From the Dome Car: Train 5 Track 6 (January-February 1996)

 

250 articles modelling articles, 175 Proto Photos, 150 Modellers' Photos and countless numbers of book reviews, video reviews, new product reports, letters and events—that’s what was published in the first five years, or 30 issues, of CRM. From concept to product, it was quite a journey for Morgan. One thing he lamented was the aging of the hobby, which was in the mid-50s in the mid-1990s. (I wonder what it is today?) And he expressed his disdain for the Internet, which was just in its infancy back then. (Remember dial-up?) To his dismay, the Internet would continue to be a challenge for Morgan—and ultimately put an end to his magazine dream, as it did for many other print publications. 

The last issue of our 5th year has arrived! Train 5 Track 6 is our 30th issue. 

Over the past five years we've published around 250 articles connected in some way to Canadian modelling, over 175 Proto Photos, 150 Modellers' Photos and countless numbers of book reviews, video reviews, new product reports, letters and events. 

Added to that is the wealth of information that's been presented by manufacturers through advertising. They've done their best to satisfy our lust for more Canadian products. 

I just re-read 'From the Dome Car' from Train 1 Track 1. It was written back in April, 1990, back when we set our goals to bring Canadian modellers what they said was lacking in our hobby: Canadian information. Well, we've really done that, and there seems to be no end to the information about Canadian railways that's still to be printed! 

Moreover, I'm astonished by the number of new products bearing Canadian road names that have become available with more new ones to come. 

While the future looks good for CRM and Canadian prototype products, there still is one area that concerns me. According to the NMRA, the average age of a model railroader is creeping up. That's why I was overjoyed when I saw Bachmann's E-Z Track HO train set advertised on TV and in a Canadian Tire flyer in December. 

Also, if you were in a Loblaw' s store just before Christmas, you may have seen the new 'President's Choice' train set they offered this year—the third year running for this obviously popular item. These train sets, along with the many others presented by several different manufacturers, help address this situation. 

And why is the starter train set so important? You may have already guessed:  kids. They are the ones who we must all impress if our hobby is to be carried into the next century. That's why it's important that we continue with what we are doing and why manufacturers must continue to add new product lines to their inventory. It's important that kids be able to see trains running at train shows. If they were lucky, some Canadian kids woke up on Christmas morning to find a new train set running around the Christmas tree. We can only hope there were many—I know of one-eight-year-old on my street who did! 

We've all heard that the computer age is upon us with "Internet" and "information highway" being the buzz words of the 90s. But the sights and sounds of trains still impress kids. Mechanical things, moving parts, things that can be touched, controlled, directed and picked up still fascinate them. It lets them create something that moves in real time and space. It lets them dream that some day they'll have a great train running through a scene. Remember the dreams you had after your initial introduction to model trains?

We may be in the computer age, but the model train will never die! Well, as this is our 30th issue of CRM, I guess we better get working towards number 31! We'll see you all in the next issue.



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