Do your friends or family support this hobby?

[Anonymous]

Does your friends or family support or also enjoy railfanning? [?]

Mine doesn't really[:(], and it is really sad when you are going someplace and an intermodal train is coming right beside you on a lonesome street and no one even wants to pull over to watch it[:(][V][xx(] Or we are really close to a really old Santa Fe depot and they don't let me take a look around just a few minutes [:(!] But the thing I hate most is when we are right across the street from the old Santa Fe depot in San Bernardino and no one lets me go in a take a look around because it was restored. I am in this hobby alone[:(]Anyone ever had this problem?

[Anonymous]

I was traveling with my mom one day, and there was a CP coal train heading through town with a unit on the head end and unit on the tail end, I said, quick mom let's get a good look at that train....

I pointed to it, and she said, should I just follow that caboose on the end there.....

That was when it hit me that nobody in my family really has any clue about trains.

[Anonymous]

My wife became a train fan because I was one. I had to drag her to two museums and sit her down watching switching moves at the local yard before her resistance collapsed.

Before she was bitten by the train bug, she would say "That's a nice choo choo." Now she calls me from her school to announce that there's a BNSF GE heading up a string of covered hoppers going west to B'ham.

It's just a matter of patience and infectious enthusiasm....
Erik

[railman]

It'll take time, but I'm converting them.

[UPTRAIN]

I guess I'm lucky, my dad takes me just about everywhere there is a hotspot. We both like to travel and see new things, he's not as much of a hardcore railfan like me, but enjoys trains and going new places. We have been all around the country on Amtrak and have been from Texas, to Illinois, to Indiana, to CalE-forn-ya, to Florida, to Iowa, to Kansas, to Ohio. Whew, and that's just a few places! My sister played sports on a traveling team so that has gotten me many places that I hadn't been. My grandparents are fine with the whole railfan/model railroader thing. When my mom or sister see's something to do with the railroad they get it for me. One of my family members take me to the railroad museum every weekend to volunteer. My friends are very supportive of my hobby, even taking a few photos of locomotives and recording their road numbers! I'm very greatful for my friends and family, thank you all!

[Puckdropper]

My family supports the hobby... kinda. I get the distinct feeling that they see my model railroad as a "train set" still. When I started laying ballast, it quit being a "train set." That was 5 years ago. I do not use the term "train set" to describe it anymore, haven't for years. It's hard to shake the perception.

It's more than just a toy or a childhood obsession...

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by erikthered

My wife became a train fan because I was one. I had to drag her to two museums and sit her down watching switching moves at the local yard before her resistance collapsed.

Before she was bitten by the train bug, she would say "That's a nice choo choo." Now she calls me from her school to announce that there's a BNSF GE heading up a string of covered hoppers going west to B'ham.

It's just a matter of patience and infectious enthusiasm....
Erik

Got the same problem - only not with your wife! Driver writes down sightings for me while he is traveling to pick me up from work! Now he rubs my nose in the fact that he can spot an SD40 and I still have trouble with them! But - Gee - look what we brought into their lives, besides us!

Mook

[SALfan]

Put it this way - my wife would rather I ogle the centerfolds in TRAINS or Classic Trains than the ones in certain other magazines. The fact that she has the .38 caliber incentive plan doesn't enter into it (yeah, right).

I have managed to infect . . . . err, interest. . . some of the nephews with the hobby, at least for a while.

[Anonymous]

Yes. My wife and freinds support me and my hobby. Its better then sitting around all day and driving them crazy! Plus I support them right back!!

[MP57313]

QUOTE: Originally posted by modelrailroader71
Does your friends or family support or also enjoy railfanning? [?]

It's mixed bag; some yes, some no. Back in the 60s (when I was 9 - 10) Fedco was across the street from the San Bernardino depot, so occasionally after a shopping trip my dad would take us to the station. We moved away a couple of years later.

As the years wore on family support faded away as they were way more focused on school/education. We did once look at houses in Tehachapi, and then drove by the loop, but did not stick around. Family still has a very limited interest in trains, but we would never go railfanning together.

