One of the questions Phil Parker asked us as part of the National Festival of Railway Modelling YouTube panel - was: has YouTube become a new community for people (much like a model railway club).
He quoted some pretty startling figures from, I believe, the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness (2017) with updated stats from the ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (2023/24):
* 8 million men say they feel lonely at least once a week.
*1 in 4 have contact with friends and family less than once a month
*1 in 10 can't remember the last time they contacted a friend.
That said - it's great to see so many organisations recognising the importance of social connection and the part that a model railway group can play in reducing loneliness and isolation.
Last year Grumpy Cameraman, who works with me on my You Tube channel started a model trains and buses group for employees of Transport for London where he works.
The group now has nearly 90 members and group members from that group have started its own monthly model railway meet up with OO and N gauge test tracks - everyone bringing their own locos - it's quickly become a fantastic, employee-led model railway club.
In my opinion, TfL is one of the chief organisations leading the way in recognising how valuable groups like this are for social interaction. It kindly provides a room for the meet up each month. Anyone from TfL can attend - not just group members - men and women - and it's helped people meet and make great friends in an organisation that's large enough that they might never have met otherwise.
The venues offered so far have been incredibly welcoming, including the London Transport Museum Depot in Acton.
With employers increasingly focused on supporting mental health, TfL has really shown what that looks like in practice by backing staff-run interest groups. Hopefully this inspires other employers - large and small - to start special-interest groups of their own. It doesn't have to be model railways; it could be football, netball, a walking group... anything, really. It costs employers nothing, and the benefits are clear.
The monthly TfL meets are always well signposted and attended. I caught up with Tim Dunn over the weekend (from the TV series Secrets of the Underground), and he mentioned that he'd seen posters on staff notice boards at head office inviting people to come along.
We also found several exhibitors for our model railway shows through this group.
That's a great initiative by TfL and it's important in several ways -
1. It combats loneliness
2. It encourages people to develop a hobby
3. It shows employees that the management have an interest in their wellbeing
4. It takes away some of the workplace stigma of liking trains (being ex-BR the culture of 'no spotters' was always prevalent - even though it was sometimes driven by people who had been enthusiasts themselves)
This forum is great for encouraging communication and camaraderie, to see employers embracing the hobby in order to improve the wellbeing of their staff, which in turn helps productivity, is a very positive step.
Interesting news, wonder if they welcome retired staff?
There used to be a model rail club for LU staff in the past, I know it had a permanent layout at Sloane Square station at one time and possibly Holborn in a disused part of the station.
Dave