Model Railroader was my most frequent source of info. I looked forward to getting the next issue and learn what's going on in the hobby. I also bought some extra books on the subject. Actually what I learned then outweighed anything I could find on the internet today. A lot of the stuff on the internet is questionable and not necessarily done by experts. I like to learn from the best. I also joined NMRA www.nmra.org , truly a great organization as it gets you into a network of people and experts as well as material so that you can see things done right in front of you so that you can ask questions and not just watch a video. They also set the standards and recommended practices. Train clubs of course helped a lot as did some shops.
I'm not saying the internet doesn't have value that would be crazy. I use it myself. But, I have seen some things said that just isn't correct on the internet. Thankfully with my prior training I can see the issues.
I also very much agree with those who have said basically--learn by doing. Kits and scratchbuilding were the order of the day. Building an elaborate passenger station could take months by the time you did all the research, found the correct materials and built it.
Richard
Soo Line fan One employee at a lhs was very good to me. But the actual skills come from doing. Sometimes several attempts are needed. Success breeds success.
One employee at a lhs was very good to me. But the actual skills come from doing. Sometimes several attempts are needed. Success breeds success.
This.
Doing. Building. Tearing out/starting over. Most of my successes in the hobby were preceeded by a less than optimal result....
But that also creates the fun...
I started in the 1950s, way before computers and the Internet. My main and practically only source of information was Model Railroader magazine or some of the other, though not as readily available magazines, and trial and error construction. Atlas snap track was about the only type I could afford back then.
There was no hobby shop in my home town, so mail order had to suffice. Two mail order stores in New York City and New Jersey named America's Hobby Center and Standard Hobby Supply, where an order blank and payment had to be mailed in, then wait for weeks to either receive the order or a notice that the item(s) were not in stock, was the norm back then.
Practically everything I bought was in kit form, including Model DIe Casting locomotives and rolling stock from MDC, Athearn, or Bowser.
I think the most expensive piece of rolling stock I owned back then was a LaBelle Woodworking passenger car kit.
Jim
Fifty plus years of reading Model Railroader and other related books and magazines, trying new things and learning while often failing the first time and often taking a break to think about alternatives. The most important thing was the enjoyment after something that I had been fooling with worked.
Joe
When I started out, other than a couple of general books I found that were dated even by the standards of the day, I found old editions of MR very helpful. The local library had a somewhat incomplete collection stretching back a few years that I was able to check out. I soon caught up with digesting all that, then found the various how-to books published by Kalmbach (and to be truthful, Carstens, too) helpful. Then it was mostly learn by doing.
Since virtually everything was built, either kit or from scratch, there was a decided empahsis in virtually every article on the skills needed to create things. Now, it mostly knowing about what and where to buy stuff and what NOT to put on the layout because of some imginary worries about rivetcounters shaming you.
One thing's for sure. Complaining about much of anything was the furtherest thing from my mind. I was having tgoo much fun. It took the internet before I found out about THAT side of the hobby. Fortunately, the chronically complaint-oriented seem to be far more rare in real life than they appear to be in the virtual world.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Soo Line fan The same way you acquire other skills, you asked questions. . .
The same way you acquire other skills, you asked questions. . .
But of whom? Did you have mentors? How did you find those with skills?
Purchased and read many books and magazines. Reading and studing is integral in this hobby. Asking questions and doing what is learned. That is what I have done for over 30 years and I have quite a library of books that I refer to from time to time. The Forum is a wonderful tool but don't forget reading books. They sure have helped me over the years. Doug
The same way you acquire other skills, you asked questions, read and most importantly, you learned by doing.
I know I am probably opening a can of worms, but I am going to ask anyway. As I approach my second anniversary in this hobby, I realize there is no way I could have learned all that I have learned without the information available via the Internet, most significantly access to all of the members of this forum. I know that I would not have been able to accomplish all that I have accomplished, at least not in the same short amount of time. Actually, I doubt I would have stayed in the hobby; I would have given up long ago in frustration.
So, here is the question to the old time hobbyists. How did you maintain your interest and develop your skills when information and assistance was not so readily available? What was your support structure, or did you even have one? I admire the dedication and devotion it must have taken.