12 ms·

Enthusiasts struggle to keep model railway industry on track

123 points by austinallegro 3y ago

krupan 3y ago
All of you complaining about space, you just need to move to the country. I hear real estate in Missouri, Alabama, etc. is pretty reasonable.
- mildchalupa 3y ago
  That's like living in Ohio
euroderf 3y ago
Model railways versus video games: Decades(!) ago I read an essay wondering: What's the deal with model railroading ? What's the attraction ? Why are people compelled to build these little worlds and be their masters ? But then, heh, along came Sid Meyer's Civilization and scads of other world-building video games. So who's feeling compulsion nowadays ? Sitting on your duff in front of a video game for hours on end could seem somewhat inferior to actually using your hands to make and do things. I think a key to keeping the hobby alive might be to play up the modelling aspects. How often does one get to build a mountain ? Or a multimodal transportation system ?
NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
So we have a family friend who owns a model train shop, a very popular and notable one. He took it over from the original owner, and this fellow also has a private museum attached, where he exhibits vintage vehicles, typewriters, and other stuff: https://www.jacooleymuseum.com/ https://www.jacooleymuseum.com/ So one of his daughters was my friend and classmate, and when we were growing up, of course, her father was already collecting model trains, and he had so many that every shelf of their home was occupied with model trains of various types. My friend didn't visit many other homes when she was young, but once she finally went over to a friend's house, and she looked around, bewildered, and asked, "Where are all the trains?"
mattl 3y ago
Sad to see but my overlapping hobby (miniature wargaming) has some cross over and model train stuff is so expensive even compared to miniature wargaming which isn’t very cheap itself.
- neuronflux 3y ago
  Over COVID I couldn't wargame with friends in person, so I started an N scale railroad to fill the hobby void as they share a lot. Also it was fun doing all the automation etc as mentioned in other comments there. I've sold the railroad off since as I started wargaming again though.
polka_haunts_us 3y ago
Funny to see this now. A couple days ago I was on vacation in San Diego and visited the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park and a lot of the traffic flowing through my head about it are all points addressed in the above article: "Almost everyone working here is quite old" "The amount of space this takes up is incredible, I wonder how people get into this hobby, I've never lived anywhere where I'd have enough space to set up a model railway long term" It's kind of a shame too, it was the first time I think I've ever really appreciated the large scale model train installations. When I was younger I'd see them at random historical museums and mostly just think "yeah choo-choo sure does go in a circle haha". I think the San Diego museum did a good job of conveying that it isn't really just about the trains as much as it's about modeling the landscapes and towns the trains actually go through. Viewing it from the perspective of a massive scale diorama of some region really raised my overall appreciation for the whole endeavour.
- hakfoo 3y ago
  My father was an enthusiast. When we moved into their current house (1988), the builder had the option of a three-car garage or enclosing the third-car section, and that was intended as a railway room. He favoured the large German "LGB" trains, in part bought because they were among the more durable products on the market, so it would be child-resistant for the kids to use. He built the framework and a track plan but never really had the time he wanted to work on it. I, in turn, moved on to smaller American (HO scale) and British (OO) trains, using the same room, but now find that the tables designed for big 1:22.5 trains have irregularities enough to make 1:87 trackwork unreliable. Will probably need to rework them. The hobby itself has definitely changed though: Yes, today's modern models are higher quality than a lot of the old "Blue Box" Athearn kits, but they're also $50 instead of $7, and come ready-to-run, so the hobby aspect of building and customizing it is gone. Many models don't even come as an undecorated version anymore, if you wanted the classic "paint it for your own custom railway" narrative. You don't get the same "hours of fun per dollar" out of that side of the hobby anymore. What's interesting is that there's definitely an opportunity for synergy with the rise of hobby electronics-- the trains have moved from "variable DC on the rails" to "AC with a command bus" and sometimes even Bluetooth, so there's a lot of interesting stuff you could do with computer or microcontroller interfacing. I bought a project for an automatic traffic-signal design using some 555 timers and capacitors, and thought "this is 10 lines of code on a $3 Arduino, for this generation of hobbyists." Shops are closing-- I make it a point to try to find a model-railway shop and pick up something exotic when I go on holiday, but even pretty big cities don't have one, or it's a billion miles from anywhere. I was sort of saddened to get a note from Hattons (an excellent UK retailer-- surprisingly cheap shipping to the US) that they have started to wind down operations in the last month.
aaron695 3y ago
[dead]
eternityforest 3y ago
With the rise of 3D printing and wireless tech, what if we had a modular system of terrain pieces(Like Gridfinity), that could be set up temporarily at events? Every member of a club would only have to bring a small section but you could still do really big layouts
- kej 3y ago
  My dad's train club, and most of the others I'm aware of, have had modular set ups for about 40 years. They pick a standard for module sizes and where the track connections need to be, and then everyone can design their own module as they like.
  - femto 3y ago
    For example: NTRAK https://nrail.org/NTRAK-Home https://nrail.org/NTRAK-Home https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTrak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTrak
- krupan 3y ago
  Modular is how they’ve been doing it forever, just that a single module is roughly a 6 foot long table (my uncle did this, not me, so I don’t know the exact dimensions)
PeterStuer 3y ago
Even 40 years ago many opted for N scale because of space constraints. Clubs were almost always HO scale focused, since they had cheap or free accomodation often in semi abandoned rail hangars etc. As for age, it is not just the cost, but also the alienation of the young from messy analog physical dexterity, long low stimulus attention and slow progress in favor of high stimulus instant digital gratification.
- lainga 3y ago
  Great attitude. Hope it keeps your hobby going.
- thot_experiment 3y ago
  I know a lot of people who are into model building in the younger-millennial older gen-z age range. I am not convinced that this shift is particularly pronounced. I think the real problem is that y'all got houses to put a train set in for like $3.50 and the only people I know with houses are the ones who's parents put the money down and cosigned the loan. The models fit on a shelf in a tiny apartment with a roommate. Maybe vote to approve some apartment blocks and public transit next time around?
- wegfawefgawefg 3y ago
  I wish I could disagree with you. Since I moved out of my moms place I could not bring my 3d printers, cnc machine or electronics equipment. I simply cant fit it in this tiny apartment with my wife. I have lost these hobbies over the past two years to software entirely. Not necessarily a bad thing. I guess my point is, you can lose your slower hobbies without even realizing, just due to circumstance. It's not necessarily the younger generation's "fault". It is often just the emergent consequence of the situation.
- ThrowawayTestr 3y ago
  No it's because people don't have the space. Are you familiar at all with miniature painting or Gundam model building?
- morelisp 3y ago
  > the alienation of the young from messy analog physical dexterity, long low stimulus attention and slow progress I suggest any boomers with this attitude check out what the kids are doing with Gunpla and Warhammer. It's a space issue, not a "stimulus" or "physical dexterity" one.
euroderf 3y ago
