Is Model Railroading A Dying Hobby?
The Southern Oregon Mail Tribune had a story this morning about a model train store in Culver City that has recently been sold and downsized.
Allied Model Trains was one of the largest model train stores in the United States, housed in a half-block long replica of Union Station in Los Angeles.
The owner recently sold it to a new owner who is moving it across the street to a smaller location. They just couldn't make ends meet with the larger location - electric bills and staffing costs were just too high.
The model train hobby has certainly changed over the last couple of decades, but one quote from the former owner of Allied Model Trains really jumped out at me.
"It's just a dying hobby," said Allen Drucker, 58. "I always told myself I didn't want to be the old man running the train store."
Is it truly a dying hobby? Is the competition from video games and so many other high-tech gadgets too much for our hobby to withstand?
Or is there a whole new generation of model railroaders out there, just waiting for someone to show them how much fun it can really be?
What do you think? Is the model railroading hobby headed for the history books or will the kids of today get bitten by the same bug we all were? You can leave your comments below…
5 Comments on Is Model Railroading A Dying Hobby? »
June 23, 2007
David Bolt @ 3:24 pm:
If the model railroad hobby is a dying hobby, it is because of people like Allen Drucker. I don't think he cared about model railroaders. He cared about tourists who came in, took pictures, spent some money and left never to come back. If you loved to shop to the sound of screaming little kids then Allied was your kind of store. I shopped there only because I knew someone who worked in the store. When he quit I stopped going there and started going to other "real"model train stores.
June 24, 2007
Phil @ 8:45 pm:
I definitely don't think it's a dying hobby…I'm 26 and I'd love to build one…the problem is money…if a kid wants to get into this hobby…it's not just buy something and get started…most kids and most everyone needs instant gratification and hand building and appreciating the hard work they've put into something is far from their minds.
So the few of us who really want to create one have to wait until we're older when we have "spare" money…but since myself and everyone I know are so self destructive with smoking and what not…most of us aren't going to live past the time we're actually going to be able to afford to build one…
It's not that Model Railroading is a dying hobby…it's hardwork for most and pure life span for the rest.
July 6, 2007
Michael @ 9:38 pm:
Not dying, but certainly declining. This is due to a number of factors, some of which have always been with us:
1. Exposure to trains
How many children actually see trains on a daily basis? Kids are not going to be interested in something that they cannot connect to and consequently does not fire their imagination. Connecting with the real thing is where we all get bitten.
2. Constraints on modeling.
There are three primary constraints on modeling for all of us:
2.1 Space
Even though houses are getting bigger than decades ago, unfinshed basements (or their equivalent) are rarely available. Workout rooms and theatre rooms, yes, but available space to set up trains - not usually.
2.2 Time
Parents today often overschedule their children with all kinds of extra-curricular activities leading to the "soccer Mom" syndrome. Kids who aren't oversheduled have plenty of hobby time.
2.3 Money
While most manufacturers are trying to promote two lines - budget conscious and high-end, the high-end stuff is way out of reach of allowances (not many will plunk down >$300 for a highly-detailed, lights and sound steamer as a middle-schooler's present) and the budget conscious stuff is not very exciting.
3. The ubiquitous competition for children's interest.
Video/computer games are tough competition. They get the blame for children not going out to play ball let alone play trains. The appeal of a train chasing it's caboose around an oval pales compared with something like Halo 2 on XBox 360.
Having said this, the hobby has a future. Thanks to Thomas and Friends there are a lot of very young train enthusiasts. The challenge is to span the K-12 years with an abiding interest in model trains. Access to the real thing, operationally or in preservation is the key.
September 8, 2007
Donut @ 2:41 am:
"It's just a dying hobby," said Allen Drucker, 58. "I always told myself I didn't want to be the old man running the train store."Why would a young man model,when he can do the same with electronic arts,even w/trains?
September 14, 2007
josh @ 12:56 pm:
dying? not at all!
im 24 years old, a punk from baltimore city, and i hav a train set i mess with everyday!
its not dying, its evolving. i have friends who do this too.
price isnt everything, 75% of my train set was free, from dumpstered to hand me downs, to my friends looking out for me.