most couldn't afford one so they all gathered at some lucky kid's house to use his.

I see model railroading/modeling almost passing off the scene within this century. What will bring it back bigger than ever will be a change in America to railway mass transit which is definitely coming (like throughout Europe).

New super sleek fast trains powered by ??? will run from city to city...coast to coast. Come to think of it, that would make for a cool Sci-Fi movie! LOL

 

[Boris]

What I tend to think is the market today is due mostly to aging "Baby Boomers" who still remember the "old days." Also a good number of pre-Boomers are still active.

We had 6 children and now have 15 grandchildren and none are in the slightest bit interested in model trains. My older brothers tell me that in the 40's and early 50's every kid wanted a train set. However most couldn't afford one so they all gathered at some lucky kid's house to use his.

I see model railroading/modeling almost passing off the scene within this century. What will bring it back bigger than ever will be a change in America to railway mass transit which is definitely coming (like throughout Europe).

New super sleek fast trains powered by ??? will run from city to city...coast to coast. Come to think of it, that would make for a cool Sci-Fi movie! LOL

All valid points to make. One of my sons is an active modeler, who models contemporary rail operations in the South East US, while I model Class 1 Branchline operations in the North East US. My interest reflects the railroad industry as it was when I began working for the PRR. His interest reflects his observation of operations in close proximity to where he was stationed.
my other son has no interest in our hobby.

On the other hand, before I retired, I was able to coax 110 MPH from an Amtrak P42, on Amtrak's Keystone Service when the speed was increased to 110 mph from 90 mph. . Every time we reached cruising speed it was time to apply the brake for the next restriction. Which is why I somewhat believe Hi-Speed Rail in the US, may already be a Sci-Fi Movie .

 

[DJtrains]

All valid points to make. One of my sons is an active modeler, who models contemporary rail operations in the South East US, while I model Class 1 Branchline operations in the North East US. My interest reflects the railroad industry as it was when I began working for the PRR. His interest reflects his observation of operations in close proximity to where he was stationed.
my other son has no interest in our hobby.

On the other hand, before I retired, I was able to coax 110 MPH from an Amtrak P42, on Amtrak's Keystone Service when the speed was increased to 110 mph from 90 mph. . Every time we reached cruising speed it was time to apply the brake for the next restriction. Which is why I somewhat believe Hi-Speed Rail in the US, may already be a Sci-Fi Movie .

I wish we could hurry up that future era without getting older of course

Personally I'd much rather take a fast train than fly. The future shortage of fossil fuels plus the cost will eventually do in our current airliner era. But...the statu quo will be active for quite a time yet. Most of us will never see the big change. Well, at least not the big positive change.

 

[Boris]

I wish we could hurry up that future era without getting older of course

Personally I'd much rather take a fast train than fly. The future shortage of fossil fuels plus the cost will eventually do in our current airliner era. But...the statu quo will be active for quite a time yet. Most of us will never see the big change. Well, at least not the big positive change.

In many ways, the contemporary Airline Industry resembles the Railroad Industry of the late '50s and the '60s. Stagnant and confused.

I drive, because frequently that is the only mode available. Trains and planes only go to so many places, however, I do believe that ground transportation can and should be improved to make it the obvious choice for most potential users. However, that will take vision.

 

[DJtrains]

In many ways, the contemporary Airline Industry resembles the Railroad Industry of the late '50s and the '60s. Stagnant and confused.

I drive, because frequently that is the only mode available. Trains and planes only go to so many places, however, I do believe that ground transportation can and should be improved to make it the obvious choice for most potential users. However, that will take vision.

I see the whole world ending up back in the horse and buggy era. But that will happen after 95% of the world's population gets nuked, dies of plague, etc.. Yup, I see a return to an semi-agrarian society. In our modern world the entire energy system is one way or another dependent on fossil fuel. It's absolutely scary how much we depend on oil. No wonder everyone is doing what their doing to get it. Obviously some day it will run out. At this rate, sooner than later.

