I am wondering how big a thing these movies, toys, and viewings will bring young people to model railroading. I see Lionel has got on top of this in guage? My 2 year old grandson is captivated by the TV shows and movies one can buy at Walmart. Hoping this is a very big plus for us O scalers and now I will be buying something to get him started and have his dad something to play with too.
Phil
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Your 2-year-old Grandson is the perfect age for all the Thomas stuff. From my (limited) experience the train love doesn't last. My grandsons tailed off at about 6 years old. My grand-nephew, a Thomas fanatic if ever there was one, is already switching his attention to cars.
Here's my observation- once kids start really seeing the world, what they don't see very much of is trains and what they do see is B-o-r-i-n-g: infrequent, long trains with boxes on flatcars. Hardly any variety. Ditto for tank car trains.
So, enjoy your grandson's enjoyment for a few years and be prepared to be saddened later.
I believe Lionel has a Lion Chief Thomas set. My grandson had the wooden Thomas sets and track at 2 or 3. He loved it. I think he liked just making different layouts with the track the best. He did that until he was 6 or 7. Now at 9, he has a couple of small HO sets and still like to come over and play with my O gauge trains. He was here Friday and we played with them all afternoon. I am lucky he still likes them and am enjoying it until he loses interest.
In a running joke, I refer to "Rail Pox" aka "Model Railroader Disease" in its variants -- railpoxis O-Scalus, railpoxis Hi-railus, railpoxis Proto48ibus, etc. In that "scientific" discussion I refer to two actual facts: it sometimes goes dormant for decades only to return with a vengeance (case in point, me), and it can be passed on to offspring. That is often the case with the kids we lose along the way. So I wouldn't say they're permanently lost to the hobby. Like me, some will return as disposable funds start to become available.
Given I know and grew up with the old Thomas of Shining Time Station fame I can say it can bee a pretty good way into the hobby. Even have the pre Hasbro take over Lionel Thomas Circus set.
It is interesting given it all started with reverend W Awedry (sp?) a OO gauge modeler telling his son stories, and his son kept "The Railway" series going for several more years, only ending it a few years ago. The TV show(the story segments) really only fallows the books for the first 3 or so seasons and then goes on in an entirely new direction. Guess it really got me hooked if I know this much.
Your 2-year-old Grandson is the perfect age for all the Thomas stuff. From my (limited) experience the train love doesn't last. My grandsons tailed off at about 6 years old. My grand-nephew, a Thomas fanatic if ever there was one, is already switching his attention to cars.
Here's my observation- once kids start really seeing the world, what they don't see very much of is trains and what they do see is B-o-r-i-n-g: infrequent, long trains with boxes on flatcars. Hardly any variety. Ditto for tank car trains.
So, enjoy your grandson's enjoyment for a few years and be prepared to be saddened later.
AS for youngsters interest in the hobby "sticking around", from my personal experience as an educator of youngsters for 45+ years I agree with your astute observations, Rex Desilets. Once children nowadays, especially boys, reach the four to six year old phasew, their interests generally turn away from Thomas and trains towards super heroes and cars and their perceived rock 'em, sock 'em play value. Sad for the future of our hobby, but all too often true.
Phil,
I have also been enjoying the Thomas phase. I am hoping to infect him with Rail Pox. (Thanks, Matt!) I'll support his interests wherever they lead. No sadness if he moves away from trains.
Perhaps the Moody Blues inspired me to view life through the "eyes of a child". It provides an interesting and sometimes surprising perspective. The simplicity and clarity is beautiful.
Thomas is a very useful engine!
Your 2-year-old Grandson is the perfect age for all the Thomas stuff. From my (limited) experience the train love doesn't last. My grandsons tailed off at about 6 years old. My grand-nephew, a Thomas fanatic if ever there was one, is already switching his attention to cars.
