Hi all Our group has a journalist (through a third party) assisting us with a press release and one of the questions he asked me and the other person (a women who is president of the group) why we model trains instead of doing another hobby. My response was to "re-live" and remember the past. The woman president got into it because her grand daughter started building a layout and her husband was into it already. What other reasons do you have for being into model trains? I would like to add some other reasons shortly in case mine is lacking. Thanking you
A lot of it is the ability to recreate a time and place. A form of historical modelling, but with an element of movement and action missing from other forms of scale modelling.
Why does anyone do any hobby? Mostly because it's fun. That's my main reason for modeling trains. It's a distraction, a way to practice my manual skills (a very satisfying activity, painting and detailing, building, kitbashing, etc), a vehicle for research (history, mechanicals, etc.), and a fine way to increase my knowledge on various subjects that are connected to model trains. The same principle applies to my other hobbies - ham radio, astronomy, etc. All of those get my brain off mundane, routine, everyday things and make it work on other things that don't necessarily apply to day-to-day life. A hobby helps maintain sanity.
Trains are a transportation system. Modelers enjoy many things and you don't have to like the same things others do, but we are all fascinated with the reproduction or movement, or just enjoy the building. Today, with DCC, trains can be controlled just like the real thing with more than one train on the same track at the same time. Is it fun? Oh, my, YES! It’s for kids of all ages. It is work, yes, but if I couldn't enjoy being with other modelers, NMRA members, and taking in a clinic to learn more about a technique or skill, or just talking railroading to people who are still in awe of the smoke belching monsters that used to roam the rails or the new 4,000 or 6,000 horsepower beasties that rule the rails today, there would be no point in it. We build these into our small worlds. I get to visit with people who think as I do, and sometimes visit their railroad or they come to see mine. Because railroads were and are a part of the American culture, a part of the American Psyche, they represent power, strength and the ability to get things done in a big way and we can build our own and enjoy them in our own time. You can reproduce your hometown as it was in 1970 or as you wish it was. You can recreate a world that you never saw by doing research and building. Just by the doing, you are the one who creates it. You build it: you run and it is yours alone or with friends as you wish. You want to know more? Just ask a model railroader. Someone will have an answer, sometimes even more then one answer. If you want to more about the allure of railroading and model railroading, take a look at the Railroads of Madison County web site at: http://madisonrails.railfan.net and read some of the stories in the Memory pages. It won't take you long to catch the magic. For modeling, you can visit my railroad on the same page just scan down the left hand listings. Also, you can visit our NMRA modeling web site at: http://cid.railfan.net/
The short answer is that I am a modeler. I have done some sort of modeling since I was 8 years old. The long answer, I am a tinkerer at heart, just like my father. I have always been mechanically inclined. I was always interested in model railroading, but didn't think I was capable of doing the scenery and other things required for a nice layout. It had been a while since I had done any serious modeling and a small layout seemed like a good choice for trying some super detailing of of scenery and such. I never expected to become so addicted to it, lol. I had a train as a child, but, not knowing about keeping track clean so it will continue to run, I lost interest. After doing a little research and seeing how much improved trains had become I had to try it. I never realised how many different skills were involved in building a layout. The mechanic in me was completely taken. For all those that think train people are geeks, you are sorely mistaken. I have discovered some of the most talented artists and knowledgeable builders that I could have imagined. The ingenuity of these people for devising methods to acheive their goals still amazes me. That also inspired me to try the same. And yes, like all the others, I do it because I think it is fun. Hobby [h=5]n.noun[/h] An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure.
You hit the nail right on the head, Roger! When I was a boy, I wanted to be a policeman. And I always wanted to run a locomotive with a train. I have been extremely fortunate as I experienced both durning my working career. But modeling was my only source of railroading until about 1988 when I started to volunteer and work for the Yreka Western. With the taste of prototypical railroading in my mouth, I set my modeling aside until a couple of years ago when I retired from railroading. I've decided to start making a couple of dioramas because my basement had become "a garage" over the years and I have no space to continue my layout until I can get it cleared out. (Good luck with that one ... huh!).
Some people collect stamps, some build model Airplanes, Garden, do woodworking, paint, restore antique cars. I model Trains. I think it can be considered a three D art form. There are many skills needed to build a layout. It gives me some relaxing time and piece and quiet away from the outside noises, TV, Radio, neighbors. I have several other activities to fill up my time but model Railroading is my main hobby.
Well, this could come close to what influenced me. I grew up in a family in which many had been, or still were working railroaders. We lived near by a busy branch line. And I received my first train items when just two years old. It's might be the most all encompassing hobby possible. History, historic research, art, architecture, electrician/electronic work, carpentry, mechanical skills, photography, indoors and out, and.... There's always something to do.
Since they took my high explosives away from me, I found I can still blow things up by using specifically selected sizes of firecrackers on specific scale model trains and still get my thrill of mass destruction without going to jail again. Doesn't work that way for you?
Model railroading, like my other hobbies, provides an escape for me. I have what many would call a "high stress" job, so naturally, this hobby has provided me with a distraction of the mind. I also enjoy pro football and baseball, fishing, growing and canning veggies, tinkering with cars, and am going to go out hunting for the first time in my life this fall. I am also a "worker bee". I am not really happy parked in front of the TV unless there is a game on. I like using my hands and mind. This hobby, specifically, has so many skills that a person can become involved in. to name a few: Wiring, model-building, carpentry, painting, researching, and others. But ultimately, as others have mentioned, I too had a small layout when I was a kid, and reminiscing about it brought me back into the hobby.
I believe that most of us have a little bit of the Addams Family inside. Buried somewhere, down deep......
Oh, yes... Gomez had a nice layout... So we're all a bit of Gomez (trains), a bit of Uncle Fester (explosives)... And everyone around here speaks French... so that gets a bit too exciting... :teeth:
Model Railroading Includes Every Aspect of my Personal Intellectual Pleasures: Creative History Cooking Photography Design Problems solving Hiking Electricty Art Engineering Psychology Family There is more but you get the picture.
Interesting question, I never gave it much thought. My mother was fascinated with trains and railroading in general. I remember us going to the New York Central's Hudson Division shops at Croton-Harmon, NY to watch the engine exchange (electric/steam) for hours. Also my eight-year older brother had Lionel trains that I was allowed to play with from my earliest memories. So I guess it's imprinted in my DNA. Now that I'm retired, I really enjoy the artistic creativity that N-Scale provides. Besides, it's very satisfying to see what I can accomplish after being convinced that I had no artistic ability for the first 65 years of my life.
I miss the past. I miss the cars and the music. Transition Era trains can bring me back to that, and Steam Era trains go a step further. I put the old music on the stereo when I run or model. As each project runs through its stages from planning to completion, I get a great sense of satisfaction, too. My skills improve with each new piece of benchwork, each kit, each square foot of scenery. How many guys in their late 60s can say that about most of the things we do?
I'll ad that trains were given to me and encouraged. That in turn lead to satisfaction with them. So, ya, I have to say parental approval was an important factor.
#1 - I'm fascinated by the little running machines. I just think they look cool. #2 - Nostalgia - being from Ohio, with relatives and fond memories of Baltimore (and the B&O Railroad Museum) I am recreating the past. My first layout represents different snippets of home.
Same here. I miss it as well. Of those who were never there, very few will understand. I have lots of the music, and also Old Time Radio shows to go along with it all.
