Well its the holidays and so this will most likely be the only post this month. With the wife and kid off school for the next 3 weeks my hobby time will be severely cut back. While school is in session I can usually squeeze in some time every day Monday through Friday while they are at school and then have a big block on what ever night my second day off is while they are sleeping. The weekends have pretty much been shot for hobby time but I am ok with that. As this was only the second day of Christmas Break we are still feeling out how I can get the projects that are on my bench done yet still maximize family time.
To add to the complications my daughter had a tonsilectomy this morning and so caring for her over the next couple weeks is the top priority. I also have had to spend an inordinate amount of time at "the mall" looking for Christmas gifts this last week. For those who are unfamiliar with the Yuma Palms "mall" someone got the bright idea to have an open air shopping center in a place where the summer temps regularly reach the 120s and above. Thats Fahrenheit for all the readers outside the US or around 50 Celsius (or centigrade depending on which textbook you were taught from). So shopping at the mall involves parking at one store and then after finishing at that store driving to the next, needless to say its frustrating and tiring.
The final wrench in the plans is that my mother in law decided to grace us with her presence unannounced this week. Now anytime family shows up it is hectic and my parents are due into town just after Christmas but when that person just shows up at your door it raises the holiday stress exponentially.
But thats not what I wanted to talk about this time and we will get to the meat of this post in just a second but first I wanted to say thoughts and prayers to all of those involved in the Amtrak derailment in Washington State and condolences to the families that lost loved ones. For those who dont know I grew up in Washington State and drove under that bridge numerous times on the way to Oregon to visit my grandparents. I also went to college about 15 miles north of there in Tacoma Washington and know many people who live in in the area. This wreck has effected the whole region, but it could have been worse.
Ok enough doom and gloom if you want that you can read a Charlie Getz editorial. This month I want to talk about giving back to the hobby. We have all heard the narrative that the hobby is dying, which if you are familiar with my blog you know I dont agree with. In the almost 30 years I have been in the hobby I feel that this is the most vibrant time I have witnessed.
So how do we give back?
Some would say give trainsets to kids, while this approach is admirable it just doesnt pencil out cost wise and how many of those kids will stick with it when the distractions of girls and cars (or boys and cars for the ladies) come into play? While I am not advocating giving up on the youth, after all I started when I was 7 or 8 and stuck with it despite thise distractions but my dad was in the hobby and kept me interested.
So lets briefly discuss introducing the hobby to children to which we are not related. The best way I can think of doing this is the train club and offering activities through the school district to teach children that although model railroaders look like nerds and dorks (lets face it we do; especially the vesties) our hobby is not only really cool but it is the best hobby around.
The club I belong to (The Yuma Model Railroaders) has our club house at a local middle school. We recently entered a formal agreement with the school district to ensure our ability to occupy that space which is great for the club. One of the conditions of the agreement is that we find a way to do outreach to the students, this can be done through open houses or as I have suggested a student club which meets after school and the students can be mentored in all facets of model railroading. Now these students would go on to high school with skills in carpentry, electrical, soldering etc... and a soft spot for the hobby to come back to it when they are ready.
The most effective way I see to give back to the hobby is to be there for thise individuals who decide it is time to get into the hobby. Based on interviews and editorials the NMRA leadership would argue that the perfect age to focus on is people (mostly men) in their late fifties. I disagree, I feel the best time to set the hook for a lifetime of enjoyment is in the mid to late 20's. This does not mean that we should give up on John Q Retiree, but that given. The right reception Jim Bob Workingstiff might dive headfirst into the hobby as well. Let me plug my favorite podcast for a second (I am Superfan #20 after all), one of the shows on A Modeler's Life is the Kelly Questions where Lionel and crew sit down with a model railroader and ask them some questions to get to know them better. Some are train related like "Which do you prefer steam or diesel?" some are not such as "Coke or Pepsi?"
The most pertinent question they ask and the one with the largest variety of responses is "If you could give one thing to someone starting out in the hobby and cost is not an issue what would it be?" I have heard some great answers to this question ranging from a computer to an NMRA membership and everything in between. I have thought on this one long and hard as I keep hoping Lionel will have me on to answer the Kelly Questions, but I never can think of an answer I have been happy with.
Well a few days ago it came to me, if I could give a new model railroader one thing it would be my time. Our time is our most valuable commodity regardless of who we are and while our employers may not feel that way, we certainly do. I may not be the greatest modeler but with my experience I can certainly steer people in the right direction.
Now there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. I overheard some members of my club talking about a younger guy they were trying to get to join and how they needed someone to mentor him. These guys dont even know this prospect but based on his age they assume he needs mentoring. I am also pretty sure they had the same conversation about me as they are constantly telling me how to do things and then I do it my way and tell them there is more than one way to skin a cat and this aint my first rodeo. Now many of them have backed off on the "mentoring" as after all I have more time in the hobby than many of them, but I fear they will still try to smother others with "helpfull" advice. You have to feel the person out and then decide how much you need to give them.
I have had three instances where I have been sought out for advice in the last few years.
The first was a co-worker who was helping his wife's family sort through the estate of a relative who was a modeler (not only trains but ships and planes too). After talking to him a bit and not getting a bite on my suggestion that he keep a few pieces to play with, I realized that he was only interested in finding the models new homes and so I tried to steer him in the direction of some people who could help.
The second was a good friend who is my age and happens to be a conductor for a Class 1 railroad sent me a text asking what I knew about Tyco trains. After talking for a bit I gave him some ideas of where he might find some information and told him to not hesitate to call me with any other questions. While his desire not to be a foamer is strong, he does sometimes text me information about the prototype especially veterans units (I got the link to the announcement of UP 1943 from him). Every now and then his wife posts pictures of "the kids" playing trains on Facebook with that Tyco set racing around the kitchen table, and guess who is at the throttle. I have a feeling that when he is ready he will come into the fold of model railroading, in fact a week or so ago he sent me a text with a picture of his Seahawks commemorative train going around the Christmas tree saying he felt the tree was missing something and he knew I would approve (GO HAWKS!!!).
The final one was another co-worker and this one came out of the blue as we didnt really know each other very well at the time. He is probably in his 20's and relatively new at work and we got to talking one night. We were talking about San Diego, a favorite topic where I live, and we were discussing Balboa Park. I was listing off all the museums there in addition to the World Famous San Diego Zoo and when I got to the model railroad museum he interupted me and stated he had tried to go there but it was closed the day he went. This statement peaked my interest so as per the preciously stated rule I turned the conversation to feel him out. While its not a secret that I am a railfan and model railroader its not something I go around advertising, so once I was sure he was interested in the hobby I outed myself. I then was able to ask him direct questions as to his level of experience interests etc... It turns out he was a war gamer and like building dioramas but he found the war gamer community in town difficult to get in to.
I gave him some ideas of where to get information such as MRH, the NMRA, magazines at the public library and some websites. I figured that would be it but the next day he approached me with more question and everytime we have crossed paths since he has had a question for me of either prototype or model. Of course there are days I dont feel like talking about it especially in earshot of others but I have tried to maKe myself as available as possible. Remember there was one time we were super stoked to be in the hobby too but as with everything familiarity wears some of that youthful exuberance off. While I still love trains it only occupies about 75 percent of my life now as opposed to the 90 to 100 percent it did when I was younger.
I think the hook is set on this one and who knows in a few years we may be reading about him in the hobby press. So as we continue on this journey what better way to enjoy it than by giving back and taking some people along for the ride.
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