I personally have never been teased, although I've mostly been taught at home (I'm homeschooled, but went to school from 4th to 7th grade). I feel sorry for anyone who gets teased for having a unpopular hobby. My advice is to ignore the jerks, no matter how hard it is.
I remember a couple of friends saying I was a "redneck" for bringing Model Railroader to school to read during lunch, but otherwise I never really got hasseled about it. I would keep doing it but maybe keep a low profile for a while. Eventually you might find other model railroaders at your school, or later at your high school.
Course, my high school had a freight railroad running thru the middle of the school grounds, so maybe trains were considered more 'normal' there than other places??
A redneck.... model railroading? Now admittedly, I grew up in Central Pennsylvania where you were either a hick, a jock, or a brain (care to guess which label applied to me?). Still, doing something creative like building a model railroad put one in the "brain" category. I know this is a horrible stereotype, but a hick -- or redneck -- would bring Motor Trend or Car and Driver, and hang out in shop class fixing his souped up "redneck mobile" (as we called any customized car).
Brains read Model Railroader, Popular Mechanics, The Dragon, or actual, real books. And got beat up by hicks and jocks for doing it. Among brains, it was taken as gospel that this was because hicks and jocks couldn't even pronounce most of the words in these magazines, and wouldn't be caught dead reading a book.
How times have changed. Or have they?
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
alstom wrote:"One thing that made me mad was when one of my friend's (who I trusted letting know that I liked trains) came over to my house once, and smacked one of my diesel locomotives off the track and stepped on it. I punch him into the hallway (I lived in an apartment at the time) and nearly kicked him down the steps into the parking lot. So you may need to "throw fists" if need be."
"One thing that made me mad was when one of my friend's (who I trusted letting know that I liked trains) came over to my house once, and smacked one of my diesel locomotives off the track and stepped on it. I punch him into the hallway (I lived in an apartment at the time) and nearly kicked him down the steps into the parking lot. So you may need to "throw fists" if need be."
Actually this sounds like something for a small claims court given the price of locomotives today. After you get the money then you can rouchambeau him.
Boy, am I glad I didn't have these problems when I was in JHS and HS. I had friends in both who were also into trains. We used to build stuff together.In HS I managed to con the headmaster into letting me and my friends build a layout at school during electives. I even got the school and some of the parents to pay for some of the materials. When I graduated I ended up getting all the stuff.
Newyorkcentralfan wrote:Boy, am I glad I didn't have these problems when I was in JHS and HS. I had firends in both who were also into trains. We used to build stuff together.In HS I managed to con the headmaster into letting me and my friends build a layout at school during electives. I even got the school and some of the parents to pay for some of the materials. When I graduated I ended up getting all the stuff.
Boy, am I glad I didn't have these problems when I was in JHS and HS. I had firends in both who were also into trains. We used to build stuff together.In HS I managed to con the headmaster into letting me and my friends build a layout at school during electives. I even got the school and some of the parents to pay for some of the materials. When I graduated I ended up getting all the stuff.
i wish i could do that except at my school our pricipal would never do that my friend tried.
Well this is too all Teens that are made fun of just Ignore them. When I was younger I was teased constantly for many many things but you know what I lived through it. It is ok if people know you like trains but don't go overboard at school and "ask to be made fun of" what I am saying leave the Engineer Hat at home and only wear it at the Train Shows or Trackside. If you hide the fact that you are a model railroader you will never meet others at your school or arround your age that could become good friends. Also if you have a Model RRer or Trains Mag with you a friend might see it and they might think it was interesting and worth a look, you might get them into the hobby.
Know that there are other's out there that like trains just as much as you do. I am love trains and I had friends that liked them too. One friend I met through another friend, there is another connection between him and me besides trains, my sister beat him up in 8th Grade!!!!! Trains can bring people together!
