Where does it all phase out?

[SouthEastern-465]

I Have noticed over the past couple of years that toddlers and small children tend to like trains,which i think is influenced by 'Thomas the tank engine',but when they get pass the age's of about 9,they just are not into them no-more.

I and many other's on the site probaly,watched thomas,but the train craze never faded out for me,but what im wondering is how do they just loose interest like that?

Where did it all go wrong for them,while others like us like them and it turns out to be a lifes hobby,i there know are all these silly crazes but why did it all phase out in the end?

Is it in us to take to them for life-or-is it just kids have better things to do these days and there why do they loose there passion for trains when there older?

 

[richa2002]

Because they realise the real-life railways are a whole lot more boring than in Thomas the Tank land? :P

 

[me123]

I do believe, however, that the child like love of train travel continues in many, just hidden/suppressed.

 

[thefab444]

Perhaps because it is such an unpopular hobby amongst the general public, children feel obliged to give it up as interest as a result of peer pressure?

 

[SouthEastern-465]

Perhaps because it is such an unpopular hobby amongst the general public, children feel obliged to give it up as interest as a result of peer pressure?

Now that was what I was thinking to, peer presure at school, from mates,etc...

But I dont think its an 'unusual' hobby, but more grown men like it then children as they were brought up in the days that being a train enthusiast was easy!

And Richard Armstrong, I got to disagree on your view,I think if you like the railways,you dont care how diffrent the railway is then Thomas The Tank Engine,but you normally get to know everything about the railway if your an enthusiast, or some people just plainly want to like the trains and nothing else.

And me123, I kind-of agree with you in that children do love trains but hide it, but I came clean about it first of all and now I'm 14 and I didn't fell embarresed as it's exactly like liking football and don't see how its geeky, as I've been called for liking trains! but I suppose we are all diffrent and share things in diffrent ways and are diffrent all together.

 

[RJ]

Or maybe they just don't like trains anymore? I don't understand why excuses have to be created for the way people choose to live their lives. I don't buy into the whole peer pressure thing, everyone who knows me knows I love my trains and accept that it's just a part of me. Several people made reference to it when signing my yearbook, telling me to keep it up .

 

[37401]

as a child i never watched Thomas The tank engine (dont like steam, haver have never will) and even when i did he was always in some sort of crash,i think alot of young children just grow out of it or just hide it like i did till last year and i really didnt care what others said because they dont know what its really like (they`ll never know what it feels like to be behind some real power)

There are also a lot of adults that hide it too and those who dont spot but are "Closet bashers" and im not being rude

 

[SouthEastern-465]

I never watched, Thomas when I was little, but when I did see it occasionally I always knew it was a hornby train set it never fooled me at all!

 

[Oswyntail]

The psychological development of young people is fascinating. At about puberty (the 9+ as referred to earlier) children pass from a long period of "latency" to the troubles of adolescence, where their main psychological task is to discover their own identity. Paradoxically they do this by aligning themselves in groups, testing what that group feels like and using or discarding it. Large and well-defined groups (such as F**Tball fans) tend to feel safer to belong to and so will pick up many of those less sure of themselves. Smaller groupings, such as ours, will tend to retain those who already have firm ideas about self-identity. Sadly, as culture changes to put more pressure on youngsters, and to offer more apparent alternatives, this increases the uncertainty level, so the larger groups will grow while the smaller ones shrink. However, once this period of development has completed (mid-20s ish) the newly self-confident young people will often return to what the liked previously.
When I were a nipper, the railway bridge was the social centre of the dominant group; these days it seems to be the social centre of the outcasts (who are NOT enthusiasts).

 

[thefab444]

100% agree.

I also, strangely, agree with RJ, to the extent that peer pressure SHOULDN'T make you give something up that you enjoy doing, but it's sad that it does happen in some cases. I also agree with his point that they might stop liking trains, children often change their likes and dislikes, so it's quite possible this might happen.

What I will say though, is the new generation of enthusiasts seem, on the whole, to take a different approach. The majority seem to be interested in handheld videos, staged thrash, horns etc. which is fair enough (except extreme horning), whereas there are comparatively few young photographers like myself, who just take photos and maybe have a fotopic site. Yet a large portion of the older enthusiast fraternity are exactly this type.

It's good to see the hobby adapting to fulfill the interests of its new generation anyway. It's still sad to see it declining though.

 

[generalvegitable]

I'm the sort of guy who is just like "oh look its a class whatever, better take a piccie!" if you look at my photos you will never see anything to do with train numbers, headcodes and the technical stuff. I am not like the stereotype or some other enthusiasts who say this when they see a train "ooh its [a number] running service [a headcode], better write it down in my notebook" I am the guy who would be in the background of this video, I am a fun loving enthusiast, and while alot of people do take the mick because I am an enthusiast and think that enthusiast = spotter when it doesnt, a spotter is different to an enthusiast by miles. and a spotter is different to the stereotype enthusiast.

