> Tony Koester (of RMC) was the featured
> banquet speaker. One of his main points
> is that we (model railroaders in general)
> should stop dwelling on youth as a primary
> potential source of new hobbyists
> My personal belief is that there is a large
> subset of older people who are already model
> railroaders for whom switching to S would be
> to their benefit. These include HO and N
> people whose eyesights are not what they used
> to be, and O and G people who have to downsize
> their living quarters.
> Dick Karnes
Dick's thoughts are very close to mine. Must be because we both go to the same
barber......
Back in the goode olde daze of 3/16 "S"cale Railroading magazine I formed the
distinct impression that there is a constant stream of folks exiting HO scale.
Back in those years and slightly before, N scale got off the ground and
mushroomed in popularity. Then G gauge was born and exploded in numbers almost
over night. Meanwhile S struggled along and grew slowly and without much
notice. Could S have done better?
I am a believer in marketing and salesmanship. S scale, in my view, has not
had a worthwhile overall marketing campaign to snag a percentage of the many
folks exiting HO. Meanwhile, narrow gauge in all scales grows, N scale grows
and G scale grows. Why the difference?
RTR equipment was one postulated answer. S now has it.
RTR track systems was another postulated answer. S now has it.
Train sets was also a postulated answer. S now has it.
A S scale-specific magazine was needed. S has had and now has it.
An annual publication with advertisements from all S scale manufacturers was
another whined-for need. S does not have this.
Modern equipment was a postulated answer. S now has some.
A full bore scale-specific national convention would be helpful. S is close,
but not yet there in my opinion. There are more Sn3 folks at the Sn3 Symposium
than there are S scale standard gauge purists at some NASG conventions. The
National Narrow Gauge Convention consistently outdraws the NMRA Annual
Convention year after year.
A national organization dedicated to promoting S scale. Not sure we have that
at this time. Maybe we never had one. Dribbles and drabs of effort here and
there are not adequate. Would a more significant program have made a
difference? Not sure, but might be worth a try.
Eliminating the connection with AF was a postulated answer. Might be true, but
nobody wants to do that. Maybe it isn't true after all since we get much of
our equipment from companies that make AF-compatible stuff from which our scale
stuff is derived. Should we remain joined at the hip or not? Anyone know?
Meanwhile, as we contemplate our navels, folks steadily drift away from HO and
end up elsewhere outside of the S camp. Is there a way to capture some of this
stream and steer it into the S world? As long as they are departing HO anyway,
why not promote S as the logical place to arrive?
Just some thoughts.....no panacea to be sure. Might not even be astute, but at
least it is worth discussing.
Cheers....Ed L.
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