Letting Off Steam- No Pun intended

[Green_Elite_Cab]

I occupy a niche of a niche of a niche- I enjoy electrified railroads, and the niche within, electric commuter operations. And I'm 21.

Maybe the more important qualifier in your statement is the 'And I'm 21.' part. I've been involved in a thread over on the MRH site about encouraging teens to stay in the hobby. Seems there's two camps - those that think this is exclusively a hobby in which kids grow out of it then return later in life, and those like myself who did not have that experience and have remained active to a degree in the hobby from childhood, through teenage and young adult years, to now (35...is that approaching middle age? ).

What I'm observing is that not many folks know how or even care to be involved with young adults, especially folks in there teens and twenties. So it may not be only your niche - which I don't claim to relate to or understand in the least - but your age that consternates folks and automatically alienates them, no matter how hard you try to relate or be friendly. In other words, it's not your fault!

I'm glad you've received such encouragement here at Big Blue!

Galen

Galen, you may be right. I shot over to the MRH and started reading that thread, and I can agree, for me, its the sheer lack of deeper discussion.

I can usually find it with the older modelers, but many times the age divide is indeed to great to cross. They've lived through this stuff, and they're more interested in the time of the PRR and and the pre-Penn Central years. They don't appear to have interest in that late 70s period.

Like pointed out on that MRH thread, people my age are rare, and when i find them, most of them have something up with them. Life, as well, really clogs things up.

can't stop looking though!