> folk are always concerned it’ll die out. Not if my 4yo has anything to say about it. Upgrade path from Brio (wooden) to electric trains.
- dbish 3y ago
  Kids are funny. I’ve seen multiple go through being completely obsessed up to about 5 to losing interest and never looking at a model train again. I think there’s something about that young age that makes them particularly interested, but the likelihood of a long time mode train enthusiast seems to be quite low.
  - shagie 3y ago
    The predictability of the train can be good. While I can't find it at the moment, there was an article I recently read about how repetition (in the context of Good Night Moon(?)) and the ability to be able to predict the future is useful for early childhood learning and development. A train is very predictable - the sound, the motion, the path... for the same reason that children like having the same book read to them again and again, the train fills that role too.
  - sethhochberg 3y ago
    This was me as a kid. Whenever we'd drive past the local hobby shop I'd beg my dad to make a stop so we could go look at the display (and play with the various buttons they had that lit up lights, switched tracks, etc). I've long forgotten about model railroads and these days I live in small city apartments and move every few years, so even if I'd managed to retain the interest I have no practical way to build or store my own models, and generally prefer to spend money on experiences instead of things. I'm basically the problem millennial this whole thread is about.
  - throwaway421967 3y ago
    kind of reminds me of "Strong Ideas, Held Lightly"
  - euroderf 3y ago
    The way you put it, it sounds like a phase, like dinosaurs.
teeray 3y ago
I wonder if train simulators have filled this gap in younger populations that would have stepped into the hobby.
TacticalCoder 3y ago
I still have the Marklin HO model train from my youth. 40 years later it still works and kids love it (when we take it out). One winter we mixed it with Lego from the Harry Potter series and pretended the train was the one going to Hogwarts. Toys that still work 40 years later are amazing. Younger parents who didn't play with model trains are also in awe. For those who have enough room it's really a nice thing to do to play together with your kid(s). It s not crazy pricey either if you don't go wild.
- euroderf 3y ago
  > 40 years later it still works Years ago I read that Märklin held the record for an engine running continuously out-of-the-box. Like, it ran for two weeks solid before it finally melted down.
- Timothee 3y ago
  As a teenager I had a Marklin catalog that I kept for years. I spent a lot of time turning the pages to dream about all these models and layouts…
bb123 3y ago
Model trains require a large amount of dedicated indoor space. With millennials and zoomers frozen out of the housing market I expect a large proportion of them simply don't have the room.
- Timothee 3y ago
  I’d be curious how mobility plays into that as well. The YouTubers I see often seem to be well settled in their large-enough-for-the-hobby houses. If you end up moving often, or just _feel_ like you might have to, it’s more difficult to invest time and money into it.
  - ElevenLathe 3y ago
    I've just been thinking about this in terms of metalworking. I've long wanted to have a home lathe, welder, possibly milling machine or at least a drill press. I recently moved into a house with a sizable basement workshop space and am enjoying setting it up and doing some simple projects (none of those high-dollar tools yet, but I have a selection of files, rasps, a nice vice and workbench, etc.). The thing is, I don't expect I'll necessarily have this kind of space forever (and almost certainly not this particular one), so it's hard to justify things like cutting a hole in the side of the house to crane in an industrial lathe. I'm planning on getting more hobbyist-scale stuff (though still space-consuming) with a goal of using it to build my own, smaller, portable workshop (a small lathe, provisions for using it for milling, a selection of cutting tools and the necessary meta-tools to maintain them, a pack-up forge/foundry). The ultimate dream is something the size of approximately a (possibly large) suitcase or footlocker that can be used to recreate itself (think RepRap but a whole, miniature machine shop), so that I can 1) continue in my hobby even if I have to move into an apartment, and 2) share this with other people by helping them bootstrap something similar. The David A. Gingery book series ("Build Your Own Machine Shop From Scrap") is my inspiration here, though so much of the series would be a lot easier if you could start with some existing machine tools instead of having to do literally all of it from scratch).
    - jacquesm 3y ago
AlbertCory 3y ago
How about real trains you can ride on? https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/historic-bay-area-model-railroad-steaming-off-to-new-home-on-central-coast/3301365/ https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/historic-bay-area-mode... There's another one in the hills above Palo Alto that's open to the public once a year. Now I can't find it online. Anyone? It's not Roaring Camp. This was a real train on private land, with a machine shop and a crew of volunteers. It had a loop of several miles.
- adamredwoods 3y ago
  Portola Valley: https://www.pvarr.org/ https://www.pvarr.org/ I've ridden on the Roaring Camp Railroad, but not the Portola Valley one.
  - AlbertCory 3y ago
    that's it. thanks.
- mrandish 3y ago
  In my suburban area of N.Cal (outside the bay area) we have a huge, well-appointed central train museum housed in the former regional central station were volunteer docents in period costume give tours. It's a popular weekend attraction that draws tourists and during the week is a regular field trip for the schools in the region. They also do regular rides on period trains on several miles of closed track and occasional longer runs on public track. A big part of it is funded by doing interactive Polar Express recreation trip/shows complete with singing, dancing, hot cocoa, cookies and a visit by Santa. They do two trips every day and three on weekends from before Thanksgiving to Christmas, each with several hundred passengers. It's a great experience that's pure magic for kids. The whole thing is done with top-notch production value and officially licensed by Disney. Tickets aren't cheap but well-worth the price and always sold-out with long waiting lists. When our kid was that age, getting tickets was challenging enough that we just got a yearly family membership to the museum to ensure priority selection and it became a tradition our kid still talks about every holiday. If you have (or know) kids of that age, check if there's similar holiday train excursions in your area. We also have several smaller train clubs in the surrounding suburbs and rural areas including a couple who own and run full-sized trains on a few miles of closed track they maintain. There are also several large area parks which host clubs that run smaller "kiddie-style" trains on loops of around a half-mile. These are generally run by volunteers and free/donation. So at least in our area, I'm happy to report that train hobbies seem to be doing pretty well, although I don't know about the home-based scale train end of things.
lnrd 3y ago
I think what drew people to model trains was the ability to create and automate your tracks. It's an interesting and fun thing to do, basically designing a system and going trough all the small things needed to make it work. I can see how today this itch can be scratched by many different videogames (Factorio, just to give one example), while decades ago it was either model train or nothing much else. I think younger generations are drawn to cheaper and easier to access forms of entertainment that provide similar intellectual experience. It's a shame for the hobby, but I find it a very reasonable thing to happen.
- jonathanlydall 3y ago
  My thoughts too. When I was little my brothers and I played a lot together with Lego. Now we’re all over 40 and occasionally play on a heavily modded Minecraft server to scratch that itch. In many ways it’s so much more practical, essentially unlimited building materials with no real cost, no issue with physical space in the house, we can do it casually in the evenings while doing voice calls on Discord, no unpacking or packing up needed before or after. There are even great rail cart mods for those interested in track switching type activities. We make a point of doing in person LANs about every quarter, also for old times sake.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    Some of my friends are even already doing the meet ups in VR.
