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Ten years ago this Friday, I consider to be my 10 year anniversary back in the hobby. It was on that black Friday after Thanksgiving in 2001 that my uncle gave me his postwar trains that I also got to play with as a kid back in the mid 1970s. The engines included a 1956 Seaboard #601 NW-2 diesel switcher (which still runs and has been updated with LEDs in the front and cab, and Williams True last II horn) and 1959 AEC 57 Vulcan switcher (which no longer runs but I have a Postwar Celebration Series reissue). The operating freight cars included the 3662 milk car, yellow 3562-50 barrel car and blue 3424 Wabash brakeman car. The other cars included the maroon Lehigh Valley hopper car, black 3424 Evan auto loader, 6560 red Bucyrus crane car, 6362 orange Railway Truck car and 6119-50 work caboose. A 190 watt KW supplied the power. Operating accessories included the prewar gateman and the 494 rotating beacon (which is still on my layout) among others. Of course nothing worked when I got the trains, but soon I had things running.

In the last ten years, like many others on this forum, I have accumulated many more engines and an endless amount of freight and passenger cars. I will not list them as I would bore all of you. Most of my engines purchased in the last 7 years are command control ready. I have been using TMCC and DCS for 6 years.

Friday is also my younger daughter Danielle's 12th birthday, so it will be an inportant day for me.

Ten years is a long time. I then began thinking what has occurred in the hobby during that time. Certainly the last decade was dominated by two important things 1) several lawsuits which fortunately have all been resolved and 2) a big leap forward in electronics via command control and more realistic sounds. Sure, TrainMaster Command Control (TMCC) had already been around for several years. But DCS had not been released as of 2001, although MTH PS-2 locos had first appeared in 2000. Now we have PS3 in its infancy. It would not be until 2002 when DCS would finally be released. And Lionel's Legacy system would not appear until more than 5 years after DCS as replacement for TMCC. During that time as well, Lionel locos went from Railsounds (RS) 4, to RS 5.0, and now Legacy Railsounds, which are incredible.

Now we have Lionel Vision locomotives where the bell swings and is synchronized to the sound itself, steam whistle effect and steam blow down effect. The Lionel Vision Challenger released earlier this year even had a speaker in the
locomotive in addition to the one ordinarily found in the tender.

We also have more choices in entry level train sets than ever before. Presently Lionel, MTH, Atlas and Williams all offer entry level train sets. MTH and Lionel both offer premium train sets that do not come with track or transformer. Even RMT also offers a such a set. In 2001, Lionel and MTH offered starter sets. I do not know if the now defunct K-Line did.

For the last several years in the hobby, there has also been a rivalry between Lionel and MTH fans which was not present over 10 years ago. As long as hobbyists don't get too carried with the orange-blue versus purple-yellow stuff, I believe such competition between the manufacturers/importers is good for the hobby as it increases quality and keeps costs down. I'm sure many will disagree with this assessment, and such belief has merit. However, Lionel built some of its best trains of the post war era when it had healthy competiton from American Flyer. I believe the present Lionel MTH rivlary is similar to the Lionel American Flyer of the 1950s.

In addition to the trains themselves, the hobby has seen tremendous changes through the internet-namely the several on-line forums that have appeared including the best of them all, THIS ONE. Most of the people I have met in the hobby have been from the O Gauge On Line forum and have since become good friends. The forum certainly has extended the amount of knowledge available to all on many different topics. Just look at all the different sub-forums here.

Yes, the O gauge hobby has seen a lot of changes in the last 10 years. All you have to do is look at old issues of Classic Toy Trains (CTT) and O gauge railroading (OGR) to see them. In the future when model train historians analyze the period that included the first decade of the 21st century, they will conclude many changes occurred.

Erol Gurcan
Original Post

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I got into the hobby a little bit earlier than you Erol, 1999 to be exact. I did not have any trains as a youngster so in 1999 I bought my first Lionel starter set.

Like many of us on this forum I was becoming addicted to the trains and I could not get enough information or visit enough hobby shops or go to enough train shows to satisfy this urge.

I bought every book, video,and magazine that had anything to do with O Gauge model railroading. In 2002 I joined the TCA and became a member of this Forum.

This was indeed a dramatic decade for the O Gauge hobby as technology completely changed the hobby and continues to do so. The technology is still growing today at an exponential rate as manufacturers continue to update their operating systems and add additional realism to the operation of their trains.

