Still train related, one of my big hobbies is collecting railroad lanterns:
http://www.jeffpolston.com/lantern.htm
I'm also into astronomy:
http://www.jeffpolston.com/astro.htm
I'm also into firearms and boating. I've been trying to get back into hunting lately. Use to hunt doves in my youth, but now I'm trying deer hunting. I also use to be a private pilot, but ran out of money and time.
I enjoy building and playing many folk music instruments and I belong to Silver Strings Dulcimer Society and Uke 'N Sing. The instrument I enjoy most are Hammered Dulcimer, Hurdy Gurdy and Ukulele.
Also Windsurfing when the wind is up in Michigan. There are lots of lakes! Yes, that's me on a windy day from many years ago. Now, at 62 I'm still fit enough to enjoy it.
3-D Stereo Photography. I belong to the Detroit Stereographic Society. You will need red/cyan glasses to view the first photo and special stereoscope glasses to view the second. This is two photos of my Postwar Lionel Layout.
I'm a gamer. Videogames and Board games. I prefer cooperative games in both genres, because I HATE losing!
I also like to read. Mostly in biblical studies.
And when I'm not doing any of that, I like to take long walks by myself to rest my brain!
I used to drag race. This was my fastest ride.
It is a Chevy Beretta and it did have a stock grille, headlights and taillights. Everything else was not. It had a 632 inch all aluminum motor & 3 stages of juice of which I could only use one due to traction troubles despite 17" wide tires.
It could get to 150+ MPH in under 5 seconds.
I still play a lot of pool and hope to go to Vegas in the fall for a Masters tournament.
This is my home table, a Brunswick 9' Gold Crown.
Other then model trains and Railfaning there are many other things I greatly enjoy.
For one thing I'm an Avid Guitar player. I've been playing for about 5 years and love rock bands such as Van Halen, Aerosmith, and Gun n roses as well as classics like The Rolling Stones.
Even though I'm from and live Long Island, I greatly enjoy going to, exploring and photographing the state of Maine.
Here is the Portland Head Lighthouse in Portland ME.
My interestin trains has also helped spur an interest in history in general, especially local history.
Along with that, I love exploring old or abandoned places, hiking in the woods, and spend alot of time with freinds enjoying life.
"No childhood should be without a train!"
Anything expensive.
Rifles and shooting:
The Box [new layout building]:
Fishing:
Gardening:
My boats:
Trains [being moved to new layout building]:
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Traveling all over this great country on two wheels!
Jon
So many roads, so little time.
I've noticed that a woman you'de actually WANT to marry likes their man to be a nerd, because they're hobbies are more predictable & safe. They can cost a little money, but they think that's ok, because in their mind, it's better that you're in the basement playing with trains instead of spending your time & $ up the street at the bar or whatever.
Marine, rail, industrial, architectural, military, aircraft, steel mills - history & photography, model kits, guns, fishing, bikes, sci-fi, movies, home build projects, whistels, horns, Chevy SS cars real & die cast, collectable toys, air shows, historic building tours, zippo lighters, drawing/sketches, probably some more, can't think of anything else.
Also forgot: tinkering with my riding mowers. Doing auto repairs. News and politics (talk radio). Staying out of trouble. Last but not least I'm 45 and would like to add Husband to this list,, but I'm quite the nerd so changing that status has failed so far.
Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.
I have about 1000 Hot Wheels & Matchbox, some Ertle farm toy tractors, 1/16 scale Mustangs & Mclaren F1, a few Tonka toys. When I get another idea I write some more for my Comedy Trains movie but I need a bit more help with dialog and total structure of the movie. Most of what I have written is scenes. I have a general idea for the movie which is quite different than any other train related movie I have ever seen. Poetry once in a while. I have a few I'd like turned into songs. I need to dig through my papers to find them all as I'm a bit of a packrat. I used to have a lawn service that I did in the daytime. I deliver pizza in the evening. I have picked up riding mowers from Craigslist, taken them apart to sell the parts back on Craigslist and ebay,,,,, but I haven't made made much doing it so I'm selling off what I have left. I have ideas for mechanical products I would like to manufacture, most of it is lawn equipment,, some with and some without patents. In January I started building a rough prototype of one machine that I could possibly make without any patents. The people that I did share the idea with thought it was a great idea. I had to move it out of the basement after my mom said it had to be removed before our annual inspection of the apartment back in March. I might sneak it back into the basement one of these days so I can finish it. A few ideas I have in concept only for electronic devises. One of them my mechanical/electrical engineer brother told me could take $10,000,000 to get the product started,,, (parts of the industry its application would be in might try to fight the product from reaching the market),,, the other one I haven't mentioned to him. None of my ideas are world changing or would make you an instant millionaire or worth breaking into my apartment for.
