Retirees, Those Soon To Be and the Hobby

I also appreciate all the responses to this thread. I've been on the forum for about 15 years and while I read it almost everyday, I have not posted much since 2018. I started tearing down my old layout in the summer of 2017. My wife got ill in the fall. It was cancer and passed away the following spring. My train buddies helped me get through this difficult time. I didn't feel like doing much with trains or fishing. Thankfully, this forum was a way to stay connected. Going to York was always a goal, and my train buddies and I decided to stop procrastinating and go. It was amazing!!! We finally got to meet many OGR forum members and attend the breakfast. Fastforward to now. I finally tore down my old layout and started building a new one. Last summer, I reread the posts as I was finally thinking seriously about retiring. Our train club and the forum lost so many members the last few years. We never know how long we have.  This prompted me to move up my retirement plans. I was lucky to find a very special lady. I was remarried in September, my bride is retired, and the 5 hour commute was wearing on me physcally.  Although not exactly ready, I made the decision to retire. My wife is ecstatic! Today is my last official day of work. I plan to work on my layouts, go fishing, travel,  hang out with train buddies, and see my grandaughter often. All in all, I'm looking forward to this new chapter. I understand everyone has different circumstances. It was scary to make this decision last summer with the state of the economy, and not exactly being ready financially. Ultimately, I knew if I kept working my health would keep getting worse. I wanted to be able to enjoy retirement. Thanks again for starting this thread!!

Bob

You won’t be sorry. I left a little early also, but it has worked out. Glad we will be able to get together more often, like in an hour.

Steve

@Matthew Davis posted:

If someone is confident in interpreting these results, I would love to hear your thoughts--Is that really Lionel peaking at only 100 google searches??

Also, uncertain about forum etiquette: I would love to hear thoughts on the following, but the original post was 2 or 3 replies back.

@Matthew Davis "What efforts you see to generate 'superfans' in model railroading?
Is anyone besides local train stores pushing this? (I recently had a good conversation with an owner in Oklahoma City that suggests evidence of community involvement catalyzed by a large G-Scale display they've constructed near their store...)"

Hello, how do you generate this data?  Yours is too blurry to read.

Charlie in NC

@CP BOB posted:

I also appreciate all the responses to this thread. I've been on the forum for about 15 years and while I read it almost everyday, I have not posted much since 2018. I started tearing down my old layout in the summer of 2017. My wife got ill in the fall. It was cancer and passed away the following spring. My train buddies helped me get through this difficult time. I didn't feel like doing much with trains or fishing. Thankfully, this forum was a way to stay connected. Going to York was always a goal, and my train buddies and I decided to stop procrastinating and go. It was amazing!!! We finally got to meet many OGR forum members and attend the breakfast. Fastforward to now. I finally tore down my old layout and started building a new one. Last summer, I reread the posts as I was finally thinking seriously about retiring. Our train club and the forum lost so many members the last few years. We never know how long we have.  This prompted me to move up my retirement plans. I was lucky to find a very special lady. I was remarried in September, my bride is retired, and the 5 hour commute was wearing on me physcally.  Although not exactly ready, I made the decision to retire. My wife is ecstatic! Today is my last official day of work. I plan to work on my layouts, go fishing, travel,  hang out with train buddies, and see my grandaughter often. All in all, I'm looking forward to this new chapter. I understand everyone has different circumstances. It was scary to make this decision last summer with the state of the economy, and not exactly being ready financially. Ultimately, I knew if I kept working my health would keep getting worse. I wanted to be able to enjoy retirement. Thanks again for starting this thread!!

Bob

Congrats on retirement.  Your post illustrates the importance of the social aspect of trains, or any hobby.

Wish I could give your post more than one "like".

