Why Do You Think People Quit Model Railroading?

[Virginia Atlantic]

Some great replies.

Some of you may remember me from when I was a regular here many years ago.  I had a road call this "Virginia Atlantic".  And I quit model railroading.

The reasons why I quit are similar to some of the replies, dissimilar in other ways.

For example, I certainly did not suffer any personal tragedies or natural disasters.  Clearly, I could see why that would be a grade A reason to shelve the hobby, permanantly or not depending on the outcome.

What happened to me was far simpler......I found other hobbies that took far less dedication, far less investment (of space and money) and provided far more immediate feedback and positive reinforcement.  Model Railroading was costly, time hungry, detail oriented and required a wide range of skills I did not posess in any form, electrical wiring being only the most obvious.

I have alot of interests.  I fish, play guitar, read (Sci-Fi) and am a big fan of online gaming (games, not gambling).  I found almost all of these to be easier and cheaper, and often far less "needy" than Model Railroading was.  On the flip side, I became a hardcore online gamer....and that was VERY needy time wise.

I also felt, at the time, that I simply lacked the skills neccessary to do what I wanted to in the hobby.  I live in a rental townhouse, and space for any meaningful layout was unavilable (still is).  I am a fool when it comes to manual work, like wiring, carpentry and even much of the basisc of scenery creation.....and really wasn't sure the time I invested would pay off in abillity. Nor was I really sure I was interested in learning, as that part of the hobby never interested me....it was always the cars and the schemes and OTHER folsk scenery, lol.   And I was a freelancer, who was never happy with his own work, perenially jealous of the work of others (Tom Mann and Ryourstone specificly) and was terrified of things like (Lol) airbrushes.  It's amazing, I can strip down and rebuild a compter, a guitar or a fishing reel (well sorta) amongst other things, can figure out the most detailed accounting problems, but even the simplest of things in MRR scared me.

So in the end, my motivation just died.  I saw no future in it, no return on my investment, and gave it up.  Simply quit cold turkey one day.

So, one mans story of quitting.  Who knows if it will be permanent, but it looks that way today.  I still have my railcars from back then, and dont want to sell them, but as the years go by the odds of a return grow slimmer and slimmer.  And as my professional life (railroad related0 becomes less enjoyable, I find my old love of trains themselves wanning pretty hard.

But it is a shame, because I know this hobby, and the Railwire folks I met and nade friends with back int he day, are some great great folks.  Hence why I still have this site bookmarked, many years after my last paintbrush dried and my last railacar was boxed away.

[CoalPorter]

I've lost some interest in the hobby because new items are getting too expensive and too much vaporware and too long of a lag time between product announcement and arrival. Two to three years is ridiculous. The necessity to preorder the good stuff and wait three years has lead me to stop paying attention to the new product launches. I plan on continuing with what I have, but I don't see buying anymore MR items.

[Nato]

  First off the usual answers Girls, School (college) Marrage kids,rasing a family ,not enough time,eventual re interest. Ok ! so that never happened to me I have always been a model railroader or toy train guy,changed scales thru the years from Marx & Lionel 027 thru HO to 000 N attended college in my home state so I still had layout access, and yes I have always been a batchelor so family obligations are less. Now down to the realities of the present. Yes the cost is higher,who can afford it and I'am now semi-retired on a fixed budget,yet I somehow manage to buy much of the latest & greatest. All hobbies though are more costly, take it from a multipul hobby person. amature astronomy in the 1950-60's when I was getting started a good 8" telescope cost around $400.00 a computerized Go tO 8" Scope now $1,000.00 or around that, sure it is more hight tec,but do we need it. However allowing for inflation things like model railroad locomotives or telescopes are still comperable to the past. The real problem may be "Too many TOYS and not enough time!" Nate Goodman (Nato). Salt Lake, Utah.

[Allentown Hump]

That's an easy question. They read that Atlas forum, then the whole hobby goes to hell...  ;D

[John]

That's an easy question. They read that Atlas forum, then the whole hobby goes to hell...  ;D

Now now .. we will have to send you some puppies and flowers 

[up1950s]

What, do you reckon, are the most common causes for why people who are interested enough to start up with this hobby, eventually quit it?

Hi , long time no hear .

The realization that aftermarket couplers and wheels are needed , even from Micro-Trains Line cars , and the cost and time it takes only grows as the roster grows .

Pizza cutter / track gauge thing ..... cost and time .

DC / DCC thing .... cost and talent to convert older roster of locos .

Atlas thing .... C55 turnout needing fine tuning , and in one case frustrating a big time modeler enough to change scales .

N Scale thing .... The lack of a foolproof proper American standard FULL LINE track system .... Atlas C65 might do that , but production of new stuff is slow slow slow IMO .

Kato thing ..... Oversize code rails , non American tie spacing , and almost never catering to Eastern prototypes .

The NMRA thing .... Not being able or willing to enforce N scale codes . Micro-Trains is still putting pizza cutters on and truck mounted couplers , charging an arm and a leg , then we need to buy an aftermarket coupler from them .

The cure to all this .

