Good topic.. have spent quite a bit of time thinking about this. I'm sure none of my thoughts are original but...
My interest in model trains, above the actual hobby itself, is to try and promote the hobby in different ways. These days this is more difficult to do, given the choices in entertainment and the way we spend our time and money. Also, there are certain social barriers you need to cross when telling people you are a train nut. Usually I wouldn't tell people the extent of my interests ..
Starting this site was one thing I could do to try and give back a great hobby and get people involved and talking... so far, seems to be working. We get quite alot of new people on board here and with the stellar members we have gotten people on their way to enjoying the hobby for the first time or as a renewed interest.
Internet is one avenue but I agree we need active clubs to keep this thing going.. however, it's just plain difficult. I wouldn't mind starting one for large scalers in Toronto (if you are interested holler at me) and just seeing where it goes. Getting young people involved is a must, and to tell you the truth I think some kids are tired of the video games and internet stuff.. If they are smart, they will realize there are more beneficial ways to spend their leisure time, or at least part of it. Sometimes the draw of Xbox and a large screen TV is hard to resist
To me, this hobby started sputtering out when I was about 8 years old.. just as video games became more mainstream as 'toys' but still well before the advent of the Internet and pop culture hijacking, wow do I sound old. LOL. As we know, fads come and go but hobbies like this are timeless. You don't see people unpacking their first gen Nintendo set and getting all excited to play 8 bit Mario Bros. It just does not happen. Now, all you folks unpacking those Lionel sets, that is something entirely different.
I have tried as much as possible to keep people aware that these types of hobbies still exist and can be enjoyable.. mostly by setting up my LGB trains outside for Halloween or Christmas (have some pics for you guys to see actually) and hoping people might think about trains again
Alot of my LGB models are over 20 years old, some 30, and I plan on keeping them around for a long time. I will even prohibit anyone in my family from selling them should something happen to me, and they will be forced to enjoy the trains whether they like it or not
Anyways. My 2 cents. It's not all doom and gloom we just need to adjust in the changing world.