For those old enough to have experienced it first-hand, the “golden age” of pre-Amtrak passenger service made quite an impression. It seems like most passenger train modeling today rekindles those fond memories of crack streamliners like the 20th Century Limited, Hiawatha, or Super Chief. Some are content to include a local train or a doodlebug, depending on the territory served. While these will remain popular in some form forever, there’s a rapidly growing interest in the often-overlooked trains that serve our cities and suburbs. Transit modeling is not just the future, it’s presently arriving at hobby shops near you.
A vast majority of my friends grew up riding transit in all its forms, and see it still as a ticket to worlds they wouldn’t have seen or been able to explore otherwise because they didn’t drive. They grew up into transit activists, and some of them work inside transit agencies today, working to make these vital systems a better experience for everyone. However, they remain frustrated because there’s no reasonable way to model most of what they see and ride every day.
There’s an entirely untapped market of people who want to model transit but deem it too inaccessible financially or too difficult with regard to modeling skill. Nobody wants to fight with a poor quality, unpowered, comically warped resin casting just to get that modern electric multiple-unit model they’ve wanted for years. Nor do they want to fight with a 60-year-old tarnished brass model — or 40-year-old cheap plastic renditions — of a beloved streetcar, only to find out it’s way out of their skillset to paint, letter, and repower.
We need to lower the barrier for this market, because most future transit modelers are new to the hobby, full of enthusiasm, and can easily get discouraged. Let me repeat this for the manufacturers: This is an entirely new market, with new customers you can serve well. However, you must provide them with convincing and genuinely beautiful ready-to-run models to satisfy their attention to detail. They must run out of the box and feature full interiors with correct branding and typefaces. Details matter deeply, and they’ll know when Helvetica type is used instead of Frutiger (just ask the Amtrak modelers).
For decades, especially in HO and N scale, offerings for transit models were very, very rare. When there were any, it was almost always poorly running brass in punishingly small runs. Not to mention the bias of brass models to almost entirely be of prototypes built before 1965. It amazes me that there are only two ready-to-run models of New York City Subway cars ever produced in HO scale, and even those are hard to find. What’s more, Chicago’s extensive “L” is completely overlooked. Light-rail enthusiasts are limited to a single release by IHC in the late 1970s of a Boeing LRV that follows San Francisco MUNI prototype. Even bus models until recently were basically limited to generic offerings or diecast toys that were vaguely close to modeled scales.
While thanks to Suydam’s brass imports from more than 60 years ago, you can model almost all of California’s bygone Pacific Electric system, but there’s no practical way for someone to obtain models of today’s LA Metro, San Diego Trolley, Sacramento light rail, or even the newest Stadler electric multiple-unit cars that will be going into service on Caltrain later this year.
Some manufacturers are hearing us, thankfully. Rapido worked directly with Bay Area Rapid Transit to not only scan in-service equipment but also recorded full sound files for each type of “legacy” train shortly before they were retired and cut up for scrap. Sales for the BART models have exceeded expectations, and I have modeling friends on both coasts who have ordered sets. Rapido’s recent release of Toronto subway cars further explores this concept. In addition, not everyone who buys these models is building a layout. Some folks are looking for commemorative models to display in a case. It’s a secret bonus market to sell models to further offset tooling costs.
Modeling is an art that takes us through time and is also interpreted through the lens of the modelers themselves by what they build. We enjoy modeling what we see, and what we experience. The average modeler today has never ridden on a famous named passenger train or slept in a Pullman berth, but they’ve definitely had to take the Yellow Line or the 6 Train or the Paoli Local downtown for work, shopping, or a show. We’ve already begun to see the rising tide of new transit and commuter modelers enter the hobby. Increasing the commercial availability of rolling stock, passenger station kits, catenary towers, and other accessory items will maintain that momentum and make it easy for them to become steady customers for years to come.
—Miles Callan
