Quote:
Originally Posted by M4tty69
Obviously I speak for a small percentage here but having been one of the public attending shows and now having purchased my engine I've been looking at exhibiting once it's done I have these things to say...
From a public point of view I have found that very few owners, both full size or miniature, seem willing to chat about their engines, most people I tried to talk to about their engine and the show and the scene in general just seemd annoyed at the fact I was bothering them and gave very blunt answers and tried to shut the conversation down ASAP and get on with sitting in their chair staring into space. Don't get me wrong, there were a select few that welcomed a nice conversation and loved telling me all about their pride and joy and the rallies ect. But the general feeling I got was that if you weren't an owner then you weren't worth talking to, if this is how all of the young people are treated then I can see why my friends all laugh at my love for steam and say 'it's for grumpy old men' I don't agree with my friends atall but I'm now seeing where they are coming from. That said, everyone on this forum seems to be very nice and I can't wait to meet a lot of you at the rallies I attend!
Now for the engine owner side of things...
Having been looking into next years shows and rallies and deciding which ones to attend I have noticed a pattern. A lot of rallies seem to put a cap on minimum size of engine that are allowed to move on site, a lot I have looked at say no smaller than 3" scale. Which in my eyes is stupid, the amount of 2" engines I see in old rally videos on the internet that I can't seat show snow is unbelievable, if anything I feel the organisers should be encouraging the miniature engine owners to attend instead of pushing them away and saying they can't use them for their intended purpose. That said there may be something that I'm unaware of that is making them do this? If anything the smaller engines are what the public can relate to more and it's more likely what they will be getting if they are considering an engine.
Anyways, that's my 2pence worth, being new to the forum I hope no one takes what I've said the wrong way!
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I too have a 2" engine, but I have never had any issue entering a rally due to it's size, perhaps that is due to the limited number of miniature on the rally scene in my area. I would say though that running a 2" from 10 in the morning ill 4 in the afternoon is not the same as steaming a 4" engine, it can be a challenge. I have attended rallies though where I felt organisers wouldn't have been bothered if I turned up or not and have chosen not to return.
The best rallies for me are the ones where I get to chat to lots of interesting folk, yes some times they have no idea about road steam but they are interested mostly. For example, a few weeks ago I spoke with a couple who had known Teddy Boston, had a great half hour chatting to them, gave a very interested chap a shot driving my engine and you could not believe the smile on his face, a lifetime ambition realised he said, took 5 minutes and caused me no grief at all.
One great thing about the miniatures, and the smaller ones in particular, is that children especially can see all the workings, the engines are approachable and the kids can physically see what everything is doing. Yes you get lots of comments about the cuteness of the little bits of coal and the wee bucket, but hey that is life.
When it comes to attending rallies I have to agree with you generally. I have had some good conversations with engine owners on occasions but often they seem to be unapproachable sat up on their engines and striking up any sort of conversation can be very hard. I appreciate that rallies are also social events for owners and that they have to enjoy themselves too, but a bit of chat with the public would help sustain a wider interest in our passion.
I only developed an interest in steam though attendance at rallies with my father as a kid and there are fewer and fewer folk left with memories of working steam, so perhaps it is inevitable that the number of rallies will fall in the future, as the number of folk who have a personal experience of steam diminishes??