I am a bit of each. At home, I do it all myself, so a lone wolf. I also volunteer at Boothbay Raiway Village to work on the layout there and bring projects home to work on. We have a core group of 5 to 7 who work on various layout projects.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
I, too, am a lone wolf. But, there's a model railroad club not too far. I like to make it there from time to time, if for no other reason than to pick up on ideas. Layout pics in MR are great and I've gotten great ideas from them, but they can't cover an entire layout, whereas, seeing a club layout, you can see the little details.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Now that I have the heard fro the community, I feel that it's okay to be a Lone Wolf at times, I'm just so proud of our hobby (and my layout) that I just want ot share it with my family, friends and fellow modelers, I know that when we do have visitors, mostly kids,I find myself kind of nervey, the Mom's would tell the kids, " now look don't touch" I would just smile, and tell them to be careful, I have to remember that this is a hobby, not a contest on who can get there layout done the quickest!!! all will be well, the layout will progress, and when I really need the help, I know I can get it from here on the forums as well as my Hobby shops, please keep the comments coming!!
Medina1128, you are spot on, that's my position also, there's two club layouts that I like to visit, and I get great ideas from them also, and oh yes from MR magazine!!
Zandozwith a lot of armchair experience
Russell
With me it's not a choice. I moved out in the country when I retired and live a long way from my friends in the city. I have one friend who has a large Lionel layout whereas I model HO. I have another friend who is a railroad buff but not a modeler. I haven't met anyone where I live now who is into MR. It would be nice to be part of a regular operating group but it's just not an option for me.
Well, I am definately in the camp that does not want others to help me build my layout, I want it to be my work. And, I am fussy, that's why my construction clients hire me to work on their 120 year old houses......
As for the social side, I was once a member of a club, no real interest in that any more. I prefer people in small doses, one on one is best. I was very active in a local round robin group for many years, helped others build their layouts, worked open houses, etc.
But I have to say I have lost interest in most of that. More interested in spending my time working on my own stuff.
Never had much desire to go to meets or conventions, same with train shows, I can scout one for stuff I want and be on my way without spending much time talking to anyone. Don't like noise, crowds, etc.
I do have a few modeler friends in the round robin that I try to keep in touch with individually, but I don't go to the weekly meeting much anymore - too much BS, not enough modeling in my areas of interest. Too many people just buying expensive stuff with sound and DCC, not enough people building anything - or learning anything about railroads............
So for me, the Lone Wolf thing is about purposely limiting the social aspects and giving more of my time to the modeling aspects.....
Sheldon
I really wonder if a true lone wolf would read this post much less reply to it.
CGW121 I really wonder if a true lone wolf would read this post much less reply to it.
Again, it depends on your definition............I choose to have a small social aspect to my modeling, I really consider the social aspect of the hobby completely secondary.......I think that makes me a lone wolf.
I know I'm a lone wolf. I don't have friends that are interested in railroading. I have a few family members that listens but not supported. Unless it's up and running for operating.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
One more thought, a "Lone Wolf", on an internet forum, is the perfect situation for someone who wants to control and limit the amount of time/contact with other modelers.
I went to a well known local MR club. Six guys were standing around drinkning beer and talking about a bunch of stuff including railroading. They were all nice enough and I have no objections to beer.
Two guys were running trains. I thought they might have been only in their 30's. They were also very nice and we talked about DCC, tho' the club was DC. I expected there would be way bills and train orders but these guys were just going round and round. They had electrical pickup issues in a tunnel. They seem surprised about it, but it left me wondering about track maintenance.
It was not what I was expecting. I honestly didn't know whether a formal, waybill operating session would appeal to me. I still don't. The scenery and structures far surpassed my meager abilities, so I cannot say I have higher standards, but I did not see a reason to go back.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
csxns Zandoz with a lot of armchair experience The Cherryville model RR club will love to have you wish you were close.
Zandoz with a lot of armchair experience
The Cherryville model RR club will love to have you wish you were close.
I do appreciate that, and I'd be glad to help out. I've been into model railroading as an adult since the mid 80s. I've lost count of the number of layouts I've started, but each time life intervenes.
Reality...an interesting concept with no successful applications, that should always be accompanied by a "Do not try this at home" warning.
Hundreds of years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...But the world may be different because I did something so bafflingly crazy that my ruins become a tourist attraction.
"Oooh...ahhhh...that's how this all starts...but then there's running...and screaming..."
BigDaddy I went to a well known local MR club. Six guys were standing around drinkning beer and talking about a bunch of stuff including railroading. They were all nice enough and I have no objections to beer. Two guys were running trains. I thought they might have been only in their 30's. They were also very nice and we talked about DCC, tho' the club was DC. I expected there would be way bills and train orders but these guys were just going round and round. They had electrical pickup issues in a tunnel. They seem surprised about it, but it left me wondering about track maintenance. It was not what I was expecting. I honestly didn't know whether a formal, waybill operating session would appeal to me. I still don't. The scenery and structures far surpassed my meager abilities, so I cannot say I have higher standards, but I did not see a reason to go back.
The thing about clubs is, not every club is a fit for every modeler.......
Generally, people find roles to fill at a club, or they don't stay around long.
But every club I have ever experianced had a few key players who set the tone and standards to be followed.
The one club I belonged to for many years, had a seperate meeting night for serious/time table operation. Their "regular" meeting night was always casual "run what you brung".
The round robin group I was once active in nearly always had planned operating sessions, but not everyone in attendance would always want a "job".
