Re: Are railfans a dying breed? (A poll)

Not confusing, just expanding on it.
IMHO the current problem with "interest" in real steam is 4 fold:
1. All the extra expense, and labor, and red tape.
2. We are taught in this society to do everything fast. Immediate results, immediate feedback, immediate gratification.
3. The "go away/don't bother me" attitude that so many have gotten from older steam people.
4. Lack of a chance for exposure.(If they can't "identify" its because the railroads have done just about everything they can in the last 20 years to push people away.)
For whatever reason, entry level toy train steamers generally are more expensive and don't perform nearly as well as their dismal counterparts. That can't be helping sales much. Plus a lot of the advertisements for model railroading that I have seen are aimed at 40-70 YO males. It's almost like they've written off kids, and wimmen. (You and I have agreed before. that if you want them at 40, then you gotta plant the seeds by 8 or 9.)