- jprete 3y ago
  I think this is the best explanation. I myself spent enormous time on Factorio "model trains" and it was even better because my train decisions were always motivated by an external requirement in the game. Model trains by themselves feel a little more sterile in comparison because they're disconnected from the rest of the world.
- lupusreal 3y ago
  Honorable mention for OpenTTD
londons_explore 3y ago
I understand why model trains used to be expensive - they had hundreds of handmade parts. But every other toy industry has taken on mass production and most toys can now be produced mostly by machine for cents. Yet still model trains are beyond the budget of most 8 year olds.
- crote 3y ago
  Part of me feels like this is simply the result of it being an aged hobby. When most of the people involved in the hobby are of retirement age with plenty of money to spare, why would anyone try to compete on price?
  - londons_explore 3y ago
    When those people die, model railway companies better be quick to start releasing sub-$10 models to entice the next generation... And while we're at it, lets add moving block signalling, app-control, departure boards and other 20th century features...
- bombcar 3y ago
  Model trains aren't toys, that's the problem. Toy trains are available and cheap(ish) - but they are often not really the same as models. https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/freight-train-60336 https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/freight-train-60336 is a toy train that's $200 for a "full kit" But I haven't seen an HO-scale toy train in ages, sometimes around Christmas you see the "larger toy train around the train" style thing for $50-150.
- IshKebab 3y ago
  That may have been why they were expensive in the past, but now it's pretty clear that they're expensive because they are niche and their buyers are old people with money.
Waterluvian 3y ago
My dad’s building a 1/12th scale railway at the cottage. Apparently demand is picking up according to a mom and pop shop he bought from, who suggested more boomers are retiring.
rithikjainNd01 3y ago
Im so sad about this. I am 24, and have loved Model Trains my whole life. I grew up in India, where there was no model railroading scene (I picked it up as a toddler in the UK). My drive for moving abroad was to have the space to make my own model train set. I got lucky and we made it to the States when I turned 18. But I still need to earn, get a house, before I can build my layout. Hope it sticks around until then. My heart aches, I have such a passion for model trains. I’ve taken a few friends to shops and they always found it interesting. But no one buys anything. I don’t think kids will ever get into this, I blame the babyfication of Thomas and Friends more than anything else.
smm11 3y ago
I've rebuilt a 40s-era Lionel train track system (mostly replaced the power plug to the control box), and ordered an AFX track from ebay just yesterday. The sizes don't mesh, but both are going on a plywood layout in the garage.
i_don_t_know 3y ago
Meanwhile in Hamburg, Germany: https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com
- em-bee 3y ago
  also in germany: east german model train manufacturer piko is expecting rising sales: https://bahnblogstelle.com/211153/eisenbahn-im-kleinformat-piko-erwartet-steigende-nachfrage/ https://bahnblogstelle.com/211153/eisenbahn-im-kleinformat-p... Modelleisenbahnfans in Deutschland steckten nach seinen Angaben im vergangenen Jahr angesichts gestiegener Lebenshaltungskosten weniger Geld in ihr Hobby. Deshalb habe sich der Umsatz etwas schwächer entwickelt als erhofft. Er habe aber gut ein Drittel über dem des Vor-Corona-Jahres 2019 gelegen. Und weil sich der Spielwarenmarkt einschließlich Modellbahnen 2023 eher rückläufig entwickelten, habe Piko Marktanteile gewinnen können. roghly translated: because of rising living costs model railway fans spent less money on their hobby in the last year. therefore revenue increased slower than expected, but it was still one third over 2019. and because the whole toy industry including model railways shrank somewhat in 2023, piko was able to gain marketshare.
MentallyRetired 3y ago
I dabble, but much like RC cars, video games have choked out another physical hobby.
1oooqooq 3y ago
How long until we have model networking? tiny racks filled with tiny Cisco routers. with tiny cables management and tiny blinking LEDs everywhere. You can even add buttons to simulate solar storms on your tiny microwave antena model which would change how the blinking lights work on the tiny routers. And if you want to splurge like some train modelers do with fake grass and such you can maybe even go for the middle manager model as if it's walking around the server room as he tries to avoid the CEO that day.
- zeusk 3y ago
  Have you looked at /r/homelab?
  - 1oooqooq 3y ago
    They are the prime market. With the space they got for their measly single rack they could emulate an entire regional branch!
- d0gsg0w00f 3y ago
  I had a lot of fun with my capstone project on GNS3
- robotguy 3y ago
  https://www.miniatua.com/work/ibm1401/ https://www.miniatua.com/work/ibm1401/
  - 1oooqooq 3y ago
    holy shit
KolmogorovComp 3y ago
I wonder if this also a consequence of the commodization of travel in general and daily commute in particular. Taking the train (also applies to the plane), is much less an 'experience' that it was 50 years ago, and so the prestige around these objects also diminish, effectively reducing their value as toys too.
crote 3y ago
As a younger person who in theory is interested in model railways, the sad truth is that the drawbacks simply outweigh the benefits. Model trains are physically large, so building a layout in my apartment is pretty much impossible. They are extremely expensive, and if you want to get something which can do more than literally run around in a circle you're looking at a $X000 setup cost. The "sexy" part (digitally controlling the trains) seems to be pretty much stuck with poorly-designed protocols from the 80s. I like trains. I like DIY electronics. I like 3D printing. But given the barrier to entry, I'll just stick with OpenTTD or some kind of Euro Train Simulator game. My friends are into Warhammer and DIY racing drones. If those hobbies have no trouble attracting younger people, the problem here really isn't young people's interest.
- kiwih 3y ago
  I've recently been designing a custom implementation of a DCC controller for a new model railroad I'm setting up - what don't you like about the protocol? I find the protocol fascinating in that the data signal is combined with the power, so you just run everything over the two tracks. Further, a transmitter is just a simple H-bridge that costs pennies...
  - AnonymousPlanet 3y ago
    It gets hacky when you want to read out CVs, since the DCC protocol is one way only. You need a good current sensor since most decoders encode the values into the current flow using the motor. It's a cute hack and somehow akin to morseing out with power LEDs.
mbutler4 3y ago
This is a bit sad for a number of reasons: my dad used to have a setup when I was a kid, I had sets as a kid, and the Tech Model Railroad Club (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club) was a source of inspiration to me as a kid with a computer and a train set.... It's sad to see this appearing to trail off, but I agree with a previous poster, I think the retirement of more baby boomers and their nostalgia may yet give the market a boost.
mmmBacon 3y ago
I don’t think this is just model trains. I recently took an interest in naval history and became interested in building a scale model of USS Missouri or Iowa. After researching how I could produce a realistic looking teak deck, I realized how big the model would be and how I don’t have the space for that.
Damogran6 3y ago
Son is into R/C Drifting. He's 21 and throws a considereable amount of money at it (though not crazy when you consider what Records/Cassettes/CDs cost in the 80's) There's a crazy national involvement and it's pretty common to see two dozen guys watching the cars drift around the circut on Thursdays-Sunday nights. The cars are crazy with LiPO amperages and full suspensions, active cooling, and programmable throttle profiles. I guess the point is: It's social, and in-person, and has a lot of similarities to something model trains in a communal location would provide.