I figured out how to do the Google Trends function, redid Matthew Davis' list to see it clearly, and then ran this one for 'model trains'.  A steady decline in interest since 2004, with peaks every December.  I ran similar searches for my other hobbies, and everyone followed this graph line.  What it tells me is that old white men are dying off and nobody is behind us taking up the slack.

https://trends.google.com/tren...amp;q=model%20trains

Regarding Social Security, I came across a book by CPA Mike Piper, Social Security Made Simple. It’s a quick read (around 100 pages), and has some good information.    
Andy

@CALNNC posted:

I figured out how to do the Google Trends function, redid Matthew Davis' list to see it clearly, and then ran this one for 'model trains'.  A steady decline in interest since 2004, with peaks every December.  I ran similar searches for my other hobbies, and everyone followed this graph line.  What it tells me is that old white men are dying off and nobody is behind us taking up the slack.

https://trends.google.com/tren...amp;q=model%20trains

I’d much rather enjoy the here & now than waste my time looking at trends, spikes, lows & highs,……what good does it do ya?…….unless you’re doing research for a market analysis……

Pat

Mallard,

Thank you for the kind words!

Bob

Received a flyer in the mail from the local post Office yesterday, they are looking for letter carriers.

Even though I'm very happily retired, I told Mrs. 'Ski that I should apply, mostly because they are offering a good pension after 20 years. At first she didn't get why I thought this was funny, then she remembered that I'll be almost 92 in 20 years!

@Lionelski posted:

Received a flyer in the mail from the local post Office yesterday, they are looking for letter carriers.

Even though I'm very happily retired, I told Mrs. 'Ski that I should apply, mostly because they are offering a good pension after 20 years. At first she didn't get why I thought this was funny, then she remembered that I'll be almost 92 in 20 years!

A mailman is healthy work - long walk almost every day. If the mail being carried is not too heavy, that could also be good for fitness.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

A mailman is healthy work - long walk almost every day. If the mail being carried is not too heavy, that could also be good for fitness.

True Arnold, but in my area they drive a truck and deliver to curbside mailboxes.

I must correct something I said - they are looking for letter carriers (Mailman is not PC, nor inclusive of all of the female letter carriers out there)

@Lionelski posted:

True Arnold, but in my area they drive a truck and deliver to curbside mailboxes.

I must correct something I said - they are looking for letter carriers (Mailman is not PC, nor inclusive of all of the female letter carriers out there)

John, I, not you, stand corrected, letter carrier is the preferred expression.

@CALNNC posted:

I figured out how to do the Google Trends function, redid Matthew Davis' list to see it clearly, and then ran this one for 'model trains'.  A steady decline in interest since 2004, with peaks every December.  I ran similar searches for my other hobbies, and everyone followed this graph line.  What it tells me is that old white men are dying off and nobody is behind us taking up the slack.

https://trends.google.com/tren...amp;q=model%20trains

Time to get your clone up and running!

Tom (the original, not a clone!) 

@CP BOB congratulations on you recent marriage and your retirement!!  I’m sure you made the right decisions!

@Lionelski posted:

Received a flyer in the mail from the local post Office yesterday, they are looking for letter carriers.

Even though I'm very happily retired, I told Mrs. 'Ski that I should apply, mostly because they are offering a good pension after 20 years. At first she didn't get why I thought this was funny, then she remembered that I'll be almost 92 in 20 years!

I am glad you were joking. Trust me you don't want this job of Letter Carrier. Number 1) it is for young people only. I did it for 3.5 years and that was 25 years ago when the packages were WAY less. Number 2) it is BY FAR the most laborious job in the Post Office. Nothing even comes close and I ave had about 6 different jobs in the Post Office over my career. Not only do you have to carry a heavy weight on your back (if you have a walking route) but at the same time you must deal with the weather. They are looking for Letter Carriers where I live too. Probably everywhere. Why? Because it is such hard work that many people just quit. The other negative is management treats the Letter Carriers terribly and this is across the board over the whole country. They are considered unskilled labor and they know that if someone quits they will just hire someone else. Back in my day you had 3 types of routes as a Letter Carrier. #1) Walking #2) Driving-delivering to curbside mailboxes and #3) Cluster Boxes. There may be something else today with all the packages. I liked walking best because if you hustled and the mail wasn't very heavy then you could beat the time on the route and have extra time for yourself. You didn't go back to the Office because management wouldn't say "Good job, why don't you take off early and go home." No they would send you out with more mail! We had a custodian at the Kilmer, NJ plant who made up these rules of the Post Office. There were 6 rules and I don't remember them all but one of them was "A willing worker will be willingly worked." Another rule was "You will get your reward in the end." or "No good deed goes unpunished." They still make me laugh but they are very true. My wife went and I went to Olive Garden the other day and the waitress was telling us her husband is a Letter Carrier in Lawrenceville, NJ. She said he was working 12 hour days every day during the Christmas rush due to so many people getting sick and calling out. Back in my day working a 12 hour day was very rare (8 hours straight time 2 hours OT and 2 hours DT). I can't imagine doing that for several weeks in a row! Another thing is due to the extreme physical nature of being a Letter Carrier you will see many,many older Letter Carriers with all sorts of physical injuries and surgeries that they will have had. My brother did a driving route for many years and had to have surgery on his right shoulder. Your body just wears out over time. I still have neck problems from my 3.5 years as a Carrier. I could go on but....

