Observations About Train Show Attendees

Polar Express is becoming a 'Wizard of Oz' type film.....it will not age out or become dated. Kids and families will always watch it and enjoy anything to do with it for many years.

Thomas also has some of this appeal...not as much today maybe...but still does.

The Thomas/wooden train section of my LHS is always crowded with tiny little people and their parents.  Always.    I figure it is the model railroad industry's fault if it cannot convert the enthusiasm kids have at age 3 into a longer term infatuation with toy trains. 

PTR,

   I agree 100%, and if Lionel & MTH are smart business companies they are going to come up with another idea similar to the PE.  The kids around Pittsburgh love the PE story, and even wanted Lionel to build more and different rolling stock.  A Legacy PE

would be something to consider for Lionel.  A Tin Plate 263E with fancy rolling stock

and Cast Iron people would sell like crazy also.  For years I had the kids visit around Christmas time, to run our Office/Gameroom layout, once they found out they could run the PE with our DCS hand held remote, every kid wanted his turn controlling the PE train, especially when it was on the 2nd or 3rd level of the FasTrack layout. 

Our hobby needs this kind of exposure, once the parents see how much the kids like it,

they are more willing to spend the money and participate in our hobby.

IMO you were right on the money with what really happens.

One of the big negatives at the train shows is the vendors being allow to tell kids not to touch the trains, many of these foolish vendors have been crippling our hobby for years.  When I was a kid the vendors handed kids engines to touch and see up close,

if something happened to get broken Frank at the Iron Horse or David at Bill & Walts would make sure it was repaired for little or nothing.  Kids are the life blood of our hobby, without them our hobby will die.

PCRR/Dave

The Polar Express is great, of course, but never underestimate the power of Thomas.  He and His Friends are with kids almost daily on TV, in video, and in virtually every toy store or section of a store that sells toys.

Allan Miller,

   Yes you have a great point, Thomas is another big plus for our hobby and we need more ideas like it to grab the kids attention.  When I was a kid we road the railroads

with our parents, not today.  So stuff like Thomas is critical in drawing & keeping the kids interested in our hobby.

PCRR/Dave

Thank God, I thought this was going to be another post on train show attendees not showering or wearing clean clothes to the shows.

Rick

A couple of observations on Thomas: Our museum has a small two-track Thomas layout where each train is operated by a pushbutton. The buttons are on opposite sides of the table so one kid can't hog both trains. The Thomas table is almost always bustling with little kids having a good time.

Last time I was in Northern California I managed to take a few hours to visit the California Railway Museum in Sacramento. They have a huge toy train exhibit, and at one end there's a great big setup of Thomas floor trains. The place was (literally) crawling with kids playing.

Kids love Thomas. I think there's an age difference - the kids who play with Thomas tend to be younger than the ones who are into the Polar Express. Personally I prefer the Hogwarts Express, and my nieces and nephews loved the set I gave them for Christmas a couple of years ago - but that's another jump in age from the Polar Express to Harry Potter. 

Or crop dusting......TMI!!!!!!!!!!

SW,

   You are right on the money, it definitely is a progressive age group identity business,

and Lionel & MTH need to realize it and cater to the kids in the different age groups more than they are doing now, it would help our hobby and their business to do so.

PCRR/Dave

I would like to see train manufacturers come out with an educational train and a game train.  Both could use a cardboard type train board with educational train teaching about words, spelling, etc.  There is no end what they could do with a game train.  Change the board and you have a new game.  Anyway, just a thought.

Steve, Lady and Tex

That's what I thought too...yet I still opened the thread.

Jeff Davis

My youngest son has easily a hundred Thomas wooden pieces and enough track to cover our large living room.  He's 12 and never wants to get rid of them.  He is also a PE fan and now he really really wants the diesel passenger set.  I believe Lionel can ride that PE franchise for a good while to come.

I can honestly say, there was no need for a deodorant spray.

That's great to hear.  I feel like other than my son and me, there are few young parents and kids at most of the local, smaller shows here in Florida.

Among my under-40 peers and their kids, I have tried for years to generate interest in trains via the Thomas, Harry Potter, Hershey, and Polar Express offerings from Lionel.  Cost is always the dealbreaker for them, unfortunately.

Neither my kids nor I liked the Polar Express movie, and I have little interest in passenger trains, but the lovely color scheme of the PE freight was irresistible to us.  So, agreed--keep going with these properties, expand them, and look for new ones!