To me though it is more of an evolutionary change that makes the hobby far more interesting and intriguing. The hobby still allows us to participate in any manner we feel comfortable be it running conventional engines or one of the new state of the art operating systems.

This is why I believe that the hobby will continue to grow into the future. The other change you mentioned about the online forums and the opportunity to meet and make friends thorough this new social media is the most exciting part about the hobby.

I see more train clubs forming as people now have a way to meet other interested hobbyists. This will expand the hobby in the future.

It's been a wild trip Erol. I can remember reading your latest updates on the lawsuit between Lionel and MTH and wondering if the hobby could survive. All of us were worried that the hobby could possibly collapse if one or both of these companies went out of business. It was like a daily soap opera as everyone had an opinion or speculated about the future of this hobby.

Thankfully, the world did not come to an end and both Lionel and MTH survived.

Yes it's been an eventful 10 years plus for me but I wouldn't change a thing!

Steve Tapper
Happy Anniversary Erol ! Wink

You are right -- it has been an exciting decade and I'm happy you are still having fun !

Happy Birthday to your daughter. My twin daughters turned 47 in September. Perhaps in your 20th Anniversary review you can include a picture of the grand children who will be playing trains with you. Big Grin


Tony
Up on "The D & H Bridge Line"
"In the hobby" 1959 to 1971. Out 1972 to 1982. In again for 1983. Out one more time 1984 to 1990. Returned to the hobby 1991 to present and am in the "pry them from my cold dead fingers" phase of it all. It all adds up to 33 years in and 22 years out. What's changed for me? I have lots of trains, a reliable layout, use a bit of remote control, and many more sources than were available 20 years ago. On the other hand, the trains are still cranky and demanding of mechanical tweaking. It's been real fun Roll Eyes
Erol,

Funny you mention this. I am approaching my 10 year anniversary as well. It was in early December 2001. 9/11 was still fresh in my mind since I was still working in DC at that time. I decided to set up the trains to have something different for Christmas. One of my sons was 20 months and my other son was 3 months old. They got a kick out of watching the trains run.

I set up my trains from my childhood around the Christmas tree. I used new track I picked up from the mall and we enjoyed the trains. After the end of Christmas, I packed them up, but my wife and sons wanted them put back up. I moved them to a temporary layout in the basement. The temporary layout became larger. Eventually, I built my current layout.

In 2002, I found several nice hobby shops who helped me get started. I was amazed the hobby was still around. There was so much product available compared to when I was a kids during the MPC era. The command control was amazing and gave me more options in operations. I quickly picked up TMCC and DCS.

Looking back at the last 10 years, I have seen several local hobby shops in my area close. I am fortunate to still have my main one open and I support it. The amount of product available has shrunk, but there is still more for me to choose than what I had when I was a kid. I am amazed to see how the products evolved with more details, better sounds, command control (DCS, LEGACY), scale options.

Back then, I did not know anyone one else who liked trains or used trains. I found the forum, joined the TCA, National Capitol Trackers and joined a local round robin club NCHR. I had no idea how many people had the same interest living in my area. Over the past 10 years, I have met some interesting people and lucky to have them as my friends.

Chris
Happy Anniversary, Erol!

Good Thread

February will be my 7th anniversary back in the hobby. I remember being quite surprised by all the advancements over the sets of my childhood - the "Mighty Sound of Steam" cannot hold a candle to RailSounds Smile, and I had never dreamed that any kind of remote (command) control could improve upon a good ZW, and FasTrack was the thing that pushed me over the line (I always hated working with tubular track). I also had never heard of companies like MTH, Williams, Weaver, RMT, Industrial Rail, K-Line, and Atlas O (I was aware of Atlas HO). And the variety... don't even get me started on the variety of engines, rolling stock, and accessories! I would eventually discover this forum, train shows, and York, and would make many new friends along the way.

O gauge life is good in this day and age! Smile

Andy
Well steted Locolawyer. The one thing I would add is that MTH leadership is more like Lionel leadership in the 50's (an owner with long term top lieutenants surrounding him and focused on building wealth in the business) whereas Lionel's leadership is more of a "corporate" type. I think that is very important in looking at the rivalry as one is in for the long haul and the other is probably more interested in maximizing current profits.

