Model Railroading in Moderation

IMO, model railroading in moderation is the heart and soul of the hobby. Why?

It's consistent with the tradition for most of us through our childhoods during which our parents and us economized regarding our acquisitions.

The good common sense of most people is to do model railroading in moderation, especially when getting started. The vast majority relate to this, and are more likely to enter the hobby doing it in moderation because of their good common sense.

Although I have no inside information, I think Lionel is well aware that model railroading in moderation is important to promote the hobby now and in the future. New developments like LC, LC+ and LC+2.0 are evidence of this.

For those of us, like me, who have financial constraints, it makes good sense to purchase 1 LC+2.0 item from the catalogue each year and cherish it and share its delightful features with our children, grandchildren, friends and relatives and others. If they ask how much it costs, it is so much better for the promotion of the hobby to say it cost about $300 to $400, instead of $2,000. for those who are stunned about spending $300 for such a toy, then show them a Pistwar Lionel in good working order and tell them it can be acquired for $100 at a train show.

Dan Padova posted:

I would tend to agree with you, Arnold.  Growing up in the fifties, I cannot tell you how many times I heard stories about living through the depression.  "We were lucky to get a piece of fruit as a Christmas gift". 

Dan, my mother, who was a child of the depression, told me the same thing about pieces of fruit.

She filled at least half of our Christmas stockings with pears, apples and oranges, which we paid little attention to, but not my mother. She put high value on those pieces of fruit in our Christmas stockings. Arnold

My dad bought me a Lionel Erie Alco set for Christmas back in the 1950s (still have it and it still runs fine.)  I was bit by the "train bug" and some years later, I saw a Santa Fe F3 in a hobby store (Fred Eaton's Bicycle Shop) in my home town (St. Thomas, Ontario).  It was $59 and Fred gave me a Lionel catalog and he wrote the price next to the locomotive.  I showed it to my dad and asked him what he thought.  He replied "Son, the name is Clarke, not Rockefeller!"   I got the point, not the F3.

I do not practice that level of moderation!

Harold 

HCLARKE - Ah yes, the Santa Fe F3 Warbonnet scheme was a magnet for me too. It took me 50 years to get it, but I finally did. Now THAT'S moderation - don't you think?

Is this a trick question?

Don't know if I would ever consider my train hobby activities moderate.

I think the theory of relativity applies to model trains in moderation. LOL

Hi Arnold, I'm not even sure I know what "in moderation" means, in the context of our hobby.

I say that judging from my own approach, and having seen numerous other ventures into this hobby by fellow-hobbyists, via in-person visits to layouts, as well as through reading myriad magazines.

 It seems to me that all of us approach immersion into model trains by pushing for as much space as we can absorb for constructing a layout, using as much of our leisure and relaxation time as we can to accommodate building a layout and/or collection, and allowing as much funding as we dare for the zillions of "must-haves" within our voracious appetites for train fun.

Regarding my own immersion (moderate?) I asked my new bride, back in the mid-90's, once we had "finished" furnishing and decorating own new 9-room house, if we were finished, AND if she would be comfortable with my utilizing much the basement for construction of a model train layout. Ever the adventurer, she replied in the affirmative in both regards, and so I began my basement journey.

First, I ordered 20 pre-cut 4'x8' sheets of lumber, finished on one side, and 2x4s for frames and legs. Then, once the lumber was delivered, my reaction was to be totally intimidated by the size of the load that was delivered to the driveway of our house, and proceeded to pretend I knew what I was about to do.

Apparently, pretending is a large part of this hobby, especially when launching oneself down the road of crafting a layout.

Eventually, I figured it all out, thanks to plenty of solicited-advice, as well as due to not being afraid to make mistakes and re-do anything I had thought twice about.

My wife even helped me upright the first 4x8 section of the layout (the first of twenty such constructions.) I was thrilled and on-my-way. She even joined in - when she could get past my heaps on her way from the cellar stairs to the door to the garage - with the creativity involved, offering the occasional reaction to the developing layout as a non-hobbyist (which was temporary!) For example, it was she, following an early interpretation of the layout having been shared with guests, who "inspired" me to remove a turntable, roundhouse, and yard, by saying, in her own inimitable style, which included a sweeping gesture with one arm, "Get rid of this." And I did, replacing it with the entire neighborhood seen here.

As the years progressed, I concluded I had a  moderate layout and a moderate involvement in our hobby. It was moderate and sufficient for me; for us.

As I went along, I simply reminded myself that I was at-play, giving myself permission to immerse myself as deeply as I could go. Was it moderate? Compared to whom? To what? I have no idea. I'm just glad I am still knee-deep in this hobby of ours (literally and figuratively), especially every time I walk down the stairs to the basement, or enter the house from the garage, and see the layout spread out in front of me, and walk past it on my way outside or inside .

When I am in the frame of mind and of heart to play once again, I will turn all ten loops of trains on and perhaps even invite others, once again, to come to Moon Township, USA, to play.

FrankM, Moon Township, USA

Frank, it was a great pleasure for me to read the beautiful words, and see the beautiful photographs, in your above reply.

I will revisit it, and enjoy it, during the rest of this evening. Arnold

Rescued Trains posted:

Absolutely! Arnold that's how we were raised. A family of four, we had 1 television (12"Hallicrafter), 1 radio, 1 record player, 1 telephone, 1 car, but I had the Lionel trains (in moderation) at Christmas. We were not poor by any means, both parents lived through the depression. I find myself now buying on occasion because "I can". Future model railroaders should accept the slow start method, as it should be with any hobby today. As far as I know there are no cheap hobbies.

