Model railways and spotters

[Edge]

Do you think all train enthusiasts own a model railway? 50/50? More?

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Do you think all train enthusiasts own a model railway? 50/50? More?

Given the costs of the hobbies I would think that very few can afford to do both in any meaningful way. Though there may well be plenty whose commitment to one of them is quite weak. In reality model railways have tended to be a somewhat middle to upper-middle class hobby not only due to the cost but also the demand on space in the home. A permanent layout is a real luxury in a small house.

 

[Class15]

I am an enthusiast and I would much rather spend time and money on the model railway than the ‘real railway’. I don’t spend loads on bashing trips or railtours, which I simply don’t regularly do. I usually save up for model trains.

 

[jumble]

Given the costs of the hobbies I would think that very few can afford to do both in any meaningful way. Though there may well be plenty whose commitment to one of them is quite weak. In reality model railways have tended to be a somewhat middle to upper-middle class hobby not only due to the cost but also the demand on space in the home. A permanent layout is a real luxury in a small house.

Naturally one can join a Model railway Club to overcome this problem
For a modest amount of subs per year ( starting at £30.00 for associate on ours ) anyone go and operate on 2 permanent long established O gauge layouts that would cost multiple tens of thousands to build
I would not even consider building my own layout
Bonus is that one gets invited to other club layouts and all sorts of private layouts that one had no idea existed

 

[pokemonsuper9]

If I had the space I'd probably pull a little something together, but more likely diagram inspired rather than realism (I do not have the patience to design and paint such small things, especially if I want the precision.
Creating the parts probably wouldn't be too hard (we have a 3d printer, so I'd just have to learn blender), painting them would.

I have some lego, wooden and blue track, but those probably haven't left their boxes for quite a while.