Subject:
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Re: Why don't Lego trains sell (was Re: Walmart revisited)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Sat, 16 Dec 2000 23:17:32 GMT
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Viewed:
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1296 times
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John Neal wrote:
>
> Brad Hamilton wrote:
>
> > Model trains, in general, seem to be in decline, at least in the US. Of
> > course, there is a group of hard-core enthusiasts that really love them, but
> > the general populous seems more interested in other toys.
> >
> > My father always comments that model Trains were super-popular back in the
> > 40's and 50's. However, real trains were also quite prevalent at this time.
> > As planes and trucks replaced trains, the interest in model trains also
> > dwindled. Apparently, a particularly big drop in model train sales came
> > after Sputnik. After this, everyone wanted space toys.
>
> Never underestimate the power of nostalgia and the cyclical nature of life...
>
> http://www.usatoday.com/life/llead.htm
Nice article. It touched on many of the points which I see as strong
points of model railroading, though it didn't really mention one that I
think is a very strong point, the fact that of all the types of things
you can model, railroads are the thing which can most extensively be
modeled by physical models (as opposed to computer models). With
railroads, not only can you model the vehicles, and operate them
prototypically (of course cars, rockets, ships, and aircraft can all be
modeled in this way), you can also provide a fairly complete model of
the whole SYSTEM. While it is possible to model systems in other areas
(race cars are another good one), they invariably can't be modeled well
without gathering crowds of participants (want to model a good stock car
race, you need more than a 2 car slot track, and thus also more than two
people).
Of course other model vehicles are also doing quite well, for many of
the same reasons, and really, probably the biggest reason people are
attracted to model vehicles is the thrill of "making it go". They are
also great stimulators of imagination. When you take the controls of a
model vehicle, you can imagine yourself controlling the real thing (and
very few of us will ever drive a real train, fly a real plane, drive a
car in a real race, etc. - hmm, I wonder how well model boats are doing,
since it is relatively easy to own a power boat or a small sailboat).
I also don't think the hobby will ever die. People will always want to
play with "real" things no matter how good the simulations get (I
suspect that even if we were able to create a "perfect" simulation that
people would still value "real" things, though it would beg the question
as to whether it would even be possible for people to assure that they
are touching anything "real"). Also, trains will always be with us.
Some kind of multi-unit vehicle which runs on a specialized guided track
will always be with us (even if we move to huge sprawling space
stations, a simple elevator shaft isn't going to cut everything). There
are clear efficiencies of trains. I can't imagine anything (other than
possibly ships) gets a higher ton-miles/labor unit ratio than trains.
I'd be curious as to where trains are on energy efficiency (probably at
the top, though there ships probably do better). They even can be fairly
competitive on speed (especially if the quantity moved from A to B is
several car loads at once so that you don't have to transfer cargo from
one mode of transport to another). Aircraft have an advantage in speed
(and ability to cross oceans), ships have an advantage in crossing
oceans, trucks have advantages in flexibility and tax advantages. Of
course one also notes that a huge portion of cargo now travels in
containers which are conveniently moved between ships, trains, and
trucks (are they ever carried on aircraft?).
Frank
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