You know, Chris has a valid point here, IMHO. The reason relatively inexpensive starter sets proliferated in the 40's and 50's was because trains and railroads represented romance and travel to far-away places at blinding speeds. Plus, trains were just as likely to be PASSENGER trains as freight. People-carrying transportation devices are always more glamorous, exciting and dangerous-to the average person. Even the freight trains were more interested-IMHO-with lots of mixed freights, locals, cabooses, open auto carriers and the like. And besides, we already have beaucoup cheap sets in all the discount stores, mostly HO, and yet these cheapies have not brought kids back to model railroading in great numbers, at least as far as I can tell. Why do we think that just because a set is in S gauge, and cheap, that droves of youngins' will then migrate to high rail and maybe on to scale? Toys are always a reflection of the society at large. Even during the unpopular Vietnam war, for example, G.I. Joes and all sorts of armored vehicles were big items at the holidays. And further, like many things in today's world, trains are isolated from the public. Used to be back in the days of my youth (when we had to fight off the Tyrannosaurus) one could walk right up close and personal to a steam engine, talk with the crew. Plus, there were just lots more trains and tracks for kids to see. Here in Kansas, for example, 50 years ago there were 49 regularly-scheduled railroads running through the state. Today there are 4. Cheers :) Roy Inman
---------- > From: Chris Zizzo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Tue, 04 Feb 2003 22:54:30 -0500 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], slist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [S-Trains] Cheap Trains > > Cheap trains didn't save Gilbert and they won't save you. The last thing we > need is more crap. Lousy trains make newbies crazy. They don't run well, > they look and sound like cheap toys and they do not evoke the romance of > railroading. They make lousy starter sets and the only reason you want them > is because you want someone else to foot the bill for your next experimental > platform. Nobody benefits from this hare-brained idea but you. Why should > anyone but you support it? > > Chris Zizzo > > > > S-Trains list sponsor: http://www.americanflyertrains.com > All the Flyer you desire...books and accessories too! > > To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list send a note to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > S-Trains list sponsor: http://www.americanflyertrains.com All the Flyer you desire...books and accessories too! To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list send a note to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