 

[SuperVoyager]

I did watch thomas abit when i was younger and for a few years i did go off of trains.
But now i seem to love them more than ever! Despite my hating for HST's, i will still photograph one if it comes along, even other trains that are not to my liking i will still take a photo of. So i don't really know why i went off of them for a few years.

 

[SouthEastern-465]

Thomas is the killer of the railway!

Now ive noticed that when people have watched thomas the tank engine they turn off of railways later on in life in most cases,im not saying this turnsout like this all the time.

kill thomas!

 

[90019]

Now ive noticed that when people have watched thomas the tank engine they turn off of railways later on in life in most cases,im not saying this turnsout like this all the time.

Most people who watched Fireman Sam didn't end up being firemen either.

Can you prove there's actually a link between the two?

 

[generalvegitable]

I am interested in the railways because of thomas the tank engine, it was my dad who first showed it to me, and now I am going to be on the railways for my whole life

 

[Oswyntail]

...and, btw, I love Thomas

 

[dan_atki]

Quite funny Thomas has been brought up as a recurring theme throughout this thread.

I certainly remember reading a couple of years ago that children were actually frightened of railways through watching the programme... because of the number of 'accidents' occurring on there!

 

[generalvegitable]

but its the accidents that make it fun to watch, if there were no accidents the show would be boring. I'd have to say that by far the best accident I ever saw was when thomas made a bet with whats his name that he could drive himself, and susequently drove into a house

 

[Metroland]

It's a lot to do with today's peer group pressure, which (some) young people are especially open to. Those with stronger characters tend to ignore it.

In the 1950s/60s, you wouldn't have had the some correlation because rail enthusiasm was very mainstream. Though there could be a case that railways were more interesting in those days. The media have a lot to answer for, there's nothing wrong with railways, but everything wrong with the way its presented sometimes. Thank you Jasper Carrot and Harry Enfield, as well as some of the down market tabloids.

The situation is almost unique to the UK btw, the image among young people in places like China and Japan is almost entirely different.

But there are a lot of young people interested, this forum is full of them. So perhaps, some of the 'received wisdom' is not quite correct.

 

[Techniquest]

I loved Thomas when I was a little kid, and loved travel by train everywhere until 1996. I started secondary school then and even started trying (without success) to like football to relate to the other kids.

It wasn't until 2003 that I re-discovered the railways and ever since then I've absolutely loved it. There's not many hobbies that can take you all over the world, this being one of the many things I enjoy a lot about rail. If the spark hadn't happened to re-ignite nearly 6 years ago, I would never have travelled right around the country as I have now.

After all, in what other hobby would you have a reason to trek all the way to Thurso and Wick?

I only wish I'd gotten into the hobby sooner than I did, I missed so much. That said, the new generation is going to be even worse off.

But yeah, wanting to fit in with others was my reason for not diving into the hobby in 1996. Although I recall telling the teacher at the time when they asked what we all wanted to be that I wanted to be a train driver. 13 years on and I still do.

 

[Aussie_Rail]

Interesting comments, while here in Australia every boy has seen or knows of Thomas the tank engine and co and it is still widely popular with young kids today, even some of the local heritage railways have a Thomas themed train.

But as kids grow up they see more and more of the real world, they watch the said TV shows and so they get taken to see trains and model trains etc, if this carries on then they might end up liking it as a life long hobby, but not the case for all.

Other kids might get taken to an airshow and love planes for the rest of their life and might become a pilot, usually a hobby is based on what they see and like or what they are exposed to by their parents.

For me I liked trains when I was younger I saw all the Thomas the tank engine on TV and had all the toys and books etc, but then I grew out of it and for a long period remained hobbyless, as I live away from the big City I rarely rode on trains and never really got to enjoy them as a teenager and it was only 2 years after completing high school that I rode the train on a regular basis that my interest was reignited, the pilot light was on, just no gas lol.

And so now I have a strong interest and wished that I got into it a bit sooner.

But you cant force everyone to be a gunzel, some like it and others don't, mostly because they might see it as being really nerdy and uncool, but it is a matter of taste. So I say enjoy it while you still do.

 

[SouthEastern-465]

I have worked out now that little kids go through a phase of everything and most thing's only last a little while with them for exsample the train's they'll like them for about a month or two and then the next thing they'll like diggers or somthing.

What I have also worked out to kids who like train's and are brought up with a dad who is a rail enthusiast or when they are likely to stay a rail fan for life.

I would want to know how people who had no railfans in there life or nothing to do with trains when they are younger took to the railways?
Regards

 

[MCR247]

No-one I know likes trains. I guess with me it started when I watched Thomas The Tank Engine! 'cos I liked it my dad got me an OO gauge model railway with trains like Thomas. Then he got me the Hornby VT HST

 

[Broken Viking]

Because they realise the real-life railways are a whole lot more boring than in Thomas the Tank land? :P

The next train to arrive at platform 3 is the heavily delayed 14:35 Sodor Railway service to Knapford. Calling at: Kellsthorpe Rd, Cronk, Moron, Crossby and Knapford. A trolley service of drinks and light refreshments is NOT available on this train.

