Interesting details on the toy train hobby from NMRA President

@hokie71 posted:

  He mentioned multiple statistics and I noted a few:  the sales volume of Rapido (HO scale?) was up 300% last year and the average age of another manufacturer's purchasers was 35.  This has to be good news overall, if the model railroad hobby is growing, must be that some degree of this will impact O positively.

Yes, Rapido Trains is HO and N.  They make some really cool prototype specific stuff with excellent detail inside and out.

And they do an excellent job keeping their customers informed, even drawbacks.

Rusty

@Rusty Traque posted:

Yes, Rapido Trains is HO and N.  They make some really cool prototype specific stuff with excellent detail inside and out.

And they do an excellent job keeping their customers informed, even drawbacks.

Rusty

Yes but I fail to see how this impacts o scale. In O scale and O gauge we do have highly detailed locomotives, freight and passenger cars abeit mostly the samr roadnsmes redone but at a higher price. With minimal at best marketplace competition, innovation is mostly left by the wayside from sound files to locomotive models. It sure aint 2000-2008 the Golden Age of O gauge! [Atlas O, Weaver, Williams, K-Line, Lionel, Sunset Models/3rd Rail, SMR]

Despite changes in the marketplace and the overall bizarre environment we all have been living in the past couple of years, I believe O gauge is doing quite well overall/ And based on what I have been seeing lately due to my position with the magazine, the number of hobbyists actually building layouts and using these trains is on a definite and significant increase. Unlike some (but hopefully not very many), I am quite optimistic about our hobby's future.

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Yes but I fail to see how this impacts o scale. In O scale and O gauge we do have highly detailed locomotives, freight and passenger cars abeit mostly the samr roadnsmes redone but at a higher price. With minimal at best marketplace competition, innovation is mostly left by the wayside from sound files to locomotive models. It sure aint 2000-2008 the Golden Age of O gauge! [Atlas O, Weaver, Williams, K-Line, Lionel, SMR]

The NMRA president was speaking of the model train hobby in general but the thought is that the rising tide raises all boats. Hence if the model train hobby grows, O gauge will benefit by association.  YMMV,  but  Allan sees this  happening too.  I vote for the cup is half full!

Ryan Kuncle of Lionel has stated repeatedly that they saw a uptick in track and layout accessories in the last 2 years suggesting folks are working on their layouts.

Well... if the secondary market is any indication. Between the lack of items and the price increases....

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Yes but I fail to see how this impacts o scale.

It only does minimally; comparing Rapido to O scale is an apples and aardvarks exercise. Production of HO and N scale models soared while production of actual O scale models that has been falling off for several years now with the implosion of the China production bubble of RTR locomotives and rolling stock models lagged. While that bubble gave the scale a boost, it also very seriously, concomitantly undercut actual model building.

However, and positively, actual model building in all scales has experienced a significant increase in interest and soared. Funds that would have been going to travel, commuting, restaurants, etc. has been available for building and finishing layouts, adding details, structures and the building of kits.  That interest and activity in this hobby has benefited greatly.

The pandemic changed quite a few marketplaces the past two years, a reality created by people sheltering at home in unprecedented fashion.

At-home hobbies of all kinds soared, boosting manufacturers. Some people joined those hobbies. Others refocused both their time and money spent on their existing hobbies. That certainly included O gauge toy trains.

But when we talk about the future of our hobby in the long term, let’s try to be realistic. The ratio of young people entering the hobby is small in comparison to the Boomer crowd that has fed manufacturers for decades now as adult collectors.

What the hobby needs to survive in the long term is a crowd of young hobbyists that outnumber the older crowd, and not because of attrition. We will need at least the same number of O gauge hobbyists of all ages that we currently have to continue to convince manufacturers to stick with it.

I’m hoping that happens. I’m not convinced it is yet.

@MartyE posted:

Ryan Kuncle of Lionel has stated repeatedly that they saw a uptick in track and layout accessories in the last 2 years suggesting folks are working on their layouts.

Steve Ross has stated the same thing to me.  The last two years for Steve have been very good.

Younger people with Families can afford HO and N scale trains. For 50 dollars you can buy a box of trains at shows. Have talked to several at shows and that was their plan. As they get older with more disposable income and room, they will switch to O scale. 

With Weaver now out of business, MTH in a "I don't know what state", and magazines getting thinner and thinner, or so it seems, I was under the impression the O-gauge hobby was in a downturn. HO, on the other hand, seems to dominate, at least in terms of structure variety.

My 2 cents from talking to the train people I deal with,. Jeff Kane was so busy he had to stop taking orders for a couple of weeks so he could catch his breath. My dealers, Toms Trains, had a fantastic year selling both new and postwar trains and is still busy on weekends. Alex M, is also very busy with his modern repairs and upgrades.

@RickO posted:

Well... if the secondary market is any indication. Between the lack of items and the price increases....

Interestingly, the scale guys don't have these problems to anywhere near the same degree.  I'm planning to build a switching layout in HO.  I visited a couple of train shops last week to look at DCC systems, track, locomotives, and other supplies.  Both shops had plenty of stuff in stock and said that they could get almost anything in less than a week.  I think this phenomenon is unique to the 3-rail world due to low volumes, lack of competition, and uncertainty about MTH. 

MTH's sloppy handling of whatever it is they're trying to do has really done a number on us.