but every little bit will help if you do not see it then you never think about
Jon Radder said:
And there you go. I really think there must be some deep seated desire to get involved with model railroading. I do not think putting trains in garden centers or gardening magazines will spark more than a casual interest there.
Once again some excellent points brought up in this thread. First off Kevin made a good point on newbies coming into forums. We were all newbies once (RIGHT???) and this forum has always kept that attitude.
I remember being overwhelmed with the builds when I joined (first in 2000 then again in 2007 because I forgot my password and was tired of lurking) However the crew here at LSC has helped me accomplish a lot over the years… even if you did make me go to bed in tears at times.
I remember when Shawn joined and posted his… Hi C can that he picked up off the trail/woods (while at work) and made a snow plow from it. The regular LSC crew welcomed him aboard! I still love that plow on his RR and hopefully some day his son will restore it!
Now as for Jon’s comment …yes there is that desire …however this brings my thoughts back to what the younger crowd stated earlier. When I was my boys age there was a hobby shop down the street that we used to hang out at (local kids). I was involved with R/C cars,planes and boats as well. Old guys came into the store and took the kids under their wings . I learned to fly RC planes but never owned one, visited some neat HO and Lionel RR’s but never owned one. However I purchased what I could afford from my paper route, cutting grass and shoveling snow.
Today’s kids hang out at the Game Stop, AT&T and Verizon stores. “Perhaps put a train set in one of those stores”?
I got sold on large scale in 2000 when my son was born. I searched out a Christmas train set for him and and found the Aristo Lil’ Critter “Hersheys Chocolate” set. It’s all history from that point.
BTW…Shawn …I saw a rainbow tonight and ahh never mind!
David Russell said:
Jon Radder said:
And there you go. I really think there must be some deep seated desire to get involved with model railroading. I do not think putting trains in garden centers or gardening magazines will spark more than a casual interest there.
Once again some excellent points brought up in this thread. First off Kevin made a good point on newbies coming into forums. We were all newbies once (RIGHT???) and this forum has always kept that attitude.
I remember being overwhelmed with the builds when I joined (first in 2000 then again in 2007 because I forgot my password and was tired of lurking) However the crew here at LSC has helped me accomplish a lot over the years… even if you did make me go to bed in tears at times.
I remember when Shawn joined and posted his… Hi C can that he picked up off the trail/woods (while at work) and made a snow plow from it. The regular LSC crew welcomed him aboard! I still love that plow on his RR and hopefully some day his son will restore it!
Now as for Jon’s comment …yes there is that desire …however this brings my thoughts back to what the younger crowd stated earlier. When I was my boys age there was a hobby shop down the street that we used to hang out at (local kids). I was involved with R/C cars,planes and boats as well. Old guys came into the store and took the kids under their wings . I learned to fly RC planes but never owned one, visited some neat HO and Lionel RR’s but never owned one. However I purchased what I could afford from my paper route, cutting grass and shoveling snow.
Today’s kids hang out at the Game Stop, AT&T and Verizon stores. “Perhaps put a train set in one of those stores”?
I got sold on large scale in 2000 when my son was born. I searched out a Christmas train set for him and and found the Aristo Lil’ Critter “Hersheys Chocolate” set. It’s all history from that point.
BTW…Shawn …I saw a rainbow tonight and ahh never mind!
Was it a double rainbow
A full on double rainbow?
I saw a full circle rainbow on the way home from running trains with Ric et. al. at Shawn’s in July. Never seen that before!
Jon Radder said:
I saw a full circle rainbow on the way home from running trains with Ric et. al. at Shawn’s in July. Never seen that before!
I don’t suppose that you got a photo, did you?
Steve Featherkile said:
Jon Radder said:
I saw a full circle rainbow on the way home from running trains with Ric et. al. at Shawn’s in July. Never seen that before!
I don’t suppose that you got a photo, did you?
Nope - was doing 65 on i-84 in the rain. Not a good time for pictures.
Jon Radder said:
I saw a full circle rainbow on the way home from running trains with Ric et. al. at Shawn’s in July. Never seen that before!
Exactly…Shawn is the key to rainbows!
BTW…It didn’t happen without pics but I do believe you cause it involved Shawn and Ric!
Jon Radder said:
Nope - was doing 65 on i-84 in the rain. Not a good time for pictures.
You were doing 80mph and go to Hell for lying! This is promoting Large Scale stories…
You took your eye off the road in the middle of a rain storm to check your speedometer? You must like livin’ dangerous like.
Either that, or this is a sea story. 
Shawn Viggiano said:
Was it a double rainbow
NOPE!
(http://sr.photos3.fotosearch.com/bthumb/CSP/CSP992/k13259559.jpg)
“At a local nursery they have a LS layout, which I thought was a brilliant idea… what better way to get people that enjoy gardening involved in something that could make it even more enjoyable… but sadly, even that display has been long since abandoned.”
I wonder if a local club or group of enthusiasts could get the model railroad at the nursery going again and provide links to the local club where interested folks could get support and learn about garden railroads.
Maybe clubs need to add outreach to their charters. I’m new here (just returning after dabbling in large scale 10+ years ago). I see a lot of folks selling their unused large scale equipment on e-bay along with various estate sales. Seems like uniting to work on a “club” layout may have longer term benefits to the hobby than short lived solo layouts. I saw one post recently that said most individuals that purchase a home with a garden railroad want it removed. I think the “maintenance” side scares a lot of people.
On a beautiful day like today my kids would prefer to sit with their iPhone/iPod than do anything in the real world. It’s a struggle and I suspect all groups that are not “virtual” are experiencing the same trend. This means you need to really sell the benefits of modeling and large scale. I’d like to see a page that lists the pros and cons of large scale (one likely exists somewhere - maybe my kids can Google it for me).
I know there are members that just like to build things…I believe this hobby is an excellent way to improve your artistic ability and your sense for electronics and engineering. These seem like overlooked pluses.
Enough for now.