"Healing Power" of our hobby

[Anonymous]

A true story the group might enjoy. I attended the "Helena Rail Fair" in Helena, MT a while back. This show features railroadiana, collectible and scale trains, is the largest in the region, and draws a lot of people. It was already quite crowded when I arrived. As I normally do, I did a fairly quick walk through to see who has what, and then get serious about my shopping. While cruising through, I encountered a lone elderly gentleman in a wheel chair several times, apparently also doing a first look. A couple hours later after I had finished my shopping,I once again encountered the gentleman with the wheel chair heading for the exit. Only this time he was PUSHING the wheelchair which was loaded with his pile of "goodies" from the show as if it was a shopping cart. I guess our hobby really is good for a person! Ron H.

[CSXFanAlso]

Ron,
That is a great story of the "Healing" power of model railroading. One of my favorite parts of model railroading is that it draws together generations of people. Being a bit younger, my tastes in music, movies and clothing maybe alittle different than someone older than me. But there is always common ground when it comes to model railroading. I could talk for hours at the local hobby shop about anything model railroading or trains. While there may be differences in what era we like, it's still common ground and that is what binds us all together! Again, great story!

[Anonymous]

This is a great post!
It reaffirms a notion I've held for a long time that model railroading (or any other creative outlet) keeps you young.
Whenever I encounter people at train shows, the hobby shop, online, or whever, they may be 8 or they may be 98, but they can talk trains! They might not agree on different scales, prototypes, brands, eras, etc... but the common thread is ENTHUSIASM!
A creative outlet like model railroading occupies a signifigant portion of our brains. It keeps our juices flowing, & our wheels spinning, so to speak.
It saddens me to think that some people go through life without having such a gift of inspiration.
I know that whenever I walk into my local hobby shop, & hear that little bell over the door ring, I'm 8 years old all over again!

[Anonymous]

I can relate to the healing power of the hobby. During the last eight months I have been out of work. In the first few months I still purchased a few things for my N scale 6' x 8 ' layout and "stored" them for future projects. From May through August I have worked on one project at a time to keep my mind occupied and off the job search. It is really a great stress reducer, it is also good because we can see our accomplishments quickly, and it also focuses us on little details and big pictures. It is a GREAT hobby.

[Anonymous]

This is one story anyone of us in railroading.
My 4th Birthday is when my father gave to me
a Roundhouse box car. It has sprung trucks a
metal frame. It has been 39 years and it is on
my layout today. It now has Kadee trucks but
the same trucks and paint job are the same.
My father still gets me things for my railroad
but red box car is my favorite. My father knows
model railroading very well. He has been in HO
for over 50 years. When you told about the man
in the wheel chair it touched a place in my
heart because my father is in a wheel chair.
He does most of his shopping mail order. But
when he gets the New Walthers catalog his eyes
light up. He calls and we discuss what is in
the catalog. He is my reason that I have loved
railroading all these years. When I get dis-
couraged on what I am doing I just call my father
and he sets me on the right track. So if you
get depressed just think back about your first
model railroad experience. It will make you
smile. May your trains run well. Ross

[jsanchez]

With all that bad things that have been happening, terrorist attacks, stock market crashing, lay off's I've found my model railroading hobby to be a great comfort and escape more than ever before. None of these problems exist in my N scale empire.

James

[Anonymous]

Ahhh...but the healing power has always been there. When I was in the Air Force in the 60's I made a real unscientific study and found out that the guys who had the most problems getting along with everybody else NEVER got a set of trains for Christmas! Every single one of them! I was 12 when I got my Lionel O Gauge and before that I played with my Dad's Lionel Standard Guage...all of which still work.

[Anonymous]

Amen to all those previous stories.
I was sick for the 1st 18 years of my life, with a life threatening kidney disease.
My love of modeling always got me through. I was obsessed!
Now, being a New Yorker and a witness to the insanity......I'm heading closer to my dusty unfinished switching layout in my bedroom. Been too DARN busy to get to it but now, I believe is the time to get rolling again.
John

[Anonymous]

John...there is an old saying that the more complex the person, the more the need for play. I too have been putting off my layout for far too long now and am making adjustments to my life to "play" more. It is very surprising how much energy you find in yourself once you start to enjoy model railroading...sure beats sitting around falling asleep in front of the tube.