New members here...chime in..just a quick 2 questions.(as close to a poll as I'll ever get)

[loathar]

Welcome all the new folks!!! I've been on this forum for 2 years now and I don't recall this many new people signing on after the X-Mas of 04. It's great to see so many new people interested in trains. I just have to ask two questions...
A-How old are you....
And
B-What made you get interested ( or re-interested) in trains?
There seems to be a surge of new train people and I think that's great!
[#welcome][#welcome][#welcome]

[Anonymous]

I've a member for some time,I'am 48yrs got back into the the hobby since 1992.still learning the how to 's hopefully will try to build a layout this year or atleast start on one soon.When I bought my oldest son a train set that kinda got my jucies going it bought by memories of my Tyco trainset back in the early 70's so now I'am hooked,hopefully when I retire I'll have time to finished it and enjoyed it with my grandkids.

[loathar]

Cool! I started with a Marx 027 set about 35 years ago, but a Tyco set hooked he into HO.

[dave9999]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jerry M1

QUOTE: Originally posted by loathar


A-How old are you....
And
B-What made you get interested ( or re-interested) in trains?

[#welcome][#welcome][#welcome]

Gettin kinda nosy arn't ya tom?

As a wee one I used to sit on the platform and put pennies on the rails when the steam locomotive pulling the local slowed to pick up orders from the station agent. I also learned to send and recieve morse code from the local telegrapher. Late at night when I hear the westbound sound the warning at the grade crossing (about 5 miles west of here) I still remember lying awake at night and hearing the steam whistle when the midnight train passed through town. That coal smoke sure smelled good also.

That's how old I am and that's why I am getting involved again.

Jerry

Jerry,
Now that's a great story. I would give anything to have been around when
steam was running. I am lucky to get to take a steam excursion every spring
when we take our vacation to North Carolina, but to see steam locos on a
regular basis when growing up must have been great. Good luck, Dave

[loathar]

Thanks Jerry-No, not nosey, just curiouse. There's a lot more new folks here after this X-mas than there was after last X-mas. Just wondering if it's kids getting sets for Christmas or Dads and Grand dads getting back into the hobby for some reason.Either way, I think it's great and I enjoy talking to everyone. I just happened to notice that all the stores by me sold out of their train sets this X-mas and this forum is reflecting that new amount of interest.(If you all don't want to hang your age out there, no biggie) I'm 41, and I've been into trains for 36 years.[:D][:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

i used a santa fe f3 to squash my pennies. the engineer always waved.

i finally fixed my computer to handle this website. i only look new.

i never really left trains. even when i was into something else, i would always notice around me what i could adapt to my layout, even when i did'nt have one. i'll never be without trains again!

[Anonymous]

I am 21, I have been into trains for aslon as I can remember, the first song i ever new was the Amtrack them song "al aboard amtrack". Man that must of been like '88 '90.
I kind of got out of it for about 3-5 years then i got back into it because its always been something ive wanted to do, now i belong to a realy great club; which uses DCC, witch i don't think you can get more realistic than DCC. My first loco that i bought was a Atlas DRGW Gp7, its still my favorit loco,

[Anonymous]

A: I am 21, I have been into trains for aslon as I can remember, the first song i ever new was the Amtrack them song "al aboard amtrack". Man that must of been like '88 '90.
B: I kind of got out of it for about 3-5 years then i got back into it because its always been something ive wanted to do, now i belong to a realy great club; which uses DCC, witch i don't think you can get more realistic than DCC. My first loco that i bought was a Atlas DRGW Gp7, its still my favorit loco,

[loathar]

Cool! Keep em coming.

[whitman500]

I actually joined this forum around Christmas 2004 but if it helps your answer your question I'm 29 and I got back into trains because I moved from an apartment to a house. I had been into trains growing up but gave up after high school because for 10 years I had lived in dorm rooms and small apartments and did not have the room for a layout.

[Anonymous]

I am re-entering the hobby after a 15-year hiatus. I phased out in stages - first I got interested in old Triumph sports cars and had a new "money pit" and then I went to college, after which I lived in an apartment for six years with virtually no space for a layout.

Now I finally have a house with a basement, and my wife and I are expecting baby #2 in April. Since she's a stay-at-home mom, I need a hobby that I can work on in dribs and drabs rather than the $500-a-pop outlay I need anytime I do something fun to my 2000 Mustang GT (my other "hobby"). So here I am - got a Walthers HO catalog for Christmas, and rounded up all my old Kalmbach books - I am ready to enter the "armchair" phase with considerable background. With two small kids, it'll be a few years before I get to even the benchwork phase, but at least I can read up and do some planning, maybe build a model or two.

