The Model Railroad Hobby Shop is all but gone. 25 years ago every other town had one and some towns had two or three. On Saturdays Dads could take son and daughter there and watch trains run around the store or in the Main Store window. Most of these Hobby shops were 1/2 Model railroad 1/8 RMC and 1/4 Plastic Ario Planes, Boats, Ships, Military Tanks and Model Cars he rest of the store had an assortment of tools, glues, paints, and other hobby supplies like lanyards and leather working.

You could go there after lunch and spend 3 or 4 hours just talking about what was new and what was best on the shelves. You could watch demos when the reps were in town and some of the stores had a large room out back with slot car tracks where you could race your buddy's. Then others had a training room where you could learn how to build Models and then learn the tricks of building Model railroad scenery For free.

Now you need to buy a video on how to build Model Railroad scenery by guys that learned for free at the old hobby shops and instead of passing it on to the new generation they sell it to them and many of the videos are only half the story. When you get to the end of video 1 you need to buy chapter two so you could learn the final steps. I'm not talking about Joe Fugate's Videos because he's one of the guys out there that gives you much more than what you paid for it's the old hobby shop owners that make videos You-Tube wouldn't show.

It's not really the fault of the guys that makes the videos. The guys that make the scenery Products should be producing these Videos to promote their products and giving the Videos away to the consumers with step by step Video instructions on how to use their products when you purchase their stuff. These companies spend hundreds of thousand of dollars on adds when it would help the hobby to produce thousands of CD or DVD with how to do kind of videos like one of our sponsoring Advertisers "Fast Tracks" They sell a product and give you free information on how to build the product and then show you how to customize the product plus give away hundreds of templates to help you just hand lay track on your own. We need more manufactures like them to help the hobby grow.

Dan

One of the most innovative new techniques are the various laser cut wood (and some other materials) kits from the likes of Banta Modelworks, Raggs to Riches, Crystal River Product, BTS and others. Many of these kits are narrow gauge related but appealing to any modeler and have tremendous "buildability". Now anyone who takes some care can build a quality model. I remember about 15-20 years ago Master Creations came out with highly detailed laser cut kits, some with lights and sound effects. The innovations in these kits inspired many others.

I also believe that Soundtraxx was a real pioneer and adds a huge amount of realism with its sounds and quality of products.

Looking back, I would guess that highly detailed brass locomotive models inspired a new generation of high quality plastic locomotive models (Athearn and Atlas diesels, Broadway steam models and others) with prices closer to what more people can afford and for many of us to purchase more locomotives than a Class 1 railroad.

John

OK, while one of the big draws of model railroading from the beginning has been the fact you can actually run trains, what I'm saying with interactivity goes beyond just running trains.  I'm 38 and was at the forefront of the video game set - I had an Intellivision as a kid and have progressed through many systems and now we (as a family) have the Wii and PlayStation 3.  The Wii by comparison to the PS3 is incredibly less powerful, but has sold incredibly well in spite of this.  Yes, price point is one small part, but its the innovative, simple interface and interactivity of the game controls that makes it enjoyable and easy for those who aren't hard core gamers like I used to be.  And I love it.

One could argue the iPad is of the same ilk - simple to use for the novice, yet very powerful and feature-rich.  THIS is what is needed in our hobby going forward to bring in the kids of the video game set (also called the "instant gratification" set).  It has to be fun, simple and "cool" all at the same time and be able to have something up and running in a short period of time.  DCC is obviously a huge part of it and while DCC manufacturers have certainly simplified things over the last decade, I would suggest there is a ways to go yet.  We talk about reading up on DCC from books and the like to learn all about it, but nobody reads a manual for a Wii or a PS3 (or at least very, very few).  It should be simple and intuitive that requires almost no instruction.  

Things like Kato's Unitrack and other track-in-roadbed products help quickly get a layout up and running with a lot of possibilities for playing around on almost any surface as well.  I'd say its progress for the newbie.  I was actually going to do my chainsaw with Unitrack, but switched gears because I wanted to learn more about building turnouts and wanted more customized corners and such that Unitrack didn't offer.  But it was hugely appealing to get up and running quick.

As others have said, the RTR is NOT killing the hobby, its a way to the future to bring in this younger set to get a railroad going quickly.  As one who detested kits in the beginning, it kept me from doing a lot because that's all I could find that wasn't cheap model power or bachmann stuff.  I, and many others, don't have time or the desire to sit and build kit after kit to build up the fleet.  I want to buy it and have it running on the layout within minutes of taking it out of the box.  Call me the hobby killer, but I want to RUN the trains.  For those who still want to build stuff, it is still there, though maybe a little more challenging to find.  Now that I'm hooked, I actually want to start doing some kitbashing, craftsman kits and then scratchbuild something.  I never had that desire until the last couple years of being more immersed in the hobby and seeing what more is to offer.  But I'd be less likely to be in the hobby if it weren't for products like (shameless plug) MRH sponsor Rapido and BLMA and others who know I want highly detailed models I can put on the layout right away.  

Finally, what else do video games offer?  Bells and whistles.  Literally.  The more animation, sound and interactivity of the layout, the more appealing it will be to the younger set.  Look at the innovations at the Miniatur Wunderland (Google it if you haven't heard of it) in Germany.  That new airport scene is a maze of innovation and technology that has the power to draw the video game set into the hobby if those innovations can be brought in to be affordable for the average person.  That HO bicycle video that's been posted here several times I would guess has got a lot of non-modelers saying "wow, that's cool!  I'd like to try that!"  

