Other railroad related activities...

[Greg T.]

What other railroad related activities do you augment your toy trains with??  As much as I love toy trains, I find it necessary to pursue other "Railroad" related interests to keep me satisfied.

I have a modest Railroad Book collection that I keep adding too.  I also collect a little "paper".  Currently have Operating manuals, flimsies, and schedules for the SOO Line.  Also have a neat little SP Lunch menu.   I photgraph trains while on business trips, and always visit local museums and hobby shops in the areas I travel too. 

How about you guys?

Greg

[Buckeye Riveter]

Measure stuff.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Take pictures:

[luther_stanton]

Lots of reading – historical as well as operational stuff

My wife and I ride a lot of tourist railroads

Museums

Photography

[FJ and G]

I'll keep this train related:

read Trains to keep up with all of the depressing abandonments and rail slowdowns with the occasional good news

Ride VRE

Today purchased live steam for G gauge

Dream about my own planet, where I'm king and CEO of all railroads.

Well, not much, but there you have it.

[csxt30]

Take pictures:

I really enjoy the picture taking part of it too !! I just love when I get something new for the layout, & can post it on the forum !!

Oh, going to the hobby shops & train shows & the museum great fun, too !!

Dave :can't wait to see your new live steamer !!

Thanks, John 

[jefelectric]

As I have said many times, if it has flanged wheels and runs on steel rails, I like it.

Have quite a few books on real railroads, PRR, Reading & Lackwanna mostly.  Some paper such as stock certificates for several roads.  A little Railroad china, 10 lanterns & a switch light.  Also lots of caps & t-shirts.  And I ride REAL trains whenever possible, living along the Harrisburg - Philadelphia main line of Amtrack we go to Phila, NYC & Washington on occasion.  Also some long distance trips over the past 10 years.  Plus short line excursions.

Oh, and of course way to much O gauge stuff.

I forgot the videos, about a dozen I think.  Some are loaned out.

[FJ and G]

John,

Forgot about movies, books, music about trains and dreams of trains.

[jefelectric]

David,

Are you going to mix the live steam track in with the O gauge, dual gauge it or use a different area.

[FJ and G]

John,

They don't really mix so different area. My backyard can support 2 gauges. In fact, GRR magazine editor today asked me the same question!

Marc Horowitz loves my articles, handlayed track, etc.,  but said to take photos a year from now, as GRR likes the plants to be a bit more mature and spread out; which is fine with me!

BTW, John, glad to hear you like anything with flanges and are not hung up on a single gauge, scale, toy or scale look, etc. I like 'em all as well, from Marx and Tinplate, to "scale" and 1:1. In my book they are all coool.

Actually, I would expand flange to include trolley buses that ran on overhead wire and rubber tires, subways that use rubber tires (Paris), cable cars, and roller coasters.

[lionelsoni]

Also Montreal, Lausanne, Santiago, Mexico City, and Turin.

[Anonymous]

Well, I've always loved both real and miniature trains.  I have a large collection of books and magazines about real trains and am always anxious to learn something new.  The majority of my books and the reading I do concerns the historical aspect of railways, although I like to stay up on what going on today.  I also have a variety of railroad memorabilia, including three old kerosene lanterns, one battery lantern, switch locks and the crossbucks from a real railroad crossing, among other items, which I have displayed in the basement in conjunction with my toy trains.  I photograph trains and visit any railroad museums or museums with railroad exhibits whenever I can.  Whenever I travel somewhere, I always make sure to find out ahead of time about any rail-related things in the area worth checking out, such as steam engines in parks, etc.

[dwiemer]

Read books and mags, watch plenty of programs and movies on TV if train related.  I have a small yard near where I work and I drive through the yard and check out what is going on.  I tend to notice all trains while I am driving, and try to imagine scenery on my layout.  I also am a bit of a photographer and take plenty of train opportunities.

Dennis

[jonadel]

I really enjoy photography, whether it be of my layout or rail fanning, it's just very enjoyable for me. Sadly, because of the new crappy software that CTT is using I cannot share it with you. Perhaps they will fix it someday for all of us.

Jon

[ChiefEagles]

I really enjoy photography, whether it be of my layout or rail fanning, it's just very enjoyable for me. Sadly, because of the new crappy software that CTT is using I cannot share it with you. Perhaps they will fix it someday for all of us. Jon

I hear that from quite a few guys now.  Hope they fix it so all can enjoy.