My other interests include snowmobiling, woodworking, and antique tractors. I also enjoy researching the mining history of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, which is reflected in the theme of my train layout. Some of these activities are somewhat related to my toy train hobby. I am able to explore many of the old mining sites via snowmobile due to the fact that the abandoned railroad grades are now snowmobile trails. My woodworking hobby comes into play when building layout benchwork and display cabinets for the trains. My antique tractors, however; really don't relate much to model railroading although I did add an O scale Farmall Cub to my layout.
Karl
I've dabbled in lots of stuff over the years. Currently, I've got several projects going on my prarie style house that was built in 1914, my wife and I are getting back into bicycling again this summer, and several old car type projects.
Metal detecting sounds too much like work ...
Fifedog: Ukulele!.........One can't spend the whole day metal detecting at the beach can one? (Now you know "the rest of the story".)
I love to play the UKULELE. Practice. Practice. Practice...
Sailing.
Chillin'.
Bruised and contused but still kickin!
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Penny!!!!!!!!!! that sounds painful
Other interests Hmmmmmmmmm where do i start.
Grandkids
Mrs
Farming
Motorcycle Hillclimb & Dirt Drags
Vintage Christmas decorations
Camping
Reading, (especially first person non-fiction about WWII)
Old Movies
Occasionally I like to do a little Hunting
Banks, Proud member of the OTTS TCA 12-67310
Penny Trains Last week I tried something new. Riding down the basement steps upsidedown on my butt. However I don't think I'll take it up as a hobby!
Last week I tried something new. Riding down the basement steps upsidedown on my butt. However I don't think I'll take it up as a hobby!
Pre 1970 baseball cards, gardening, and have a few firearms that probably have cobwebs in their barrels. Anybody got some St. Louis Browns cards they want to swap? Defunct teams are my specialty- even the trains take a backseat to them.
I'm not sure you would really call it a "hobby", but I spend most of my Saturdays, with a few exceptions, building homes with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter. As I spend all week at a desk, I enjoy the a chance to get out and work with my hands using something other than a keyboard. And usually at the end of the day you can step back and actually appreciate what you and your fellow volunteers have accomplished.
The weekends that are exceptions? Those are the ones when there are train shows nearby!
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
There are other things to be interested in? ;)
I enjoy camping and do it quite often (at least once a month)
Thanks to all for your posts. We are certainly a diversified group but with a common thread.
Toy cars take up a lot of my space. I have at least 4,000 diecast cars, plus a lot of slot cars. I also enjoy old movies, and some figures related to those movies. My basement is just packed with toys and trains.
I love Jeeps, and have a pair of them. A 2005 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, which is my family car, and a 1981 Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler. The CJ is heavily modified with the usual lift, upgraded axles with lockers in each, and a fuel injected Chevy V-8. I've had it for 26 years now, since the day I graduated from college.
I also love riding my motorcycles - one is for sale - but I ride them to work 12 months a year, so I can't really call that a hobby.
Finally, I have a kayak I take out whenever I get a chance.
Old Volvos (1962 Jensen P1800, 1966 220), opera performance (bass), electrical engineering (20% retired).
Bob Nelson
Since I'm retired I have time for...reading 2-3 books a week (mainly historical fiction), 3-D/ stereo photography as well as collecting it (slides from the 1950s, stereoviews late 1800s-1930s, View Master), gardening, skeet shooting, collecting 1:43 model cars, world travel with my wife (mainly river cruises in Europe).
My other hobbies?
Collecting folk art, antiques...
I have a fully equipped studio as well, for recording music...
BTW...Becky ...that must have hurt!!
Since I don't actually have a vocation, it's hard to call the stuff I do every day a hobby! But with that being said, my only real avocation is making things.
Most of the time I try to roll all of my interests into railroading as much as possible. I build planes, ships, buildings etc. based on how they can be used with my growing collections of trains. I love to study architecture, aerospace, ocean liners, railroads, Disney and nuclear physics. (Seriously! ) I tried the musician thing in the 90's but the band was too lazy. I draw and sketch too.
Becky
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