I have been collecting model trains since I was 7 years old and over the years the prices have been keep going up. I'm pretty sure many of us have notice that over the years. DCC is being added to locomotives and making them $100 more expensive than those that don't have DCC I understand that collectors want that sound but for those who are trying to get into the hobby can't afford that. Budget modelers like me although I stopped buying model trains because of price and lack of time to play with them like to keep them affordable. My concern is that I don't think young people aren't interested in getting into the hobby but can't afford to. I also notice that the rising popularity of trains being made out of legos and lego clubs making trains to look realistic as possible or just having fun letting your imagination go wild. That could help get young people into trains and other interest. Many people would look at photos and use computers to design and build the lego trains to make them realistic as possible so it's possible that could turn them into railroaders or engineers. So what I'm saying is think outside the box.

To be honest (as a nearly lifelong LEGO fan), LEGO is not a cheaper entry point than traditional model trains are. A comparable starter kit in LEGO to some in HO scale for example is the 60336 Freight Train currently on the market at $199 USD. It includes one locomotive, plastic rails with one switch (LEGO has not produced powered electric rails in nearly 15 years now since their 9V system was retired), three freight cars and one mobile crane. LEGO is rarely discounted, and often sells high on the used market; there are no discount bargain bin LEGO sales in this world and it took me nearly 20 years to build up a big collection of LEGO gradually, not much different than any model rail endeavor (Rome was not built in a day and neither are collections).

In comparison to LEGO one could get a DC starter set from Bachmann in HO scale for $119.99 from MB Klein's Model Train Stuff website with one locomotive, an electric loop of track, and three cars (and plenty of cash left over to purchase the switch, some figures and a spare vehicle to bring it on par with the LEGO set in terms of value of "stuff.") The DCC starter set is $326.99 currently and comes with two locomotives, three cars and track pieces with a switch.

Yes DCC is more expensive but... who is holding a gun to your head forcing you to buy it? Personally, I have always bought DCC products when it comes to my model trains; or gone through the effort to hard solder in the decoder if it doesn't come included. But that was a personal choice of how I model and what kind of stuff I value in terms of modeling; and from day one I was a DCC user. But there is again nothing, absolutely nothing forcing anybody to go that route; and old DC models can be bought on the used market with new tooling often having a cheaper DC version also available on market.

Now I do think sometimes the hobby's focus on those premium $600 DCC sound locomotives does have a detriment, as it focuses consumer attention towards the "big ticket" items (LEGO is guilty of the same ironically enough, look at how their $800 Star Wars, Superhero and Architecture sets grace the store catalogs and the display shelves, despite all the small $10-$50 sets that make up a large chunk of their actual stock). Big ticket items can create a culture of FOMO and exclusion, the haves and the have nots... but that needs to be recognized as a marketing and social problem; but not a flaw of the product itself.

Honestly with introducing kids to the hobby, is it healthy to train them to want that $1000 Scale Trains Museum Quality Gas Turbine from day one? Or is it better to dig up some cheap Bachmann starter set and a few old TYCO equipment bought second and start them there pointing out that a long term goal as they grow up and save is to someday be in a place where they can afford those big ticket items? Sure maybe surprise them with a nice expensive locomotive on the occasional Christmas as a doting parent or grandparent perhaps, but otherwise teach them how to make do within the scope of their budget can do wonders for introducing the hobby and making a lasting impact more than handing them the expensive item right out the gate; especially if the have no fear of cutting, scraping, kit-bashing, scrapping, parting out, soldering, stripping and repainting the old pieces of junk they got cheaply from the start! Since that skill of building something will be more entertaining than opening a box to find an expensive dust collector inside it.

Not to mention for many teens and young adults there are entire networks available now that didn't exist when many here started dabbling in model trains. An interested teenager now could stumble into an active Facebook group, Twitter circle or Discord server and within seconds be connected with a network of like-minded youth their age. Don't be surprised though that the people in those servers are keeping among themselves though, its only natural people want to hang around their peers and not exactly rush straight from Discord into a local NMRA/club meeting full of what they would view as stodgy old men. Especially if they continue to view the old guard as good old boy's clubs which dictate pages on pages on how they'll bar any of their employees from having tattoos...

I still firmly believe there are plenty of ways to introduce youth to the model rail hobby, but it requires a healthy separation from the views of adults with money and a recognition of how crafty young new blood will approach the problems they face. Yes, the cost of entry remains prohibitively high for many which is concerning; but sometimes such perplexing problems are what drive innovation elsewhere... much of which will probably go unseen in how creative minds will enter model railroading.