Conspiracy theory? Oh No! Here it comes- An NTRAK module with black helicopters hovering after dark...... Boxcab E50
One thing that has fascinated me is the difference in the European market as compared to the North American market. In Germany, its almost a status symbol if you have a layout, and more are into having one. Electronically the Europeans are ahead with much more animation and even doing things in DCC that I have been convinced the North American market should have done years ago. For example, Rocco now has a starter train set that includes DCC. Mechanically North America might be ahead in how many of our engines run, but more seems to be going on in Europe. You can have a decline in the percent in the hobby and still have hobby growth. Canada in the 50's was around 11 million, now its around 34 million. As for kids getting into the hobby, most of what they see is just beginning to see the light of day from manufactutes. So in Vancouver BC what do they see? Well, they see Sky Train (our puny "L" like transportation system), West Coast Express, some will see Via and Rocky Mountaineer. Contrary to popular thinking, there are more passenger trains in Vancouver than back in the "golden years." Kids can get into the hobby via Brio, Thomas the Tank, pull wooden trains, lego trains, train sim and trainz. At our train show the most popular booth with kids hovering in packs around it is the Lego train booth.
