The Truth about Model Railroading

This is what I've been saying for a while now! The " gloom and doom" crowd loves to sit there and say "the hobby is dying", when it's not, it's simply going through a transition! Yes, it stinks there's not as many brick and mortar stores now, but that's how it is now with online shopping taking over. As far as what I would like to see, is I would really love to see manufacturers do more budget line locomotives and rolling stock, especially inexpensive kits. At some point both model train enthusiasts, and the manufacturers, are going to have to put their foot down, and stop letting, what I like to call, "the model railroad police" try to run the hobby, or it will get so expensive that only the elitists that can afford to be in the hobby is their only customers, and nobody wins in that deal!

I think the biggest issue is not that the price has gone up, it's that wages have not. Average wages have been stagnant for 40 years, while everything has kept on increasing in price, especially trains. Which used to have the motto of stack them high sell them cheap. But now has stack them low and then add 50% on top of the expensive price.

I am 66 years old and retired. Railroading has been on and off since my childhood. Now I have more disposable income and time. That mix has elevated my layouts to what I used dream of. My point, nearly everyone makes it to 66 and has the time to spend on your hobbies. My grand children love running trains with me. Perhaps, this is laying the seeds of future railroading.

Slightly different take. I’m 57, and have lived in relatively small towns my entire life. I’ve never lived someplace that had a brick and mortar store. The increase in online stores has given me more access to the hobby. I enjoy finding real stores when I go to bigger cities but the online has given me opportunities I would never have had. The internet is also a double edged sword. We get to see things like all the options of shelf layouts, small layout possibilities, DIY and Digital, Steve’s Trains etc which we would never have seen before. We also get the super layouts that have the most intricate details, 1000s of pieces of rolling stock, etc that can give the impression the hobby is unattainable.

I'm now 80, and finally getting back into the hobby. As a kid/teen, I lived for my model railroad, even though it was populated by Athearn Hustlers that could go 125 mph pulling three streamline coaches, or the Athearn GP-9 with that dreadful rubber-band drive, where the motor shaft translated to drive axles with real rubber bands - sloppy, unreliable, and a nightmare to repair. My buildings were Plasticville, with no people, and plaster mounds with pieces of grass mat laid on. I loved it, and lived through it. Then, along came cars, zits, girls, a war, a career (or three), kids, second jobs, recessions, family reshaping, until Covid came along and took my last wife. For three years I just kind of shuffled about, spending a lot of time at the only local pub, or watching TV. Then, for some reason, I realized what had been a home office would make a great train room! Since I grew up in UP country - Big Boys, Challengers, Streamliners, etc. - that was what I wanted to model, but with "senior" eyes and fingers, I couldn't even begin to consider N scale. For some odd reason as I was YouTube surfing, I came across a modeler in the UK, and I realized that trying to operate a Challenger (let alone buy one) in that room with maximum track curvature of 36" radius would look silly, and seeing the type of locos and equipment from the UK, I suddenly turned into a British modeler! Now, with a stable of well-made and highly detailed $100 locos and a string of wagons (cars) or coaches, I could have my empire, with great DCC controls and benefits, for less hours of pay per unit than I ever enjoyed as a youth. The online videos and articles on how-to have made all aspects accessible for me, and with the typical shipping from the UK being not much more than domestic (you hear me, Walthers) I can get what I need from England nearly as easily as from New Jersey or Milwaukee, and just as quickly. That being said though, if I can find a same or equivalent product in the US, I will generally go domestic unless the shipping is outrageous. Bottom line(s): the cost is about the same as it was 60 years ago in hours worked per unit (sometimes less), on-line information and buying has made buying easier (as the one hobby shop within 90 minutes is usually higher-priced) and being continually challenged mentally and physically is keeping the digits from accumulating on the 80 years so far. Oh, and the electricity my layout uses is offset by the TV being on very much less than it used to be. 40 hours spent building a viaduct is much better spent time than a season of some unrealistic family on the tube with their problems. [If I really want to feel like my layout is somewhat realistic, I just have to watch an episode of "I Love Toy Trains" to see adults with (expensive) toys.] The hobby is changing still, and always will, but can be whatever you want it to be.

Miss the brick & mortars. I vividly remember going to a train shop with my dad in downtown NYC in the late 70s

I had over a dozen hobby shops I could ride my bike to as a kid. Now I've got one shop in town and use many online shops. Remember that hobby shops that carry trains are mom-and-pop shops, not huge multi-state chains. Sometimes their kid takes over, but most end once the shopkeeper can't keep up.