So please, anyone on this forum who isn't 20 something stay away from being a Letter Carrier.

@CP BOB You definitely did the right thing. A lot of people at The Post Office have a real fear of not having enough money in retirement. You will find a way to make it work. You can't get these years back if you continue to work. Congratulations on getting married!

@CALNNC posted:

I figured out how to do the Google Trends function, redid Matthew Davis' list to see it clearly, and then ran this one for 'model trains'.  A steady decline in interest since 2004, with peaks every December.  I ran similar searches for my other hobbies, and everyone followed this graph line.  What it tells me is that old white men are dying off and nobody is behind us taking up the slack.

https://trends.google.com/tren...amp;q=model%20trains

I would be curious as to what other hobbies you ran trends on? What about Old Cars? For years they kept saying that all the old guys are going to pass and you younger guys will be able to buy the cars you want but this hasn't been the case. Old car prices for muscle cars and other collectible cars just keep going up and up. There seems to be no end to the rising prices.

@Hudson J1e posted:

I would be curious as to what other hobbies you ran trends on? What about Old Cars? For years they kept saying that all the old guys are going to pass and you younger guys will be able to buy the cars you want but this hasn't been the case. Old car prices for muscle cars and other collectible cars just keep going up and up. There seems to be no end to the rising prices.

Go tp Google and put in 'Google Trends' and it will take you to the site.  Put in the question line 'Old Cars' and it will generate a report.  When it opens that report, there will be more options to add other comparison items.  You might have to reword the subject.  If you put 'model trains' in you get a graph, if you put 'model railroading' in, you get a flat line almost.  There could be other things that effect the report too since this is based on Google searches.  Other search engines may be bleeding off Google searches, but I notice when using the Duck Duck Go search bar, most times what I get back has a Google header on it.

@harmonyards posted:

I’d much rather enjoy the here & now than waste my time looking at trends, spikes, lows & highs,……what good does it do ya?…….unless you’re doing research for a market analysis……

Pat

Pat - Right On!  I'm with you all the way.

The bottom line is no one is immortal, so I'd rather just enjoy my time & trains while I'm here on this planet rather than mull over or be concerned about statistical data. 

@CALNNC posted:

Go tp Google and put in 'Google Trends' and it will take you to the site.  Put in the question line 'Old Cars' and it will generate a report.  When it opens that report, there will be more options to add other comparison items.  You might have to reword the subject.  If you put 'model trains' in you get a graph, if you put 'model railroading' in, you get a flat line almost.  There could be other things that effect the report too since this is based on Google searches.  Other search engines may be bleeding off Google searches, but I notice when using the Duck Duck Go search bar, most times what I get back has a Google header on it.

I don't think CALLNNC intended for anyone to stop enjoying their trains and worry about statistical data. I like to keep up with what is happening in the hobbies I participate in. No need to worry or spend a lot of time on it just pay attention to current events and what is happening around me.

Thank you CALNNC. I tried it. I spent about 5 minutes on it. I put in "Muscle Cars" and it also showed interest declining over the years since 2004. It is my opinion that something is wrong here. Prices are up on most muscle cars which means demand is up. Try buying a '68 to '70 Charger? It's insane! Maybe people are using different search options? Maybe people are finally realizing you can learn a lot by joining a club or organization for a certain hobby? (Ha! wouldn't that be great!!) My opinion is Google Trends is just not a good way to determine the health of model railroading or any other hobby. I have been told by hobby shop owners that the hobby is in good health. Sure, O gauge may be in a slight decline but HO and N are growing. Both hobbies will be fine. All opinion.

