Okay. So I'm new and old at this hobby. Started when I was about three but never got much beyond the 'running trains on a sheet of plywood' stage until about a year or so back. At that time I made a conscious decision to reenter the world of model railroading rather than get back into tropical fish. It's turned out to be a great decision, and I'll tell you exactly why:
-Variety. There's no hobby in the world with a larger number of aspects than MRRing. Bored with carpentry? Go work on wiring. Bored with tracklaying? Go work on weathering. The list goes on.
-Flexibility. This hobby fits anywhere. My current layout (bare plywood and track as it may be) is stuffed into a utility room with the helix literally circling the furnace. Nobody in our house is complaining.
-Durability. By this I mean that nothing dies if you stop paying attention to it for a while (obviously not the case with fish). I'm young; my attention wanders. It's nice to know that it can wander without having the layout collapse in a puff of dust.
-Constancy. Things in this hobby change all the time, mostly for the better. What keeps me rooted is its solid connection with local and family history. Thirty years ago Grandpa rode Shays in the woods in the 20's and today Grandpa still rode Shays in the woods in the 20's. That inspiration doesn't change. The means to get there might have adjusted, but the goalpost hasn't moved an inch. I love it.
My fourth baby -- a perfect little girl -- was born a bit less than a month ago. Thus our time has been rather occupied as of late. But the trains are still there. They may not be moving much lately, but they'll still be there once our new addition is a bit more self-sufficient. Heck, they'll probably be there when I'm dead and gone, my geared locies passed on to a reasonably interested grandchild.
For that I'm thankful. God, I love this hobby.
Stu
Streamlined steam, oh, what a dream!!
I cannot agree with you more!!!!!
I've been into it for better than 43 years. I love the diversity and don't get bored with it...as I can with some of
my other interests. One more thing...it's a constant evolution of learning.
My only limit is $$$...so I have to use imagination to compensate.
By the way...congrats with the little one.
Mark H
Modeling in HO...Reading and Conrail together in an alternate history.
Stu, you can't be alone in your sentiments. I would guess that the majority of us have the same experiences one way or another. I love my layout, but it goes days without a human seeing it. Then, I have a clear shot at going out to the loft and I take it.
Some of the most pleasurable moments I have had that I associate with the hobby are looking at steam videos on youtube and spending time on Shorpy. I have read a few railroad history books along the way.
The skills building has been fun, although not without its challenges.
"A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"
-Crandell
Stu,
you kinda forgot "creativity" and "creation".
Creative outlet is a BIG part of the hobby!
Creativity: each one of us can use our our creativity to creat something, sometimes from nothing with "not much". Each creative idea is "not wrong" just maybe "different" from someone else's in the hobby.
Creation: 'it's alive!". We can create our own little world, as perfect or imperfect as we want it in our layouts.
Old sheets, a few newspapers and a little plaster of paris over cardboard strips and wadded up Newspaper balls can create mountains! Cotton balls of puff balls of polyester painted can become hillside "trees". Cardboard form cereal boxes can become bulidings.
Have fun, adn enjoy the hobby!
{Oh and YES, I gave up tropical fish too! and i was "raising" them for a local pet store! }
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Here,here, Stu. Not that I didn't enjoy my African Cichlids and Oscars back in the day, but it's hard to beat the creative outlet, mental challenge and working with the hands that model railroading offers.
regards, Peter
I tried the fish tank thing, looked great! The part that was not so great, is always,having to clean them. So got rid of the fish, kept the tanks and put my Military Diorama's in them, My other addiction. They don't collect,dust that way. Now if I could find a way to do that with the layout, I would have it made.
Cheers,
Frank
Stu, you did a great job summing up the hobby. Like you I got my start early one around the age of 5 by my dad even though he was not into model railroading. For many years I was confined to a 4x8 at Christmas time. At age14 I dove in to expanding my scenery skills by building rivers and mountains on my layout. At age 16 I got my first job and after a month or two of saving I purchased an AHM/Rivarossi Big Boy and added a 150 piece super detailing kit which was a great adventure for someone who attempting anything like that before. Also at 16 I joined the Baltimore Society of Model Engineers and my detailing work on my Big Boy turned the heads of several of the veteran members.
I recently got back into the hobby with building a modified version of MR's Virginian RR which will eventually be expanded to a 11x13 layout. I also introduced my nephew to the hobby when he was 3 and now at the age of 5 all he wants to do is work on the trains. So hopefully once he gets older I can pass on my knowledge of the hobby to him.
John
Gidday Stu, well said. The only thing I would like to add is that it can be a great place to escape to.
A belated crongrats on your little girl, don't think I could deal with the interrupted sleep patterns these days though.
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Yesterday I was going to spend all day on the layout and instead spent most of the day running around to three different Hockey shops buying gear and then getting it ready for the kids.
I never had a security blanket when I was a kid, but having a layout and all it entails as far as variety helps me relax. Knowing I only have to walk to a different part of the house and it is always there waiting for me, leaves me with a warm fuzzy feeling all over. Kinda like a security blanket would.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
You mentioned variety -- wiring, scenery, carpenter work, even room prep. You can add to that reading and research. A person who only reads about golf is hardly a golfer, but a person who only reads up and does research still qualifies as a model railroader, albeit of the armchair variety.
The other form of variety is in the amount spent. One local modeler scrounged every stick of benchwork lumber from local construction sites (the crews actually created separate "don't burn" piles for him. Many guys run only rolling stock they bought, or were given, eons ago and spend nothing on new stuff. I myself am still working off a large supply of cork roadbed and flex track that a buddy gave to me when he moved and tore down his brand new layout.
While the hobby can be fabulously expensive to be sure, you can also spend hours on a project involving household stuff that otherwise was destined for the recycling bin.
One other wonderful factor warrants mentioning -- whether through local clubs, people met at the local hobby shop, NMRA divisional or regional meets, and dealers and customers at swap meets and train shows, it is possible to have many fine friendships within the hobby. I know many guys who would say their closest friends in the world are their model railroad or railfanning buddies.
Dave Nelson
Ha! I love the additions to my original post; it backs up my first point about variety. I never intended to (and don't think I could) create an exhaustive list of things to love about this hobby. There's some aspect of MRRing for just about everyone's taste.
My wife summed it up well: 'pick a continent, pick a century, pick a scene.' And that's where it is: wherever you want.
Brilliant!
Stu,I've always had a love/hate relationship with the hobby..
I hated it to no end when this don't go together or as smoothly as planed. I love it when all is smooth.
I hate it when I had to clean ( drill) every handrail hole in my newest Athearn BB SW1500.
I loved it when I put the shell on a newer RTR SW1500 drive( I dropped the engine and totaled the shell) with a EMD 645 sound decoder and open the throttle on my Tech 6 in the DCC mode-lovely!
In the end the pure joy of hearing a SW1500 was worth the "hate" time installing the handrails.
Yeah,it all balances out in the end.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Rastafarr Okay. So I'm new and old at this hobby. -Flexibility. This hobby fits anywhere. Stu
Okay. So I'm new and old at this hobby.
-Flexibility. This hobby fits anywhere.
I too am new to the hobby, in the strictest sense. Trains have been in my blood my whole life, I just never modelled them until recently. I had made small dioramas but the track and equipment were not operational, just for looks.
The second part of the quoted post above made me laugh. I cannot seem to find enough room My wife (semi-jokingly) stated a few weeks ago that I was not going to be happy until I had a polebarn for my trains. She may be close to the mark.