Modeller survey 2023

[Tim123]

Prior to getting married I had quite a collection of model railway items. My wife moved in with me, and we put my house on the market so we could get our ideal house together. After 2 years of marriage we moved house. I was quizzed over why there were so many removal boxes marked “loft”. I had omitted to mention the trains even though I did I disappear into the loft for a few hours a week 😄

 

Then some 20 years later my brother in law called round to find me in the garage soldering dropper wires to points. Turns out he too has a loft full of boxes of trains that no-one else knew about!

 

Reading magazines online and watching YouTube on phone / tablet means that what I watch remains on my own devices. And smwbo’s cook books / diets / sudoku etc don’t clog up my browser history etc.

[Dagworth]

13 hours ago, dave55uk said:

I've just done the survey and have found (because I had to add up my stock) that I have far too much rolling stock. Over 500 wagons alone!

I'm curious as to how many of us ticked that box, and more worryingly, how many have at least half that number of the same wagon?

 

Andi

Edited January 24, 2023 by Dagworth

[dave55uk]

2 minutes ago, Dagworth said:

I'm curious as to how many of us ticked that box, and more worryingly, how many have at least half that number of the same wagon?

 

Andi

You beat me hands and feet down there Andi. I know you have an awful lot of HAA's, far more than my measly 29.

[Clearwater]

14 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

I do have some data from 2014 when I did a survey; or extracts from it that I can look if there's any useful comparisons although the questions are different.

 

This was an interesting table mapping age against scales modelled at that time.

 

 

Andy 

 

that interesting.  I’d be interested to see a similar mapping of ages against period/region modelled.  Are you going to provide the raw data so those of us who like data can play around with it?

 

David

 

 

[Chris116]

I have just checked my stock for my HO scale US layout and it makes worrying reading when you know that the layout is just 8 feet by 1 foot!

 

2 Steam Locomotives

15 Diesel Locomotives

10 Passenger Cars 

73 Freight Cars (40 box cars, 19 hoppers, 3 tankers, 4 flats, 4 caboose, 1 crane and 1 boom car)

 

I think I may have bought rather too much!

 

 

[tomparryharry]

Given that some of the south Wales coal carriers had very large fleets of wagons, it stands to reason that  modellers of that particular area/era would amass large fleets of rolling stock. Collieries such as Lewis, Ocean, Nixon, Powell Duffryn  etc had fleets well in excess of 5,000 wagons apiece, and once things like the Cambrian Combine, nearly 10,000, it starts to be a bit hectic. Even the small collieries, such as Treferig House (Llantrisant) had some 130-odd wagons. 4 miles over, Bryn colliery  Llantwit Fardre) was doing even more.   

 

The reality is that if you're running something realistic to your chosen ideal, then mineral wagons might well be in the majority.  I always wish that manufacturers of mineral wagons would leave them un-numbered, so we can number them in realistic fashion. The notion of 500+ in a collection might be considered too low....

 

Single wagon train paths didn't really happen past Gloucester or the Severn Tunnel.

[PaulRhB]

Well I model SG & NG British, US and just NG Swiss and German and I had no problem filling in the survey. It’s a broad brush for trends not a targeted survey to establish a market for a new product. If we answered it truthfully maybe more stock boxes are the next big trend 😉

 

[grandadbob]

10 hours ago, Tim123 said:

Not seen this being asked on any survey I’ve seen.

Question - do any of the following know about your obsession interest in model railways

1) immediate family

2) neighbours

3) colleagues  (ex colleagues as I'm retired)

Yes, yes and yes! 

SWMBO aka The Boss is well aware of what I've got and a good idea of the cost of stuff and hasn't got a problem with it as she usually buys me something railway related for birthdays and Christmas as do other members of the family.  

Edited January 25, 2023 by grandadbob

[TheQ]

9 hours ago, tomparryharry said:

Given that some of the south Wales coal carriers had very large fleets of wagons, it stands to reason that  modellers of that particular area/era would amass large fleets of rolling stock. Collieries such as Lewis, Ocean, Nixon, Powell Duffryn  etc had fleets well in excess of 5,000 wagons apiece, and once things like the Cambrian Combine, nearly 10,000, it starts to be a bit hectic. Even the small collieries, such as Treferig House (Llantrisant) had some 130-odd wagons. 4 miles over, Bryn colliery  Llantwit Fardre) was doing even more.   

 

The reality is that if you're running something realistic to your chosen ideal, then mineral wagons might well be in the majority.  I always wish that manufacturers of mineral wagons would leave them un-numbered, so we can number them in realistic fashion. The notion of 500+ in a collection might be considered too low....

 

Single wagon train paths didn't really happen past Gloucester or the Severn Tunnel.

