Originally Posted by machinist:
Panther97, you are probably pretty accurate about the kids being more familiar with the diesels that they have seen while growing up. I think that most kids are also fascinated by the action of all the visible moving parts of a steam locomotive(including the large volume of smoke that they produce!!) At this point in time, just sparking their interest(can I have a train?) is what will keep the hobby alive in the future.
Nick
I think you have both made interesting and, likely, profound points.
As a boy in the 40's & 50's, I was very familiar with steam locomotives, since they passed in, near, and through daily life throughout steel-mill-centered metropolitan Pittsburgh. Later, we began to experience diesels. So, when I see either type of locomotive running, or even just posing, on a layout, I understand what the model is representing completely.
However, I have often wondered, nowadays, what children (and for that matter some adults) thinks they are seeing when they see a steam locomotive on a layout. Does it look like a mechanical rat to them, for example, if they have never seen, felt, or heard a real one?
And as far as getting and holding the interest of the young in model trains, shows and the legions of model train hobbyists who invite them into their homes and/or clubs to see layouts in full glory are a positive effect, no doubt.
However, contemporary children have such wonders as is pictured here with a cousin of mine. That dinosaur interacts with him, responding to his facial attitude and vocal tone, with actions, such as being aggressive at him, or backing away, or simply roaring defiantly at him (!!!!!!) As my wife and I witnessed this toy for the first time as he played with it on his kitchen floor, we wondered how watching a train go in a circle could ever compete (for interest, time, space, & $$$$) with it. But maybe it doesn't have to be a matter of competition, but rather, a matter of alternative play choices. You see, he and his brother are already a "captive audience" since being in our home and enjoying our layout, as well as having been given trains, track, and transformers by me. They love their trains. And they love their new Tyrannosaurus.
Yet, this little critter speaks of things to come, in my mind, and of realities already here. Imagine if some clever manufacturer finds a way of making this technology interactive between the trains and the hobbyist. Eh ? Huh?
Will wonders ever cease.
FrankM.
In this third shot, his brother (who loves trains the best) has run his remotely-controlled car into his brother AND the dinosaur is reacting to that!!
FrankM.