Here's my observation- once kids start really seeing the world, what they don't see very much of is trains and what they do see is B-o-r-i-n-g: infrequent, long trains with boxes on flatcars. Hardly any variety. Ditto for tank car trains.
So, enjoy your grandson's enjoyment for a few years and be prepared to be saddened later.
AS for youngsters interest in the hobby "sticking around", from my personal experience as an educator of youngsters for 45+ years I agree with your astute observations, Rex Desilets. Once children nowadays, especially boys, reach the four to six year old phasew, their interests generally turn away from Thomas and trains towards super heroes and cars and their perceived rock 'em, sock 'em play value. Sad for the future of our hobby, but all too often true.
Wait another decade when they discover another interesting hobby, girls. 
My grandsons, for now at their young age, like Thomas, but also they have an interest in super heroes and some sports.
I try to influence their interest in model trains, but touching is a learning experience, so, for now, they play with their little plastic and wood Thomas trains.
Ralph
In a running joke, I refer to "Rail Pox" aka "Model Railroader Disease" in its variants -- railpoxis O-Scalus, railpoxis Hi-railus, railpoxis Proto48ibus, etc. In that "scientific" discussion I refer to two actual facts: it sometimes goes dormant for decades only to return with a vengeance (case in point, me), and it can be passed on to offspring. That is often the case with the kids we lose along the way. So I wouldn't say they're permanently lost to the hobby. Like me, some will return as disposable funds start to become available.
I believe I have one of these: railpoxis O-Scalus or railpoxis Hi-railus. The one I have is a combination/mixture of scale and toy. Would that be the second one? Anyway, good to know someone has finally documented the condition! Possibly the only known treatment is cellarus-fullus, which has only had a slight success rate in slowing the illness. 
Your 2-year-old Grandson is the perfect age for all the Thomas stuff. From my (limited) experience the train love doesn't last. My grandsons tailed off at about 6 years old. My grand-nephew, a Thomas fanatic if ever there was one, is already switching his attention to cars.
Here's my observation- once kids start really seeing the world, what they don't see very much of is trains and what they do see is B-o-r-i-n-g: infrequent, long trains with boxes on flatcars. Hardly any variety. Ditto for tank car trains.
So, enjoy your grandson's enjoyment for a few years and be prepared to be saddened later.
I agree with Rex here but what happened to me was I started out with postwar Lionel (hand-me-downs) in the 1970's. I lived in Brooklyn, NY. The only trains I ever saw were the subway trains. I wanted so badly to see a real train like the Lionel trains I had. Once for a brief few seconds on a family trip I did see a freight train. All I can remember about that train was that it had an all black F3 "like" locomotive pulling it. Maybe it was PC. When I moved to New Jersey at 14 I finally saw some real freight trains. So even though all I ever saw were boring (at least to me) subways I still became a train nut. Of course I had other interests as a kid as well.
I think what might help is if the parents or grandparents take the kid or kids to train events like shows or train rides. I've done this with my wife's grandchildren and while it doesn't guarantee anything at least there's a chance that maybe one of the grandchildren might become interested in the hobby some day in the future. My cousin's son loved trains and was absolutely fanatical about them but the parents and grandparents had no interest in the hobby. So when he hit the video game stage that was it. The trains went out the window. No one in his immediate family cared.
I think what it all comes down to is some people get the train bug/gene and many don't. I hope that all the exposure of Thomas the Tank Engine at places like Strasburg,PA will cultivate that bug or gene in at least some of the kids that attend.
My 1st 4 years my Dad had a garage layout with a lionel SF F unit. I don't remember it but seeing pics years later made gave me a clue to what was going on in my 1st 4 years before they separated. With that in mind I can only think that was my stimulas as I had few if any trains in my neighborhood growing up. I might consider the flash of the red bonnet of the SF as a attention grabber.