 

[montanan]

When I was a kid, I was lucky enough not only to have taken rides in the cabs of the locomotives, but to have traveled as a passenger on both the NP's North Coast Limited, and on the Milwaukee's Hiawatha. Living where we did in Montana, air travel was a thing for rich people and to and from big cities. Riding on thise trains was fantastic. Always something to see, great food and a great adventure. This was in the late 50's.
Fast forward to today, and I find that in recent years, with what the TSA and Homeland Security is doing at airports, I avoid flying at all costs. I love flying, and it's even a hobby for me as I really enjoy flying small aircraft. We lost Amtrack years ago to our area when they eliminated that southern route across Montana. I'll drive thank you very much. There's so much to see in this country, and I prefer to see it from ground level rather than from 35,000 feet. Another hobby I have is restoring classic cars. Last year we wanted to visit our Property in the Florida Kets and attend the NASCAR race at Daytona. Instead of flying, we took my restored and upgraded '59 Chevy Impala and hit the road. We saw a lot of the country and enjoyed traveling at a slower pace and not having to put up with and of the garbage they put you through at the airport.

 

[NYW&B]

There is an overall circumstance that has governed the success of our hobby for decades and one that becomes increasing more important every year now, even though the vast majority of those who have entered model railroading over the past decade or two are hardly aware of it. It is the undeniable fact that the explosive rise in popularity of model railroading among the general public in the past was the direct result of a confluence of several circumstances unique to the Baby Boomer Era and ones that will never recur in conjunction and produce the same affect.

During the tumultuous war years virtually all long distance travel was by train; troops moved by train; the products of industry all moved by train. Trains were seen almost every day by most of the population and were regarding as absolutely critical to sustaining our way of life. This put trains in the forefront of personal experience in the U.S. With the end of the war there was a desperate desire among servicemen and the general public to return to safe, stabile normalcy and to raise a new and close knit family. Wisely, J.C.Lionel knew how to incorporate this desire into the exposure and sales of his toy trains, making them an integral part of an apparent return to normalcy among young men and in supposedly tying them more closely with their sons. The rise of popularity of toy trains following the war was a true phenomenon and Lionel greatest coupe was to link toy trains to Christmas. When J.C.Lionel died his New York Times obit alluded to him as being one of the three basic elements of an American Christmas: Santa Claus, the tree and Lionel trains!

At the same time, when WWII ended there were reportedly only about 15,000 scale model railroaders in all of America. Yet by the early 1950's the figure had ballooned to over 100,000 adult hobbyists. Taken together with the countless millions of boys playing with Lionel and Flyer trains, and the rise of the diesel streamliner, we briefly became a train-crazy society.

This phenomenon ended in the early 1960's with the rise of slot cars as the dominant boy toy. From that time forward the HO (and later the N scale) hobby has been largely populated by adults who were kids or adults during the 1950's train craze. This is reflected in the steadily increasing average age of hobbyists observed over the years. Even the majority of "new blood" coming into the hobby today still are men now in their 50's and 60's who were toy train enthusiasts in their childhood (or wished they had been at Christmas in their youth). It has been the Baby Boomers who keep this hobby going and have been doing so for decades. What will actually become of the hobby after their ultimate demise over the next decade, or two, remains to be seen, but it certainly will eventually be a much smaller one and probably very different.

NYW&B

 

[railfan]

I'm still really interested in model RRing.

 

[morgreh]

I'll toss in my two cents....

I'm 41. I grew up in Kansas in a small town a few blocks from a Santa Fe branch line between Topeka and Kansas City and a few miles from the Union Pacific mainline through that part of the country.

My Dad always liked trains and consequently, started taking me to watch trains near those lines when I was young. I mostly remember summer evenings. We'd pile into dad's old '66 Chevy truck and drive up north to the tracks. That Union Pacific line was so busy, you could go almost any time of day, wait 15 or 20 minutes and see a train. I got where I was asking him to drive me up there every time I could.

I remember one vacation we drove to Colorado and we road the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge. I still remember that trip distinctly.