Contrary to reports in some books my family coal business had 1 coal wagon, we had...

 

 

 

 

4.

 

I will have 8, 4 in each of two scales, when I get round to renumbering the 4mm ones, and putting transfers on the 2 mm ones.

[F-UnitMad]

9 hours ago, Chris116 said:

I have just checked my stock for my HO scale US layout and it makes worrying reading when you know that the layout is just 8 feet by 1 foot!

 

2 Steam Locomotives

15 Diesel Locomotives

10 Passenger Cars 

73 Freight Cars (40 box cars, 19 hoppers, 3 tankers, 4 flats, 4 caboose, 1 crane and 1 boom car)

 

I think I may have bought rather too much!

 

 

Not nearly enough, I'd say.... 😉😁👍

[Keith Addenbrooke]

I must do some actual modelling today - time spent reading comments about a survey about railway modelling may be entertaining, but is not the best way to get things made 🙂.  Nevertheless, these thoughts spring to mind on catching up this morning:

 

11 hours ago, Tim123 said:

Not seen this being asked on any survey I’ve seen.

 

Question - do any of the following know about your obsession interest in model railways

1) immediate family

2) neighbours

3) colleagues

 

Back in the early 80s I was reading a copy of Railway Modeller in the local WHSmiths on my lunch break. My supervisor walked past,  saw what I was reading and shook his head disapprovingly. Got passed over for guaranteed promotion until he himself moved on. Don’t care who knows about it now as it’s unlikely I’ll get promoted form junior retiree to senior retiree 😂

On a sombre note, there's a serious point too - forgive me if this is being too heavy, but at some point many of us will have collections to be disposed of.  When I read about a family who'd junked a valuable collection as they simply had no idea what it was worth, I did wonder if there was a reason they'd never been told...? 

 

11 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

Part 2 - If they don't, how on earth do you keep it hidden from them???

 

Also perhaps more relevant, how do you keep the COST hidden, especially from SWMBO...???? (Edit - asking for a friend...)

 

(Repeat gratuitous cartoon)

 

My SWMBO doesn't need such a device, but her expression is identical...

 

Ah, but you model in O-Scale: your boxes are much bigger!  H0e models can slip through the letterbox packaged up with the other mail.

 

10 hours ago, Tim123 said:

Prior to getting married I had quite a collection of model railway items. My wife moved in with me, and we put my house on the market so we could get our ideal house together. After 2 years of marriage we moved house. I was quizzed over why there were so many removal boxes marked “loft”. I had omitted to mention the trains even though I did I disappear into the loft for a few hours a week 😄

 

Then some 20 years later my brother in law called round to find me in the garage soldering dropper wires to points. Turns out he too has a loft full of boxes of trains that no-one else knew about!

 

Reading magazines online and watching YouTube on phone / tablet means that what I watch remains on my own devices. And smwbo’s cook books / diets / sudoku etc don’t clog up my browser history etc.

 

For me, the relevant group includes my two sons-in-law, marrying into our family. How best to introduce Dad's weird ways?  Helpfully for me, eldest daughter's beau is American - so my interest in US railroading made it easy, while our second daughter and her husband live quite near my Dad, so sending them round to see him has explained everything: my Dad's HO US collection is much bigger than mine!  How to (or not to) embarrass the kids as they grow up???

 

10 hours ago, Chris116 said:

I have just checked my stock for my HO scale US layout and it makes worrying reading when you know that the layout is just 8 feet by 1 foot!

 

2 Steam Locomotives

15 Diesel Locomotives

10 Passenger Cars 

73 Freight Cars (40 box cars, 19 hoppers, 3 tankers, 4 flats, 4 caboose, 1 crane and 1 boom car)

 

I think I may have bought rather too much!

 

 

 

From what I remember Chris, isn't your layout only US part of the time, and also caters for UK light railway modelling as well - so this is what you have for just half the time?

 

2 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

Well I model SG & NG British, US and just NG Swiss and German and I had no problem filling in the survey. It’s a broad brush for trends not a targeted survey to establish a market for a new product. If we answered it truthfully maybe more stock boxes are the next big trend 😉

 

 

But do keep the original boxes too - for when it's time to resell.  A while back I even saw an empty H0m box on sale for the best part of £20.00!  It is true that our 009 Society Group often does a healthy trade in business card boxes - ideal size for kit / scratchbuilt rolling stock.

 

Just some thoughts.  Have a good day all, Keith.

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Michael Hodgson]

10 hours ago, Chris116 said:

I have just checked my stock for my HO scale US layout and it makes worrying reading when you know that the layout is just 8 feet by 1 foot!