Oh, and I will be 33 in July.

[loathar]

Cool Scotty- I used to be into drag racing and Mopar muscle cars. That's just gotten WAY to $$$$$$. I can build all my track work for the price of a Holly carb and Edlebrock intake. (Though I still like going to see top fuelers run!!!).

[Anonymous]

This is my first post on this forum. I am going to be forty in feb and have been away from the hobby since I was around 14.

My father in law recieved a "Catapiller" train set for christmas and my six year olds eyes lit right up. I had been looking for a father son hobby for some time, and I have allways wanted to build a layout.

Off to the LHS and several internet purchases later, we now have a 5 x 8 table set up over the big pile of junk that prevented me from parking my car in the garage. My son helped me glue the roadbed down and has his own train, consisting of a bachman dcc locomotive and 3 IHC passanger cars.

I am looking forward to many hours working on our railroad and lurking on these forums. Thanks to all here that provide such helpfull advice.

Joe

[Santa Fe buff]

Well... I'm 52 years old and have a love for trains. One use to go close to my house to pick up box cars from a Burlington Cotton Factory in Sherman, TX. My grandfather also use to take me to go train spotting.

I guess I got back into model railroading because I had always liked to run my model trains as a kid and as an adult.

I also love to watch trains go by with there freight and count how many cars they would pull.

Larry Walton[:D]

[SMassey]

Well I am not really new here but I have not ever done this kinda thing here before either. I will start by introducing myself.

Im Mike...

Oh you prolly would like to know more about me.... well I am 31 now (well tomorrow as of this writing) and have been in love with trains for as long as I can remember. That started when my dad brought home a Tyco Chattanooga Choo Choo train set. (I still have it but it does not run anymore). I have never ridden a real one and I would love to. I started building the South Massey around Dec 04 and was able to run trains by March 05. Now the SM is going to be comming down to make room for Thomas. Thomas is not a train but the name of my new son. This will be my 3rd little engineer but my wife's first. (I have and X). I will be rebuilding the SM in a 4x8 portable layout so keep checking in to my site for progress on the new layout.

My other hobbies include but are not limited to R/C Car racing and railfanning. I dont race much any more because of the cost of the cars (both real and R/C) but I still love it!

Well that is about it for me... Welcome everyone that is new [#welcome] and see ya around the forums and at shows!

[Anonymous]

Well I am 41. I've been into trains since I was little one. I had a small layout on a hinged board when I was a kid. (mid 70's) Then had an ok layout at a rent house in the late 80's. After my son was born in '87 we moved out of that rent house and I haven't had a layout since. While in the Navy I would go to train shows wherever I happened to run into one, and played with my trains on the living room floor occassionally. I started a layout after the Navy ('94) but after the divorce (not train related) I was a bit busy as a single dad. (kids were 5 & 8)

Now we are starting an HO layout in the shed (bought this house 10 years ago) My daughter is 15 and helps with the painting and scenery. My son is 18 and helps with the heavier construction. We only have room for a 9x8 layout but it has room for what we want (mostly). (all these darn yankees with their basements, we ain't got no basements in Dallas.....)

I'm using as much of my old stuff as I can so I've only spent $1000.00 since christmas. [B)] We vacationed in San Diego this year and I had to show my kids the railroad museum at Balboa Park. It is a great layout and my kids really enjoyed seeing it. We've talked about putting the trains in the shed for 10 years and somehow we just started doing it last month.

[Anonymous]

I am 19 soon to be 20 in less than a month.

I have been interested in trains (HO scale) since... not sure how and when, but when I was a child I would say :). I stopped back in 8th grade. Recently my LHS carries some Proto 2000 and Athearn RTR and I wanted a really nice detailed locomotive. I have the P2k SD50 UP. I just bought an Athearn RTR C44-9W UP off ebay for $45, although from China, that is why the price is low.

Right now I am also trying to detail an Walthers 8-40BW SF. I am also building a model of my parent's restaurant, guess in which scale?

Oh yeah happy birthday SMassey!!

[joecool1212]

Im 41 and my earlyest memories were of my dad building a train layout on a 4x8 board. When I was about 8 I remembered it was somewhere in the garage so I asked my dad if I clean out the garage can we set up the trains. He said yes. 12 years later I moved out and took it with me. 4 years after that my second som was born (at home) and I had to stay home with my wife for about a week, figured it would be boring I resurected the old train board and tried to fit it in my bedroom. It worked!! Ive been into it ever since. Now the trains are in the playroom though. Joe A.