Things I LOVE about model railroading

[Trainnut484]

I prefer to say things I like about model railroading instead. Love my wife, and there are a few times she thinks model railroading is her competition [;)]

I like being around other modelers who enjoy the atmosphere of running trains.

I like the feeling of finishing a detailing or building project.

I like the feeling (my wallet doesn't) of bringing home a new locomotive or rolling stock.

Take care,

Russell

[Anonymous]

I love Model Railroading because it allows you to basically run your own railroad empire. You can lay the tracks wherever you want them, run the trains the way you want, and you can do scenery and add buildings and build your own little world. Model Railroading is so fun and exciting and it allows a person to continually add on to what they have and to use creativity to create a new building or decorate a car. Model Railroading is probably one of the best hobbies available.

[ChessieFan13]

The things that I love have all been said save two...........Spending time with my son working on the pike..............and having something that my grandfather can ask ME questions about............

[wctransfer]

I enjoy going to a hobby shop and buying a brand new locomotive. Something just makes you feel really proud of your self. One thing i dont like, is that you always need more[banghead][bow][yeah]

Alec

[skiloff]

I love having an (other) excuse to play with my kids. I'm 33 and I've never really grown up - just out. My son doesn't know it yet, but I bought some Unitrack for him for his birthday next month and have a fairly ambitious plan for building a modular layout in the basement. I hope that he, and maybe my daughter too, will spend countless hours with dad, building things, adding scenery, and running the trains.

[Anonymous]

i love ho scale becuase of the deatil model railroading is so much fun!!!!!!!!

[TrainFreak409]

Well, I was going to say EVERYTHING, but there have been others who have said that, so I'll try to go with something different.

My most favorite thing about model railroading is the fact that the hobby revolves around trains. You look at a real railroad, and you just start dreaming, and hoping that one day you can get behind the throttle of your very own locomotive, ease it out of the yard, and then run her wide open on the main. I would love to be at the control of such style, such speed, such power!

With model railroading, I can do all of that. Maybe in a smaller size, but on a much larger scale! Instead of one train, I CONTROL THEM ALL! And not only that, I'm everything else as well!

Sure, I may never work for the railroad, but as long as I have a layout and model trains, the railroad is never out of reach.[:D]

[Darth Santa Fe]

1,000,999,999: Detailing my engines
1,001,000,000: Buying engines off eBay that need a little "TLC" and fixing them
1,001,000,001:.................................

[icmr]

[#ditto] [:D][:D]EVERYTHING!!!!!!![:D][:D]


ICMR

[espeefoamer]

Watching a quiet,smooth running,tunel motor weaving its way through a set of crossovers[:D].

[ARTHILL]

I can make a world the way it "SHOULD BE" and if it isn't right I know who the blame. Might be the only place in the universe where God and the government get home without blame.

[jeffshultz]

Creating and replicating reality... and solving assorted puzzles along the way.

oh... and being able to see this and know that it's mine:

[Anonymous]

working on scenery, operating sessions, weathering rolling stock, the friends you make through the hobby, train shows, NMRA meets, layout tours; exchanging ideas on these, and other, forums. The list could go on for many, many pages.

Cheers,

[Train 284]

EVERYRTHING!

[Anonymous]

I LOVE seeing peoples eye pop when they see an N scale 3 unit lash up pulling 50+ cars on a winding course in and out of tunnels. Then I think to my self, “I'm going to build one in time for christmas”.

[davekelly]

The joy I get when I learn a new skill, be it benchwork, detailing, painting, wiring whatever. Seeing the train actually move on what I've created! The great folks here that are willing to share their experiences and knowledge in a friendly totally helpful way even though my question had been asked a gillion times in the past. Being a kid again.

In short - everything!

[NZRMac]

Having the guts to pull the motor out of a brand new loco to see if it's just a loose wire.

Putting it back together after some tinkering, not having any parts leftover, putting it back on the track and finding everthing is ok with the world ( I didn't buy a lemon afterall)

Ken.