Gerry
quote:
For the last several years in the hobby, there has also been a rivalry between Lionel and MTH fans which was not present over 10 years ago.

Actually, the rivalry had a far more venomous tone back then did it does today. It has certainly been a pleasure to see things taper off a good bit in that respect.

In my work with the magazine since late in 2007, I've seen first-hand that the majority of hobbyists who contribute to our pages tend to enjoy a variety of brands. There are some exceptions, and likely always will be, but for the most part I have found that a good number of hobbyists these days have tended to abandon brand favoritism in favor of type of operation, era, region, or specific roadnames. In that regard, it's virtually impossible to ignore all brands in favor of just one because no one manufacturer can cater to the interests of all the specialized interests.

And if O gauge had a standardized command control system, similar to what is seen with DCC, we would be even further ahead. However, we're probably too far down the competing systems path for that to happen now.
I want to know where all the time has gone!!!! Ten years has flown by. I was basically out of the hobby from 68-80. Then, while living in Baltimore, I happened by a Greenberg Show at Towson State. It's been an addiction ever since...

Congrats, Erol, on your 10 year anniverary. I am richer for knowing you and all the other friends I have made in the hobby. I thank you all.

Peter
Erol,

I too got back into the hobby 10 years ago tomorrow. I bought a train set on that Friday and it was the first for me since I got a Lionel freight set in Dec, 1967. It has been the best move that I made in that 10 years. Since that time me collection has expanded many times over. I can go down to my layout and spend hours. I hope that we have many, many more years in this hobby.

Doug
If you go back further a few years to the "pre-rivalry" days, about all you had to look forward to was what roadnames Lionel was going to paint on the F3's GP's, TM's, 646's and 736's.

Many were more interested in collecting rather than operating.

Now, operating has just about become the norm, the variety is considerably greater, more scale oriented and many have become more concerned with prototype fidelity.

Rusty
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Allan Miller:
[QUOTE]Actually, the rivalry had a far more venomous tone back then did it does today. It has certainly been a pleasure to see things taper off a good bit in that respectQUOTE]



Ill say.

I was into O gauge from a child 78 until 94 or five. To me MTH was beginning to spank Lionel. I even had an article in the old pop off section of OGR about the imports and the venum. I couldnt stand to see the O gauge Legend paint the same old stampimg/tooling while the competition was doing new things and makimg cheaper imports.
It was apparent to me after the Chessie T-1 Mike made for lionel that he was going to make a run.
I got out then to raise the kids and run a business.
About 4 years ago I got back into it heavy again.Unpacked all of the collection only to see it was like having a 386 computor? No,The competition was obviously a healthy thing. I was glad to see Lionel came around cause their was definately some bashers and mockers back then.
I couldnt beleive the advancements ,Cruise control wow,that was enough to make it much more enjoyable alone,legacy sounds, sound sync , swinging bell and blow down ,legacy controler.Luckily for me I saved some money not having to go back and fourth and having 2 systems and stepped right back into 1 system compatibility for all my old stuff and old command. To see them all on the same track running with a state of the art controller and no upgrades was amazing to me.
Erol I love your prospective and I don't really disagree with it; and I have learned a lot from you the few times we have sat down together and talked.

Let me pull the curtain back a little further; I like many dropped out of trains my jr. High/Sr. high years 1964ish for girls, carrier and marriage. I then came back in the mid to latter 70's after we owned our own house. When I and others dropped out trains were toys but when we returned it was either nostalgia or a hobby (or both). In my opinion too many of us miss this transformation when discussing now and then. I had visited several HO lay-outs that were very prototypical looks and operation and longed for mine to be more like those than toy train lay-outs of the past. Enter Dick Kughn's purchase of Lionel in the late 80's and Lionel's reissue of the scale Hudson and the production of the Reading T1, etc. and also K-Lines scale models followed in a short time MTH scale models and the new term HiRail. I believe this was the start of what we have going on today. When Dick took control of Lionel he said he wanted Lionel to come up to date with the hobby. Neil Young entered the picture with Lionel to bring the electronic side of O scale HiRailing along. Then the unfortunate law suites brought along a lull on Lionel's side allowing MTH play catch up. Now that the Law suites are over we have the great rivals of Lionel and MTH pushing each other setting the stage for where we are today and your observations.
I'm 11 years in the hobby next week... Smile I learned so much by reading every magazine I could find in a bookstore or library -- OGR, Model Railroader, CTT, O Scale Trains, British Railway Modeling, and by being part of modeling 'listservs.'