Let's be honest, the biggest problem that has happened with model railroading is they've gotten too damned expensive! Parents are not going to go out and lay down the kind of money trains will cost you today, when they can buy other things cheaper. The hobby has basically became for the rich and not the average person who lives paycheck to paycheck like it did at one time. Trains used to be affordable and parents could wind up buying a train set for their kids for Christmas, or birthday, what ever. I remember my Father building a train layout for he and I as a young kid. They were only DC with no bells and whistles but that is why God gave us brains and an imagination to use. Rolling stock did not cost an arm and leg for one damn car. Engines were affordable and didn't need the buyer to place a mortgage on their home to buy just one. Given a choice between spending several hundred dollars on an engine, or paying bills, buying food, or clothing. The later comes in first when you live on a budget and don't have more money than you know what to do with and can afford these ridiculous prices. That's the truth and why you don't see train sets in the shopping malls, or given as gifts today. As the hobby of model railroading has become solely for the rich.... In fact the hobby industry in general is pricing themselves into Extinction. The bulk of people do not make 6 to 10 digit salaries and cannot afford the ridiculous prices trains ,model, kits, paints, etc. have become. Of course kids today are going to buy a computer game when they can get several for less than what model trains and hobby items cost today. You want to see trains back to having the heyday of the past start lowering the damn prices, and you will see people buying trains for their kids and themselves as they once did. Why do you think how to videos on how to make your own scenic materials, scratch build our print your own buildings, and now a big thing is becoming people beginning to 3D print their own engines and rolling stock as they can do it cheaper that way than buying the pre-made stuff. That is the truth of why model railroading isn't what it use to be.

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” L P Hartley, The Go-Between (1953)

It was a tragedy the day Allied Model Trains closed in Culver City. But the new stores online are cool too. There was just something so special about walking into a store modeled after LA central terminal and seeing models running on realistic layouts everywhere. Bought my first HO trainset there and still have it.

I'd say that one of the best things is the accessibility of second hand products. When I was young, I simply wasn't aware of available second hand stuff other than what my local hobby shop offered, and that was still quite expensive. Now, there is a vast online market with highly competitive prices that allow young people to enter the hobby at low cost. Add to that the availability of ideas, like the small switching layouts, and there's a wealth of low cost possibilities at everyone's fingertips.

I appreciate the positive spin you put on this. Much better than the doom and gloom. Thanks, Jimmy! Starbucks k-cup this morning!

I've been a model railroader since age 5...now at 52 ,the hobby is still in my life happily. It's a shame so many kids today don't really have the experiences ,like what most of us in this hobby had ,when we were kids. Many children don't even know the hobby exists, until they go to a train show or see a display at some local venue or see videos on YT and other social medias.

20 years ago I knew two or three other rail modelling types in my area and there was all of three shops in the city; now thanks to the internet, I get to enjoy layouts from thousands of other rail modellers world wide, and I can shop for really amazing equipment and materials from all over the globe....this truly is the golden age of rail modelling

I am glad the one hobby shop in my area is still going after 75 years. It is family owned and been past bown through the genartions. I wish some of the hobby shops would have classes on sodering and wiring and stuff like that. I think that would bring more people in. The club I am in we have a 10yr old who joined and he is so good at running trains and learning more he loves it. Thanks Jimmy for all you do for the hobby. GOD BLESS 🚂💖🚂💖🚂💖🚂💖

I come from a time that if you wanted something you ordered out of the catalog so in a sense we have come full circle where we are ordering online. 3D printing has definitely changed the hobby.

I'm 23 and have been in the hobby since I was about 6-7 or so. I do ho and n scale. My n scale layout is DC only and my ho is DCC. I've saved up money and bought the rivarossi heritage DCC/sound big boy and a couple cars, a loop of Kato uni track with a siding and a few buildings. I finally saved up enough to get the nce power cab moving from a bachmann ez command

I too miss the brick & mortar stores. There’s some good ones on the northeast I like to visit when I travel. Use to have a couple very close to home here like National Hobby Supply. I still got a lot of stuff I bought on clearance there when they closed shop - they also advertised in model railroad magazines but that’s before the internet really got popping. As far as the younger ones in their teens and 20s - I’ve seen some amazing customs - especially with things like Thomas & Friends. So they are definitely out there doing amazing work. I know o had more time when I was younger and I got more disposable income now. If only those two could coincide. Retirement I look forward too

One thing that has definitely changed for the better over the course of my lifetime is that both the selection and quality of models have improved drastically, particularly in HO.

Good morning Jimmy. drinking McCafe coffee this morning. Thank you for going above and beyond; to bring us all on your journey. also your production and information per minute rate is on point. Keep up the great work.