This train has been delayed by approximateley 180 minutes. This is due to leaves on the Fat Controller's chequebook at Ffarquhar. Sodor Railways apologise for the delay to this service and for any inconvenience this may cause. :razz:

 

[37372]

Childrens liking for the railway would probably be phased out a lot quicker if Thomas the Tank moved with the times!

Thomas & friends would have been scrapped long ago to be replaced by Pete the Pacer, Davy the Desiro and Tina the Turbostar. Half of the Sodor railway network would have been closed in order to save money, with Sodor Railways being privatised and in the hands of First or Stagecoach. Classic trains such as the Flying Kipper would now be replaced by mundane, identical untroublesome wagons on coal and Freightliner services. Non of the trains would be friendly towards each other, as they'd be owned by rival companies, all bidding for contracts. There would no longer be any amusing mishaps as H&S laws would have meant that all correct safety systems would have to be fitted in order to avoid accidents. The Fat Controller would be long gone and instead the trains were dispatched by TOPSy and TRUSTy the computers. Finally, the whole charm and atmosphere would have gone completely as everything was modernised!

Sounds pretty boring to me - something tells me kids would prefer the classic version!

 

[90019]

I would want to know how people who had no railfans in there life or nothing to do with trains when they are younger took to the railways?
Regards

I'm the only one in my family interested in the railways (bar my cousin in Australia, although he's 8, so I'm not going to count him).

The interest has always been there, starting with the model railway years ago, although it wa properly sparked off about 2 years ago when I took a detour through Waverley in the winter and sat and watched an HST leaving, a Turbostar arriving and leaving and a 322 arriving (and sparking rather a lot when it hit certain parts of the OHLE).

 

[JustinStacey.x]

I can't ever remember being interest in railways when I was a kid, however, I always remember aspiring to be a bus driver. Probably because I used the buses every day to and from school. A lot of my interests seem to stem from my usage of something in real life. I used to use the buses a lot (and still do) and so had/have an interest in them. My interest in trains started up around a year ago after I'd moved to the city and used them a lot, and became interested in the details, why certain trains did certain routes, etc. Again, a link to my usage of it. Also, computers, I used to use the computer to play games when I was a kid and that interest has now blossomed into a profession. This is all probably to do with my Aspergers and if I'd never moved to the city of Glasgow for college I would probably have never become interested in trains and hence not travelled half as many places as I have. Although I dropped out of college with only an NC, I am thankful I went because of my new found interest in trains and how it has benefited me in the long run.

I can't see my interest in trains dying out now, either. It's a very fulfilling hobby and has benefits on the side, such as, seeing new places.

Realising that many of my interests blossom out of curiousity, I now try and get out there as much as I can, discovering new things - and compared to two years ago, I consider myself a nicely varied person. I've gone from spending every weekend in the house on the computer to getting out and going places as much as I can - only limited by what is in my bank account. I have now also taken up exploration (of the urban variety; which I can't say too much about) which ties in with my interests in history also.

 

[ed1971]

I first became interested in railways when I was around 10 in the early 1980s. I used to go on them with my grandad who worked as a shunter during the second world war. I was mainly interested in the first generation DMUs. I have never been a fan of steam and find electric traction rather boring except the 323s of course!

I have always been interested in buses, but this does not extend to recent ones as they are characterless boxes on wheels!

 

[JustinStacey.x]

^Damn right. Most of the Darts in our town were replaced by VDL pieces of ****e and Enviro200's.

 

[SouthEastern-465]

Childrens liking for the railway would probably be phased out a lot quicker if Thomas the Tank moved with the times!

Thomas & friends would have been scrapped long ago to be replaced by Pete the Pacer, Davy the Desiro and Tina the Turbostar. Half of the Sodor railway network would have been closed in order to save money, with Sodor Railways being privatised and in the hands of First or Stagecoach. Classic trains such as the Flying Kipper would now be replaced by mundane, identical untroublesome wagons on coal and Freightliner services. Non of the trains would be friendly towards each other, as they'd be owned by rival companies, all bidding for contracts. There would no longer be any amusing mishaps as H&S laws would have meant that all correct safety systems would have to be fitted in order to avoid accidents. The Fat Controller would be long gone and instead the trains were dispatched by TOPSy and TRUSTy the computers. Finally, the whole charm and atmosphere would have gone completely as everything was modernised!

Sounds pretty boring to me - something tells me kids would prefer the classic version!

And not to forget though kids thomas would of been in a scrapyard rusting and dying away but he was preserved by the isle-of-sodor heritage railway who need £100,000,000 to restore him.

Unluckily james the engine was sadly scrapped along with percy.