Two other big changes I've noticed is the growth of discussion forums as a place to learn and connect, and the growth of the Internet as a place to buy trains.
It's nice to know you're still around and part of Lionel, ny.

This is my 14th year of running 'O'. It's been great and there is a lot I'm looking forward to and a lot I've learned - and yet to learn. Especially now that my son is starting to become aware of the trains, he was the impetus for building the current layout I have. I'd love to go larger, but what I have now suits us fine. It's a big step up from my Christmas-only layouts...

I started out with a Tyco 'Spirit of 76' HO set, then after a few years played with 'N' scale - I still have a ton of Bachmann and Kato product.
Last edited by DaveP
After going thru 7 years of punishing college tuition...I think I'm back.

I started in 57 at the age of 2,, drifted to ho thru the 1960's. Made the first trip to Madison Hardware in 63 an the last in 1987.

Gave up on ho, in the early 80's when I couldn't see those darn little wheels any longer. I came back in 1981, when I went to trainland for the first time and said UHOH. I'm in trouble. I have alot of trains from alot of eras. I don't care if the box is purple or orange. If the train looks good I'm buying it.

In my old age I'm starting to lean to the shiney side....where the wheels are bigger....and the gloss is shiney...and the trains are bigger...and it says
MTH and Lionel on the same box.

rat
GREAT THREAD!!!

I got started in this Hobby in 1978 on Dec 25th, A person by the last name Clause gave me my first train set two days before my third birthday. Over the years my parents and Mr Clause gave me many things to add to my Lionel set. Also the layout grew from a 4 x 8, to two sheets pf plywood, to a L shaped layout, to the final layout that is 26 x 14 layout. Almost all of the trains I grew up with were made in the 50's & 60's. In the mid 90's my father added TMCC to the layout. While I have not finished the layout, we always had an intrest in Hi-rail layouts as the gentelman that helpd direct my father and I in the hobby had a wounderfull Hi-rail layout on the third story of his house in Kenosha. With all of the new toys out now its like being a kid all over again.
My dad got me started...his father before him. They were Christmas operators only. SO was I at first. Then I got TMCC and it all changed. After realizing that if I only set my trains up for Christmas I might get another 30 or 40 times with them. So I made the decision to go permanent.

The last 10 years have been an exciting time with DCS, TMCC, and Legacy. We have it so good. Details, control, and access to features my dad can hardly believe.

It's been a heck of a ride and I got my ticket punched for the next 10...

All Aboard!
Ten years ago in December, I walked by a local hardware store with my 5 and 3 year old daughters and saw a small model train display. It was then the proverbial light bulb went off, and that Christmas there was a a double loop of tracks with trains running around them on Christmas morning. I guess my motivation was twofold...to see what their reaction would be, whether it would inspire the same childlike sense of awe and fascination that it did to me 40 years ago. And I wanted to see whether I remembered what magic there was in trains and how it would make me feel.

Well ten years later, half my basement is filled to the top with purple boxes, orange and blue boxes, and assorted blue ones as well. About 4 or 5 years after that Christmas, I embarked on a project that continues and seems never to have an end...building a layout that would allow me to do something beyond running tracks across the carpet.

What else has changed? I've discovered a whole new community of friends, acquaintances and "characters" online who share this passion for all things train-related. I've taken to scouring the aisles on Saturday mornings at places like the New Jersey Expo Center and the Allentown Fairgrounds looking for thse exciting "toys" I could never have or afford when I was younger. And I've recaptured the closest thing I've ever experienced to Christmas morning, namely that Thursday in April and October when twelve noon comes, the doors to the Orange hall open up and it's 1960 and it's like I'm coming down the stairs again to see what's under the tree! What an awesome feeling. As a previous poster might have put it..."Hey, hey..My my!!" Smile

- Mike
My entrance into the hobby was due to my father in law. He told me he had trains and used to set them up in his youth and one day I asked them about them. I had never had them as a child. He opened them up one day for me and I decided that we should set them up. His collection wasn't that shabby, a 675 and a 2343 Santa Fe with the passenger cars. I set them up that year on a 4x8 table. Next year. I built a larger layout and a smaller layout for my daughter. This year I am expanding once again.