- quasse 3y ago
  I'm glad R/C seems to be shifting to meet a younger demographic in a way that model railroading hasn't been able to. I recently bought an ARRMA and I'm blown away by how powerful it is compared to the Tamiya and HPI stuff I grew up with. It's fun to see the new R/C sports (drifting) and twists on existing hobbies (FPV becoming a new focus in R/C planes).
PLenz 3y ago
Model railroading is D&D for non-fantasy folks. And I say this as a model railroader
dver 3y ago
Here's a layout I've been following: https://www.youtube.com/@rcgrabbag https://www.youtube.com/@rcgrabbag Easily highlights the issues in messages here, takes room, time and money to do this.
- pjd7 3y ago
  Yup, been following this build as well. There are plenty of other decent layouts that can be built in a shed, half a room etc. A different aspect is the shunting layout, this guy's channel is amazing. https://www.youtube.com/@boomerdioramas https://www.youtube.com/@boomerdioramas
MPSimmons 3y ago
Please don't let this hobby die - this is my plan for when I'm too old and jaded to do this anymore
Animats 3y ago
"Model Railroading is Fun!" Model Railroader magazine used to put that on their cover, perhaps in hopes of convincing people. They've been acquired by Kalmbach Media, which also owns "Trains", "Garden Railways", etc., along with "Astronomy" and "Discover". At full scale, the Pacific Locomotive Association, which runs the Niles Canyon Railway, seems to be hanging on. Those operations are high-maintenance and require many hours of volunteer labor.
- euroderf 3y ago
  For some reason Kalmbach Media kinda seems like a racket. What ever happened to competitors like Railroad Model Craftsman magazine ?
deleted 3y ago
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kleiba 3y ago
Setting up the old model train set surely must be on a lot of folk's bucket list. I for one definitely will set mine up one more time when I'm retired. Although I have never done that as an adult. But I think it's such a fantastic hobby to have. Everyone who prefers a virtual alternative in form of a video game is nuts! I cannot even see much similarity between the two, unless creating and automating tracks is really what you find interesting about the hobby (as lnrd hypothesizes). To me, that is the least interesting thing about it. It's not about creating a run of tracks, it's about creating a corner of the world. The scenery, the (long) building process, the hidden gems and stories... For many, it's also about being in a club, the community... you know, like, in the old sense of the word, not the internet sense of the word. The article makes a good point that we should actually be living in a golden age of model building. Twenty, thirty years ago, it was much harder to come by supplies while in the globalized world we live in today, everything is just an online order away. But of course that also makes it much harder for your local shop to survive. Also: youtube channel tip: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjRkUtHQ774mTg1vrQ6uA5A https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjRkUtHQ774mTg1vrQ6uA5A
h2odragon 3y ago
Keeping track and wheels clean enough to transmit power to rolling stock sucks. what we need is "self powered": https://hackaday.com/2022/09/21/3d-print-yourself-a-tiny-steam-train-complete-with-smoke-effects/ https://hackaday.com/2022/09/21/3d-print-yourself-a-tiny-ste... Now we've got plenty of battery to make that viable; and the radio technology to control the engines remotely cheap. once the industry works that change out and grovelling over you contact path is eliminated; they'll have a boom. People will want to buy bare chassis units and 3d print their own model shells to put on them. A couple of industry standards about sizes and battery connectors and they could get somewhere, kick off a hobbyist reseller market, like people painting figurines for tabletop games. More likely "private equity" will buy up the existing market it; milk it til it dies; then sell the shell to some litigious patent shark vulture outfit. "The community" will have to invent new standards on its own; which i believe may be underway.
karaokeyoga 3y ago
Rod Stewart is a huge enthusiast: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50403561 https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50403561
pjd7 3y ago
I'm 41, just recently got back into the hobby. Have rejoined the local club I was a member of as a teen. Membership average age is like 50-60ish. We do have about 10-15% of members like me under 50. Some even in their 20s. Doesn't seem quite like its in too much trouble around here. The pool is shirking with apartment living becoming more normal though in the area. But maybe because this is a club with its own layouts that members can use is one way for the hobby to survive & thrive. There are 5 layouts, 2 in N scale. 3 in HO. 3 of the layouts are able to be broken down and put on a trailer and taken to an exhibition. I do think that home built & run layouts are probably on the decline with cost of living & housing so high compared to years past. But I think club layouts that members can use is a way to help keep the hobby relevant. There are cool projects like https://dcc-ex.com/index.html https://dcc-ex.com/index.html and arduino based control for layout automation bits. That historically cost a lot. My observations of the US is that mostly ready to run models are sold now, haven't seen too many kit makers around for US stuff. Still kit makers for Australian & NZ stuff. With some decent ready to run Australian prototype available now. The next house will have a train room or area of the garage available. This is definetly a middle class hobby. Its not cheap. I have wanted to work with my hands again. Sitting at a computer all day or parts of the evening playing video games is only so fun. Would rather build something physical.
nickhalfasleep 3y ago
The hobby is changing, more people build modules or small shelf layouts that emphasize a particular scene or prototype behavior. The large layouts are less often built, due mostly to the amount of maintenance needed. Most young enthusiasts don’t show up at the traditional clubs or shows, there are quite a few nice private forums out there for younger work.
jacquesm 3y ago
The fun of a model train is in the building and as a kid I really could spend time with this (on other people's train setups because I really didn't have the money to spend on something like this and if I did have it I would have probably spent it on books, electronics tooling or computing gear instead). But once it is done it's done, there is zero fun in watching trains run around.
rplst8 3y ago
One of the giants in this industry, Lionel, has been struggling for the last 30 or so years to stay alive. It’s been through several sales and I think two bankruptcies. One thing about them though is they continue to innovate with new ways to put effects into their locomotives. Other companies have contributed as well, like MTH, ESU LocSound, SoundTrax, Broadway Limited, and others. Model trains have a pretty loyal following, but the industry continues to narrow year after year. IMHO all of these companies, but particularly Lionel and MTH missed out big time in the “maker movement” due to their closed, proprietary command and control systems. The patents have expired though, and many people have started to reverse engineer everything about them. I think they also have completely failed on the marketing aspects of their businesses. Model trains have so many educational opportunities, and pitting this against video games could be a big win for them IMHO. The great thing for programmers and engineering types is it’s low threat to us since there is still a lot of software and hardware that could be built around model train products in the form of control and automation, and maybe even gamification of the operations of a model railroad. But all of this is coming from a long time model train (and real train) enthusiast who is software engineer by day, so I’m biased.
hoseja 3y ago
Put giant pauldrons on them.
Justsignedup 3y ago
I played Satisfactory and Factorio. Plenty of fun to be had with trains in those games. Definitely scratched that itch, and I didn't need to buy a bunch of expensive physical pieces.

