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What's with model railroaders....are most of them "loners"?
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Mondo, <br /> <br />I have to agree with Texas Zephyr. Check out the NMRA. Go to the layout tours and meet other trainnuts. Find out who the operators in your area are......See if you can wangle some invites. <br /> <br />I was a lone wolf for years, but made a concerted effort a few years ago to become more involved in the modeling community. I was lucky to find a great bunch of guys, but I think it could be done anywhere. It did take some work, and was not always smooth sailing, but it was worth it. <br /> <br />I think that with the exception of clubs, most guys work on their layouts alone or maybe with one close friend. I find hanging out with other train guy when we are not at operating/work sessions, we are almost always shooting the breeze-BSing about stuff. <br /> <br />In my experience, I have noticed a few things about Model Railroaders and the social aspect of the hobby: <br /> <br />1. Everyone likes to talk about their layout. It may seem as if guys are only interested their own layouts...True enough. But pay attention closely to how much you talk about your own layout and you will probably find yourself drifting in the same direction. My rule is to be a rapt listener when visiting another’s layout. When visiting layouts, I try to talk about my own layout when asked and only when it is relevant to the conversation. I try not dominate the discussion with stuff about my railroad. If the whole night is about the host layout, so be it. <br /> <br />2. I try to find activities I can share with someone else help break the ice. Meets, layout tours, operating sessions, visits to the train stores etc. I try to have meals be part of the deal. Meet for lunch and go see the progress on the layout...this type of stuff. I always serve food at my place if appropriate. Train guys love to eat. <br /> <br />3. I leave politics, religion and philosophy out of the discussion. It is too easy to for people to be offended and take stuff personally. I have let stuff roll off of my back lots of times rather than start a heated argument when we are supposed to be enjoying ourselves…Some guys can’t do this. I avoid these types. <br /> <br />4. I have found that if I take it slow, but am persistent, it yields better results. It may take many months or years to cultivate a group of train friends. I find people in the hobby have known each other for many decades. It is hard to compete with that type of long term relationship. I find that I often won’t see modeling friends for weeks, some not for months. This is OK. I was part of group that met once a week, and that was too much of a time commitment for me and my family to deal with, so I now attend infrequently. We still have a great time. <br /> <br />5. As another poster pointed out, there are lots of different types of modelers in the hobby. I find that I have take them for what they are. Some guys never run, some guys lecture you all the time (I avoid these guys), some guys run and have no scenery, some guys are prototype nuts, some guys just build cars, collectors etc. I can have a good time with all of them as long as I can adapt to the situation and not expect these people to be something they aren’t. <br /> <br />6. I find that other guys don’t care too much about your opinion in modeling related matters until they get to know you. I won’t offer unsolicited opinions on layouts and modeling. I find that once people get to know me and have seen my stuff, they eventually began to ask my opinion about stuff. <br /> <br />7. I try to not be too serious and over the top. I am over the top by nature so I really have to work on this to keep it in check. A sense of humor appears to be appreciated. <br /> <br />Not sure if this helps. I have run across all of the types you described meeting in your post. Keep looking around and you will run into guys that you want to hangout and run trains with. <br /> <br />
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