My in-laws are from overseas where the trains "run on time" but the in-laws are not railfans in the true sense. They know I have an interest in some aspects, and they like the LGB train I set up at Christmas time [mine IS truly still a train set] but I would not book them on a long distance trip. I was able to persude them to join us on the Virginia & Truckee up in Virginia City; I think that was enough for them. They always point out derailments on the TV news; somehow they think it would change my mind about riding by train. I point out the greater risk of the personal car, but they don't buy it (even though they had a car totalled once, when they were hit by an unemployed, uninsured drunk).

My wife will tolerate some railfanning; she likes the Sacramento museum and sceeic train rides. She doesn't care for ordinary routes that run parallel to a highway---why pay for something you can see from the car? My wife and the in-laws are amused by the extensive "geneology/family history" of engines featured in videos, but they don't like the sleepy music that some videos use as a soundtrack. (Hey - it's relaxing).

I work near the BNSF Harbor Subdivision, and would half-jokingly get "blamed" by co-workers when they were delayed by a train. Over a dozen trains a day passed by before the Alameda Corridor opened.

Once you get older and on your own you can sort it all out...how much railfanning you want to do, in between work and everything else in life.

MP

[Junctionfan]

Not really but they don't go out of their way to be jerks either and for that I am grateful.

[rrnut282]

They only tolerate the railfanning...barely. My wife and I volunteer at a tourist railroad when we can because it's something we can do together.

[JoeKoh]

very much so! mamma drives so matt and I can look at trains.
stay safe
Joe

[CSXrules4eva]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Puckdropper

My family supports the hobby... kinda. I get the distinct feeling that they see my model railroad as a "train set" still. When I started laying ballast, it quit being a "train set." That was 5 years ago. I do not use the term "train set" to describe it anymore, haven't for years. It's hard to shake the perception.

It's more than just a toy or a childhood obsession...

I feel your pain. Every time my family comes over or friends, they always commet on my layout, but they reffer to the term "train set". Then this is when I say NO it's not. It is 5 yrs of planing, thinking, building, wireing, ect. . . all done by my hand. I didn't get the train platform as a "set " and just slap it on some wood. They don't realize that most of the locos and cars I have wern't ready to run out of the box. BUT wuta gona do (It's a train thing, they wouldn't understand).

On the other hand I don't really have anybody in my fam that is a rail nut like myself. My mom does sometimes come along w/ me to train shows, and railfaning locations. I would say the only person in my family that Loved trains was my great grandpop Smith. He worked for the PRR for well over 30 years. I guess this is where I get my love for trains from.

[eolafan]

My better half has been wonderfully tollerant of my hobby for over thirty years now and even suggests I go "trainwatching" when she feels I need to get a break from my tense job. My 22 year old son has absolutely no use for trains whatever, but that's ok as he needs to have his own life (perhaps he dislikes them due to my taking him trackside as an infant in his car seat and he had to be scared by the horns and all that noise?)

My friends and coworkers think I am a bit wierd, at least they did until they found our VP of Sales is also a railfan! HA, HA

[bobwilcox]

Charlotte has always supported my hobby, espeicaly on the first of the month when our Harriman Pensions hit the bank account. Before our first railfan trip from Denver to Gleenwood Springs I did need to explain that Amtrack would be a contrast with business cars trips she had taken her customer on between Oakland and Reno or LA.

[edblysard]

Aimee can take it of leave it, although she like riding trains, she has no interest in watching them.

My 17 year old could care less, but then, she is 17, and could care less about most things...

Beth, on the other hand, is almost rabid about them, every time she hears the horns for the grade crossing near our house, she runs out in the street, and looks down to the tracks to watch.

Lucky kid, we had the Casey Turn stop down the street, he was holding for a local switcher working ahead, and looking at a red...and the conductor and engineer let her up in the cab.

Being shy as she is, she managed to talk them into letting her move the train...granted, its was only a couple of hundred feet, but how many 11 year olds get to say they ran Dash 9 4400 CW, with it's train?

She is also interested in the model side of all of this, she and I work on HO scale buildings together.
When time a space permit, we have a nice layout planned...

Dosnt hurt that I get to work on the real thing daily, and it provides a nice prototype too!

Ed

[BaltACD]

This is NOT a hobby.

Railroading supports me, my family and my hobby.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BaltACD

This is NOT a hobby.

Railroading supports me, my family and my hobby.

