WOW!!! What insightful and well-written posts! Well done!! Our fascination with trains has been attributed to a very wide variety of sources: from the physical (so far, posters have mentioned 4 of the 5 senses) to the cognitive; from the personal to social; from the hormonal (testosterone) to the sublime (falling in love in the moonlight), from the emotional (fear/love) to the rational, from the visceral (rumbling in our gut) to the abstract (why's). My initial fascination was sparked as a 4 or 5y/o when my maternal grandfather, a NKP engineer, took my father and me to the NKP Yard in Lima Ohio and showed us the Berkshire he ran. The sights, sounds, and overall presence of locomotives continue to impress me nearly 6 decades later. I've always enjoyed making things that worked (e.g., radios, bikes, motorized models of boats or cars), but my primary interest has been making model trains that work (Lionel in grade school, HO in high school, N scale as an adult). I really like solving any kind of puzzle, and view layout design and model RR operations as just different types of puzzles to be solved (so I get to solve puzzles AND play with trains!). My interest in trains and model railroading activities was encouraged by my family and friends when I was a child, and my continuing fascination has been supported by my wife for the past 3+ decades. Having easy access to local hobby shops specializing in model trains has also made it easy to feed my train fascination.
Guilty of being shot by the cupid when I saw that lovely cascade green, with a sharp white BN logo. even the dirt on that lovely lady was beautiful, then I was taken by another here's a picture of this lovely lady. :teeth:
Those that have mentioned smells really hit on something. There are certain smells that transport oneself to a time and place. Creosote on a hot summer day takes me back to my childhood playing along the Milw's Joliet branch. And the smell of diesel fuel/exhaust transport me back to my teenage days rail fanning the Rock Islands Blue Island roundhouse, diesel terminal. Back in the days before the EPA, the place literally had puddles of fuel, oil, and other glop everywhere. I recall getting in big trouble with Dad once for tracking the stuff onto the carpet of his new car while borrowing it for a rail fan jaunt. Bob
Size, movement, noise, and power that makes you step back from the tracks in awe as a kid. Add in the enchantment of Christmas, the big and wonderful department store Lionel/American Flyer layouts (I'm showing my age) and the Lionel dream catalogs and you are hooked for life. Sprinkle in some long N gauge trains winding through towering scenery and you will never let go!
I just had a memory, which goes beyond my original trackside comment. At that time, I had been thinking only of railfan days. This one is even years earlier- Again the hot summer day smell of creosote, but specifically off bridge timbers. At a favorite swim hole, where we'd frolic, and be guilty of jumping off that bridge. As youths we didn't think about the danger, when cooling off seemed more important. Then back home came the troubles with mom, when she spotted creosote stains on our clothes and feet.... Oops.
I'm really enjoying this thread. Great posts, folks. Lots of New York Central influence. At my ancient age, trains were pretty much the way to get around when I was young. My family did not own a car until 1949, so when we travelled, not often, went by train. Usually pulled by a steam locomotive, the closest thing that man has designed to a living creature. I hung around the local depot and was impressed as many of you were by the size, the smells, the sounds of steam locomotives. The Central burned coal back then, a whole different sensual experience from oil burners. I guess that's why today I remain a steam nut. Love to listen to air pumps (heartbeat) on steam engines sitting getting ready to go. Open the cylinder cocks and throttle, and away we go in a cloud of steam. Close the cylinder cocks and the chuffing starts, and increases in speed, maybe slipping a little. Wo, I get carried away. Looking forward to a steam doubleheader on the Oregon Coast Scenic Saturday.
In the case of steam locomotives, in particular, everyone knew they were really alive, and that life was romanticized and dramatized in the actions of the railroaders and the observations of all those trackside bystanders and people interacting around the station platforms. They formed the social centers of the community, and extended to life out to touch everyone in proximity to them, and even those far away. Once you build up such fierce loyalties and friendships, and strong communal attachments, it's hard to tear them down, because social patterns get passed down through each generation and are internalized by the next crop of young railfans.
For me, the distinctive "clunk/clank" that the drive rods make when a steam locomotive is drifting slowly. It triggers memories of my dad and me down at the end of the street watching the old switch engine do its thing.
