My wife Surprised me!

[blueriver]

I have been an HO model railroader for 20 plus years off and on. I haven't been able to get too much going because of small space or limited funds but I chip away at it. I have been married for almost 8 years and my wife and I haven't seen eye to eye very much regarding my hobby because of space and money.

Well, this last weekend we went to a Model train show with our 3 sons. As we were about half way through looking at all the layouts my wife tells me she wants to build an N scale layout because the size intrigues her and thinks it would be fun to do. What a shock! Before we left she bought a locomotive, some books and gave me a description of how she wants the layout to look.
I don't know what had more of my attention, the train displays or her announcement. She told me she had been thinking about building one for a while but she felt HO was too big for her. Wow.

So, I am now trying to help her design a small layout she can build. This should be fun. I'll try to let you all know how it is going periodically.

Just wanted to share my surprise.

blueriver

[mikebonellisr]

It does'nt get much better than that.Congratulations.

[Anonymous]

Wow, wish my wife would say something like that. Mutual trips to the LHS would be a lot better than her dragging me to AC Moore and Michaels all the time.

[Anonymous]

Awsome![:D][;)] Keep encouraging her and then let her join the forum when it's done![8D]

[cwclark]

now we know who wears the pants in the family!...LOL...good job!..i wish i could get my wife THAT interested in the hobby....she's ok with it, but won't touch the controls...at least she got out the walther's catalog and ordered me a lot of stuff for christmas...I think i'm going to keep her!...chuck[:D]

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a compromise better than any world leader could ever come up with!! I would assume that if she wasn't already, she's a keeper now!! (Better watch out though . . . in my experience it seems that women, once they are into something go all the way. So when she starts nitpicking your work, rivit counting your next kitbash and telling you that you can't get a new car because the railroad needs more motive power as well as DCC - just remember "Model Railroading is Fun!"

Seriously - you're a lucky guy!

[Anonymous]

Its hard enough to get my wife in the basement to see my layout, and it is completly finished out. I wish my wife supported me..................[:(]

[Anonymous]

csxmu

She's still your wife right? Acceptance is more than some get!

[PennsyHoosier]

All I can say for you is [yeah]. On the other hand, all I ever hear is, "What are you buying now?" [sigh]

[FThunder11]

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE

[Anonymous]

[#ditto] very well said!

[tstage]

blueriver,

That's great! My dear wife is very encouraging in that respect - EVEN when I've spent a little more than I should on things. She's always asking me, "How's the train business?"

I recently changed my layout to incorporate a new idea that I had been kicking around for a while, which basically eliminated the small 4 track yard that I had. My wife mentioned to me just this tonight, with a somewhat forlorned look on her face, "Ya' know...I miss seeing the yard on the layout." - basically implying that the current layout was missing something important. I didn't comment but inside I thought, "Whoa! She does notice things."

So, blueriver...strike while the iron (rail)'s hot! It's great when the whole family can be involved on the same project together. Do keep up posted on how things are coming along. Thanks for sharing that...

Tom

[SP4449]

blueriver - [wow] [:D]

Get involved with a modular layout rr group, maybe you can both work on a module together. My wife has a corner she very proudly displays at the shows, she has total control of everything but the structure under the table surface and loves the challange.

Good luck and happy train-ing.

[Anonymous]

My wife is not personally interested in trains, but she is quite supportive of my involvement in it - it diverts me from other unhealthy attractions (booze & women). She wants me to try to involve the kids as much as possible, but so far only my youngest (6yr old) daughter pays any attention when I'm doing train-related activities.

It was actually my wife who got me "back on track" [(-D] with building a layout in our new house. I've spent the last 4 years building huge steel mill structures and posting articles about them on my web site. She kept asking me, WHEN are going going to rebuild your layout? She believes the kids will be more interested once they start seeing moving trains. Amazingly enough, even I have gotten more excited[:P] about returning to the Land of Living Trains!