@Hudson J1e posted:

I don't think CALLNNC intended for anyone to stop enjoying their trains and worry about statistical data. I like to keep up with what is happening in the hobbies I participate in. No need to worry or spend a lot of time on it just pay attention to current events and what is happening around me.

Thank you CALNNC. I tried it. I spent about 5 minutes on it. I put in "Muscle Cars" and it also showed interest declining over the years since 2004. It is my opinion that something is wrong here. Prices are up on most muscle cars which means demand is up. Try buying a '68 to '70 Charger? It's insane! Maybe people are using different search options? Maybe people are finally realizing you can learn a lot by joining a club or organization for a certain hobby? (Ha! wouldn't that be great!!) My opinion is Google Trends is just not a good way to determine the health of model railroading or any other hobby. I have been told by hobby shop owners that the hobby is in good health. Sure, O gauge may be in a slight decline but HO and N are growing. Both hobbies will be fine. All opinion.

Yes, the actual accuracy related to the trend of an interest can not really be determined I believe.  It is only a report on searches made on a subject, a separate comment about the services said, "Google Trends provides keyword-related data including search volume index and geographical information about search engine users."   As to a trend report for something like 'model trains' actually indicating its health as a hobby would be hard to verify, that would have to include  data on sales of hobby related items including magazines.  It also would have to be actual items, not gross receipts, since an extra Lionel loco you might have wanted back in1955  might have set you back 35 bucks and can now cost thousands, that sort of skews the numbers on how well the market is doing.  2000 $35 locos sold back then, is not the same as 50 $3000 locos sold now. But, we can beat all this model stuff to death so I will shut up and go back to the trains.

Another thing that I've done which might be of interest to others...

Although I've been a member of NMRA for many years, I've taken advantage of my additional free time to get active with local meetings and operating sessions.  Met lots of friendly and interesting folks, and learned a lot about the operations side of the hobby.  It's always good for a laugh when I "come out" as a 3-railer.

Sadly, there's little local TCA activity.

I'm also a member of a local 3-rail group that has a portable layout (see article in OGR run 320).  In addition, I'm in SGMA and try to participate as much as possible; unfortunately, there aren't any members or activities within about 200 miles.

The social aspect of the hobby is rewarding and important for staying active and engaged.  I've learned a lot of new things and made some new friends. I highly recommend getting out of the basement and meeting people.

@Lionelski posted:

True Arnold, but in my area they drive a truck and deliver to curbside mailboxes.

I must correct something I said - they are looking for letter carriers (Mailman is not PC, nor inclusive of all of the female letter carriers out there)

Considering that almost no one writes and mails letters anymore....it may be time to revisit this title as well.

@CP BOB- congrats on the retirement. Glad you found happiness again in your life after your loss.

I had lunch with a couple of friends the other day. One lost his wife about 2 years ago (cancer), and he's been going through some tough times. He recently decided to dust off his old Lionel trains and build a small layout. He's really excited and the two of us are eager to offer any help he may need.

Again- why this is the best hobby in the world.

Bob

Bob, sorry to hear about your friend losing his wife; it’s never easy losing a loved one or friend. I agree 100% that this is the best hobby in the world. As Mallard mentioned the social aspect can be a very rewarding part of the hobby too. This forum also helps us stay connected, and the exchange of ideas and information in my opinion is priceless.
I am now up to date on this thread, I read all 28 pages, and I’m glad I did. I wil monitor this thread from here on out. Thank you Tom and all who have contributed, your real life stories and experiences are invaluable.

Andy

Well I didn’t know if I would have much to say on this thread but I have really started to enjoy it.  I retired (finally from the last of my 3 jobs) about a year ago.  I have been mostly a collector but do have a modest layout. I have been in TCA 43 years and am also in LCCA and TTOS.  I love the forum because it gives me folks to “talk” to about trains. There is not much activity here in central Texas unless you travel 100+!miles to the Dallas area although I do that several times per year to TCA Div shows in that area.  Going back to York remains a goal as I have not been there since the middle 90’s when we lived in Md.  I did get to the TCA Nashville convention this year and met some great folks that I knew of from the forum saw some great layouts too.  
I hope to keep up with the folks on this thread and comment when appropriate.