My oldest sister had an O scale Lionel train that usually only came out around Christmas time because we didn't have room for a permanent layout in a 700 sq. ft. house with 3 kids and no basement or garage.

Eventually, my sisters moved out, and in the early 80s I found a HO scale Tyco train set with my name on it under our tree one Christmas morning. I put that on a half sheet of plywood and set it up in the spare room. I never got into scenery or anything more than an oval. But I ran it a lot, played with it and my Hot Wheels cars and had a good time with all kinds of crazy imaginary scenarios in my head.

Then, in the mid-80s I got my first computer and the train set mostly sat. Then high school and girls and college and work and girls got in the way. Then marriage, a house, more job stuff, a move, another house, divorce, you know the usual stuff, a.k.a. life.

Today, I am still interested in trains. I work in downtown Chicago and live in the suburbs. I take a Metra train into downtown nearly every day. It's safe, comfortable and keeps me sane. If I had to drive downtown every day, I would either be living much closer to downtown, or I would not be working where I am. I've also taken Amtrak back and forth between Chicago and Kansas City a few times. It too, in my experience has been clean and comfortable.

My dad and I have been to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL several times, and I always enjoy it. We also visited the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, WI this past summer. I think places like these, operating railroad museums are the future of generating interest in steam and old railroad equipment.

Earlier this year, I decided to take up model railroading as a hobby. I have acquired several pieces of rolling stock and some engines. I enjoy it, but I hesitate to call myself a model railroader. I don't yet have a permanent layout set up and in fact, I have yet to even come up with a track plan that meets my desires and fits into the relatively small space I have available. So at this point, maybe I'm more of an interested observer than an active model railroading hobbyist.

My other issue is that my timing for selecting a new hobby could not have been worse. My wife and I are starting a family and are expecting our first child just after Christmas. My suspicion is, that the next few years, at minimum, will likely not provide a lot of time (and perhaps not much spare money either) for my newly chosen hobby.

As a general observation, it seems to me that most people in the 20-50 age range are too busy working to make ends meet and raising their families to have much time left over for a hobby like model railroading. It appears to me that most of the most active people on this board are in the 50+ range and have finished or mostly finished raising their families, many have retired and as a result they have time, money and space for this hobby.

I do have a concern that over time, because trains are less important (maybe less visible is more accurate) to the average person that there will be less interest around model trains. I certainly think that the death of the LHS will be detrimental to the hobby as well as it prevents those impulse purchases of trains and train sets.

All that said, I absolutely do plan to take my daughter to places like the Illinois Railway Museum as well as take her for rides on Metra, maybe Amtrak and she may even get her own train set at some point, or maybe she'll just get to play with daddy's train set. But do I really expect her to become a future model railroader, no, not particularly. Time will tell though.

 

[DJtrains]

There is an overall circumstance that has governed the success of our hobby for decades and one that becomes increasing more important every year now, even though the vast majority of those who have entered model railroading over the past decade or two are hardly aware of it. It is the undeniable fact that the explosive rise in popularity of model railroading among the general public in the past was the direct result of a confluence of several circumstances unique to the Baby Boomer Era and ones that will never recur in conjunction and produce the same affect.

During the tumultuous war years virtually all long distance travel was by train; troops moved by train; the products of industry all moved by train. Trains were seen almost every day by most of the population and were regarding as absolutely critical to sustaining our way of life. This put trains in the forefront of personal experience in the U.S. With the end of the war there was a desperate desire among servicemen and the general public to return to safe, stabile normalcy and to raise a new and close knit family. Wisely, J.C.Lionel knew how to incorporate this desire into the exposure and sales of his toy trains, making them an integral part of an apparent return to normalcy among young men and in supposedly tying them more closely with their sons. The rise of popularity of toy trains following the war was a true phenomenon and Lionel greatest coupe was to link toy trains to Christmas. When J.C.Lionel died his New York Times obit alluded to him as being one of the three basic elements of an American Christmas: Santa Claus, the tree and Lionel trains!

