Young Guns - 50 and Under - Share Your Photos

I'm not far from that cut off, but my teenage son and I started building our first permanent layout this year.  Long way to go, but getting there.

Awesome, Shawn! You and your son are building a great looking layout. 

The 50 yr cutoff wasn’t meant to be a hard line, so I’m glad you shared 👍🏻

I am working on a layout, though right know it is on hiatus because of going to school for a bachelors degree, and in the second phase of track plan, though I haven't started laying down track for the next design iteration. This was one of the last pictures I took of my layout before I decided to redo the track work. I am also 32 years old

Well one of us is under 50 (barely), the other is not so should I only show half the layout my Dad and I built? lol

I'm in my mid 40s and have been in the hobby for about 4  years now. It started with a Christmas tree layout and just took off from there. I started with using folding tables and just kept doing that. It made getting things setup and running fast, because I was interested in running trains. It's changed quite a bit over the years with the latest thing being added is some train shelves I put up on the wall this past weekend. The first pic is of my current track plan. Those are O72 and O84 curves on the outside loops and O36 and O48 on the inside ones. I setup 2 Wyes on each loop so I can run 4 trains at once if I want to. What I usually do is run 2 at a time and use the inside loops for reverse loops.

I’m 34 with our first kid on the way. Grew up with my grandfathers train every Christmas and I asked him for the whole set in 2012. Over the past 7 holiday seasons I’ve put up 7 different layouts while living in 4 different places. After last year I decided to switch from annual layouts to a permanent one.  

Been in this hobby since I was a toddler. Layout has been around since I was 6. Been expanding it and buying and selling locos and rolling stock ever since. Just recently got my hands on some century club pieces. 

I never had trains growing up but I always thought it was a cool hobby so when I became an adult I started collecting and building a layout.  After a move and renegotiating with the wife I started my biggest project yet about 2 years ago.  I belong to a variety of train clubs and am the youngest (age 45) person in every single one of them. lol

John1443, love the “Christmas Garden” with brick paper skirting. You must be from Baltimore. 

That's it......I'm officially old.

I am way over the 50 year cut off, but just wanted to chime in and say this is an excellent topic, and I love all of the above photos and comments by our young hobbyists. 

By the way, although I am no longer young in years, I am definitely young at heart, as are just about all Forum members. Arnold

I'll be 33 next month and have been a forum member since 2001 :-) After packing up the trains in 2011 for an international move for work and fun, we returned in 2013 but the trains mostly remained in storage until 2017 when my wife and I bought our house.  Now my layout resides behind my desk in my office / man cave.

We're gearing up to start laying ground cover and ballast soon!

I grew up with trains, grew out of trains, and grew back in to trains in my 30's -- quite a few years ago   It's nice to see trains remain popular with folks of all ages!

romiller49 posted:

John1443, love the “Christmas Garden” with brick paper skirting. You must be from Baltimore. 

Born and raised in Dallas. My grandfather grew up in Pennsylvania and spent a good deal of time raising family in Pittsburgh and DC though, that's where I get the paper idea from

Bryan in Ohio posted:

I never had trains growing up but I always thought it was a cool hobby so when I became an adult I started collecting and building a layout.  After a move and renegotiating with the wife I started my biggest project yet about 2 years ago.  I belong to a variety of train clubs and am the youngest (age 45) person in every single one of them. lol

 

WOW Bryan I would love to see that over the winter! Nick

I just turned 34. Been working on this for the past 10 years. Still not done. Plan on filling some of that space in the middle of the layout this winter. 

Though I left the title age group going on 15 years ago, I decided I would comment even before I saw the request for us 'young at heart folks' to comment, JD!!  I did so because I want to be of encouragement to anyone who is new and or young in the hobby. (I hope that makes sense)

I came into the hobby the hard way.  No one in the family had interest and my dad told me a train set was too expensive for Christmas gift and to save my money.  So I did that and who knows how long it took, but he drove me clean to the other side of Pittsburgh to get a train set.  I had priced sets advertised in Model Railroader and knew I had enough to get a cheap Tyco HO set when I was about 12.  I ran it all through high school and 2-year college.

I have seen posts and photographs from some of you before and some are new!  Keep up the hobby whether you are in high school, college, raising a young family, or whatever.  The hobby have been a great thing for me to get away from all the problems and cares of our busy lives!

I started my biggest project yet about 2 years ago.  I belong to a variety of train clubs and am the youngest (age 45) person in every single one of them. lol

 

WOW Bryan I would love to see that over the winter! Nick

Your welcome anytime Nick, I usually host my Tuesday and Friday night groups in October.  I'll send you an invite when I know the exact dates.

Great thread and great pics.......

Peter