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Post by josef on May 21, 2024 11:21:14 GMT
I found this interesting. You may agree or disagree, but an interesting video.
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Post by Country Joe on May 21, 2024 13:23:16 GMT
Thanks for posting the video, Walt. I subscribe to Jimmy’s YouTube channel but hadn’t seen this video yet. I agree that the hobby has changed and that we are in a second golden age of model railroading.
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Post by healey36 on May 21, 2024 13:47:43 GMT
Interesting take on what I presume is the hobby in aggregate (all scales). When considering O-gauge, however, I would argue the "first" golden age was 1946-1958, when the consumer economy exploded following WWII. The "second" golden age was 1990-2005, a time when (a) there was a plethora of manufacturers of quality RTR stuff (Lionel, K-line, MTH, Weaver, Williams, etc.) all competing with each other, and (b) the youngsters from the "first" golden age were now hitting their peak earnings period and were buying stuff like there was no tomorrow (largely based on nostalgia). Is what we are seeing now a "third" golden age? I'm not sure. I think the internet greatly amplifies the noise, but are there really similar numbers of modelers as seen in the previous "golden ages"...I'm not so sure.
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Post by superwarp1 on May 21, 2024 13:56:17 GMT
Interesting take on what I presume is the hobby in aggregate (all scales). When considering O-gauge, however, I would argue the "first" golden age was 1946-1958, when the consumer economy exploded following WWII. The "second" golden age was 1990-2005, a time when (a) there was a plethora of manufacturers of quality RTR stuff (Lionel, K-line, MTH, Weaver, Williams, etc.) all competing with each other, and (b) the youngsters from the "first" golden age were now hitting their peak earnings period and were buying stuff like there was no tomorrow (largely based on nostalgia). Is what we are seeing now a "third" golden age? I'm not sure. I think the internet greatly amplifies the noise, but are there really similar numbers of modelers as seen in the previous "golden ages"...I'm not so sure. I would mostly agree with you but would move the stick to 1998-2010. Yes Kline was gone by then but Weaver and AtlasO were pumping out tons of stuff. I also would add after the fiasco of the so called MTH going out of business. We hit rock bottom a few years ago and are on the up swing again. MTH is still around. Lionel making product like crazy, AtlasO has come around, and Menard's is filling the gap on entry level stuff. While we may never see the highs of the 2000's again things are far from doom and gloom.
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Post by seayakbill on May 21, 2024 14:28:27 GMT
My 2 cents worth, following the large auction houses there is a ton of stuff hitting the auction block. Cabin Fever, Stout, Ambrose, Harris, and numerous others seem to be picking up entire collections for us to bid on. So the question has to be asked are there a lot of old timers of the electric train hobby calling it quits and disposing of their years of accumulating ? Bill www.youtube.com/user/seayakbill |
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Post by healey36 on May 21, 2024 16:05:23 GMT
...are there a lot of old timers of the electric train hobby calling it quits and disposing of their years of accumulating ? I think it's worse than that 
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Post by broadbrush on May 21, 2024 19:01:47 GMT
My 2 cents worth, following the large auction houses there is a ton of stuff hitting the auction block. Cabin Fever, Stout, Ambrose, Harris, and numerous others seem to be picking up entire collections for us to bid on. So the question has to be asked are there a lot of old timers of the electric train hobby calling it quits and disposing of their years of accumulating ? The bulk of the customers that drove the 90s and early 2000s boom years are now well into their retirement years. There's a lot of product available and a lot more due to come available.
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Post by Traindiesel! on May 22, 2024 2:35:00 GMT
The truth is that everyone has an opinion on the state of model railroading. And everyone involved in the hobby has different experiences with the ways they enjoy it. People in areas where train stores have closed may have a less enthusiastic outlook of the hobby.
But what I do know is that there are lots of people in the hobby that are not participating on internet train forums, so forums are not the bellwether of the health of model railroading. I belonged to an O gauge group of 35 members and none of them participated on a train forum, but they are TCA members. But at the same time, as the video mentions, there are countless videos of trains and layouts in operation. With all the changes in hobby technology, the ways trains are purchased and the costs of those purchases, I don’t know how the health of model railroading can be measured. Total sales? A census? It’s all subjective.
And no, I don’t drink coffee!
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Post by dennym57 on May 24, 2024 12:20:17 GMT
The truth is that everyone has an opinion on the state of model railroading. And everyone involved in the hobby has different experiences with the ways they enjoy it. People in areas where train stores have closed may have a less enthusiastic outlook of the hobby.
But what I do know is that there are lots of people in the hobby that are not participating on internet train forums, so forums are not the bellwether of the health of model railroading. I belonged to an O gauge group of 35 members and none of them participated on a train forum, but they are TCA members. But at the same time, as the video mentions, there are countless videos of trains and layouts in operation. With all the changes in hobby technology, the ways trains are purchased and the costs of those purchases, I don’t know how the health of model railroading can be measured. Total sales? A census? It’s all subjective.
And no, I don’t drink coffee! None of the club members in my club are active on any forum. I try to encourage to join, but they have shown no interest. I'm drinking coffee as I post this.
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Post by Country Joe on May 24, 2024 15:09:04 GMT
The truth is that everyone has an opinion on the state of model railroading. And everyone involved in the hobby has different experiences with the ways they enjoy it. People in areas where train stores have closed may have a less enthusiastic outlook of the hobby.
But what I do know is that there are lots of people in the hobby that are not participating on internet train forums, so forums are not the bellwether of the health of model railroading. I belonged to an O gauge group of 35 members and none of them participated on a train forum, but they are TCA members. But at the same time, as the video mentions, there are countless videos of trains and layouts in operation. With all the changes in hobby technology, the ways trains are purchased and the costs of those purchases, I don’t know how the health of model railroading can be measured. Total sales? A census? It’s all subjective.
And no, I don’t drink coffee! None of the club members in my club are active on any forum. I try to encourage to join, but they have shown no interest. I'm drinking coffee as I post this. It’s the same with my fellow Vero Beach Model Railroaders. None of them, other than me, have any interest in any forums but quite a few are active on Facebook model railroad groups. I don’t drink coffee but my wife does.
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