123 points by austinallegro 3y ago

All of you complaining about space, you just need to move to the country. I hear real estate in Missouri, Alabama, etc. is pretty reasonable.

mildchalupa 3y ago
That's like living in Ohio

euroderf 3y ago

Model railways versus video games: Decades(!) ago I read an essay wondering: What's the deal with model railroading ? What's the attraction ? Why are people compelled to build these little worlds and be their masters ? But then, heh, along came Sid Meyer's Civilization and scads of other world-building video games. So who's feeling compulsion nowadays ? Sitting on your duff in front of a video game for hours on end could seem somewhat inferior to actually using your hands to make and do things. I think a key to keeping the hobby alive might be to play up the modelling aspects. How often does one get to build a mountain ? Or a multimodal transportation system ?

NoZebra120vClip 3y ago

So we have a family friend who owns a model train shop, a very popular and notable one. He took it over from the original owner, and this fellow also has a private museum attached, where he exhibits vintage vehicles, typewriters, and other stuff: https://www.jacooleymuseum.com/ https://www.jacooleymuseum.com/ So one of his daughters was my friend and classmate, and when we were growing up, of course, her father was already collecting model trains, and he had so many that every shelf of their home was occupied with model trains of various types. My friend didn't visit many other homes when she was young, but once she finally went over to a friend's house, and she looked around, bewildered, and asked, "Where are all the trains?"

mattl 3y ago

Sad to see but my overlapping hobby (miniature wargaming) has some cross over and model train stuff is so expensive even compared to miniature wargaming which isn’t very cheap itself.

neuronflux 3y ago
Over COVID I couldn't wargame with friends in person, so I started an N scale railroad to fill the hobby void as they share a lot. Also it was fun doing all the automation etc as mentioned in other comments there. I've sold the railroad off since as I started wargaming again though.

polka_haunts_us 3y ago

Funny to see this now. A couple days ago I was on vacation in San Diego and visited the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park and a lot of the traffic flowing through my head about it are all points addressed in the above article: "Almost everyone working here is quite old" "The amount of space this takes up is incredible, I wonder how people get into this hobby, I've never lived anywhere where I'd have enough space to set up a model railway long term" It's kind of a shame too, it was the first time I think I've ever really appreciated the large scale model train installations. When I was younger I'd see them at random historical museums and mostly just think "yeah choo-choo sure does go in a circle haha". I think the San Diego museum did a good job of conveying that it isn't really just about the trains as much as it's about modeling the landscapes and towns the trains actually go through. Viewing it from the perspective of a massive scale diorama of some region really raised my overall appreciation for the whole endeavour.

hakfoo 3y ago
My father was an enthusiast. When we moved into their current house (1988), the builder had the option of a three-car garage or enclosing the third-car section, and that was intended as a railway room. He favoured the large German "LGB" trains, in part bought because they were among the more durable products on the market, so it would be child-resistant for the kids to use. He built the framework and a track plan but never really had the time he wanted to work on it. I, in turn, moved on to smaller American (HO scale) and British (OO) trains, using the same room, but now find that the tables designed for big 1:22.5 trains have irregularities enough to make 1:87 trackwork unreliable. Will probably need to rework them. The hobby itself has definitely changed though: Yes, today's modern models are higher quality than a lot of the old "Blue Box" Athearn kits, but they're also $50 instead of $7, and come ready-to-run, so the hobby aspect of building and customizing it is gone. Many models don't even come as an undecorated version anymore, if you wanted the classic "paint it for your own custom railway" narrative. You don't get the same "hours of fun per dollar" out of that side of the hobby anymore. What's interesting is that there's definitely an opportunity for synergy with the rise of hobby electronics-- the trains have moved from "variable DC on the rails" to "AC with a command bus" and sometimes even Bluetooth, so there's a lot of interesting stuff you could do with computer or microcontroller interfacing. I bought a project for an automatic traffic-signal design using some 555 timers and capacitors, and thought "this is 10 lines of code on a $3 Arduino, for this generation of hobbyists." Shops are closing-- I make it a point to try to find a model-railway shop and pick up something exotic when I go on holiday, but even pretty big cities don't have one, or it's a billion miles from anywhere. I was sort of saddened to get a note from Hattons (an excellent UK retailer-- surprisingly cheap shipping to the US) that they have started to wind down operations in the last month.

aaron695 3y ago

[dead]

eternityforest 3y ago

With the rise of 3D printing and wireless tech, what if we had a modular system of terrain pieces(Like Gridfinity), that could be set up temporarily at events? Every member of a club would only have to bring a small section but you could still do really big layouts

kej 3y ago
My dad's train club, and most of the others I'm aware of, have had modular set ups for about 40 years. They pick a standard for module sizes and where the track connections need to be, and then everyone can design their own module as they like.
- femto 3y ago
  For example: NTRAK https://nrail.org/NTRAK-Home https://nrail.org/NTRAK-Home https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTrak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTrak
krupan 3y ago
Modular is how they’ve been doing it forever, just that a single module is roughly a 6 foot long table (my uncle did this, not me, so I don’t know the exact dimensions)

PeterStuer 3y ago

Even 40 years ago many opted for N scale because of space constraints. Clubs were almost always HO scale focused, since they had cheap or free accomodation often in semi abandoned rail hangars etc. As for age, it is not just the cost, but also the alienation of the young from messy analog physical dexterity, long low stimulus attention and slow progress in favor of high stimulus instant digital gratification.

lainga 3y ago
Great attitude. Hope it keeps your hobby going.
thot_experiment 3y ago
I know a lot of people who are into model building in the younger-millennial older gen-z age range. I am not convinced that this shift is particularly pronounced. I think the real problem is that y'all got houses to put a train set in for like $3.50 and the only people I know with houses are the ones who's parents put the money down and cosigned the loan. The models fit on a shelf in a tiny apartment with a roommate. Maybe vote to approve some apartment blocks and public transit next time around?
wegfawefgawefg 3y ago
I wish I could disagree with you. Since I moved out of my moms place I could not bring my 3d printers, cnc machine or electronics equipment. I simply cant fit it in this tiny apartment with my wife. I have lost these hobbies over the past two years to software entirely. Not necessarily a bad thing. I guess my point is, you can lose your slower hobbies without even realizing, just due to circumstance. It's not necessarily the younger generation's "fault". It is often just the emergent consequence of the situation.
ThrowawayTestr 3y ago
No it's because people don't have the space. Are you familiar at all with miniature painting or Gundam model building?
morelisp 3y ago
> the alienation of the young from messy analog physical dexterity, long low stimulus attention and slow progress I suggest any boomers with this attitude check out what the kids are doing with Gunpla and Warhammer. It's a space issue, not a "stimulus" or "physical dexterity" one.

euroderf 3y ago

> folk are always concerned it’ll die out. Not if my 4yo has anything to say about it. Upgrade path from Brio (wooden) to electric trains.

