DEL MAR – Forget the rickety model train Dad set up under the Christmas tree that constantly derailed.
SEAN DUFRENE / Union-Tribune
Children received tips from George Benton (right) at the North County Model Railroad Society booth at yesterday's expo.
|
Some modern train sets come with a computerlike device that controls the train's speed, the sound effects (such as whistles) and the accessories around it (such as the model station's lights). For the environmentalists, there's one that runs on solar power.
Even with the new technology, train enthusiasts say adults are the hobby's backbone, and most of them are driven by nostalgia for their childhood. Looking at the attendees at the first Great Train Expo in Del Mar yesterday, the receding hairlines outnumbered the youngsters walking among dozens of tables exhibiting train accessories, railroad memorabilia and elaborate working models.
SEAN DUFRENE / Union-Tribune
William Doody, 8, of Solana Beach got help from Leo Valley in handling the HO-gauge train operation. The expo continues until 4 p.m. today.
|
In the era of the Internet coupled with advanced home video games, teenagers were scarce among the estimated 3,000 train buffs who attended the expo. The younger generation seems to be showing little interest in watching a model train loop around a miniature landscape.
“I couldn't convince my teenager to come here,” said Steven Walker, whose 8-year-old son, Jonathan, was entranced by a faux steam locomotive. “Some of my best memories as a child were building model trains with my dad.”
Organizers understand that for the hobby to survive, they somehow need to capture the attention of more youngsters.
“You're looking at a hobby that's slowly graying,” said Kurt Jablonski, who worked for the private company that staged the event. “Right now, we're doing as much as we can to bring it back into the forefront.”
SEAN DUFRENE / Union-Tribune
A group of Marx trains lined a box inside the Bob and Scott Trains booth at the Great Train Expo at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
|
One kid they don't need to market to is Michael Kaszuba, 7, who jumped with delight at seeing a European bullet-train model.
“I just love looking at trains and model railroads,” said the second-grader from Carmel Valley. “It's my hobby.”
His father, Kris Kaszuba, said the boy became enamored with trains at a very young age. Besides models, he also likes riding the real ones.
“I have to take him on a train every two to three months or he gets withdrawals,” Kaszuba said.
Michael said he likes to ride on the upper level of a two-level train.
“It's like you're floating in the sky,” the boy said.
The train expo continues today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
Jose Jimenez: (760) 737-7568; jose.jimenez@uniontrib.com