My great grandfather worked on southern railway,when I was about 3 yrs.old my grandfather would come home from work and take me out to see PENNSY freights and pass.trains roll by our neighborhood as soon as I saw my first GG-1,that did it for me.Got my first set when I was 5,and been around trains ever since.I always loved seeing all that power and mass in motion,especially at speed,those beautiful long passenger trains that ran the now Northeast Corridor,from PENNSY/PC,SCL,SOU,D&H GP38/39-2'S on run-throughs along with the daily stone train from the Western Maryland.Little did I know I would eventually end up out there actually operating those monsters myself,and enjoying every minute of it (on NS).Trains is in our blood,all of us love them for different reasons,different eras,and railroads past and present.I actually get a kick out of railfans out there taking pictures,and remembering that I did it too,may railroads and our love of them NEVER DIE!
When the boiler is first fired off and building steam, if you are sitting in the cab, as the air pumps first start they can actually shake the whole engine. Quite an interesting sensation.
I think after retrospect, I can define why I like trains so much. A lot of what has been said here is true for me with one thing added that is true for me. First off, being a man who grew up watching John Wayne, James Garner and Steve McQueen, I like man things. Harley Davidson motorcycles, 1960's to early 1970's muscle cars, old trucks, classic rock, country music and a nice quiet night that only the country or backwoods can give. So it is no surprise that I have dabbled in many hobbies. In grade school, I started building balsa and tissue covered model airplanes, a hobby that I still enjoy today. No mater if the plane is a free flight, control line or some advanced R/C model, I enjoy them all. As such, this particular hobby pays my bills as I work within the model airplane hobby. I've dabbled with model rockets, boats and even R/C cars. I love building scale models in miniature. When I still owned a 2005 Grand Cherokee, I built a real working, four wheel drive, 1/10th R/C version of it, complete with working head, tail and fog lights. Still have it. Of course there is the hobby of the real Jeeps which currently holds a close 2nd to model railroading, especially since it ties in so heavily to my connection with trains. While all these hobbies are interesting to me and some hold more time than others, railroading to me is vastly more interesting. When doing the model airplane thing, you model the plane. Same with cars. I find the other hobbies to be one dimensional. Railroading encompasses many smaller hobbies if you will. Sure we model the trains, from the Baldwin to the latest ES44AC. But the stars of our hobby are really just the beginning. Our track work tasks our analytical side of our brain, asking the questions of what spur goes where, what will it serve, how many cars will it hold and what era of cars will serve a certain industry within a certain time span. Scenery allows us to delve into a different place in our mind, one of more creativity. How is the landscape within my corner of thee world, how has adding tracks, roads and structures altered what nature has made, what trees, shrubbery, growth is included here, what types of rock. Then there is the structures themselves which allow us to build the simplest plastic kit to scratchbuilding a specific building that is based on a structure that was in our corner of the world. No different really than an architect or doll house enthusiast. Even choosing our cars and trucks gives us some creativity. Will we place a 1955 Thunderbird at the intersection even though our layout is set in 1995? Sure, it's on it's way to the local show and shine car show. For me, it is a way for me to tell a story. Wether I mimic something that happened in the past or an entirely new story, the layout is my 3 dimensional story book. And if I have done a good job, the average person can read my story without words. For me, that is why I love everything trains. I love the raw power of a manifest freight as I stand track side. I love railfaning with friends as we trade stories in the railfan Jeep waiting for that next perfect picture. I love the history, the old and the new. I love learning new things about the railroad as well as rediscovering things from my past. With all my other, dare I say "lesser" hobbies, I model one thing. Railroading, everything from railfaning to modeling encompasses many little hobbies. This is just my take on it, your results may vary.
In about 1956 my dad helped me build my first plastic model (an Aurora self propelled Howitzer) and I was hooked at 4 years old. By the time I was 24 I had literally built every plastic model (of interest to me) that was on the market and started to do dioramas using 1/12th scale cars and motorcycles. I always knew I wanted to be involved in the hobby business at some point. I also , like Jim W, had my stints with RC cars, slot cars , and RC planes but I am not a good multi-tasker. Somewhere around the age of 30 I built my step-son a train layout for Christmas after having built a USA Trucking slot car set on a table for him as well. I soon realized that model trains gave you the ability to do woodworking, electrical, designing, scenery, model building and run the trains. It is also is the only one where you do not tear up what you collect and build. As time went on I was able to fulfill my life dream to be in the industry when Robin and I opened a retail shop with a partner about 2000. We later sold our half to the partner and later started the online shop in 2004. I still love hobbies and trains and as hobbyists go, railroaders are the best guys on the planet ( I swear). When we can we go out and do some 1 to1 watching but have to drive a ways from here and usually too hot. And No I didn't start in this hobby with a Lionel around the Christmas tree It all started with an Aurora Howitzer. Wish I had though!!! Mike