dbish 3y ago
Kids are funny. I’ve seen multiple go through being completely obsessed up to about 5 to losing interest and never looking at a model train again. I think there’s something about that young age that makes them particularly interested, but the likelihood of a long time mode train enthusiast seems to be quite low.
- shagie 3y ago
  The predictability of the train can be good. While I can't find it at the moment, there was an article I recently read about how repetition (in the context of Good Night Moon(?)) and the ability to be able to predict the future is useful for early childhood learning and development. A train is very predictable - the sound, the motion, the path... for the same reason that children like having the same book read to them again and again, the train fills that role too.
- sethhochberg 3y ago
  This was me as a kid. Whenever we'd drive past the local hobby shop I'd beg my dad to make a stop so we could go look at the display (and play with the various buttons they had that lit up lights, switched tracks, etc). I've long forgotten about model railroads and these days I live in small city apartments and move every few years, so even if I'd managed to retain the interest I have no practical way to build or store my own models, and generally prefer to spend money on experiences instead of things. I'm basically the problem millennial this whole thread is about.
- throwaway421967 3y ago
  kind of reminds me of "Strong Ideas, Held Lightly"
- euroderf 3y ago
  The way you put it, it sounds like a phase, like dinosaurs.

teeray 3y ago

I wonder if train simulators have filled this gap in younger populations that would have stepped into the hobby.

TacticalCoder 3y ago

I still have the Marklin HO model train from my youth. 40 years later it still works and kids love it (when we take it out). One winter we mixed it with Lego from the Harry Potter series and pretended the train was the one going to Hogwarts. Toys that still work 40 years later are amazing. Younger parents who didn't play with model trains are also in awe. For those who have enough room it's really a nice thing to do to play together with your kid(s). It s not crazy pricey either if you don't go wild.

euroderf 3y ago
> 40 years later it still works Years ago I read that Märklin held the record for an engine running continuously out-of-the-box. Like, it ran for two weeks solid before it finally melted down.
Timothee 3y ago
As a teenager I had a Marklin catalog that I kept for years. I spent a lot of time turning the pages to dream about all these models and layouts…

bb123 3y ago

Model trains require a large amount of dedicated indoor space. With millennials and zoomers frozen out of the housing market I expect a large proportion of them simply don't have the room.

Timothee 3y ago
I’d be curious how mobility plays into that as well. The YouTubers I see often seem to be well settled in their large-enough-for-the-hobby houses. If you end up moving often, or just _feel_ like you might have to, it’s more difficult to invest time and money into it.
- ElevenLathe 3y ago
  I've just been thinking about this in terms of metalworking. I've long wanted to have a home lathe, welder, possibly milling machine or at least a drill press. I recently moved into a house with a sizable basement workshop space and am enjoying setting it up and doing some simple projects (none of those high-dollar tools yet, but I have a selection of files, rasps, a nice vice and workbench, etc.). The thing is, I don't expect I'll necessarily have this kind of space forever (and almost certainly not this particular one), so it's hard to justify things like cutting a hole in the side of the house to crane in an industrial lathe. I'm planning on getting more hobbyist-scale stuff (though still space-consuming) with a goal of using it to build my own, smaller, portable workshop (a small lathe, provisions for using it for milling, a selection of cutting tools and the necessary meta-tools to maintain them, a pack-up forge/foundry). The ultimate dream is something the size of approximately a (possibly large) suitcase or footlocker that can be used to recreate itself (think RepRap but a whole, miniature machine shop), so that I can 1) continue in my hobby even if I have to move into an apartment, and 2) share this with other people by helping them bootstrap something similar. The David A. Gingery book series ("Build Your Own Machine Shop From Scrap") is my inspiration here, though so much of the series would be a lot easier if you could start with some existing machine tools instead of having to do literally all of it from scratch).
  - jacquesm 3y ago

AlbertCory 3y ago

How about real trains you can ride on? https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/historic-bay-area-model-railroad-steaming-off-to-new-home-on-central-coast/3301365/ https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/historic-bay-area-mode... There's another one in the hills above Palo Alto that's open to the public once a year. Now I can't find it online. Anyone? It's not Roaring Camp. This was a real train on private land, with a machine shop and a crew of volunteers. It had a loop of several miles.

adamredwoods 3y ago
Portola Valley: https://www.pvarr.org/ https://www.pvarr.org/ I've ridden on the Roaring Camp Railroad, but not the Portola Valley one.
- AlbertCory 3y ago
  that's it. thanks.
mrandish 3y ago
In my suburban area of N.Cal (outside the bay area) we have a huge, well-appointed central train museum housed in the former regional central station were volunteer docents in period costume give tours. It's a popular weekend attraction that draws tourists and during the week is a regular field trip for the schools in the region. They also do regular rides on period trains on several miles of closed track and occasional longer runs on public track. A big part of it is funded by doing interactive Polar Express recreation trip/shows complete with singing, dancing, hot cocoa, cookies and a visit by Santa. They do two trips every day and three on weekends from before Thanksgiving to Christmas, each with several hundred passengers. It's a great experience that's pure magic for kids. The whole thing is done with top-notch production value and officially licensed by Disney. Tickets aren't cheap but well-worth the price and always sold-out with long waiting lists. When our kid was that age, getting tickets was challenging enough that we just got a yearly family membership to the museum to ensure priority selection and it became a tradition our kid still talks about every holiday. If you have (or know) kids of that age, check if there's similar holiday train excursions in your area. We also have several smaller train clubs in the surrounding suburbs and rural areas including a couple who own and run full-sized trains on a few miles of closed track they maintain. There are also several large area parks which host clubs that run smaller "kiddie-style" trains on loops of around a half-mile. These are generally run by volunteers and free/donation. So at least in our area, I'm happy to report that train hobbies seem to be doing pretty well, although I don't know about the home-based scale train end of things.

lnrd 3y ago

I think what drew people to model trains was the ability to create and automate your tracks. It's an interesting and fun thing to do, basically designing a system and going trough all the small things needed to make it work. I can see how today this itch can be scratched by many different videogames (Factorio, just to give one example), while decades ago it was either model train or nothing much else. I think younger generations are drawn to cheaper and easier to access forms of entertainment that provide similar intellectual experience. It's a shame for the hobby, but I find it a very reasonable thing to happen.

jonathanlydall 3y ago
My thoughts too. When I was little my brothers and I played a lot together with Lego. Now we’re all over 40 and occasionally play on a heavily modded Minecraft server to scratch that itch. In many ways it’s so much more practical, essentially unlimited building materials with no real cost, no issue with physical space in the house, we can do it casually in the evenings while doing voice calls on Discord, no unpacking or packing up needed before or after. There are even great rail cart mods for those interested in track switching type activities. We make a point of doing in person LANs about every quarter, also for old times sake.
- fragmede 3y ago
  Some of my friends are even already doing the meet ups in VR.
jprete 3y ago
I think this is the best explanation. I myself spent enormous time on Factorio "model trains" and it was even better because my train decisions were always motivated by an external requirement in the game. Model trains by themselves feel a little more sterile in comparison because they're disconnected from the rest of the world.
lupusreal 3y ago
Honorable mention for OpenTTD

londons_explore 3y ago

I understand why model trains used to be expensive - they had hundreds of handmade parts. But every other toy industry has taken on mass production and most toys can now be produced mostly by machine for cents. Yet still model trains are beyond the budget of most 8 year olds.