Your observation surprised me as I thought Thomas & Friends would've been a much great influence than the Polar Express movie.  I used to watch Thomas frequently with my daughters when they were younger, and we all found it entertaining.  The Polar Express thing I admit I don't really appreciate, save for the fact that it's associated with Christmas and the holiday season.  But, hey, whatever it takes to keep new blood coming into the hobby, right?

- Mike

"Neither my kids nor I liked the Polar Express movie..." OMG, I thought I was the only train guy in the Universe who didn't like the movie.

But hey, it's great that others get something out of it and it helps boost the toy train hobby.

I once tried to give a straight up "visual reading" of the movie,based upon established film critique and visual language (yes, I am an artist), but the backlash of negative comments about how "I didn't believe" was overwhelming...

The Polar Express, Hogwarts, and Thomas sets have drawn lots to the hobby.  Good to hear they are still drawing in young families.

Mike, I have no reference point with Thomas. My son was into trains long before Thomas was popular.

So from all I have read in the past about the popularity of Thomas, my first question to the kids was if they were into Thomas. I was taken completely by surprise about how many kids and parents went straight into talking about the PE.

It really doesn't matter whether we personally like the movie, it is rather the trickle down effect on kids and how much they like this train. There are no losers here. I am sure Thomas is still very popular. I can only report to you what I learned Saturday.

My own experience is that the kids and most parents usually like to the see the PE and Thomas run around the show layouts regardless of the other scale items that are on the layout. By far the most popular item/train at the Big Trainsfest show in Milwaukee was the scale Polar Express with all the sound and smoke features.

I would agree with most of what has been posted above, however, to say that Lionel needs to do more is kind of shortsighted. Since Thomas and PE have come out, there has not been a period that one or both was available. This does not mean Lionel can sit on their laurels, but they have been marketing these items for some time.

Even “It’s a Wonderful Life” was a box office failure as well as being panned by critics. Obviously today we all think different. Maybe Polar Express with come to grow on those that did not like the move for some reason.

Charlie

BINGO!

Disney used to re-release their major cartoon features every 7 years. Why? Because every 7 years they had a totally new audience!

The same concept applies here.

Good observation Brian.  So many times we read about the coming demise of our hobby.  I have confidence that is not going to happen.  My experience attending shows is similar.  When I go to train shows I am astounded by the number of families with children who attend.  My favorite is the Amherst show in Springfield, MA and it always has a very large collection of children.

My own grandchildren go through the same scenario of collecting Thomas the train toys at a young age then moving on to the inexpensive and great plastic G gauge setups and then coming back to my home and wanting to learn how to hook the wiring up on my table for the big boy trains.

There is no doubt in my mind that many of these youngsters will rebuild the fun and memories they had with trains as a kid.  And, when they are older and have enough extra cash they will be like us, worried about the future of the hobby. 

I would say that Thomas the tank engine has done a lot for the model train industry.

He even shows up at Strasburg PA either once or twice a year and has a very large following there.

The Polar Express is popular too.

Another soon to be upcoming cartoon movie is the animated remake of Peabody & Sherman, they used to be a 1960's cartoon.

Lee Fritz

Not to rain on the parade, so to speak, but I'm eager to hear reports of a sizable portion of attendees in the teens/early 20's category....you know, the 'years of distraction'??  Now THAT would be something of a miracle!!

That seems to be where they're lost to the hobby.   True, some will return, especially when they have toddlers of their own to share the PE story with. 

Around here (mid-Meeeeshigan), The Polar Express is truly alive and well in all its prototypical grandeur...1225 has been reborn and under steam again!!  ...thanks to the effort of the good people at The Steam Institute of Owosso, MI.  In fact she'll be one of the stars of the 2014 show in that burg....June 20-22, 2014, Train Expo featuring locomotives, wings, and wheels, the latter two a fly-in of vintage aircraft (WWII, etc.), and a huge vintage auto show.

Train Expo Link

And Thomas regularly visits us at Crossroads Village, The Huckleberry Railroad, around August each year.  

Yep, no shortage of kick-start.  It's that interim staying-power that we all struggle with.

FWIW, always...

KD

That was probably the point:  Some kids are so nerdy that they are creepy like that.  Same with adults, like those people that are O gauge train nuts. 

By the way, the guy that did the voice of the know-it-all kid was Eddie Deezen, who starred in movies like Grease & War Games.  And if you looked up his profile and pic, you can see his resemblance to the kid isn't that far off.