[selector]

Several have already said that there is something about a steam locomotive that sets them off. I agree. I am in the hobby mostly because of steam engines. Their bulk, their sounds, their mechanics. It is the same reason I prefer to fly on piston prop aircraft over jets; I like to see the works in action. That we have sound and DCC 44 years after my first train set makes it that much better.

[countershot]

LOCOMOTIVES!!!!!

the trains the detail of my very own railroad that i see and touch........oh that is it for me!


I love double VISION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Vampire]

The things I love about model railoading:

That a hobby I first got into around age 7 or 8 still fascinates me 30+ years later...

The fond memories it brings of my grandfather, who helped set up my first train set on plywood...

The look of a steam locomotive in operation... ANY steam locomotive! Shay's Heislers, Daylight's, Big Boy's, Allegheny's, Beyer-Garratt's, et al...

The new, better detailed and better running models available today, even if they are more costly...

The joy of building something with my own hands and bringing it to life, a joy which has served me well in my career away from trains (well, not really... you should see my office!!)

[Anonymous]

Intricate scenes.
Wonderful detailing.
The wonder of a tiny world

and the joy of childhood play in a 'big boys' package.

[SpaceMouse]

I believe Model Railroading is a team sport.

I like op sessions with 10-15 trains running and a dispatcher.

In such, I like running a yard and scrambling to get trains built and out of the yard fast enough to keep the inbound trains from clogging the main.

I like running a local and switching in traffic.

And on the other end, I like building--engines cars, structures, scenery, and making them look as real as I can.

I like arranging figures to tell a story.

Just about everything except glue strings, coupler springs, and the brass goodies that hold on handrails.

[loathar]

When the works done, sit back, crack a brewskie, and enjoy the fruits of my labor![8D]

[robengland]

Reliably operating mechanism
Intricate mechanisms
believeable scenes
clever designs
beautiful scenes

[Darth Santa Fe]

Let's seeeeeeeeeee..........
1:Bowser kits
2:Athearn kits
3:Running trains
4:Rivarossi
5:Bachmann
6:Keeping everything running well
7:Opening engines the moment I get them to see how they work
......................
1,587,259:My Spectrum Doodlebug
1,587,260:trains.com

And the list goes on and on and on and on...[:D]

[JohnT14808]

I just love the action of a steam engine. It could be a 3 truck Shay, or a 4-8-8-4...the action of the drive rods and wheels just does something to my mind. It's too bad that one of the decoder companies hasn't come up with a way to control SMOKE using a decoder function (....or have they??) We have power, we have lights and sound...WE NEED THE SMOKE....AND STEAM!!!! Wouldn't THAT be something!!
{ Course, it would probably increase the power demand at start up by .5 but who knows. Perhaps someone will solve this.}
Of course, interaction on this forum and at my local RR club are cool, learning new techniques for fixing things, painting things, detailing things.....oh...and running trains![:D][8D][;)]

[Rotorranch]

I agree with all of the above....but my favorite part is just watching my trains go around the layout! Kick back, look at the little world I've created, and watch trains. It's a peaceful get away from the rigors of real life.

I do enjoy all aspects of the hobby, as I do with most of my hobbies. Building, painting, detailing, but most of all, running.

The one thing I'm not real fond of is wood working, i.e. benchwork. I don't do real good with wood. I keep cutting, but it still ends up too short! [;)]

If we built benchwork out of steel, I could weld up the gaps! [8D]

Rotor

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cjcrescent

The camraderie, the likes and dislikes, the discussions, the arguments, new models, old models, new techniques, old techniques...........but the best thing is.....

The Lifelong Friendships


The really true friends I have found thru the years are all in this hobby.
Remember guys a friend knows where the bodies are buried....


A TRUE FRIEND HELPED YOU BURY THEM!!!!!

You must be watching Good Fellas, I did forget, the forums are another reaon I love the hobby, I have learned more here, at Atlas and the countless others.

[cjcrescent]

The camraderie, the likes and dislikes, the discussions, the arguments, new models, old models, new techniques, old techniques...........but the best thing is.....

The Lifelong Friendships


The really true friends I have found thru the years are all in this hobby.
Remember guys a friend knows where the bodies are buried....


A TRUE FRIEND HELPED YOU BURY THEM!!!!!