crote 3y ago
Part of me feels like this is simply the result of it being an aged hobby. When most of the people involved in the hobby are of retirement age with plenty of money to spare, why would anyone try to compete on price?
- londons_explore 3y ago
  When those people die, model railway companies better be quick to start releasing sub-$10 models to entice the next generation... And while we're at it, lets add moving block signalling, app-control, departure boards and other 20th century features...
bombcar 3y ago
Model trains aren't toys, that's the problem. Toy trains are available and cheap(ish) - but they are often not really the same as models. https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/freight-train-60336 https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/freight-train-60336 is a toy train that's $200 for a "full kit" But I haven't seen an HO-scale toy train in ages, sometimes around Christmas you see the "larger toy train around the train" style thing for $50-150.
IshKebab 3y ago
That may have been why they were expensive in the past, but now it's pretty clear that they're expensive because they are niche and their buyers are old people with money.

Waterluvian 3y ago

My dad’s building a 1/12th scale railway at the cottage. Apparently demand is picking up according to a mom and pop shop he bought from, who suggested more boomers are retiring.

rithikjainNd01 3y ago

Im so sad about this. I am 24, and have loved Model Trains my whole life. I grew up in India, where there was no model railroading scene (I picked it up as a toddler in the UK). My drive for moving abroad was to have the space to make my own model train set. I got lucky and we made it to the States when I turned 18. But I still need to earn, get a house, before I can build my layout. Hope it sticks around until then. My heart aches, I have such a passion for model trains. I’ve taken a few friends to shops and they always found it interesting. But no one buys anything. I don’t think kids will ever get into this, I blame the babyfication of Thomas and Friends more than anything else.

smm11 3y ago

I've rebuilt a 40s-era Lionel train track system (mostly replaced the power plug to the control box), and ordered an AFX track from ebay just yesterday. The sizes don't mesh, but both are going on a plywood layout in the garage.

i_don_t_know 3y ago

Meanwhile in Hamburg, Germany: https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com

em-bee 3y ago
also in germany: east german model train manufacturer piko is expecting rising sales: https://bahnblogstelle.com/211153/eisenbahn-im-kleinformat-piko-erwartet-steigende-nachfrage/ https://bahnblogstelle.com/211153/eisenbahn-im-kleinformat-p... Modelleisenbahnfans in Deutschland steckten nach seinen Angaben im vergangenen Jahr angesichts gestiegener Lebenshaltungskosten weniger Geld in ihr Hobby. Deshalb habe sich der Umsatz etwas schwächer entwickelt als erhofft. Er habe aber gut ein Drittel über dem des Vor-Corona-Jahres 2019 gelegen. Und weil sich der Spielwarenmarkt einschließlich Modellbahnen 2023 eher rückläufig entwickelten, habe Piko Marktanteile gewinnen können. roghly translated: because of rising living costs model railway fans spent less money on their hobby in the last year. therefore revenue increased slower than expected, but it was still one third over 2019. and because the whole toy industry including model railways shrank somewhat in 2023, piko was able to gain marketshare.

MentallyRetired 3y ago

I dabble, but much like RC cars, video games have choked out another physical hobby.

1oooqooq 3y ago

How long until we have model networking? tiny racks filled with tiny Cisco routers. with tiny cables management and tiny blinking LEDs everywhere. You can even add buttons to simulate solar storms on your tiny microwave antena model which would change how the blinking lights work on the tiny routers. And if you want to splurge like some train modelers do with fake grass and such you can maybe even go for the middle manager model as if it's walking around the server room as he tries to avoid the CEO that day.

zeusk 3y ago
Have you looked at /r/homelab?
- 1oooqooq 3y ago
  They are the prime market. With the space they got for their measly single rack they could emulate an entire regional branch!
d0gsg0w00f 3y ago
I had a lot of fun with my capstone project on GNS3
robotguy 3y ago
https://www.miniatua.com/work/ibm1401/ https://www.miniatua.com/work/ibm1401/
- 1oooqooq 3y ago
  holy shit

KolmogorovComp 3y ago

I wonder if this also a consequence of the commodization of travel in general and daily commute in particular. Taking the train (also applies to the plane), is much less an 'experience' that it was 50 years ago, and so the prestige around these objects also diminish, effectively reducing their value as toys too.

crote 3y ago

As a younger person who in theory is interested in model railways, the sad truth is that the drawbacks simply outweigh the benefits. Model trains are physically large, so building a layout in my apartment is pretty much impossible. They are extremely expensive, and if you want to get something which can do more than literally run around in a circle you're looking at a $X000 setup cost. The "sexy" part (digitally controlling the trains) seems to be pretty much stuck with poorly-designed protocols from the 80s. I like trains. I like DIY electronics. I like 3D printing. But given the barrier to entry, I'll just stick with OpenTTD or some kind of Euro Train Simulator game. My friends are into Warhammer and DIY racing drones. If those hobbies have no trouble attracting younger people, the problem here really isn't young people's interest.

kiwih 3y ago
I've recently been designing a custom implementation of a DCC controller for a new model railroad I'm setting up - what don't you like about the protocol? I find the protocol fascinating in that the data signal is combined with the power, so you just run everything over the two tracks. Further, a transmitter is just a simple H-bridge that costs pennies...
- AnonymousPlanet 3y ago
  It gets hacky when you want to read out CVs, since the DCC protocol is one way only. You need a good current sensor since most decoders encode the values into the current flow using the motor. It's a cute hack and somehow akin to morseing out with power LEDs.

mbutler4 3y ago

This is a bit sad for a number of reasons: my dad used to have a setup when I was a kid, I had sets as a kid, and the Tech Model Railroad Club (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club) was a source of inspiration to me as a kid with a computer and a train set.... It's sad to see this appearing to trail off, but I agree with a previous poster, I think the retirement of more baby boomers and their nostalgia may yet give the market a boost.

mmmBacon 3y ago

I don’t think this is just model trains. I recently took an interest in naval history and became interested in building a scale model of USS Missouri or Iowa. After researching how I could produce a realistic looking teak deck, I realized how big the model would be and how I don’t have the space for that.