KD:

If I remember (some may think my memory is completely gone) when I was in my teens and early twenties, sports, cars, and girls (not necessarily in that order) took me and most of my buddies who were into trains away form the hobby for many years. It was not until we started having our kids or we were at a point when time any money allowed for us to jump back into the hobby that trains became important again.

If it were not for the seed that was planted when we were in our very early years, many of us would have never known the joys of model railroading that we enjoy now.

I am sure that the pool of kids that were into trains when we were young is far greater that what it is today, but train shows, Thomas, and the Polar Express are all positive steps to attract interest among young people. There is no downside to this.

I know my grandson loves the PE movie and the PE set he received a couple of years ago at Christmas.  I think the PE movie is one of those timeless movies that has worked it's way into the cultural fabric, and will continue to play as a "holiday tradition" for many years to come.  Much like Peanuts, Frosty the Snowman, and even A Christmas Carol.  

Chuggington is another one that could help.  It's a BBC series that now has some Thomas-like toy sets for sale, and I think maybe something from Bachman in HO-scale.  My kids loved it much more than Thomas, which frankly was full of characters that just aren't very nice.  

There is one thing I wish the train shows would do.  Open up an hour earlier, FOR ADULTS ONLY!  Why do I say that?  With younger gernally having no manors, and parents/responsible adults not correcting them, it is really hard for older people, especially those with canes, walkers and chairs, powered or manual, to get around safely.

And if a talk at a train show is about the history of a railroad, or how to model something, children under middle school age should not be there.  I came to hear the speaker, not some child!

"young people leave and may or may not return when they have children of their own"

Over and over I see this labeled as a "problem."

Except, it's not a problem. This is the way it's been for generations, with many things not just model trains.

Those are the years where their personalities develop. This is the time where they gain the skills to interact with and deal with the outside world. This is the time when they learn REAL responsibility. This is where they develop their independence.

If they hide away playing with model trains through their formative years, they will end up going out into the world, socially inept.

I think being responsible is learning to have a balance.  It is OK to have a hobby, as long as you have the time and do those things which are proper for an adult.

I agree with Brian, and Allan, and the observations of other

Forum members on this topic.  My seven year old grandson loves

Thomas.  He was not born when PE came out, but he loves the

move.  It is a right of passage at Christmas Time we both watch

PE in Blue Ray.

Not all kids care for trains, but many do.  I hope when the time

comes when they have their own families the old man picks up

a starter set.  That purchase should do it.  To pass on this hobby

is something I feel will continue from dad to son, even if you have

several sons, and only one picks up the hobby, that is good enough

for me.  As Brain stated, in my teens I (Baby Boomer) had other

interests.  But in my 40's I went back into trains in a big way.

If you loved trains as a kid, I believe you never lose that love.

Great topic.

Many thanks,

Billy C 

I still remember THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD!

I think I can, I think I can......uphill.  I thought I could, I thought I could...downhill.  If you say them rally fast, is soulds like a steamer really working uphill, and drafting downhill.....

High Tech! Robotics, computer interaction, etc.

Check out how much interest and momentum the High School Robotics clubs and teams have going these days. Kids are sucking this stuff up and learning the latest in technology as well. Programming, design, creation, all with a goal at the end. Erector sets did not die because of lack of potential. They died up because they did not keep up with the times. Look at the growing market of small robotic "creature" kits available. Build them and then control them from your PC. Think about what could be done with all these action accessories available.  There is a ton of component availability that is very affordable that one could integrate into the barrel loaders or the operating boxcars. The 3D printer industry is about to explode. There are places out there now that you can send your part files to and they will make the parts for you. And it is affordable. Give those older age groups something that is a challenge to them with a railroad connection.

It is interesting to me that a number of people can go to the same event and they all see different things.  One person marvels at the young people that are there and what it represents for the future of the hobby.  Another goes and bemoans the young people because it detracts from their enjoyment of the show. 

I loved watching my grandkids and their love of Thomas when they were younger.  When the Illinois Railroad Museum has their Thomas Days, they are jam packed with families with young children.  Then the grand kids were exposed to the Polar Express and they loved it.  They bought the movie and practically have worn it out watching it.  And now, they love running trains with grandpa.  Don't you just love happy endings?

Art 

This door swings both ways.

Ever thought that some people may wish there was a special time when people like you weren't allowed in?

Most kids like trains…until they reach a certain age.  Then the interest in trains is put aside in favor of life's other attractions and requirements.  That train interest may return later in life, but for most it probably doesn't.  That's the way it has been for about a century.