 

2 Steam Locomotives

15 Diesel Locomotives

10 Passenger Cars 

73 Freight Cars (40 box cars, 19 hoppers, 3 tankers, 4 flats, 4 caboose, 1 crane and 1 boom car)

 

I think I may have bought rather too much!

 

 

No such thing as having too much rolling stock.  There is such a thing as having too much stock on the layout.  If there isn't somewhere you can move a train to, you've got too much on the layout!

[Chris116]

25 minutes ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

From what I remember Chris, isn't your layout only US part of the time, and also caters for UK light railway modelling as well - so this is what you have for just half the time?

Your memory is spot on. Currently I am not getting anything done as wiring a layout is my least favourite job and it is the one I am supposed to be doing at the moment!

[Dagworth]

5 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

If there isn't somewhere you can move a train to, you've got too much on the small a layout!

FTFY😄

 

Andi

[bude_branch]

16 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

It's the logical extension of what you did say though. You want what relates to your niche, well everyone else would too and then I'd have to list every manufacturer of every scale around the whole world.

 

Feel free to have a go at that yourself.

 

Unfortunately, we seem to be at cross purposes here.  I don't want anything, it was you that asked for information from us, I was simply querying why the type of information requested varied by scale.

[Tony Teague]

Great survey Andy, simple & clear.

I suspect that the subsequent correspondence on here tells you as much about the mindset of (some) modellers as the survey itself🤪

[AY Mod]

2 minutes ago, Tony Teague said:

I suspect that the subsequent correspondence on here tells you as much about the mindset of (some) modellers as the survey itself

 

Ooooh yes.

[Barclay]

Well I don't consider myself a particularly easy subject for the questionnaire as I model in EM, industrial and LMS mainly, and never buy RTR, except secondhand US stuff for my side project. Despite this I had no problem filling the form in, so please give the guy a break!

 

'Don't tell the wife!' is very much a thing - I've bought stuff for a friend before, or kept it safe until there's the opportunity to smuggle it in, and get remunerated in used notes - untraceable you see!

[Tony Teague]

19 minutes ago, Barclay said:

'Don't tell the wife!' is very much a thing - I've bought stuff for a friend before, or kept it safe until there's the opportunity to smuggle it in, and get remunerated in used notes - untraceable you see!

 

Me too - although my doing it for friends always amused my own late wife.

[Geep7]

Personally, i've never understood the "don't tell the wife" thing, beyond it being a little side joke. Maybe I am just lucky to have a supportive wife who encourages me to do my modelling, even though I do tend to take over the dining table with my stuff way too often. In her words, at least she knows where I am, what i'm doing and what i'm spending my money on.

 

I am however, very wary about who I do tell outside of my close friends and family circle. Very few, if any, of my neighbours know, and I prefer it to stay that way as a matter of security. It's a bit difficult hiding it away from my upstairs neighbours (i'm in a ground floor maisonette), when i'm airbrushing models and the layout in the garden, but they've never seemed that curious about it, so i've not said anything.

 

With regards to work, however, i've never tried to hide it if anyone has asked. Actually, these days, it's seen to be quite a plus to have an interest that is outside of your main area of work (at least in the industry I work in), and i've never had any negative comments made from any of my colleagues, and in fact had a few actually take quite an interest in it.

[John M Upton]

The wonderful thing about N scale is that purchases can be slipped into the coat pocket and evade the eyes of SWMBO before being discreetly introduced to the layout when she is not looking...

[Dick Turpin]

I don't hide my purchases from my wife, it's just that I try not to draw too much attention to them. 

[john new]

Apologies if this is thread drift. In many households the hide/not hide is probably trains - v - shoes etc.! Luckily in ours we don't have to hide either purchase. Perhaps the next poll should have these questions -

 

1) Do you spend more on trains than your partner does on clothes, shoes & accessories?

2) Do you both know how much the other spends on them?

3) Do either of you hide the latest purchase?

 

Sadly for some relationships Yes, No, Yes would be the truthful answer hence the need for organisations like Relate.

 

[AY Mod]

7 minutes ago, john new said:

1) Do you spend more on trains than your partner does on clothes, shoes & accessories?

 

There needs to be some preliminary questions.

a) Do you know how much a pair of ladies shoes costs these days?

b) When did you last buy a pair of shoes instead of trainy stuff?

[luckymucklebackit]

13 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

There needs to be some preliminary questions.

a) Do you know how much a pair of ladies shoes costs these days?

b) When did you last buy a pair of shoes instead of trainy stuff?

 

Think we have to establish equivalence, e.g.

 

Primark Shoes = 2nd hand Lima loco

Jimmy Choo Shoes = at least one sound fitted professionally weathered Accurascale loco