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2022 State of Model Railroading: Hobby continues to offer great value, despite concerns over pricing

December 25th, 2021

By TIM BLACKWELL/Cowcatcher Magazine

For the second consecutive year, the Cowcatcher has taken the pulse of model railroading, and once again readers believe the hobby is thriving. However, some subtle changes in rating the state of model railroading suggest a little more concern about its direction than 12 months ago.

In December readers answered 25 questions about the overall state of the hobby, their personal preferences and skill levels and spending habits. The survey attracted the highest number of responses in its history.

Respondents rated the hobby’s value, product quality and ease of use and reliability of models, scenery products and more. The consensus is that model railroading continues to provide a great experience and is still a good value. Nearly 80 percent rated the overall state of model railroading as excellent or good.

Yet respondents are concerned more than ever about increasing prices and supply chain issues that are affecting product availability, which could hinder growth.

The survey confirms that model railroading is entering 2022 with cautious optimism.

On the surface, the hobby business is thriving, and model railroad and general hobby retailers who have enjoyed more than a year of solid sales are optimistic, even considering expansion in a sector that until recently has taken a back seat to personal devices.

According to Hobby Merchandiser, an industry trade magazine, several general hobby store owners intend to expand their retail spaces in 2022 to boost inventory, a good sign for a brick-and-mortar sector that has suffered for years.

Also, excitement fills the air at conventions, shows and train rides in anticipation of continued movement toward “normal.” Model railroaders are returning big time to shows, and reports from regional train shows suggest that shoppers are reaching into their wallets.

However, behind the scenes there are problems.

Supply chain issues resulting from the pandemic are slowing deliveries and raising prices. Manufacturers reported in 2021 that shortages of chips used in decoders and long shipping delays from overseas are pressuring prices and threatening consumer confidence. Plastic shortages are affecting not only production of models but bags for consumers to take them home.

Technology, high quality products raise the bar

Still, the hobby has a lot going for it.

Product quality and value again rate high, and slightly more respondents than last year believe this continues to be the golden era of model railroading, a big shout out in appreciation of the highly accurate and detailed products available. Improved technology has set the bar high for run-ability of locomotives and rolling stock, and structures and accessories continue to edge higher on realism.

3D printing is reinvigorating the parts and detail cottage industry. Imaginative manufacturers and garage entrepreneurs are introducing an array of new detail products about every month. Just about everything under the sun is available to accent just about any scene.

Readers do contend that the rising cost of supplies is a sticking point a little more than in the past. The survey suggests heightened anxiety over pricing, which may be tempering the desire for those vigorously detailed models that bring a pretty penny.

One reader who works at a hobby shop says the trickle-down effect means even higher prices, which could discourage new folks from entering the hobby.

“We are seeing a rush to buy what is available since the future is uncertain regarding pricing and new stock delivery,” says the respondent, who wished to remain anonymous. “All or most vendors are raising their projected retail pricing and this will keep many from entering the hobby. This should NOT become a rich person’s past time, but a learning experience for all ages and levels of experience.”

The hobby’s future continues to weigh on respondents’ minds. Appealing to younger generations, a familiar tune for decades, still resonates, and readers offered various ways to introduce newbies to the hobby.

More on the Cowcatcher’s 2022 State of Model Railroading survey in the January/February 2022 issue.

  • News
  • Current Issue: May/June 2023

     

     

    INSIDE THIS ISSUE

  • Rock Solid

    In the past four years, Mike Armstrong’s HO Rock Island Lines has received much attention in the model railroad press and is one of 30 or more layouts that will be on tour at the NMRA National Convention, Aug. 20-26 in Grapevine, TX. Growing up in Nevada, IA, in the 1960s, Armstrong learned to appreciate the six major roads that ran through the state and others that juked around the Central U.S. While the Rock Island Lines covers the Mid-Continent Route from Inver Grove Yard in St. Paul, MN, to Armourdale Yard in Kansas City. several Midwestern railroads make frequent cameo appearances. Like it was when he grew up in the 1960s, Armstrong is in the middle of all the action.

     

  • Patience. Tenacity. Skill

    When a bright 14-year-old wowed model railroaders decades his senior with custom O-gauge switches in his Illinois basement in the 1970s, it heralded the second coming of three-rail. Since then, Ross Custom Switches has cemented itself into model train history with the country’s largest offering of O-gauge items. The company makes track and switches for both the discerning modeler who strives for a prototypical look and the guy who just likes toy trains

     

     

  • Cowboy and Cactus Country

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  • PLUS…

    GVT Rail has big plans for its new ALCO PA “Nickel Plate Road No. 190.” The railroad company recently purchased the restored locomotive from a top rail preservationist. …

     

    April’s Rocky Mountain Train Show accomplished its mission in April of increasing attendance and adding more exhibitors. …

     

    Project Layout: The N-scale Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad solves a switching puzzle for a cement distributor in Pine Ridge with help from its Class I parent. …

     

     

    THESE STORIES AND MORE, PLUS A FULL CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS AND THE BUSINESS PULSE OF THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY!

     

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  • Product News & Review

    InterMountain HO ADM Corn Syrup Car

     

    The Cowcatcher reviews InterMountain Railway Co.’s newly released HO-scale Trinity Industries 19,600-gallon corn syrup car. The tank car is one of several in the company’s second release.

     

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  • Railroad in Focus

    Cowcatcher Magazine routinely features short lines and regional railroads that roam the Midwest and Southwest. Features include color photographs and maps, but an overview of operations and latest business trends.

     



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