Unscientific, not guaranteed to be representative, age versus modelled era poll

[MarkSG]

One thing that stands out for me (if only intuitively) is that, for those who pick eras outside their 10 to 14 years age "slot", their choices seem to be heavily tilted towards earlier rather than later. 

 

An example of young enthusiasts absorbing the preferences of older "mentors" in their formative years, perhaps?

 

 

Possibly, in some cases. But, speaking for myself (I was a teenager in the BR Blue era, but I model steam), a significant part of it is that I also have an interest in history. Not just railway history, but all sorts of history. I also enjoy visiting historic buildings, such as castles and stately homes, for example. So the steam era, for me, lies on the intersection between history and railways, and therefore ticks both boxes.

[GreenGiraffe22]

Possibly, in some cases. But, speaking for myself (I was a teenager in the BR Blue era, but I model steam), a significant part of it is that I also have an interest in history. Not just railway history, but all sorts of history. I also enjoy visiting historic buildings, such as castles and stately homes, for example. So the steam era, for me, lies on the intersection between history and railways, and therefore ticks both boxes.

I was in my mid teens a decade ago and I also model steam for the exact same reasons as you state =) I'm the only person in my family who is interested in trains, Thomas the Tank Engine is largely, if not entirely responsible.

[Dick Turpin]

Thomas the Tank Engine is largely, if not entirely responsible.

 

That's interesting. I never thought that Thomas might be so important in helping to further the hobby. We had Thomas the Tank Engine saturation in our house for what seemed to be ages, as four boys successively passed through that age range. So far, none of them have become railway enthusiasts, though most of them have developed an interest in science and engineering, so maybe childhood memories might work their magic in future. Who knows.

[Quarryscapes]

My formative years consisted of class 31s and 37s mixed with 150 and 143 sprinters and 158s if you were lucky, in the summer you'd have Standard 4s and Hinton Manor appearing and the Ffestiniog Railway all year round. I don't model any of that. ( I do have a Standard 4 but it's the 4-6-0 version, not the 2-6-0 that came in the 90s) 

[GreenGiraffe22]

I tell a lie, I don't *only* model steam

 

 

Also look what I found! Where it all began for me, this must be Christmas roughly 1995?

[newbryford]

One thing that stands out for me (if only intuitively) is that, for those who pick eras outside their 10 to 14 years age "slot", their choices seem to be heavily tilted towards earlier rather than later. 

 

An example of young enthusiasts absorbing the preferences of older "mentors" in their formative years, perhaps?

 

John  

 

Not just their mentors, but their own curiosity.

This post puts it well.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Andy Hayter]

As promised  here is the analysis that takes account of the length of each of the eras.

 

It shows the number of modellers who model for each year of the period.

 

  

 

 

 

I think this is more of an intellectual exercise given that although it makes some periods look more popular it does not alter the absolute number of modellers who model the period.

 

But please feel free to discuss.

[Nearholmer]

deleted - I’d misread what you said.

 

Kevin

Edited January 21, 2018 by Nearholmer

[Reorte]

Interestingly, when I was younger i disliked the transition period because I found it dirty, depressing and moribund, but these days I rather like it for exactly the same reasons. It seems the further back in time those days become, the more the period appeals to my sense of sadness and loss. 

The passage of time puts it into the wider context and shifts things into being remembered as how they were rather than how they were changing.

[GreenGiraffe22]

I'm interested to know what the *so far* sole 90+ enthusiast on this forum models. Assuming he / she came into contact with railways throughout their life, they must have seen all sorts of things!

[Dunsignalling]

I'm interested to know what the *so far* sole 90+ enthusiast on this forum models. Assuming he / she came into contact with railways throughout their life, they must have seen all sorts of things!

If one goes by the usual yardstick that most of us don't retain very much in the way of detailed memories of "ordinary" experiences before age 10, that would only take him/her back to the latter half of the 1930s.

 

My mother is 89 and the bulk of her youthful memories start around the final year or so at primary school. I'd say the same broadly applies to me.

 

I did become somewhat obsessive about railways from about age 8 and recollect more about that than pretty much anything else that was happening at the time........ .

 

Typical? No idea.

 

John

Edited January 22, 2018 by Dunsignalling

[Talltim]

There’s a lot of emphasis in analysing modelling periods we remember, but just cos you were around at the time you model doesn’t mean you ever went to place you remember.

I’ve mentioned I model late 80’s when I was 14-16, so in theory that fits the formative years thing nicely. but I model American and I’ve never been there. When I did model British trains my layout was set in 80s Manchester and I didn’t go there for another 10 years. After that I decided to model 50s East Anglia, and I did go to the supposed site of the layout, but only after I had chosen the location.

Maybe time for another poll about geographical links with your chosen model location?

Edited January 22, 2018 by Talltim

[BMacdermott]

Hello Talltim

 

Not an exact answer to your post above but I ran a 'region poll' on MREmag in 2016. The results from the 262 respondents were:

 

124 - LMR (4xxxx/5xxxx numbers)

122 - SR

106 - ER (6xxxx numbers)

99 - WR

 

The total adds up to more than 262 as respondents could vote for any or all that applied.

 

Brian

[Dunsignalling]

There’s a lot of emphasis in analysing modelling periods we remember, but just cos you were around at the time you model doesn’t mean you ever went to place you remember.

I’ve mentioned I model late 80’s when I was 14-16, so in theory that fits the formative years thing nicely. but I model American and I’ve never been there. When I did model British trains my layout was set in 80s Manchester and I didn’t go there for another 10 years. After that I decided to model 50s East Anglia, and I did go to the supposed site of the layout, but only after I had chosen the location.

