When I was a kid (I think maybe 11), my brother Jim and I decided we wanted to have an electric train set.
We looked at the different sizes (called “gauges”); HO gauge is sized in between the two other popular gauges and we decided it would be best for us. Small enough to be able to build a decent layout in a fairly small space, yet still look right and to scale. Since our intent was to create a permanent layout with a town, switch yard and countryside, we wanted something that had lots of available buildings, train cars and other scale accessories. HO gauge had (and still has) probably the greatest selection of accessories so it fit our needs perfectly.
Once we had sorted out exactly what we wanted we went to the various catalogs and selected the source; we knew we had to start small because of budget but wanted a good basic train set. It was going to be enough track to make a large oval, a couple of switches and then of course the train itself. All told the cost was $28.00, which was a princely sum to two kids.
We never seriously considered hitting Dad up for the money; our family was not poor (Dad was a dentist in a tiny little Illinois town), but we weren’t wealthy either, and we just didn’t have the dynamics of lots of gift-giving, nor of our parents paying for all of our stuff. The basics, of course, and they’d buy toys for us now and then, so we never felt like we were deprived in any way, but both Mom and Dad lived through the Depression and were frugal. Like other kids we had chores and a small allowance, but most of the time we were taught to look to our resources and “save up” if we wanted something. So Jim and I put together a plan to save up the $28.00 we needed to pay for our train set. I recall I was old enough to mow lawns, so Jim and I pooled our earnings and set aside our money all one spring and summer. This was obviously long before Excel and we didn’t know anything about accounting spreadsheets, so we tracked our progress by hand on a sheet that showed each entry: how much we had, how much to go before we had enough, and projected dates of completion.
By fall we had enough money to order our train set.
I’ll never forget how exciting it was for us when we finally ordered the train from the Murray catalog. When it arrived, we set it up on the floor of our living room and played with that train set for hours. This was the first thing that we had specifically worked toward and planned for; I think it’s safe to say that I’ve never bought something since then that’s been more gratifying. In retrospect, I know Dad could have easily funded us, but he knew that we would appreciate much more something we had worked so hard for.
I also think a big part of what made it so fun was the anticipation; the delayed gratification. We worked literally for months to get the money to buy our train. Today, it’s rare that you hear of anyone paying cash. Credit cards have become so common that when someone says they don’t have any the automatic assumption is that they must have some kind of problem; maybe they’ve had trouble with cards or declared bankruptcy so they can’t get anyone to extend credit. I think a big part of that is the message that delaying gratification is a bad thing; if you want something why not go get it right away and start enjoying whatever benefit you’re supposed to derive? Don’t worry about paying for it; you can use your trusty MasterCard and spread the pain over months or years! Unfortunately you find yourself still paying for something long after its useful life. Combine the unwillingness (inability?) to delay gratification with planned obsolescence and you’ve got a marketer’s dream come true. And a society that’s never content, and never out of debt.
I think of the feeling Jim and I had when that train set finally got to our house and it strikes me that maybe we’ve missed a valuable lesson there somewhere.
About BigBill
Stats: Married male boomer.
Hobbies: Hiking, woodworking, reading, philosophy, good conversation.
Electric trains and delayed gratification
We looked at the different sizes (called “gauges”); HO gauge is sized in between the two other popular gauges and we decided it would be best for us. Small enough to be able to build a decent layout in a fairly small space, yet still look right and to scale. Since our intent was to create a permanent layout with a town, switch yard and countryside, we wanted something that had lots of available buildings, train cars and other scale accessories. HO gauge had (and still has) probably the greatest selection of accessories so it fit our needs perfectly.
Once we had sorted out exactly what we wanted we went to the various catalogs and selected the source; we knew we had to start small because of budget but wanted a good basic train set. It was going to be enough track to make a large oval, a couple of switches and then of course the train itself. All told the cost was $28.00, which was a princely sum to two kids.
We never seriously considered hitting Dad up for the money; our family was not poor (Dad was a dentist in a tiny little Illinois town), but we weren’t wealthy either, and we just didn’t have the dynamics of lots of gift-giving, nor of our parents paying for all of our stuff. The basics, of course, and they’d buy toys for us now and then, so we never felt like we were deprived in any way, but both Mom and Dad lived through the Depression and were frugal. Like other kids we had chores and a small allowance, but most of the time we were taught to look to our resources and “save up” if we wanted something. So Jim and I put together a plan to save up the $28.00 we needed to pay for our train set. I recall I was old enough to mow lawns, so Jim and I pooled our earnings and set aside our money all one spring and summer. This was obviously long before Excel and we didn’t know anything about accounting spreadsheets, so we tracked our progress by hand on a sheet that showed each entry: how much we had, how much to go before we had enough, and projected dates of completion.
By fall we had enough money to order our train set.
I’ll never forget how exciting it was for us when we finally ordered the train from the Murray catalog. When it arrived, we set it up on the floor of our living room and played with that train set for hours. This was the first thing that we had specifically worked toward and planned for; I think it’s safe to say that I’ve never bought something since then that’s been more gratifying. In retrospect, I know Dad could have easily funded us, but he knew that we would appreciate much more something we had worked so hard for.
I also think a big part of what made it so fun was the anticipation; the delayed gratification. We worked literally for months to get the money to buy our train. Today, it’s rare that you hear of anyone paying cash. Credit cards have become so common that when someone says they don’t have any the automatic assumption is that they must have some kind of problem; maybe they’ve had trouble with cards or declared bankruptcy so they can’t get anyone to extend credit. I think a big part of that is the message that delaying gratification is a bad thing; if you want something why not go get it right away and start enjoying whatever benefit you’re supposed to derive? Don’t worry about paying for it; you can use your trusty MasterCard and spread the pain over months or years! Unfortunately you find yourself still paying for something long after its useful life. Combine the unwillingness (inability?) to delay gratification with planned obsolescence and you’ve got a marketer’s dream come true. And a society that’s never content, and never out of debt.
I think of the feeling Jim and I had when that train set finally got to our house and it strikes me that maybe we’ve missed a valuable lesson there somewhere.
About BigBill
Stats: Married male boomer. Hobbies: Hiking, woodworking, reading, philosophy, good conversation.