At the same time, when WWII ended there were reportedly only about 15,000 scale model railroaders in all of America. Yet by the early 1950's the figure had ballooned to over 100,000 adult hobbyists. Taken together with the countless millions of boys playing with Lionel and Flyer trains, and the rise of the diesel streamliner, we briefly became a train-crazy society.

This phenomenon ended in the early 1960's with the rise of slot cars as the dominant boy toy. From that time forward the HO (and later the N scale) hobby has been largely populated by adults who were kids or adults during the 1950's train craze. This is reflected in the steadily increasing average age of hobbyists observed over the years. Even the majority of "new blood" coming into the hobby today still are men now in their 50's and 60's who were toy train enthusiasts in their childhood (or wished they had been at Christmas in their youth). It has been the Baby Boomers who keep this hobby going and have been doing so for decades. What will actually become of the hobby after their ultimate demise over the next decade, or two, remains to be seen, but it certainly will eventually be a much smaller one and probably very different.

NYW&B

I agree 100%

 

[Iron Horseman]

I'd like to hear from those of you who are heavy into the hobby. What are you seeing? Is the hobby gradually heading south, so to speak?

This is a common thread since the mid 1960s when "slot cars" were going to take over MR, then it was "hot wheels", then "radio control" airplanes, etc. Now the big "threat" is video games. A model train is pretty mundane (and expensive) compared to the latest zombie shoot them up, race cars, and Lego world things available to everyone today.

Personally this has been the most "train inactive" year I have had in a long time. Spending too much time renovating the "new" house and taking care of my aging father.

As far as activity on this forum, it has always been rather slow if you ask me. The on line stats show hundreds of people reading the various sections, but very little posting. What are all these people reading?

 

[DJtrains]

This is a common thread since the mid 1960s when "slot cars" were going to take over MR, then it was "hot wheels", then "radio control" airplanes, etc. Now the big "threat" is video games. A model train is pretty mundane (and expensive) compared to the latest zombie shoot them up, race cars, and Lego world things available to everyone today.

Personally this has been the most "train inactive" year I have had in a long time. Spending too much time renovating the "new" house and taking care of my aging father.

As far as activity on this forum, it has always been rather slow if you ask me. The on line stats show hundreds of people reading the various sections, but very little posting. What are all these people reading?

Yes, I figured it was a common question. I think it's human nature to wonder when anything will end. I was just curious about the thinking at this time. And too, it did manage some action (not to mention some off-track comments such as some of mine).

As for trends of the past invoking this question, I think now it's no longer a hobby fad that's behind the issue (the end of model railroad or at least the great decrease of interest in it).

As seen in this thread, the real downtrend of this hobby will come as a result of a lost generation. That being the so-called "baby boomer" generation. Fads come and go and tend to get hobbyist sidetracked a little but when the major buying market is dissolved, well, that's an entirely different thing.

When we age (and hopefully become more financially secure) we all tend to remember our childhood experiences and the things we thought made us happy. I personally don't see today's generation looking back on trains since almost none of them today have any interest in them.

But to be candid, I really don't envision a bright financial future for most of today's younger generation. I think in the future most will be kept pretty busy acquiring basic necessities and not have a lot of time or money for toys. There will always be some of that but not on the grandiose scale of this era.

And as for the readers of these threads, I think that may be due to the same people clicking on a thread and running up the view count. If they are true visitors, probably many are market researchers, business owners or the CIA LOL

 

[montanan]

Yes, I figured it was a common question. I think it's human nature to wonder when anything will end. I was just curious about the thinking at this time. And too, it did manage some action (not to mention some off-track comments such as some of mine).

As for trends of the past invoking this question, I think now it's no longer a hobby fad that's behind the issue (the end of model railroad or at least the great decrease of interest in it).

As seen in this thread, the real downtrend of this hobby will come as a result of a lost generation. That being the so-called "baby boomer" generation. Fads come and go and tend to get hobbyist sidetracked a little but when the major buying market is dissolved, well, that's an entirely different thing.