If you want to meet people that like the same stuff as you I suggest you try the Teen Association of Model Railroaders (shameless Plug). I can't guarentee you it will do for you what it did for me but it could be a great way to get friends from all over the country. I am 28 and I first got associated with them when I was 15! I have friends from all over the country solely because of the TAMR, I have gone places and seen things I would have never seen.
Just try to find people that also like trains and the possibilities are endless!!!
Another thing is if you see someone your own age at a train show introduce yourself!!!!!
thats all I can offer for now, Willie
People who are not railfans do not understand the difference between playing with toy trains and model railroading.
If you are doing serious modeling, show them that. If you have not gotten that serious yet, then just don't tell them.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
get use to it, im a 10th grader still get some stuff, but dont give in to there will. i still wear an engneer cap to school every day so just rember you are you, dont be a conformist, besides once you get past 8th you will be fine. middle school is the hardest.
you should come to the teen railran form in the general disuscion page of trains.com forms.
I dont tell anyone except for friends that come to my house. They dont care and I dont get made fun of.
Go to school to "learn" not to socialize, you dont have to listen to anything anyone says that dosnt pertain to your education.
If this is happening outside of school maybe its time to look for some new friends
Surf the net and try to find a local RR club
To everyone else saying "Be yourself" sometimes Its not worth it... Im 26 now, when I was in HighSchool I met a hard core rail fan a couple years below me. every day he would have various train books under his arm allways talking about his HO Conrail layout and watching the trains in the C&NW Chicago yards. Before I started talking to him I would see him at lunch every day trying to strike up railroad conversations with random people and they would all have the classic "Who are you and why are you talking to me" look on there face. This led to pretty much everyone making fun of him...
we hung out a few times, went to some hobby stores. I showed him how I weathered my engines and helped him start on one of his. Then out of the blue one night he took a bottle of sleeping pills and put a bag over his head because he didnt think he had any friends.
Like I said above, school is for learning. If you want to find more people with simmiler interest (trains) try a place like this and/or local RR clubs, NOT SCHOOL
NSlover92 wrote: Hey, well guess what I'm 14 will be 15 in like one month (Freshman) and I have always liked trains since i was little (started with the thomas the tank engine metal toys), ans when I started in school I got made fun of it and in like 7th grade I didnyt really care I have my railfan pics on my MySpace, and I have gotten my girlfriend involved too. Don't be ashamed, I found one of my friends was a modeler and never knew it till I came out with it. Look man, Better to be hated for who you are then to be loved for who yours not. Mike
Hey, well guess what I'm 14 will be 15 in like one month (Freshman) and I have always liked trains since i was little (started with the thomas the tank engine metal toys), ans when I started in school I got made fun of it and in like 7th grade I didnyt really care I have my railfan pics on my MySpace, and I have gotten my girlfriend involved too. Don't be ashamed, I found one of my friends was a modeler and never knew it till I came out with it. Look man, Better to be hated for who you are then to be loved for who yours not. Mike
Lucky guy. If I can even so much as get mine to campin with me I have accomplished something.
Lionel collector, stuck in an N scaler's modelling space.
Reese
Modeling NS One Locomotive At a Time
Just caught this thread......
When I was in high school one of the guys from a local model railroad club was being pressured to fight another guy outside of a fast food restaurant by a bunch of "frat boys" who wanted to see two "nerds" go at it. When they asked the opponent why he wanted to fight him he said he saw in the yearbook that the guy had listed "Model Trains" as his hobby. This railfan always received lots of teasing from his friends and clasmates who considered trains "kiddie" stuff.
Fortunately IMHO, today's teens have it much more easy when it comes to being involved in "non-sports/music/cars" type hobbies. It's not uncommon for teens to be into different on-line computer games , Warhammer type games, etc....which a few years back would have been an invitation to join the "unpopular" crowd.
A successful colleague of mine summed it up best. He said that people will always have a few snide remarks for any non "sports" hobby (in his case it was ham radios). It's best to consider the limited intellect of these people and really ask yourself if you care about their opinion. Bottom line: Do what you feel like doing....