Phil
In a running joke, I refer to "Rail Pox" aka "Model Railroader Disease" in its variants -- railpoxis O-Scalus, railpoxis Hi-railus, railpoxis Proto48ibus, etc. In that "scientific" discussion I refer to two actual facts: it sometimes goes dormant for decades only to return with a vengeance (case in point, me), and it can be passed on to offspring. That is often the case with the kids we lose along the way. So I wouldn't say they're permanently lost to the hobby. Like me, some will return as disposable funds start to become available.
I believe I have one of these: railpoxis O-Scalus or railpoxis Hi-railus. The one I have is a combination/mixture of scale and toy. Would that be the second one? Anyway, good to know someone has finally documented the condition! Possibly the only known treatment is cellarus-fullus, which has only had a slight success rate in slowing the illness.
Cellarus-fullus only slows the progression of the disease. Sometimes a condition known as domicilus expandus kicks in where the repository of the infectious railroad items is expanded to other rooms or the whole repository is relocated to a larger facility. The only known thing things that seem to shut down this virulent condition are:
This also dovetails into some of the "Layout Laws" such as:
Latin terms learned from four years of Latin in high school/college and Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons.
Well Im with Matt, there definitely is a disease out there (so how do you pronounce that!!!! ) Well any way, its out there and it can come back and get you!!!! So! there's hope for our kids yet!! and our hobby. ( cTr....Choose the Right)
I don't know how many of you are aware but there is a full scale 4"81/2' Thomas that travels the country. Actually I believe that there are four of them. They come to Phillipsburg NJ for two weekends each summer and the place is mobbed. They have a lot of activities in addition to the engine which pulls several full size passenger cars provided by the local rail society. My grandson was 21/2 this summer and we spent close to 5 hours having fun there.
Al
I think what might help is if the parents or grandparents take the kid or kids to train events like shows or train rides. I've done this with my wife's grandchildren and while it doesn't guarantee anything at least there's a chance that maybe one of the grandchildren might become interested in the hobby some day in the future. My cousin's son loved trains and was absolutely fanatical about them but the parents and grandparents had no interest in the hobby. So when he hit the video game stage that was it. The trains went out the window. No one in his immediate family cared.
You make good points, Mr. Hudson. Exposure to model trains at shows, etc, should help. Out here in LA the Live Steamers at Griffith Park give rides every Sunday and are, or were, a hit with my assorted grandchildren.
In my family, railroads were always an interest, going back to my grandparents, including a Grandfather who was a fireman on the Big Four. So my interest in trains had an ongoing reinforcement maybe not so available for many.
Model railroading in England seems not to be suffering the apparent decline noted for the US. But, there are lots of preserved steam railroads to visit and ride and it is a cheap day out for a family. Plus, trains are evident far more than in the US.
Finally, what's to love about a giant SD-whatever pulling a string of double stacks. No soul at all. How can the rare sight of a train like that inspire a young man to abandon his video games? Your opinion may vary, of course.
The original poster titled this post Thomas tank. No mention of engine. This can lead to confusion.
I rebuilt a partial stage prop into a complete Thomas. I place it outside our club during open house and it is a kid magnet.
In a running joke, I refer to "Rail Pox" aka "Model Railroader Disease" in its variants -- railpoxis O-Scalus, railpoxis Hi-railus, railpoxis Proto48ibus, etc. In that "scientific" discussion I refer to two actual facts: it sometimes goes dormant for decades only to return with a vengeance (case in point, me), and it can be passed on to offspring. That is often the case with the kids we lose along the way. So I wouldn't say they're permanently lost to the hobby. Like me, some will return as disposable funds start to become available.
I believe I have one of these: railpoxis O-Scalus or railpoxis Hi-railus. The one I have is a combination/mixture of scale and toy. Would that be the second one? Anyway, good to know someone has finally documented the condition! Possibly the only known treatment is cellarus-fullus, which has only had a slight success rate in slowing the illness.