When we age (and hopefully become more financially secure) we all tend to remember our childhood experiences and the things we thought made us happy. I personally don't see today's generation looking back on trains since almost none of them today have any interest in them.

But to be candid, I really don't envision a bright financial future for most of today's younger generation. I think in the future most will be kept pretty busy acquiring basic necessities and not have a lot of time or money for toys. There will always be some of that but not on the grandiose scale of this era.

You have a really good point here. Many of us older modelers have a lot of memories of trains from when we were growing up, and enjoy modeling something that brings back good memories. After WWII, trains were the backbone of our nations transportation system, but in later years, the automobile and airplanes took the top spot. Many of the younger people may not relate to the railroads as us older folks. Take our younger generation now. Everything is electronics to them.
I have been in the hobby since the 60's with a gap for military service, but have been learning skills to enable me to put my plans into reality with my railroad. Over the years, especially I would say in the last five to ten years, the availability of different products, such as building kits, rolling stock and locomotives have improved drastically over what we had years ago. Unfortunately though, The prices have also jumped quite a bit in recent years. Yes, the quality is quite a bit better than years ago, but with our present economy, I know that I am watching what I spend, and I have cut back the budget for the hobby quite a bit.
It's going to be interesting to see where the hobby goes in the future. There are quite a lot of us die hard model railroaders, but where are uor younger people seeming to be more interested in their electronics and video games, will many get interested in actually using their minds and hands in a hobby like model railroading. They may have to think !

 

[Boris]

This is a common thread since the mid 1960s when "slot cars" were going to take over MR, then it was "hot wheels", then "radio control" airplanes, etc. Now the big "threat" is video games. A model train is pretty mundane (and expensive) compared to the latest zombie shoot them up, race cars, and Lego world things available to everyone today.

Personally this has been the most "train inactive" year I have had in a long time. Spending too much time renovating the "new" house and taking care of my aging father.

As far as activity on this forum, it has always been rather slow if you ask me. The on line stats show hundreds of people reading the various sections, but very little posting. What are all these people reading?

Not for nothing, but today, a lot of people are "helpless", and wait for someone to "do" for them. Video games are quite passive, requiring quick hands from the end user, but no thought process or creativity, only reaction.

Model railroading, requires space for a layout, some effort to assemble bench work, run basic wiring, and some creativity in making a scene. Only after these basics are completed, can the fun of running a railroad begin.
The gratification is not instant, but comes over time,......even with R-T-R.

However, as was frequently noted, society runs various phases, and trends that are here today and gone tomorrow. As long as there are those interested, there will be hobbies.

 

[DJtrains]

Not for nothing, but today, a lot of people are "helpless", and wait for someone to "do" for them.

Boy, that is the truth. It's really scary today how the young generation is so dependent.

Up here in northern, Michigan, many live with (and off) mom & dad or grandpa and grandma. I realize there are young folks who do well today but so many leach off kin and have no plans for the future.

The housing market value has dropped 50% to 70% in our area since 2000. Someone recently told me of a spectacular lake house that was financed at $750,000 15 years ago just recently sold for under $300,000.

Also northern Michigan is losing the people with big retirements (mostly from Ford, GM) and few can afford the high taxes and original costs of their retirement homes.

I've noticed we're getting lots of Chinese. In fact, a high percentage of our new doctors seem to be Chinese. America's demographics are changing rapidly.

 

[bjpmtravis87]

Interest in Model Railroading

Hi DJ Trains,
You bet our demographics are changing. You see kids with little drive and planning for the future.
The good news! You have more Chinese families moving into the area. There was never a Chinese family that didn't DRIVE their kids to succeed and school and in life.
Wish we had more.

 

[DJtrains]

Hi DJ Trains,
You bet our demographics are changing. You see kids with little drive and planning for the future.
The good news! You have more Chinese families moving into the area. There was never a Chinese family that didn't DRIVE their kids to succeed and school and in life.
Wish we had more.

I agree.

The nationality doesn't really matter. What matters is a good work ethic. Lets pray the country isn't ruined so the work ethic thing can work. America needs big time help.