Last year it was really amazing to see the look on his face when he went down into my basement and was operating the layout I built. It doesn't get much better than that. I brought his stuff back to life and now he is enjoying it with his grandkids and I am playing with his toys from his childhood.

And it is great to hear from Neil Young - One of the greatest rockers of all time.
I was born into this hobby and my first train was a used O gauge AF Royal Blue. Somehow when I was in the hospital getting my tonsils out my Dad switched that troublesome set for a 675 with Super O track. We struggled in the Hobby biz back then so that was all I got was a trade in special. Ten years is nothing to me and change is always happening. I await the next ten years!
I got into the hobby about 13-14 years ago. My childhood experiences with trains was poor to say the least. I got an HO Tyco Santa Fe F-3 work set. My dad stapled the track to a thin piece of ply-board which warped and pull up the track. Thus ending my train layout. As many of you know, my son Joshua has autism and by the age of three he wasn't speaking. I noticed he got excited anytime we got stuck at a railroad crossing, so I got out the old HO train and set it up for Joshua. The train set was the first connection I made with him and through it I taught him his first words. I went by my local hobby shop the Rail Yard to buy some supplies and the owner asked me if I ever had trouble getting the HO train on the track and I said yes. His reply was and your expecting your son to be able to do that? That day I walked out of the shop with a Lionel Santa Fe F-3 passenger set. That was the beginning for the hobby for me and Joshua. The trains were the break-through we needed with Joshua.
A while later I heard my first Railsounds/TMCC locomotive (Lionel Mohawk) at the hobby shop, being an audiophile nut I was blown away by it and started to buy trains not just for Joshua but for me as well. That was thousands of dollars ago. The hobby has changed a lot over the last ten years. The technology has gotten better and better and the train selection and details have improved greatly as well. Keep in mind 14 years ago a Mohawk was one of Lionel's largest engines. Now we have Challengers, Big Boys, Y's ect.
Scott Smith
l grew up watchlng my Uncle's 2020 Turblne under my Grandparents tree. and l feel thats one reason l love the Pennsy.Dad had Lionels (whlch are mlne now) that got set up at Chrlstmas. l remember gettlng a couple HO sets whlch just weren't the same as Llonel. After gettlng out of school l never had a place for a layout untlll l got marrled and the Boss gave me the basement( whlch has come back to haunt her). The past 20 years l have gotten a nlce collectlon and love every mlnute of lt. even the days the tralns don't run qulte rlght.
Thats because of different company came along with some thing new.Different locomotives and rolling stock that hasn.t been offered.But over the years the tone seems to have slated off.In the long run we train guys come out ahead.The hobby just couldn.t grow with just 1 big company.
quote:
Originally posted by Allan Miller:
quote:
For the last several years in the hobby, there has also been a rivalry between Lionel and MTH fans which was not present over 10 years ago.

Actually, the rivalry had a far more venomous tone back then did it does today. It has certainly been a pleasure to see things taper off a good bit in that respect.

In my work with the magazine since late in 2007, I've seen first-hand that the majority of hobbyists who contribute to our pages tend to enjoy a variety of brands. There are some exceptions, and likely always will be, but for the most part I have found that a good number of hobbyists these days have tended to abandon brand favoritism in favor of type of operation, era, region, or specific roadnames. In that regard, it's virtually impossible to ignore all brands in favor of just one because no one manufacturer can cater to the interests of all the specialized interests.

And if O gauge had a standardized command control system, similar to what is seen with DCC, we would be even further ahead. However, we're probably too far down the competing systems path for that to happen now.
I started in 1998 at the insistence of my 7 year old son Mat. While I am not much of a train enthusiast, Mat is, I found that there is so much more in the hobby that after 13 years I am having the time of my life.

We started a train club in 2004 and today we have almost 50 members. I get to look at our layout every day, and cannot help but marvel at what these guys and girl have done.

I became friends with Gerry Calabrese, met Mike Wolf, Neil Young, Jim Barrett, and a host of other forum members. It doesn't get any better.

And then there is TRAINSTOCK. Hope you all can make it. See you in January.

One last thing......Great thread Erol
And to you Texas Pete....."What's your point?



Marty
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