Maybe time for another poll about geographical links with your chosen model location?

Also, bear in mind the widely held view that, if you can remember the 1960s, you weren't there..........

[gc4946]

When I was aged between 10-14, supposedly the formation of ideas and memories of modelling, it was the era of BR corporate blue.

 

Where I lived in Portsmouth, this period (mid-late 70s) had no deviation from contemporary BR standard practice - i.e. no large logos, and no customisation of locos.

 

Steam was the main diversion in preservation from BR as it existed at the time.

 

[jjb1970]

I remember Stratford depot achieving near cult status as the depot that dared to paint locomotives diferently in the BR blue era.

[Ozexpatriate]

Isn’t the ‘blue pre-TOPS’ timeslot very short (c4years?) compared with the rest (even early crest was longer)?

 

It’s a bit like defining to have a category for ‘the late afternoon of June 21st 1976’, which was definitely shorter than ‘all of history up to 1923’.

Not as short as the "Contemporary" slot, which whilst a great deal longer now than when Ozy set up the poll, is still only 21 days as it is defined as 2018!

It got a vote for every day!   I hope people knew what I intended.

 

I don't stand behind the eras as the best way to measure the most popular subjects. They served a purpose in terms of correlating whether people mostly model what they remember, or not, which was my intent.

 

The short pre-TOPS period drives the "age when 10 - 14" distribution into a bi-modal pattern, but it doesn't really change the outcome from what I was trying to determine (remembering that I was not looking to identify the most popular era). 

 

If there were a very strict proportional relationship between age and period modelled, then a short era would have fewer modellers, but as I think this poll has shown there is more to the choice of subject than simply age.

Edited January 23, 2018 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

I will check in on this from time to time and at some point will update the results - I see that we now have 363 voters.

 

Thank you to everyone who voted and commented!

[Ozexpatriate]

... I ran a 'region poll' on MREmag in 2016. The results from the 262 respondents were:

 

124 - LMR (4xxxx/5xxxx numbers)

122 - SR

106 - ER (6xxxx numbers)

99 - WR

 

The total adds up to more than 262 as respondents could vote for any or all that applied.

If people think eras are messy then modelled region is even far less precise.

 

I had a bit of regional data tucked away. It gets messy with the Scottish Region (with LMSR and LNER contributors) and parts of what was Southern Railways belonging to the WR to combine grouping and nationalisation data. It's not very sound from a survey standpoint.

 

So I went ahead and unscientifically smashed the data together anyway. Comparing Brian's data with older data I had on file the results look like this:

 

 

Given the normal confidence intervals for this sort of thing, it is remarkably close to 25% (give or take) for everyone, with eastern fans running slightly high and western fans slightly lower.

Edited January 23, 2018 by Ozexpatriate

[john flann]

Thank you Ozexpatriate for taking the time and trouble to do this.

 

All very interesting as a "snapshot" of respondents interests at this particular time.

 

Regards,

[Andy Hayter]

The issues with geographic areas will I predict end up with the same conundrum that we had (until in part at least now) with eras

 

1.  Where are the boundaries (I model the M&GN is that midland or eastern - might even apply to London and Tilbury:  Somerset and Dorset?: Where do some modern companies like Cross Country or Northern Rail  fit? etc.)

2.  Does the geographic region you model reflect back on your previous experiences?  I rather suspect that this probably correlates more than age does - but that is a guess based on experience based on a very limited number of people I know.

 

Once again many thanks for running the Poll Michael.

[jonny777]

One person who answered the poll questions is aged 90 or over. 

 

I wonder if they could be persuaded to contribute to a thread where they write down as much of their early railway memories as possible, for vital historical reasons? Likewise, the 5 people in the age groups from 75 to 89?

 

Even the smallest and seemingly insignificant amount of information can be useful.  

[Reorte]

2.  Does the geographic region you model reflect back on your previous experiences?  I rather suspect that this probably correlates more than age does - but that is a guess based on experience based on a very limited number of people I know.

That's an interesting thought. For myself that's certainly true. I've already mentioned modelling a time before I was born but it's in a part of the country I'm familiar with, as are most of my idling thoughts about future layouts. Oddly enough I think I'm more likely to initially drift towards layouts set in places I know irrespective of period (despite some strong feelings about period!) at exhibitions, at least until a particularly interesting one catches my eye regardless.

[Ozexpatriate]

2.  Does the geographic region you model reflect back on your previous experiences?  I rather suspect that this probably correlates more than age does - but that is a guess based on experience based on a very limited number of people I know.

There will be exceptions of course, but I think it will likely correlate more than age to modelled period does. (Of course that's purely a guess on my part.)

Edited January 23, 2018 by Ozexpatriate

[Darwinian]

Fascinating reading and an intriuging snapshot in the poll results.

Personally I model a period (1929-35) 30 years before I was born. This was largely as a result of reading model railway magazines in my early teens to twenties and holiday trips to Devon and the then Dart valley railway. At the time I modelled GWR 1930s Devon as a result. Prior to that I had a typical mish-mash of a train set with various of Triang, Hornby Dublo and kitmaster.

I lived backing onto the Ash - Ascot branch so my staple experience was SR electrics. My Grandfather was an SR ganger (although I think he had finished before I arrived) and my Uncle is a great SR steam fan.

I currently model S.Wales because it's a bit different to the usual GWR, lots of odd pre-grouping locos, very little RTR available, so I am not spending ages building things that I could have bought cheaper. Also I lived in Cardiff for 3 years and  found the Valleys scenery and geography totally different to anywhere I'd been before. Especially before the celan up of the tips and the building of new relief roads over many old track beds.