Damogran6 3y ago

Son is into R/C Drifting. He's 21 and throws a considereable amount of money at it (though not crazy when you consider what Records/Cassettes/CDs cost in the 80's) There's a crazy national involvement and it's pretty common to see two dozen guys watching the cars drift around the circut on Thursdays-Sunday nights. The cars are crazy with LiPO amperages and full suspensions, active cooling, and programmable throttle profiles. I guess the point is: It's social, and in-person, and has a lot of similarities to something model trains in a communal location would provide.

quasse 3y ago
I'm glad R/C seems to be shifting to meet a younger demographic in a way that model railroading hasn't been able to. I recently bought an ARRMA and I'm blown away by how powerful it is compared to the Tamiya and HPI stuff I grew up with. It's fun to see the new R/C sports (drifting) and twists on existing hobbies (FPV becoming a new focus in R/C planes).

PLenz 3y ago

Model railroading is D&D for non-fantasy folks. And I say this as a model railroader

dver 3y ago

Here's a layout I've been following: https://www.youtube.com/@rcgrabbag https://www.youtube.com/@rcgrabbag Easily highlights the issues in messages here, takes room, time and money to do this.

pjd7 3y ago
Yup, been following this build as well. There are plenty of other decent layouts that can be built in a shed, half a room etc. A different aspect is the shunting layout, this guy's channel is amazing. https://www.youtube.com/@boomerdioramas https://www.youtube.com/@boomerdioramas

MPSimmons 3y ago

Please don't let this hobby die - this is my plan for when I'm too old and jaded to do this anymore

Animats 3y ago

"Model Railroading is Fun!" Model Railroader magazine used to put that on their cover, perhaps in hopes of convincing people. They've been acquired by Kalmbach Media, which also owns "Trains", "Garden Railways", etc., along with "Astronomy" and "Discover". At full scale, the Pacific Locomotive Association, which runs the Niles Canyon Railway, seems to be hanging on. Those operations are high-maintenance and require many hours of volunteer labor.

euroderf 3y ago
For some reason Kalmbach Media kinda seems like a racket. What ever happened to competitors like Railroad Model Craftsman magazine ?

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

kleiba 3y ago

Setting up the old model train set surely must be on a lot of folk's bucket list. I for one definitely will set mine up one more time when I'm retired. Although I have never done that as an adult. But I think it's such a fantastic hobby to have. Everyone who prefers a virtual alternative in form of a video game is nuts! I cannot even see much similarity between the two, unless creating and automating tracks is really what you find interesting about the hobby (as lnrd hypothesizes). To me, that is the least interesting thing about it. It's not about creating a run of tracks, it's about creating a corner of the world. The scenery, the (long) building process, the hidden gems and stories... For many, it's also about being in a club, the community... you know, like, in the old sense of the word, not the internet sense of the word. The article makes a good point that we should actually be living in a golden age of model building. Twenty, thirty years ago, it was much harder to come by supplies while in the globalized world we live in today, everything is just an online order away. But of course that also makes it much harder for your local shop to survive. Also: youtube channel tip: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjRkUtHQ774mTg1vrQ6uA5A https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjRkUtHQ774mTg1vrQ6uA5A

h2odragon 3y ago

Keeping track and wheels clean enough to transmit power to rolling stock sucks. what we need is "self powered": https://hackaday.com/2022/09/21/3d-print-yourself-a-tiny-steam-train-complete-with-smoke-effects/ https://hackaday.com/2022/09/21/3d-print-yourself-a-tiny-ste... Now we've got plenty of battery to make that viable; and the radio technology to control the engines remotely cheap. once the industry works that change out and grovelling over you contact path is eliminated; they'll have a boom. People will want to buy bare chassis units and 3d print their own model shells to put on them. A couple of industry standards about sizes and battery connectors and they could get somewhere, kick off a hobbyist reseller market, like people painting figurines for tabletop games. More likely "private equity" will buy up the existing market it; milk it til it dies; then sell the shell to some litigious patent shark vulture outfit. "The community" will have to invent new standards on its own; which i believe may be underway.

karaokeyoga 3y ago

Rod Stewart is a huge enthusiast: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50403561 https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50403561

pjd7 3y ago

I'm 41, just recently got back into the hobby. Have rejoined the local club I was a member of as a teen. Membership average age is like 50-60ish. We do have about 10-15% of members like me under 50. Some even in their 20s. Doesn't seem quite like its in too much trouble around here. The pool is shirking with apartment living becoming more normal though in the area. But maybe because this is a club with its own layouts that members can use is one way for the hobby to survive & thrive. There are 5 layouts, 2 in N scale. 3 in HO. 3 of the layouts are able to be broken down and put on a trailer and taken to an exhibition. I do think that home built & run layouts are probably on the decline with cost of living & housing so high compared to years past. But I think club layouts that members can use is a way to help keep the hobby relevant. There are cool projects like https://dcc-ex.com/index.html https://dcc-ex.com/index.html and arduino based control for layout automation bits. That historically cost a lot. My observations of the US is that mostly ready to run models are sold now, haven't seen too many kit makers around for US stuff. Still kit makers for Australian & NZ stuff. With some decent ready to run Australian prototype available now. The next house will have a train room or area of the garage available. This is definetly a middle class hobby. Its not cheap. I have wanted to work with my hands again. Sitting at a computer all day or parts of the evening playing video games is only so fun. Would rather build something physical.

nickhalfasleep 3y ago

The hobby is changing, more people build modules or small shelf layouts that emphasize a particular scene or prototype behavior. The large layouts are less often built, due mostly to the amount of maintenance needed. Most young enthusiasts don’t show up at the traditional clubs or shows, there are quite a few nice private forums out there for younger work.

jacquesm 3y ago

The fun of a model train is in the building and as a kid I really could spend time with this (on other people's train setups because I really didn't have the money to spend on something like this and if I did have it I would have probably spent it on books, electronics tooling or computing gear instead). But once it is done it's done, there is zero fun in watching trains run around.

rplst8 3y ago

One of the giants in this industry, Lionel, has been struggling for the last 30 or so years to stay alive. It’s been through several sales and I think two bankruptcies. One thing about them though is they continue to innovate with new ways to put effects into their locomotives. Other companies have contributed as well, like MTH, ESU LocSound, SoundTrax, Broadway Limited, and others. Model trains have a pretty loyal following, but the industry continues to narrow year after year. IMHO all of these companies, but particularly Lionel and MTH missed out big time in the “maker movement” due to their closed, proprietary command and control systems. The patents have expired though, and many people have started to reverse engineer everything about them. I think they also have completely failed on the marketing aspects of their businesses. Model trains have so many educational opportunities, and pitting this against video games could be a big win for them IMHO. The great thing for programmers and engineering types is it’s low threat to us since there is still a lot of software and hardware that could be built around model train products in the form of control and automation, and maybe even gamification of the operations of a model railroad. But all of this is coming from a long time model train (and real train) enthusiast who is software engineer by day, so I’m biased.

hoseja 3y ago

Put giant pauldrons on them.

Justsignedup 3y ago

I played Satisfactory and Factorio. Plenty of fun to be had with trains in those games. Definitely scratched that itch, and I didn't need to buy a bunch of expensive physical pieces.