[Nieuweboer]

Everytime I go to a train show, swap meet or the LHS, my wife has only this to say: "Drive carefully and don't you dare come back empty handed" Then I come back with maybe a box car or some other small stuff and I'm greeted with: "Is that all you bought, why didn't you buy a locomotive". I've been married to her for 43 years and that explains in part why I have so many locomotives.

[danmerkel]

I can't complain either. It is nice when "upper management" is in sync with your interests. Two years ago, we completed an addition to our home... a new two-car garage, a downstairs bath and... a 18x20 "bonus room" which just happened to fit above the garage AND was officially leased to the Eastern Division of the NKP... as long as I keep her in the "upper management" position! : ) I didn't even have to negotiate the lease!

She's a keeper for sure!

If you are at all interested, you can go to...

http://www.bright.net/~dmerkel/

...and check things out.

dlm

[jdolan]

On my first layout, I built scenery and after a few weeks my wife kept telling how to make it look better so I told her to redo it and it was better. We are now building our third layout and she does all the scenery and has started into building buildings and other parts of the layout and loves it .

[Anonymous]

Neat blimp pictures, danmerkel! Several years ago I worked for a guy who was into hot air balooning. Got my first baloon ride back then. Like you say, "What a ride!"

[Anonymous]

Well what do you know. My fiance and I are going to Dallas this weekend. After reading the initial post on this thread I just mentioned at dinner that there was a train show in Fort Worth this very weekend. I just got an email from her saying she found $1 off coupons for the show on the internet. Wow! I guess she's a keeper too!! I better hurry up and marry her and elect her to the Board of Directors!

[mloik]

Good for you! My wife is definitely supportive. Once in a while she'll even go with us when me and my 2 year old son go "down to the trains." Moreover, she once gave me a cab ride on the local tourist line's "engineer for a day" program as a birthday gift. Most recently, her folks got me an annual pass for that route.

[Anonymous]

sure wish mine would. I built a garage to have workshop and layout but got tight on funds. So the layout is still in the planning stage.

[Medina1128]

Congrats, dude! If you'd like to get a basic but functional layout planning program Right Track (downloadable free from Atlasrr.com) can give her some ideas as to what you're layout would look like. I designed my 12x27 foot layout with it. I got lucky, too. My wife and I moved into a place with a full (33'x35') basement.

Marlon Medina
Clinton, MO

[bawbyk]

My wife has been nothing but encouragement since I decided to get into the . hobby. She goes with me to every shop we can find and encourages me to purchase things -- even going so far as to point out what she would like US to get (she usually finds some pink or blue cars which she wants to buy). When I am finished my layout I will have to work in a place for all of her cars 0r build her a small automatically working set.

She wants to work on the scenery and layout details but has no interest in running trains .

We just finished our basment and it includes - in her words - 'a train room' --15 by 20.

In June we were in a neighbouring city and she gave me her debit card to go to the hobby shop. When she found out that I had put $600.00 on my own card (the total bill was over $1500) -- she told me that she would have had no problem with paying the whole thing and insisted I go back later that week and she would pay.

Only been married 4 years - getting better every day ......

[Anonymous]

A few years ago, I went to a train show on Saturday and returned with 1 HO boxcar. Upon returning home, my wife asked me "Is that all you bought?". So I assured her that I can go back to the show on Sunday. No problem. I bought a G&D passenger set and a few other items for over $100. I did notice she had some new outfits that week. (Bachmann - hurry and release the Climax - she had some new clothes the other day - it's my turn again) We've been married for over 28 wonderful years.

[Anonymous]

Congratulations! In our house its my husband who loves his Postwar Lionel [ so do I ] and riding on railfanning trips. I have a strong interest in narrow gauge stem from eras long gone that he dosen't have much interest in. Fortunately this is a small distiction in so many ways so it really dosen't matter at all, we both like trains.

This might be a good time to plug the idea of young Dad's encouraging their daughters as well as sons, to help 'play with trains' and to come along on railfanning trips. Helping to build an interest in trains during childhood may well pay off when she grows up and both she and her future husband can join you in the greatest hobby. My Dad always included me, and I'll forever be grateful to him for that.

Jennifer