quote:
Is sharing and doing something for others part of your makeup?
Yes indeed, it is.
That does not mean that everything I do has to be for "sharing and doing something for others". I am allowed to do things for my own benefit, as the TCA is allowed to do things for the benefit of its members.
Regardless, I maintain that there is nothing appreciable that changing the York train show could do to encourage growth anyway.
Why aren't many new people getting into "O" gauge trains?
- They are too expensive
- They take up too much room
- It takes to long to build a layout
- People don't have the skills to build a layout and don't value learning them
- People are very mobile, moving around more than ever
- Most folks don't find real railroads to be particularly interesting, so why model them?
Yet there are new people getting into the hobby. IMHO, the best way to encourage them is individually. I kept Lionel gondola on my desk at work, filled with pens and pencils, and had a Gang car sitting on a piece of track. As a result, I had a number of people bring me their heirloom trains for repair (and advice), so they could get them going for the holidays again.
I know that one guy grew his families holiday setup into a year round layout with his son.
Another guy liked the gondola so much, I gave it to him. Within a short time he was buying trains on EBay.
Doing things like this takes some personal effort. Proclaiming that a train show should change to meet your vision doesn't take any real effort at all does it?