Best wishes to all

Don

@Steamfan77 posted:

Bob, sorry to hear about your friend losing his wife; it’s never easy losing a loved one or friend. I agree 100% that this is the best hobby in the world. As Mallard mentioned the social aspect can be a very rewarding part of the hobby too. This forum also helps us stay connected, and the exchange of ideas and information in my opinion is priceless.
I am now up to date on this thread, I read all 28 pages, and I’m glad I did. I wil monitor this thread from here on out. Thank you Tom and all who have contributed, your real life stories and experiences are invaluable.

Andy

Thanks Andy. We were good friends. Bert and I are in the same line of work, so we have a lot in common.  Corinne was a sweet woman who left us too soon. She bravely fought for several years through several remissions.

Hopefully the trains will get him back on the path to happiness.

The current Trainstock threads kind of say it all.

Bob

My plan to retire at the end of this year is still on track (pun intended). Because football is over, I’ve found some extra time to work on the layout. It’s sort of a tune up for the end of the year and beyond.
Anyone else nearing retirement or recently retired?

Andy

Hi Andy,

   Glad to hear your plan. I hope to go by September 1 (of this year) if the economy cooperates. I've "hoped" to retire at least 2 other times, praying that this is it!

Tom

Just retired Tuesday (14FEB).  Wife & I got on a plane to Florida Wednesday but I had to snowplow the driveway 1st, so I could get the car out - to get to the airport !  Tshirt on a guy in the Sioux Falls airport:
“ Retired - Under New Management”.

Rich in SD

Congratulations, Rich!  You wasted no time heading south!  Have a great trip!  I like that guy’s shirt.

Congratulations on setting a date, Andy and Tom!  A friend at church has 14 weeks to go.

Two years in March for me.  I don't know if that qualifies as "recent".  Often wonder how I found time to go to work.

I've probably already said this in the preceding 27+ pages, but...

Unless you get up every morning excited about going to work, go as soon as you possibly can.  Plan ahead as best you can - get unbiased (i.e., non-commissioned) financial advice - but don't fret about things you can't control.  Don't wait for the economy or the government to "cooperate" - there will be ups and downs - if a few thousand up or down in your 401k is significant, you probably can't afford to retire.

Great news Rich, @trestleking, I am happy to hear you’ve made it through the process of actual retirement, what we have worked a lifetime to achieve. I retired April 30, 2018, and it’s been a lot of fun, although my wife controls a lot of my time, she allows me to have fun with my train friends. I must say, Florida is a great place to begin your journey. We wish you the very best. Happy Railroading Everyone

I retired at 68 in June, but went back 2-3 days a week just to help out a client. Looking forward to my re-re-tirement, which started today!!! (now 69). I'm actually here on the Forum trying to de-bug the quantum failure of MTH DCS on 2 iPads and one iPhone that just up and quit the "find new locomotive". I know they still see the WIU.

Anyway, after reading, albeit quickly, this entire thread, I have feared that the hobby may fall by the wayside for the the Gen X, Y or  "tween" crowd. After observing my twin 11- year old grandsons, I offer the following: I have deduced that buying and operating engines and cars they can see locally makes a difference. Put another way, they want to play with the Pan AM/ Guilford things because they can see them in Portsmouth, or plying the local near their home.  They don't care about the B&M or the Central Vermont, the railroads of MY youth, and a raft of other long-gone lines.

So if I had a buzz-word to tag here to help perpetuate the hobby while making it as inclusive as possible, try to make it relevant to their youth....in addition to your own youth of course.  Then when the twins are 65, they'll always remember the now-lost Pan Am name. (yes, they can still be seen even in these CSX times). Just my 2 cents.

You and I will 'always be young or we wouldn't be here!

Tom, I hope you get to go in September, I’ll join you a few months later.

Congratulations Rich! Florida sounds nice this time of year. Best of luck.

Mallard, that’s recent enough, congratulations to you too! I agree with your advice, plan as best as you can, don’t sweat stuff you can’t control. I don’t care what the markets do day to day, week to week, or month to month. I check our investments maybe twice a year, and that’s to rebalance what we have. We won’t be touching the principal any time soon. Not wealthy, but it’ll get the job done. That’s part of why I delayed my retirement one year.

Larry, glad you have some good time with your train friends.

Endless Tracks, congratulations to you too! I hope retirement sticks this time. Enjoy your free time.

