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Interesting conversation in the Silver Hall

FM Former Member

By Friday afternoon things slow down in the Silver Hall. I think a lot of people go home after the OGR Grandstand meeting.

 

Anyway one of our table mates had an interesting conversation with one of the TCA executives. He asked the question " Does the TCA have a ten year plan, twenty year plan?

 

Not getting any response he postured, within the next ten years the membership could be down as much as twenty-five percent just due to attrition. By twenty years it could be down by as much as fifty percent. This is based on the fact that the median age is probably in the high fifties or low sixties.

 

What is the plan to insure the survival of the organization? No response.

 

 

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FM Former Member
Originally Posted by cbojanower:

This is not really the place to find that answer. Best thing would be to become an active TCA member in your local chapter and help form that plan. Consider running for an office even

Just looking for a comment not interested in holding office. The conversation was in response to the TCA estimating that they would lose 10% of their membership over the increase in dues. The question was asked what they plan for 10-20 years to retain or increase membership.

cbojanowercbojanowerOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBERMEMORIAL SUPPORTER
Originally Posted by Trainman9:
Originally Posted by cbojanower:

This is not really the place to find that answer. Best thing would be to become an active TCA member in your local chapter and help form that plan. Consider running for an office even

Just looking for a comment not interested in holding office. The conversation was in response to the TCA estimating that they would lose 10% of their membership over the increase in dues. The question was asked what they plan for 10-20 years to retain or increase membership.

There's part of the problem with many organizations, those that want answers aren't looking to help so they can be found.

FM Former Member
Originally Posted by david1:

The conversation you had really don't mean anything. The one guy you talked to could be an idiot and not know anything. 

 

I think it Would be better if you wrote to the TCA board and ask that exact question. 

I did not speak to the TCA executive one of our table mates did.

CW C W BurfleOGR Forum Member

I doubt that a viable plan has been formulated. The TCA's biggest expense has to be the museum. I think it is important for the TCA to find a way to make the museum self sustaining, independent of dues money, or member donations.

As far as I know, no other toy train related organization has the overhead of anything like the museum. Even though I have only been there twice, I hope the TCA is able to sustain it.

PC9850PC9850OGR Forum Member

A lot of conversations I did overhear while walking through the member halls involved older members just sitting around and talking about how bad they were doing health or money wise. It was almost a little depressing to be honest, which is why returning to the generally younger and more optimistic crowds in the dealer halls was always nice...

Notch 6Notch 6OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER
Originally Posted by PC9850:

A lot of conversations I did overhear while walking through the member halls involved older members just sitting around and talking about how bad they were doing health or money wise. It was almost a little depressing to be honest, which is why returning to the generally younger and more optimistic crowds in the dealer halls was always nice...

Those are some very true words. I feel the same way that you do. I feel bad for some of these guys. Old age can be tough.  Sorry I missed talking to you in the halls, I passed you a few times, just didn't get a chance to catch you. Us young guys have to stick together.

N NortonOGR Forum Member

Actually there are board members of both the Eastern Division and National TCA that are concerned about the lack of younger members. But isn't it really up to the manufacturers to try and incorporate features that will attract younger people? If kids are not into trains in the first place what would make them want to come to a train show?

 

Pete

PC9850PC9850OGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by Conrail4me:

Those are some very true words. I feel the same way that you do. I feel bad for some of these guys. Old age can be tough.  Sorry I missed talking to you in the halls, I passed you a few times, just didn't get a chance to catch you. Us young guys have to stick together.

There's nothing wrong with the older age in the member halls of course, it was just a bit of a buzz-kill to overhear at least one conversation in every aisle about how bad a shape the person's health and finances were in. In the dealer halls on the other hand it was the complete opposite, people just glazed over with the scope of the meet and love of the hobby.

 

Now that I look at your avatar more closely I think I saw you a few times as well, just didn't realize it. I was a little too "train-drunk" myself to recognize all the faces 

 

CW C W BurfleOGR Forum Member

 

quote:
There's nothing wrong with the older age in the member halls of course, it was just a bit of a buzz-kill to overhear at least one conversation in every aisle about how bad a shape the person's health and finances were in. In the dealer halls on the other hand it was the complete opposite, people just glazed over with the scope of the meet and love of the hobby.



 

It seemed to me that the crowd on Thursday was decidedly older than the crowd on Friday. I guess that its the older people that have the free time to make the trip to York for the noon opening on Thursday. Friday's crowd had many more younger people. I saw a few folks walking the halls with children, holding hands. And I even saw one or two people backpacking smaller kids. That brought back fond memories. While I never backpacked my kids at York, I did backpack them at all sorts of less congested shows.