If you want to grow the hobby, you have to market it to the desire of the target market.  Make it what will get them hooked and the "wow" and "cool" factor is what will really help.  DCC has started us down that road, but to me, if the hobby is going to survive for the next generation to enjoy, it needs to increase the "interactivity" level to draw them in.  My two cents.

Hey, this is really good stuff, guys! Keep it coming ... very thought-provoking and insightful.

Because of the extended hiatus in my pursuit of the hobby I have the dual perspective of being involved in the hobby 20 years ago, yet at the same time being a newbie, now that I've returned.

I think Dave has hit the proverbial nail on the head.  If you want to draw young people to the hobby you have to offer some degree of "instant gratification".  The more instant, the better.

I am ashamed to admit that my oldest boy is losing interest in the hobby because, "analysis paralysis", natural disasters and budget have combined to sidetrack plans we discussed far too long ago.  Sure he's seen turnouts being built and learned to solder but running the trains is what he wants to do.  I know he'll be willing enough to help out but it's going to be mainly up to me to quickly, get the layout up and running.  So with that said, construction begins on Christmas break.

As to the "cool factor", again, right on the head!  When I got my TYCO train set and a 4X8 sheet of 3/4" plywood for Christmas in 1972, in no time I had the up and over figure-8 track plan laid and soon found out why you fasten the track down.  I had pretty good instant gratification that day but by the next, I was looking for more.  I found out there were other things you could add to that track from the book that came with my set and an aisle in the back of Regina Hardware.  That was my train universe.  I didn't know anything else existed.  One day, I stumbled across a model railroad magazine, I don't recall which one, the important thing was my eyes were opened.  I discovered one could create a  miniature world.  I immediately saw the potential, even back then, for something like the Miniatur Wunderland and I was hooked!  It was the "cool factor" that grabbed the attention of a mechanically/electrically inclined kid who could already imagine ways to bring the layout to life with light, sound and animation, making my scale world as close to "real" as possible.  The "cool factor" is huge, IMO.

Like Dan, I am saddened by the disappearance of the "local model railroad shop".  But I wouldn't trade the internet, manufacturers websites and online vendors to have them back.

Anyway, those are my thoughts for what it's worth...which is probably nothing. [grin]

Wow guys!  Like Joe said, great thought provoking, insightful stuff!

The demise of the LHS was something that totally puzzled me when I first got into the hobby.  I don't mean to be overly blunt (or offend) but to me they were dumpy places filled with a bunch of scruffy guys having the same conversation every Sunday as they sucked down the store owner's mediocre coffee.  I saw (and still see) internet retailers as able to provide me with cheaper prices, better selection, and so far I've only received good service.

However as I've gotten more involved in building my layout I started to understand what people were talking about:  there is a real need for face to face, informal exchanges of information to really grasp some of the more complex topics in the hobby.  I don't see a motivation for internet companies to fill this void (the compete on a price basis so this would only cut into what i imagine are already tight margins) so to me the logical group to do this is the NMRA. 

Right now the NMRA spends about $20-$25 of my $45 dues each year on putting out a print magazine.  If I were on the board I would get rid of the magazine as a printed piece as soon as I could.  I would move to an online journal similar to the OpSig (or MRH for that matter) and greatly reduce costs.  With the money saved tha national organization should push this DIRECTLY into the division level to provide for top notch clinics and presentations at meetings.  In another post Joe called the demise of the LHS a "paradigm shift" in the hobby and I think the NMRA is uniquely suited to fill the need for informal networks in the hobby.

Great discussion Joe, and for the first time you didn't start a flame war

~rb

To expand on Rich's take on the growth of operations and role-playing, I think that software like 3rd Planit, CadRail, TrainPlayer, etc. could find a large audience of "operators" who would like to have "operating" sessions over the internet, like all the other games that kids/people play over the internet.

This appeals to those of us who don't have much time to put into our analog layouts, but who still get a lof of satisfaction from "operating" on a software layout. I imagine a lot of 3rd party software growing out of this concept, e.g. loco rosters, rolling stock, buildings, bridges etc.

-Al

Al, while I certainly think that technology will soon progress to the level where we can reliably and realistically operate model railroad layouts via the internet as you put forth (it's already here to a certain point), doesn't that begin to take the "model" out of model railroading? Don't get me wrong, it's a great idea for a lot of different reasons (and for people in different situations, if you will), but I just wonder if the technology will then begin to supplant the necessary "human element" of the hobby.

Just sayin'.....

RAH

What if...

Streaming video from cab mounted cameras on locomotives and cabeese aka Skype
Browser controlled DCC including turnouts
Dispatcher/engineer/conductor/yardmaster communication via chat
Operational signals on layouts for visual train control
Round robin operating sessions at member layouts with operators at computers around the world

Virtual operations combined with physical modeling

Al, while I certainly think that technology will soon progress to the level where we can reliably and realistically operate model railroad layouts via the internet as you put forth (it's already here to a certain point), doesn't that begin to take the "model" out of model railroading?

I wondered that too after reading Al's post.  I think keeping the hobby growing means new people doing model railroading.  If the technology is too virtual or "by proxy" I don't see it helping the hobby too much.  Maybe I'm wrong.