Manufactures should sell all cars with the best industry has to offer .
Fox Valley wheels
Micro-Trains couplers body mounted ( they should be smaller , and have no slinky by now , but .... why haven't they done that ? )

[lock4244]

Death. Only enough room for a switching layout in there, and thet gets boring...

[ednadolski]

Model railroading is so time and money intensive.

I think you nailed it.  When you combine that with the "instant gratification" that is the typical expectation in today's world, the disappointment and dissatisfaction set in a lot sooner.

I think that books, magazines, and product that promote "fast and easy" results also contribute to that.

A full time job in the IT business. The standard 80-90 hour workweek this field has devolved into edges out almost everything else.

Ironically, computers were supposed to save us so much time.

[tom mann]

I think that there are a lot of sub-activities in model railroading that in some cases, can conspire against the hobbyist since they all require time.  Some of these things are not even relaxing.

And once too many things in your life individually require too much time, you end up getting overwhelmed on all of them and move onto a more relaxing hobby!

[wm3798]

I disagree, Tom.  I think it's the sub-activities that make it a much more interesting ride.  Yes, they can be time consuming, but I don't remember there being a mandatory deadline on getting your hobby "done".

Consider...
I want to be a model railroader. 
I want to build a layout
I want to read more about my favorite railroad
I want to go railfanning along my favorite railroad
   ...or I want to go hiking where my favorite railroad used to be... :-\

I want to take photos of my model railroad/and or favorite railroad.
I want to build scenery
I want to run prototypical operations
I want to build a model of a rotary snow plow peculiar to my favorite railroad.
I want to learn more about electronics so I can apply that to my model railroad.
I want to join a club so I can meet other model railroaders

I want to be a passenger in Sean's car as we chase a blue SD80 across central PA...  (okay, I really DON'T want to do that!)
I want to drive two hours so I can watch a steam train go by in about 3 minutes, then I want to go to the hobby store to buy a model of that engine to take home and run on my layout.

I want to take my kids to Strasburg to see Thomas, or not!
I want to read a magazine with articles I'll never use, but I'll enjoy the pictures and the ideas and the creativity I see.

I want to spend $5,000 to finish my basement for no other reason than to spend another $5,000 on a train layout.

You see how much fun this hobby can be?

Compare it to this.

I want to collect coins.
I get a coin I want.
I put it in an album.
Repeat.

How boring is that!?!

Lee

[FrankCampagna]

I've "quit" several times. Back in the early eighties, when there was a paucity of interesting products (Model Railroader noted that there were more new products coming out in S scale than N). The arrival of the Atlas/Kato RS-3 marked the beginning of a new, albeit more expensive era in N. Later, family took out my time and disposable income. Sold off most of my collection at that time. Later, after rebuilding somewhat, a financial crisis again put an end to my schemes. Sold off most of my collection, while acquiring the occasional bargain, hoping for a better tomorrow. Now, with my family responsibilities largely ended, and my financial house in the best shape in 20 years, I have found a focus. A smaller, more interesting railroad. I'm now ready to sell off my surplus equipment just to clear the decks. Guess you could say it is easy to quit model railroading. I've done it many times.

Frank

[Ian MacMillan]

I think its because people don't realize its a hobby and you make it what you want. I'm hard on my layout planning and my my modeling...but then I'm hard on myself...because I make it that way and like it that way. If I dont meet my own standards I start over...I dont bitch and moan like you see some people do.

But then again I have several related hobbies, so if one is pissing me off, I just go do the other one for a month or so.

And then again I look to the forums for ideas, tips, how to's, and suggestions, not "great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL ROFOL ASL!!!!! OMG U RUL"". So if I don't get a GI Joe Kung Fu Grip on everything I post I don't go, and sulk in my basement. I move on and try better.

[Erik W]

And then again I look to the forums for ideas, tips, how to's, and suggestions, not "great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL ROFOL ASL!!!!! OMG U RUL"". So if I don't get a GI Joe Kung Fu Grip on everything I post I don't go, and sulk in my basement. I move on and try better.

Oh Man.  If I knew I could get a GI Joe Kung Fu Grip for my results, I would've tried harder.

Erik

[3rdrail]

I think many quit because they want relaxation for the hobby rather than stimulation and satisfaction.

Model railroading is a demanding hobby. Back when I started, in 1950, you had to be a machinist, a carpenter, an electrician, and artist and a sculptor to build model trains and a model railroad. A lot of the hobby was learning, about the railroads, and how to learn new skills. But, there was a sense of accomplishment in being able to say "I built that.". There were no ready to run scale trains, only what was called "tinplate", some of which did not even have a prototype. Today, you can buy a scale model ready to run that outdetails and outruns anything all but the best scratchbuilders could ever do.

But, suppose Michaelangelo had given up sculpture because his first statue was not the "Pieta", and Leonardo DaVinci gave up painting because he didn't create the "Mona Lisa" the first time he set a brush to canvas? Too many today want instant satisfaction rather than trying to work toward it and expand their abilities.

It is my personal opinion that many are confusing "playing with trains" with the real hobby of model railroading...(runs for cover)

[Erik W]

It is my personal opinion that many are confusing "playing with trains" with the real hobby of model railroading...(runs for cover)

I don't think you need to duck and cover on this forum.  Just don't cross post to the same thread over on the A Board . . .

Erik