All --
Brother Hoffman's observations lead me to type this postscript...
20,000 modelers does not equate to 20,000 subscribers. For every copy of an S
scale magazine there are several readers. When we were doing "3/16 'S'cale
Railroading," Ed L. pulled out his remaining hairs because clubs and groups of
friends were subscribing to a single issue and passing it around to 10 or 20
others.
200 layouts does not translate to 200 model railroaders, but perhaps ten times
that many. My experience tells me that not more than one in ten modelers in
any scale actually has a layout, and of those, not more than one in ten is in a
condition such that its owner would allow casual visitors to see it.
We are fragmented as to what we will purchase because we have just as broad a
spectrum of favorite prototypes as those in other scales. Therefore, polling
manufacturers about scale vs. hirail preferences will only yield relative
popularity of scale vs. hirail rather than absolute numbers.
Bill Winans is certainly correct in his assessment of why Sn3 is so popular.
We standard-gaugers would do well to interlope now and then -- There are lots
of structures and details available in 1:64 that are seen only at Sn3 events
and in Sn3 publications.
There is another reason (besides those stated in Bill's e-mail) that Sn3 enjoys
such popularity -- Many if not most of the Sn3-ers who started in HOn3 were
continually frustrated by poor wheel-to-rail electrical contact because of the
light weight and delicacy of the locos. When they discovered that Sn3 doest
not have this problem, they jumped. Note also that Sn3 lacks the plethora of
wheel, coupler, and track standards/non-standards with which we
standard-gaugers suffer.
Dick Karnes
....in sunny (for today, anyway) Mercer Island, WA
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