FM Former Member
Originally Posted by C W Burfle:

I doubt that a viable plan has been formulated. The TCA's biggest expense has to be the museum. I think it is important for the TCA to find a way to make the museum self sustaining, independent of dues money, or member donations.

As far as I know, no other toy train related organization has the overhead of anything like the museum. Even though I have only been there twice, I hope the TCA is able to sustain it.

Perhaps the big four, Lionel, MTH, Bachmann and Atlas could devote some of their catalog space to promoting the TCA museum.

baltimoretrainworksbaltimoretrainworksOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Originally Posted by Trainman9:
Perhaps the big four, Lionel, MTH, Bachmann and Atlas could devote some of their catalog space to promoting the TCA museum.

Maybe show a couple photos of the trains they have given to the museum with something like,"When in Lancaster stop by the Toy Train Museum and see our trains on display." or some such. Since the museum is probably the only contact most folks get with the TCA broadening that connection might help a bit for everyone concerned.

 

Jerry

PopsrrPopsrrOGR Forum Member
I hope this will be taken in the right way and not in a negative manner.
 
When you talk about 10 and 20 year plans I think to myself most business can't see that far into the future. Seeing a year or two out for many is pretty long range.With the world being so complex these days and with actions in other parts of the world having an impact like they do 10 to 20 year plans are not viable IMHO.
 
I think that if you look at the US where we have had maybe 3 "classes" of people we are headed to a very different future.
 
I think you can see that we might have a QUICKLY shrinking middle class at this point, but a lot smaller than 20 years ago and in the near future smaller than we have today.
 
When people look at this hobby and the cost to be in it just ask yourself how many of today's young people have the money to buy equipment at today's prices? Those old people talking about their health and money are probably the people in the hobby who might best be able to buy equipment today.
 
SO when we talk about getting more young people in the hobby what ages are we really talking about? Maybe we are talking about the people who have raised a family and have some disposable income to spend on hobbies. That then brings me back to the "Older people".
 
So maybe the equipment suppliers like Lionel, MTH, etc have arrived at that thinking themselves and the YOUNG people ARE REALLY NOT IN THEIR 20'S, 30'S OR 40'S BUT ARE IN THEIR 50'S. SURE THEIR WILL BE 20'S, 30'S. AND 40'S IN THE HOBBY but probably not in the numbers that the 50's will be.
 
My own feelings about these 50's is that with the shrinking benefits offered to working people their numbers will also be much smaller.
 
So when you see/hear the silver hairs talking about health and money you should hope to be so lucky some day to be a SILVER HAIR AND ABLE TO BE IN THE HOBBY.
RT Rusty TraqueOGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by Trainman9:

By Friday afternoon things slow down in the Silver Hall. I think a lot of people go home after the OGR Grandstand meeting.

 

Anyway one of our table mates had an interesting conversation with one of the TCA executives. He asked the question " Does the TCA have a ten year plan, twenty year plan?

 

Not getting any response he postured, within the next ten years the membership could be down as much as twenty-five percent just due to attrition. By twenty years it could be down by as much as fifty percent. This is based on the fact that the median age is probably in the high fifties or low sixties.

 

What is the plan to insure the survival of the organization? No response.

 

 

I think it's appropriate to think of your own personal 10-20 year plan before asking an organization about theirs.

 

I know mine didn't turn out as expected...

 

Rusty

TraindieselTraindieselOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Originally Posted by Popsrr:
When you talk about 10 and 20 year plans I think to myself most business can't see that far into the future. Seeing a year or two out for many is pretty long range.

I can agree with that!  A corporation I used to work for had more than a few "5 year plans" over a course of two or three years.  One by one they faded away into the next different plan.

 

Just my opinion, but I imagine it must be difficult for the TCA to develop long term goals when a president is elected every year with different ideas.

 

The age demographic makes me think of how friends I have grown up with used to talk about how we kicked each other's butts in sports, now we talk about medications!    

Allan MillerAllan MillerOGR Editor-in-Chief SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Originally Posted by Traindiesel:
 

Just my opinion, but I imagine it must be difficult for the TCA to develop long term goals when a president is elected every year with different ideas.

 

I share your views in that regard.  Never have understood why the president should have only a one-year term.  By the time he/she learns the ropes and gets his/her feet on the ground (in terms of implementing an agenda and getting other officers on board), it's time to depart.  Not exactly a formula for promoting new ideas and possible change.

 

Fine to have term limits--we sure need that in some other places I can think of--but a one-year term is kind of ridiculous.

