Search for young model rail fans to keep 'invisible hobby' on track

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Markus Maas was just a child when he built his first model train layout, trying to cram his HO-gauge set into a small, already crowded Swiss apartment.

But in the years that followed, he abandoned his interest in model rail for more common teenage pursuits.

However when he moved to Perth in the 1980s Mr Maas discovered O-gauge model rail, and with no space limitations to curtail his interest, an obsession was born.

I'm a shift worker so when I came home from night shift I would come here for two hours and just put pebbles down, glue them down and go to bed. Markus Maas, model rail enthusiast

"I started off with buying a box of junk at a swap meet for $20," he said.

"I recognised it was Hornby, it was O-gauge and I just appreciated how beautiful these toys were. And they were toys they weren't models.

"The technology didn't exist to make model trains in the 1930s. But they were beautifully made toys. And I just enjoyed collecting them.

"And it just snowballed from there."

In his backyard shed in Perth's south Mr Maas now has a collection conservatively valued in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Locomotives and carriages by makers including Hornby, Elletren, American Flyer, Ives and more can be found on his purpose built layout, which evokes impressions of the Swiss Alps.

It's a build that's taken years to put together, and is never truly complete.

"I built the shed with a mate. I built the tables. I built the layout. I built the landscape I did the painting. Everything. I built it all," he said.

The layout itself is a labour of painstaking detail, made from chicken wire, paper mache, timber and aquarium gravel.

Mr Maas said he stopped keeping track of the hours he put into its construction long ago.

"I'm a shift worker so when I came home from night shift I would come here for two hours and just put pebbles down, glue them down and go to bed," he said.

"Just have a beer and go to bed."

Mr Maas said his story was similar to many others who have renewed their passion for model trains.

"That's the beauty of it all. The collecting, the chasing. And then there's the story of it all," he said.

"And of course the engineering. There is so much in this hobby. There's so much to see."

Boom time for retiree rail fans

Andrew Morling's interest in model rail never waned and he has also managed earn money from his hobby.

Known locally as Trainman, Mr Morling buys and sells locomotives, carriages and other accessories that go into creating a layout.

He said the improvement of models, especially those out of China, had been significant in recent years, making it even more accessible.

"It used to be you would have to build it yourself if you wanted something out of the ordinary. Or get someone to build it for you," he said.

"Now there are a couple of new models every month. Even some of the more obscure ones are readily found.

"They're almost running out of models to produce. There's a lot of it around, but I'd describe it as an invisible hobby.

"Your neighbour could have an enormous model railway in his back shed and you wouldn't even know about it.

"People often prefer it that way because they've got some valuable stuff and they don't want it knocked off."

He said business was as good as it had ever been.

"The hobby's going through something of a boom at the moment," he said.

"It's a very popular retirement hobby. With our aging population there's a lot of older people getting into it.

"Most of my customers are older than I am.

"They get into it until they reach their teens and then they discover girls and lose interest for about 50 years before coming back."

Battle to get youngsters onboard

Keeping those younger fans interested has become a major concern for the West Australian Model Railway Club (WAMRC).

Established in 1957, the WAMRC has always been regarded by its members as a social club which promotes model rail.

It has 32 members, but only three of those are under 30 and president John Kinson said finding a way to bring in more younger members was a major issue.

"The future of the club is a big concern. It's the biggest thing we face," he said.

"Model trains are designed for kids, but they're not suitable for kids. We have a fairly high age [16] before we allow membership.

"You'll get some that might be interested by they can't always get here themselves. So if the parents don't bring them that's it they're gone."

Mr Kinson said the club, which runs Australian rolling stock, was looking at how it could become more child friendly without asking parents to do more than they were comfortable with.

He said the lasting popularity of Thomas the Tank Engine helped.

"We run Thomas on one of our loops and we get little kids who come in to tell us all about it. They know all the names," he said.

"But we've got to come up with a bridge from the real young to the ones who've got their licences and find a way to get those people back."

He said next weekend's Railfest event at the Railway Museum in Bassendean was crucial.

The club is working on a new layout outside the entrance which Mr Kinson said he hoped would show potential newcomers the intricacies involved in model rail.

We need to get younger people who want to learn. Not just how to run a train around, but how to wire it up so it can run. John Kinson, WAMRC president

"We'll be building it in situ so when people come in [for Railfest] they'll see the progress of how we do it," he said.

"So they won't just see the completed layout but it'll be trains running on bare boards to start with.

"The scenery and the buildings will all be added in stages."

Mr Kinson said he hoped the Railfest celebrations would help kick-start a youth membership drive for the WAMRC and a future where new fans could learn from experienced hands.

"It's our big day of the year. We bring the public through the back of the layout with guided tours and show them behind the scenes," he said.

"It's the only time we can let them in because we don't have the people to do that any other day.

"We need to get younger people who want to learn. Not just how to run a train around, but how to wire it up so it can run.

For more information on Railfest go to railheritagewa.org.au

Topics: human-interest, lifestyle-and-leisure, bassendean-6054