Just a passing thought...anyone know of any politicians running for national office who are model rails? I cannot think of any ever in our history back to 1900 and the beginning of Lionel.
HZ
Bush the 41st likes trains, but I don't think he could be considered a model railroader. Our modular railroad group set up at his presidential library a while back. And the UP lettered and named a locomotive in his honor.
I am not aware any of our chancellors ever confessed to be a model railroader, but some of them could have been. Frau Merkel certainly not.
One of our state governors, Horst Seehofer from Bavaria, is an avid model railroader and even had a TV home story made about his layout.
Politics and model railroading certainly don´t mix well, but music/arts and model railroading apparently does, looking at the number of celebrities having had their "coming out" as model railroaders.
Hi!
I thought I read once that Harry Truman "liked toy trains" but I'm not certain of it. In any case, if the wanna be chiefs took up the hobby and actually built a layout, the country would be much, much better off!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I can hear it now:
"This scratch on the Oval Office desk is when Gerald Ford slipped while trying to push on an Athearn metal coupler cover."
"This mark is where Richard Nixon spilled some Testor's cement while assembling an Atlas Crossing Shanty kit.
"These saw marks are where LBJ cut stripwood to length for a Campbell Models kit"
Jim
Just for the record, I'm not implying anything about any of their modeling skills.
Wasn't Spacemouse going to run for president?
I thought I saw that on Jeffrey's tagline.
Eric WhiteI thought I saw that on Jeffrey's tagline.
Eric, you are quite right - his signature read (among other things) "Spacemouse for President"!
So this wasn't about puting lawn signs up on your layout?
(so sad!)
Biden the vice president into trains. Not sure to what extent
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
So you know, folks... because this thread has the word "politicians" in its subject line, I'll be keeping a close eye on it, and will be less tolerant of off-topic deviations than usual. Talk all you want about political figures' affection for model trains, but do not get into forbidden territory of discussing other aspects of those politicians or your opinions on them. Thanks in advance.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
LensCapOn So this wasn't about puting lawn signs up on your layout? (so sad!)
I wonder if thats ever been modeled for the mayor of our modeled town or city?
I recall seeing a photo of a Athearn observation(complete with red,white and blue blunting) with a president candidate on the platform with a group of wee figures standing behind it.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Steve - Do you all know of any ?
YGW
Preiser of Germany offers a few HO scale politicians, historical persons as well as current, including the current President of the US and Pope Francis.
I have to admit that I´d like to see some of them reduced to this size, makes them more "manageable" - for our layouts, of course, nothing else intended.
VP Biden is a big supporter of 'real' trains; while in the US Senate, he rode the train to and from Delaware every day. There have been some US public officials that have been photographed with toy or model trains (like while touring the Lionel plant) but not sure of any who actually were modellers or collectors.
FWIW legend has it that Hermann Goehring had an extensive O-tinplate layout / collection, mostly Marklin I would assume. Don't know that it's ever been proved.
Steven Otte So you know, folks... because this thread has the word "politicians" in its subject line, I'll be keeping a close eye on it, and will be less tolerant of off-topic deviations than usual. Talk all you want about political figures' affection for model trains, but do not get into forbidden territory of discussing other aspects of those politicians or your opinions on them. Thanks in advance.
Darn, I can think of a hundred jokes to reply with........
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
BRAKIE That actually sounds like a really good idea for those modeling a specific year. LensCapOn So this wasn't about puting lawn signs up on your layout? (so sad!) I wonder if thats ever been modeled for the mayor of our modeled town or city? I recall seeing a photo of a Athearn observation(complete with red,white and blue blunting) with a president candidate on the platform with a group of wee figures standing behind it.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
Model lawn signs would be appropriate this year. I suppose I could photograph the signs and shrink them to HO scale.
Joe Staten Island West
joe323,
I have signs already saved on my computer I could send but I'm sure the lock would come out.
I attach them to e-mails going to people I like to aggravate.
Bob
Don't Ever Give Up
One of Al Kalmbach's close model railroad buddies was three-term Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler. Reportedly, Zeidler had a big layout in his attic, I presume O scale. Zeidler was Milwaukee's mayor from 1948 to 1960. As a footnote, Zeidler's older brother Carl was elected mayor in 1940, joined the Navy, and died at sea during WWII.
Neil B., editor
Neil Besougloff
editor, Model Railroader magazine
Biden is the only one I can think of.
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
Rich
Alton Junction
The reason that so few policiticans are MR's is because they could never unify their base. Imagine trying to get HO and N scalers together! Or have Steam and Diesel fans in lock step. Never would rivet counters vote with free-lancers.
And this just scratches the surface... on it goes with eastern roads vs. western, narrow vs. standard, proto operators vs. toy train collectors.....
richhotrain Steven Otte So you know, folks... because this thread has the word "politicians" in its subject line, I'll be keeping a close eye on it, and will be less tolerant of off-topic deviations than usual. Talk all you want about political figures' affection for model trains, but do not get into forbidden territory of discussing other aspects of those politicians or your opinions on them. Thanks in advance. I guess my question is, why do we even start threads like this? And, to what good end?
I guess my question is, why do we even start threads like this? And, to what good end?
Simple reason for this thread. If any well known figure be it sports, entertainment or politics is into our hobby, it is certainly good for growth. I personally have met a few folks who entered the hobby after reading about Rod Stewarts really well done pike.
Why are you being so PC about politicians? Afraid they will stand you up against a sandbag wall? I think most of them are into railroading, railroading us into the poor house.
One thing politicans in the U.S. and Canada used to do was whistlestop tours by train. The last Canadian Prime Minister to do so was Pierre Trudeau (father of our current PM) in 1974. The last time a federal politican used a train was In 2008 when Green Party leader Elizabeth May travelled across Canada to meet voters.
Read more about this on my blog at http://cprailmmsub.blogspot.ca/2015/11/canadian-and-us-elections-and-whistle.html
John Longhurst, Winnipeg
And more from Canada about politicans and trains: Our former PM showed no love for VIA Rail, but he had fond memories of going to the railway yard with his dad as a kid.
Some of his "fondest memories are of walking to the old Leaside station with his father to watch trains come and go," one article put it.
wjstixFWIW legend has it that Hermann Goehring had an extensive O-tinplate layout / collection, mostly Marklin I would assume. Don't know that it's ever been proved.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Thread has been cleaned up to remove off-topic posts that I very specifically warned you to avoid. One participant earned himself a three-day suspension. I hope the chuckles were worth it.
See, this is why we can't have nice things.
Neil B.One of Al Kalmbach's close model railroad buddies was three-term Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler. Reportedly, Zeidler had a big layout in his attic, I presume O scale. Zeidler was Milwaukee's mayor from 1948 to 1960.
Frank was in town some years ago for a political event sponsored by some friends. He was just modestly surprised when I whipped out my current NMRA membership card for him to autograph, as Frank was a charter member of the Association (the last of which died just a couple of years back - Frank's been gone a decade or so, RIP.) Frank told me he hadn't had much time for model railroading since being elected mayor...but he did enjoy the hobby.
Sadly, I suspect our hobby might not fare well in the current media environment. Too many chances for people to make a stink about not focusing on public business. Personally, knowing someone running for office was a model rail would tend to humanize someone in a positive way. We could probably use more fun in politics
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Well, senior politicians are probably too busy to do anything else than politics... However, our club is located near Ottawa (Canada's capital as you know), and we had two members of Parliament among our club members until very recently. Clubs in the vicinity of Washington DC may also have politicians among their members...
Simon