Andy

Glad to finally have a "retirement" date of Sept 1, 2023 at 67.  Now I'll have to figure out the next 20 year career. Actual stop working date is May 26th due to banked vacation days. Wow, 7 weeks away.  First time since I was 12 I will not be working for a paycheck.  Odd to consider. 

Jeff, Congratulations!!  It is odd to consider after so many years.  I had assumed I would retire March 1, 2023 at 66 and 4 months or soon thereafter.  However, no one needing my services and 2 surgeries made it a floating target.  As it turned out, I realized I was retired for good after the fact.  That has been odd to consider!  I am going expect Twin Pines RR construction to accelerate in June.

Well fellows I retired from my final job (I had up to 3 at the same time over my career) in 2021 (Dec) and I can tell you the transition is not so much hard as strange.  I was 75 and had been working or in school all the time since I was 15 so not knowing what day it was and making Monday's just another day was strange.  Luckily I did start a small layout and "discovered" the forum in 2020 which I have liked so much.  I do have an entire closet full of "business" clothes that I will never wear again so those are going to "Good Will".  I congratulate you both on achieving or nearly achieving "retired status" and I hope you continue to post here as I always read your posts.

Best wishes and best of luck

Don

Congratulations Jeff on a successful and rewarding career. Given your stop work date it will be like getting out of school for the summer. My motto, “collect early and often “.

Jay

@ScoutingDad posted:

Glad to finally have a "retirement" date of Sept 1, 2023 at 67.  Now I'll have to figure out the next 20 year career. Actual stop working date is May 26th due to banked vacation days. Wow, 7 weeks away.  First time since I was 12 I will not be working for a paycheck.  Odd to consider.

Jeff, congratulations on your upcoming retirement!!! I retired early in 2020 at the age of 64 after working in high tech for 41 years. I did start to get a little bored, so I found a part time job in a completely different field than high tech. It keeps me busy and I enjoy it most of the time! LoL  A lot of avenues of retirement options will be available, try something different from what you used to do, spread your wings. Retirement, it's a good thing, enjoy it!

I retired early two years ago. Hubby was retired involuntarily years ago and was tired of being home alone. When we ran the numbers, it made total sense financially for me to give up my not-so-great paying office job and instead assist him with projects at home. He was a career engineer and computer programmer, so he can and does fix almost anything (cars, decks, appliances, etc). We also do a lot of gardening and ALL of our own yard work, take beach trips, and sing in choirs. So our main available train time is January/February and the hot summer days.

He had been waiting for years for me to clean out our overstuffed basement so he could use the space, and I wasn't able to do that while working. Since I retired, I've been chipping away at that, and we are almost ready to start building Phase I of the layout.

Our challenge right now is that we both got COVID in mid-January and have been dealing with long-COVID fatigue. We are gradually getting our energy back, but it's hard to keep up with everything and make progress with the layout. We are hoping to get started on the benchwork this summer.

Congrats to all who have recently retired or have set a date. As many of you remember, I retired on December 31, 2020 after practicing Nephrology for the better part of 37 years.

I love retirement!

I remain very busy on my new home layout and with our local modular group. I remain connected to my medical colleagues by doing some medical staff committee work......I do miss the day to day dealings with my colleagues. I miss the patient interactions.......but, I do not miss the bureaucracy and the computer documentation.

I am trying to remain current with the science in my field (Nephrology). The recent advances in molecular biology, therapeutics and genetics have radically changed what can be done for kidney patients.....and (unfortunately), there is just no way to stifle my interest.

This leads me to an announcement....I am going back to work.....one morning a week. A few months back the VCU Nephrology Division asked to to help out a Monday morning clinic at our local VA. The format is ideal. The clinic is for new kidney patients making their 1st visit with a kidney doctor. The clinic is staffed by Nephrology Follows (those who have completed an Internal Medicine residency and know are learning to be kidney docs). My job is to see all the new patients with them; begin the evaluation of their problem; coordinate what needs to be done; set up the follow up care; and, teach the internal medicine residents and kidney fellows how to approach a new patient presenting with a kidney problem........and, it is flexible when I need to be off....notwithstanding the issues with dealing with computerized medical records again, I am looking forward to it.  

Peter