Cellarus-fullus only slows the progression of the disease. Sometimes a condition known as domicilus expandus kicks in where the repository of the infectious railroad items is expanded to other rooms or the whole repository is relocated to a larger facility. The only known thing things that seem to shut down this virulent condition are:
This also dovetails into some of the "Layout Laws" such as:
Latin terms learned from four years of Latin in high school/college and Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons.
Ah, my illness is getting better! I am now being treated with the two items below. They were prescribed shortly after the release of the MTH 2014 Vol 2 catalog.
I am also pretty sure Spousus is completely un-aware of these wonderful layout laws. I definitely have the first problem. I believe this (trains not fitting on layout) also led to my current treatments above. Next rule is another story, as we just moved to a new domicilus last year and I am reasonably certain domicilus expandus is totally out of the question. That would also most certainly destroy Hobbius Fundus. However, Cellarus-fullus will not be reached for quite some time, that's looking like the only option.
Haven't had any Latin, but Wile E. Coyote (Super Genius) also one of my top favorites. Pretty much tied with Foghorn Leghorn, my all time favorite, and a true southern gentleman I might add!
Thomas tank?
They made some nice brass 6 dome wine cars....DaveB
My first awareness of Thomas was after spotting Ringo Star hosting S.T.S.. I was on the couch, flipping channels. Home from work, miserable with the flu, and sipping something hot. I settled in watching, thinking how old fashioned it was compared to the rest of the "slime oozing out of the TV set"(), and fell asleep smiling, wishing the show well. I didn't remember the books I had read, till I saw them again, after the tv show took off.
Thomas has had an incredible impact. Best thing to happen to model trains in generations. At least some kids will grow into model railroading. With the number of units sold, even "some" is a lot. Others will get "too big" for Thomas, and never look back. But if you want to put something away as an "collectable investment"? A rarer Thomas hidden away now, would be as good a guess as any. One day even the "to cool for Thomas" kids are going to be grown, have their own disposable income, and likely a few will even want Sodor's favorite little engine around again at almost any cost.
I think what might help is if the parents or grandparents take the kid or kids to train events like shows or train rides. I've done this with my wife's grandchildren and while it doesn't guarantee anything at least there's a chance that maybe one of the grandchildren might become interested in the hobby some day in the future. My cousin's son loved trains and was absolutely fanatical about them but the parents and grandparents had no interest in the hobby. So when he hit the video game stage that was it. The trains went out the window. No one in his immediate family cared.
You make good points, Mr. Hudson. Exposure to model trains at shows, etc, should help. Out here in LA the Live Steamers at Griffith Park give rides every Sunday and are, or were, a hit with my assorted grandchildren.
In my family, railroads were always an interest, going back to my grandparents, including a Grandfather who was a fireman on the Big Four. So my interest in trains had an ongoing reinforcement maybe not so available for many.
Model railroading in England seems not to be suffering the apparent decline noted for the US. But, there are lots of preserved steam railroads to visit and ride and it is a cheap day out for a family. Plus, trains are evident far more than in the US.
Finally, what's to love about a giant SD-whatever pulling a string of double stacks. No soul at all. How can the rare sight of a train like that inspire a young man to abandon his video games? Your opinion may vary, of course.
Rex, I agree with you. IMHO, a train of double stacks is boring after you get past the locomotives. However, if the person is track side when it passes the sound and the sight of all that power being used to move the train may be inspiring, but enough to get a kid away from video games? Nah, you're right. There's just not enough there to do it the majority of the time.
What you said about railroading in England makes a lot of sense to me. Unfortunately, our country is a lot bigger than England and the public would rather fly to get around than use trains. And what trains we do have are usually in the background.
Thomas (the 1:1 version) also comes to Dearborn, Michigan's Greenfield Village, part of the Henry Ford. I took my 2½ year old grandson there this past year, and we had a ball. He also loves watching and operating my Thomas on my layout. When Thomas was at the Village, he pulled three open passenger cars which are operated every day at the village. Time will tell if he catches the dreaded "pox". I am doing all I can...
Jerry
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