We live in a global internet village so being on the same continent, or even in the next suburb, is not much different than half way across the globe except for time zone differences. You learn to live with those.
There have been 100's of posts giving advice to people wanting to learn 3D modelling and, for the most part, they have been consistent in their approach. i.e. start with exporting cubes from Blender/GMax/etc into Trainz and build up from there.
I learned from Paul Hobbs' original Blender 2.49b tutorial and I recall it literally made you draw lines (polygon sides) from vertex to vertex. I still use the same technique today. Paul's
latest tutorial appears to be more broader in its approach. I recommend it to budding creators although with John Whelan's and Cayden's tutorials.
I think that:
a. There should be a special forum for those wanting to start from scratch. That forum should be totally "flame free" and closely watched (moderated).
b. N3V actively promote "junior" creators. Age means nothing in this context.
c. Those that can should provide more examples and help pages in the Trainz WiKi.
d. (I could think of more but my wife is pressing me to get dressed and go out. :hehe
The issue may be that some users requesting models have no desire to make models. In that case they should understand that silence in response to their requests means "I'm too busy", don't have time, etc."
The OP in this thread did approach me privately about a particular model, a Tasmanian Railways container carrier traincar, and I was tempted. But, I am literally so busy with other Trainz and personal stuff, that I wouldn't get around to it for months.