Last edited by Allan Miller
S sinclairOGR Forum Member

Then there are people like me that are on the younger end (mid 30's) that don't really have the bank to be in the hobby, but still penny pinch to get something here and there, and see no reason at all to be part of the TCA.  I'm also a licensed amateur radio operator and haven't joined the ARRL.  I have been to their wen sites, looked at what it costs to join, tried to see what I'd get out of it, but in the end decided that I see no real benefit to join, so I save the dues money and spend it on trains/radios.  Sure, York sounds like it could be fun, but it's not worth enough to me to want to join some organization.  And in general with others I know not just in trains but other hobbies, very few see any reason to join national organizations anymore, not with web based things like Facebook and the like around now.  Other thoughts are from what I've seen, the TCA seems more like an old man's group, not a young hip group, and that will keep the younger gen from joining.  And their requirement to collect or like tinplate trains, even expanding tinplate to mean mass produced plastic trains (but not nice detailed or scale models of today) still feels like it excluded most of today's train buyers.

Al GalliAl GalliOGR Forum Member

Sinclair

 

I have been in TCA since 1979 and have thoroughly enjoyed it.  12 years ago I started spending winters in Florida.  I got active in the Southern Division.  I have met a lot of great guys seen a lot of great trains and continue to have really good time down there.  Give up a few Starbucks coffees and you can pay for the membership.

S sinclairOGR Forum Member

Never have drank coffee, so that won't save me anything.  The trains are my only none necessary expense (the bad economy has been really hard on me).  I hear a lot about meeting people and making friends, but you don't need to be a member of any group to do that.  I'm just saying that most younger people won't see a need for the TCA, and thus won't join.

TraindieselTraindieselOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Sudden thoughts and second thoughts to Mr. Sinclair's post:
 
Originally Posted by sinclair:

Then there are people like me that are on the younger end (mid 30's) that don't really have the bank to be in the hobby, but still penny pinch to get something here and there, and see no reason at all to be part of the TCA. 

That is completely understandable.  In our 20's and 30's most are tied up with starting careers or raising a family or other interests.  But I joined because I love trains and at a time before the internet, shows and hobby shops were the only outlet to get trains.

 

I'm also a licensed amateur radio operator and haven't joined the ARRL.  I have been to their wen sites, looked at what it costs to join, tried to see what I'd get out of it, but in the end decided that I see no real benefit to join, so I save the dues money and spend it on trains/radios. 

Some people just don't like to join any organized group, and that's fine.  But when you join an organization it should be to add to the organizations vision or purpose, not just what you can drain from it.  For the cost of joining the TCA, you will not get many trains for that cost.  A lot of the benefits of the TCA I did not see until I joined.

 

Sure, York sounds like it could be fun, but it's not worth enough to me to want to join some organization.  And in general with others I know not just in trains but other hobbies, very few see any reason to join national organizations anymore, not with web based things like Facebook and the like around now. 

The camaraderie and face to face interactions at functions like the York Meet, or any other TCA Meet in all parts of the country, is much more fulfilling than sitting in front of a computer screen hoping to get people to be friends or like me.  Things like Facebook can be a wonderful thing for staying in touch, but there's nothing like getting out of the house.

 

Other thoughts are from what I've seen, the TCA seems more like an old man's group, not a young hip group, and that will keep the younger gen from joining.  

The TCA age demographic may be of a certain age, but that's not the reason for joining.  I was 26 when I joined the TCA.  I didn't join thinking I was joining a swinging hip club, I joined because I love model trains and want to share thoughts and ideas with people who loved trains too.  Younger people have to be interested in trains before even joining a train organization.  If you're not interested in trains there's no reason to join.  It's not the age factor that means anything, it's the interest in the subject.  

 

And their requirement to collect or like tinplate trains, even expanding tinplate to mean mass produced plastic trains (but not nice detailed or scale models of today) still feels like it excluded most of today's train buyers.

The TCA has no requirement to collect or like tinplate trains.  My interest is in modern trains and with all of the train dealers and manufacturers who attend the York Meet, I feel far from left out.  Like anyone else, I can buy trains from my local shops or the internet, and I do at times.  But for this trainaholic, there's no rush like the anticipation of a train show or meet.  (Well maybe one or two other things.) 

There's no rush to join.  I would say to take a closer look.  There may or may not be a lot of activity in your area.  But maybe in the future, you can take a trip to the York Meet, hang out with us at the various TCA and OGR events during the Meet.  I think you'd like it! 

S sinclairOGR Forum Member

I'm not personally a big FB user.  I much rather meet in person, and love doing so.  but like you said, as far as I can tell, there really isn't that much activity around here, at least that I have been able to see.  And my statements about the younger gen and hipness are not personal feeling toward the TCA, but observations I have made.  I have mostly found myself either too young for the groups of people in my interests, or too old to fall in with the current hot items.  Maybe it's because of my personality.  Who knows.  I just figured I'd share what I perceive and add to the discussion.

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