>>2064738
I’ve been doing it ever since I was a kid and it can be expensive but you just have to look around for deals. I do a lot of scratchbuilding so I get a lot of hours of enjoyment without the boomerbux. You don’t have to build a massive basement empire to enjoy it.

>>2064738
Model railroading is dying because younger people neither have the expansive space to build stuff nor the money to afford miniatures. 3D printing probably helps a lot (I have a thick catalog from 1998, the price for even a small building is eye-popping when you consider the prices of what food and rent cost) but not enough to offset the decline.

Just visit a model railroad with cats that hit and knock the trains over instead. much more entertaining

>>2064746
I don't want to visit that, I want it in my house with my cats.

>>2064738
buy second hand

a lament i have lamented all too often: the market that apparently demands realistic gauge-accurate powered models of trains, with electrical lights and sounds and bells and whistles and so on, will refuse to countenance the idea of cute cheap die-cast models of trains you can keep on a desk or something as a nick-nack, like there exists model Ferraris and Porsches and whatever

>>2064786
A lot of Japanese N scale comes in powered and unpowered versions so you can have a display model for much cheaper than the powered one. Model railroading thrives in Japan, maybe because so many people see and ride trains every day.

>>2064786
>>2064790
You used to be able to buy new dummy locos in the US, they were cheaper than powered units and it was an easy way to have a huge consist. You can still find them second hand. They were meant to be run though, chances are they'll have wear and tear on them you'll have to fix (and superdetail). Now if you want a 4 unit lashup it could be $1000 or more.

I actually don't like model locomotives with sound because people always crank the speakers up to max volume and it sounds like a room full of shitty cellphone speakers playing lo-fi train noises. I think the noise the motor itself makes is enough - no it's not realistic, but it beats having to hear some autismo realistically whistle a crossing every few seconds.

Very few people will be doing this hobby in 20 years. It's been on a downhill slide since the 80s or 90s I imagine. I don't know when the hobby "peaked," really. It's fun, I miss my little layout, but I just don't have the space for it now. Wish I did

RIP Athearn Blue Box models

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>>2064738
Hell fuckin yeah I do, they kept deleting the threads I'd make about it but I have a shitload of rickety old 027 shit from eBay and I've already picked a room to dedicate solely to trains, life has just been kicking my fat ass left and right so it's all collecting dust so far.
And even when I get it all put up, it's not going to be anything like a stereotypical setup. No town, scenery, all that junk, just as many tracks as I can fit into one room on a bunch of folding tables. I even have a bunch of cheap shelves to try running the train up along the wall! Fun!
>>2064741
You can get super cheap old Lionel stuff but yeah the new stuff is only for rich boomers so I guess Lionel is going to die with them if they don't wise up

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I saw this layout at a train show near Seattle. First time I'd seen one done based on Mexico, but also with a sense of humor, called La Ruta de Cerveza (The Beer Route). Speakers were playing mariachi music. This is the town side, with kids in the background cropped out

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>>2064806
Back side of the town

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i always wanted to build a layout that was like a modern city with surface and underground tracks

So do you guys just watch the train go around in circles on a small-ass track? I feel like I would get bored of it after like 5 laps. I guess most of the appeal is in the layout building.

>>2064921
Some people do operating, with dispatchers, engineers, switch lists, etc. to try and mimic operations on a real railroad as much as possible. It’s usually on a bigass club layout or some boomer’s basement empire but also works on a small switching layout where you set out and pick up cars at various industries.

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>>2064800
Rich old Boomers dying is why older Lionel is pretty cheap these days. If you're a rivet counter you'll hate it, but parts are still available and anything made before 1990 has this heavy industrial feel to it. Sure, post war Lionel are more toy than model, but they're also these heavy machines in their own right.

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>>2064921

>>2064738
I adore miniature/diorama art and am a train enthusiast, so I really appreciate model railroading. I got too many neglected hobbies to get into it myself, though. I get my train kicks from playing with the real thing as freight conductor for a number of years and freight hopper before, during, and after that. there's a few freight cars and perhaps engines I'd collect if I found them in model form but don't have the cash or time for anything beyond that. I do hope people keep making cool displays I can appreciate.

I know a number of graffiti guys that get miniatures to paint their art onto, which I also like. Would be cool to see those get worked into displays more.