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A grand scale
Dayton Train Show opens 32nd edition today
Show at Hara Arena will bring together those who love the model rails.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
TROTWOOD — As the 32nd Dayton Train Show chugs into Hara Arena, Ray Persing was profiling America's 300,000 to 400,000 model railroad buffs.
"The industry has done surveys and typically the most serious model railroaders are males in their mid-to late-50s who have fond memories of trains and the time and money to get into model railroading, but when you look at the hobby in general you see it involves people of all ages and from all walks of life," the 43-year-old Tipp City resident said.
Extras
Persing, general chairman of this year's Dayton Train Show, has been a model railroader since he was three years old.
"My parents were school teachers and dad had a railroad layout in the basement and he encouraged me to help him with it and play with it," he said.
But thanks to the popularity of the cartoon character Thomas the Tank Engine, more and more children are becoming interested in trains. "Because of Thomas, kids are now seeing trains in a whole new light," he said.
Model railroading doesn't have to be expensive, said Persing, an aerospace engineer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
"The beautiful thing is you can get started in the hobby for as little as 50 bucks and take it into the tens of thousands of dollars if you want to," he said.
He ticked off some other tidbits about the hobby:
• Serious model railroaders spend an average of $500 to $1,000 a year on their hobbies.
• Most enjoy talking about their hobbies and are more than happy to show their layouts to others.
• Model railroading collections and layouts range in size from modest to monstrous.
Persing considers any layout over 300 square feet to be a large one.
"But you don't have to go big if you don't want to," he said. "I've seen layouts as large as 1,500 square feet, but I know one guy who keeps his layout in a brief case."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2396 or bbatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.