Yeah, growing up we didn't have a lot of money (and never any appreciable hobby shop anywhere in the region), so not much stuff got bought at once. We'd hit hobby shops on long trips northward to visit family and I could get a couple of things, and that was it. It added up soon enough though.

Now, I'll be 50 very soon and though I really want to keep my life simplified (in spite of the genetic imperative of my wife to make our lives as complicated as possible), I do get stuff every now and then because I CAN. I still show moderation because I only buy that which I can really use, on a layout where the prototype severely restricts the logic behind impulse purchases.

No cheap hobbies. True, but how many people seem to not get that? I know someone who restored a classic wooden yacht and all the time, younger yuppie types ask how they can get one like his for very little money. He says to them all, "Do you think you can buy a cheap Rolls Royce or a gold brick?" and when they reply of course not, he'll say, "It's the same for one of these." When I display my WW2 Jeep, every time, someone comes up declaring that you can still buy these for not much money, like you could back in the day. I ask them why they don't see them all the time, if that was the case. People really do think they can get into a 5-star meal at McDonald's prices and are baffled when they realize that isn't the case.

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

One more thing to keep in mind: model railroading in moderation is relative. You may think what you have is an example of moderation, but someone else might think what you have is extraordinary. 

This is true of me. I regard my layout to be moderate in my half basement; others who have seen it think it is enormous. Truth is it is both, depending one one's experience.

Aa was mentioned in one of the above replies, size alone does not determine whether a layout is extraordinary.  For instance, it can be moderate in size with extraordinary trains, structures and scenery on it. Arnold

I had this exact scenario this past weekend.  We had out of town visitors staying at our house.  It was mentioned that I had a "Train Set".  The father seemed excited and wanted to see my trains.  He related how he had built a train set for his son.  When I opened the door to my train room he stopped mid-sentence and his jaw hit the floor.  "Our train set was nothing like this", was his first comment.  He was fascinated by the size of the trains, the detailed scenery and the sounds.  Now, I don't consider my layout anywhere near extravagant, but in his eyes it was worthy of a museum.  

Tom

One more thought about moderation or restraint.  Lay-Away plans were pretty much the norm before the internet and  the massive use of credit cards.  But about forty years ago, our then leaders thought that buying on credit would spur the economy.  These are the same people who thought that privatizing and breaking up stalwarts like Bell Telephone or firing air traffic controllers wholesale, were in our best interests.

I'm probably teetering on too much politics for the moderators liking, but a few more thoughts before I go. 

There were no interest charges to pay with lay-away !   You could change you mind in some cases I'm sure.  For instance, if you had something on lay-away and an unexpected expense came up that had to be paid, the lay-away could be placed on hold or possibly cancelled.  

The bottom line harkens back to Arnolds original thoughts.  Don't be a glutton.     

The rising cost of O-gauge trains has curtailed my buying, so for the first time since Cy 2001 my buying has been severely moderated. Fortunately, my buying sprees in the past have given me more trains than my railroad can accommodate at any one time, so moderation isn't going to bother my fun with trains much.

There are some Rail King articulated steamers and trolley cars I lust for, but more than likely I will buy previously owned ones from the OGR Forum.

Bobby Ogage posted:

The rising cost of O-gauge trains has curtailed my buying, so for the first time since Cy 2001 my buying has been severely moderated. Fortunately, my buying sprees in the past have given me more trains than my railroad can accommodate at any one time, so moderation isn't going to bother my fun with trains much.

There are some Rail King articulated steamers and trolley cars I lust for, but more than likely I will buy previously owned ones from the OGR Forum.

I'm in the same boat, Bobby, regarding train purchases. I also went on buying sprees years ago so I have plenty of Postwar Lionel, and modern MTH Railking, Lionel, K Line and Williams.

I'm currently enamored with Lionel LC+.  I run them when my granddaughters come over, and I get such a kick out of seeing and videotaping them running those trains using remote units. Before long, they will be running them from my smartphone LC+ App, and then I have a chance to really get them hooked!

Oh what fun!

As I type this, it just occurred to me that I have a long term plan: to get my granddaughters to run the LC+ engines from their own smartphone LC+ Apps.

At the moment, I think Lionel has a great future. LOL.

My model railroading in moderation plan is to purchase, at most, one LC+2.0 locomotive per year, keep all my equipment in good working order, and the icing on the cake is to build a modest-sized 2nd layout, which will be a Postwar AF layout in the mud room between the house and garage. I already have all the AF trains, track and accessories that I need, and it will have winter scenery with snow.

Arnold

Great thread, Arnold!  

Both of my parents lived through the Great Depression as well.  But I had what can only be called a blessed and amazing childhood.  At age 4, Christmas 1958, my father and maternal grandfather conspired to get me a Marx trainset from Sears.  It was a big one (9 cars!) branded for Allstate.  I loved it, still have it, and the old Marx 666 still pulls cars around the Christmas tree.

Over the years, my mother repeatedly quipped, "It was supposed to be for you, but they really bought it for themselves".   Maybe they did, but it ignited a love of model railroading that has lasted a lifetime.  Even my aunt (mom's sister) fed the hobby with annual gifts of cars.  Pretty cool.  

I am working on igniting the habit, er hobby in my grandchildren. 

George

I love the picture of you and your dad, George, and all of your comments.

IMO, model railroading and other activities that dads do with their children and grandchildren, is the closest thing to the Fountain of Youth for the dads!

Think about it, don't you feel like a kid again when doing something on your layout with your children and grandchildren, and they are smiling and happy! Arnold

Oh, I definitely agree with your sentiment.  It is a fountain of youth.  The looks on their faces is - SUSTAINING.  

George