True. Trains do not operate for people to watch. They operate to provide goods throughout the United States. Not just for us guys to hear the whistle blow

[Anonymous]

The mainline runs by my home at less than 1,000 feet. Everytime that whistle blows at the Savage Rd crossing (which is quite often daily) I'm out the door hoping there's something new each time. But it's usually the same old stuff. My family thinks I'm obsessed with railfanning, but they support it. There's no harm in it (unless you are standing in the path of one of these monsters). They just keep commenting on how I shoulda worked on the railroad. I tell them, "But I will one day. Just you watch."

When friends come around I supress my urges to run out to the front lawn. Visiting them places me nowhere near a railroad. At work my co-workers actually think it's cool. Infact there are a few non co-workers in the same building who share this interest. I haven't yet met them personally but I know they're railfans from the shirts and hats they wear.

[CShaveRR]

I think my wife respects the fact that my hobby maintains a decent standard of living for us (even better, now that the kids are gone!), and she gives fairly good descriptions of what's going on when we have guests in the yard, or trackside, or whatever. Her parents were among those who were inder the impression that railroads were "dying", when we got married, but I've been able to hold onto the same job for all of my adult life, so far. I think that what my wife enjoys most about my hobby is watching how enthusiastic I get over it (I'm lucky in that respect, I guess!).

My girls aren't exactly disinterested, they just have other interests that are stronger--stuff like jobs, education, families, etc. Both have a pretty good idea of what's going on. My current son-in-law has visited me once at the yard; the future son-in-law has done that, and has been out to Rochelle with me--twice! I hope I'll be able to expose my granddaughter to the fun by this time next year (she hasn't been born yet--due late December--but we know it's a girl).

Sarah, I know how you feel--hardly a month goes by that I don't have to grit my teeth and say, no, I don't have a train "setup" at home. And I might become very un-mild-mannered if the word "choo-choo" is uttered within earshot.

I try to take guests (usually from our church) out on a train-watching trip at least once a year. They usually come away impressed. It's more fun to have them get bitten by the bug, however mildly, than to have to try and answer the "Why?" question!

[Anonymous]

My cousin,understands cause he is a train nut too.My wife semi understands;she say well baby thats cute when I bring a treasure home to show her,you know like a book that shows all the subs on my road upstairs or what looks like a piece of junk until I clean it up and it's an oil can stamped with the logo of my road,but really I thinks she just loves me thru it.
rrman48

[tree68]

My son is ambivilent, my daughter is supportive and interested, if to involved. She's joining me for the Syracuse train show next week (Nov 6,7) and is good at finding some bargains and other interesting items as we wander the show. The ex could pretty much take it or leave it, but that doesn't matter any more.

[locomutt]

My Dad was really supportive of the hobby.He bought all the stuff I really didn't want. He allowed my uncle (his brother)
to provide me with some model railroad stuff back in the early fifties. It's
GROWN since then. I took a job with a company that did work for the RRs, and
My father was very proud of it. I now have a wife who seems to be very in-
terested in railroading, and will go places and work with me on things for
the model railroad.She helps me with it. Plus is always interested in going to watch trains, and
is still trying to figure out the difference between EMDs and GEs. I keep
telling her the EMDS go hummmm, and the GE's go pocka pocka pocka
thunk.[:)]
The rest of the people...............................Who cares?....................................[:D]
At least I know something about something that they don't[:D]

[Modelcar]

...Just two of us here at home and the wife understands this is a keen interest of mine and it causes really no problem here....She is not one to go tramping around the railroad tracks but has been to areas of interest at times....Even rode a doodlebug and Amtrak in Florida with me. Rode Amtrak in past several years around Horseshoe Curve to Altoona from Johnstown and back too....

[oskar]

QUOTE: Originally posted by erikthered

My wife became a train fan because I was one. I had to drag her to two museums and sit her down watching switching moves at the local yard before her resistance collapsed.

Before she was bitten by the train bug, she would say "That's a nice choo choo." Now she calls me from her school to announce that there's a BNSF GE heading up a string of covered hoppers going west to B'ham.

It's just a matter of patience and infectious enthusiasm....
Erik

[#offtopic]


Erik snice you live in Queen city I was just wondering are you a Columbus Cottonmouth fan




kevin