All depends on your goals, in the case of the round robin, each layout owner had their own waybill/train order or CTC system of operation. There are lots of different approaches.......
Maybe you could have become established in that group, found a few others interested in operations, been the leader of such a movement......if you have the social temprament for it.
For me all such social ambition is used up......at least for now......
Cherryville, as in North Carolina, the one time home to Carolina Freight, once the largest motor freight company east of the Mississippi?
How cool that Cherryville has a model railroad club.
My father was the Baltimore terminal manager for Carolina Freight from 1968 until 1979.
How is Cherryville these days?
To be clear: it's not at all that I don't want to associate with other modelers, but excepting one local guy who has a chance to buy a train store as the owners are approaching retirement, I don't have other guys that I even know who are model railroaders. Also from having worked in model train sales, I know that most of us tend to be rather particular in what we like to do and how we like to do it, so that seems to somewhat limit our ability to socialize and "get along" with those who think differently than our own personal vision.
John
PRR8259 To be clear: it's not at all that I don't want to associate with other modelers, but excepting one local guy who has a chance to buy a train store as the owners are approaching retirement, I don't have other guys that I even know who are model railroaders. Also from having worked in model train sales, I know that most of us tend to be rather particular in what we like to do and how we like to do it, so that seems to somewhat limit our ability to socialize and "get along" with those who think differently than our own personal vision. John
I can "get along" just fine, I just don't want to spend much of my time that way. Life requires a lot of dealing with people, building model trains is an escape from that.......I like the "building" part..............and like others have said, I don't want or need help with that part.........
Well, I actually would love it if somebody built me a big bridge...I don't have the time or ambition to tackle that myself...I have historically found it a bit of a challenge to get along with other model railroaders, not in a store setting, but once outside of the store, because many seem to know what they like, and with my southwestern interests, living in PA, I'm always rather different from the locals.
Am I a lone wolf modeler? Depends on whether or not it's full moon .
I prefer to work on a build my layout myself. It's what I do to unwind and decompress. But I have a group of guys who come over and run the trains and enjoy it from time to time.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
I've visited a couple of clubs but when I saw the layouts it just didn't appeal to me. One was fully scenicked but was at most half the size of my basement layout. The other had minimal scenery. It was not an operating night so I didn't get to see what kind of operations they did. It seemed to be a work in progress. I would rather spend my time working on my own layout than a club layout.
PRR8259 Well, I actually would love it if somebody built me a big bridge...I don't have the time or ambition to tackle that myself...I have historically found it a bit of a challenge to get along with other model railroaders, not in a store setting, but once outside of the store, because many seem to know what they like, and with my southwestern interests, living in PA, I'm always rather different from the locals. John
John, that is just a result of not having enough in common. This hobby is very diverse, and the core value of "liking trains" will only support so much social interaction - after that you must really be interested in the same "version" of the hobby to maintain an association.
I stopped participating in the the local round robin here for similar reasons. One factor, not the only one, was that more and more the conversations and activities were about what people just bought......not what they were building.........
I'm not really interested in what people can or do buy, I am interested in what they can and do build...........
So I would rather just focus on what I am doing, which is more about the building.....
CGW121I really wonder if a true lone wolf would read this post much less reply to it.
BUT to really answer your question, I can truely say I get much more pleasure helping someone, some club, some museum with their layout than I do my own. I am afraid if I spend all that time and energy on my own stuff that no one else will ever get to enjoy it. None of my childern have caught the model railroad bug.
Texas Zephyr CGW121 I really wonder if a true lone wolf would read this post much less reply to it. Yup. That was my thought too. One can't be too much of a lone wolf if they are participating regularly in a very public forum. BUT to really answer your question, I can truely say I get much more pleasure helping someone, some club, some museum with their layout than I do my own. I am afraid if I spend all that time and energy on my own stuff that no one else will ever get to enjoy it. None of my childern have caught the model railroad bug.
Yup. That was my thought too. One can't be too much of a lone wolf if they are participating regularly in a very public forum.
Yes, there are both introverts and extroverts who are model railroaders, neither approach is automaticly better or more "valueable".
If you like doing for others great, some of us do enough of that in other areas of our lives.......
Sometimes I prefer to be a lone wolf, but many times I wish I had friends in the hobby to exchange ideas and generally share the hobby with.
I model alone. None if my friends are modelers and that's fine. I do what I want, how I want, when I want. I joined the NMRA for a year and went to division meetings but felt unwelcome and alone among the cliques. so much for that. There is a local club, but I'm just not inclined to join.
FWIW, I have recently joined a club and I am enjoying the interaction. I can attend the weekly meetings, or not, as I see fit, although obviously you will get out of a club what you put into it.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
My previous layout was designed for multiple person operation, but I built it myself because that way it was exactly how I wanted it.My next layout will be designed for multiple person operation but I will build it myself because that way it will be exactly how I want it.Most modelers I know with operations oriented layouts are the same.
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
ATLANTIC CENTRAL If you like doing for others great, some of us do enough of that in other areas of our lives....... Sheldon
Exactly why i'm a lone wolf. Looking after both customers and employees is what i do for a living. Not interested in doing same in the off hours.
Stu
Streamlined steam, oh, what a dream!!
TrainsRMe1 Hey all, I have a question for you, how many of you are lone wolf modelers, ( you have a layout that you work on alone)?? have you ever had times that you wished you had some help with work on your layout, you would like to have fellow modelrailroaders helping you create your world??
Hey all, I have a question for you, how many of you are lone wolf modelers, ( you have a layout that you work on alone)?? have you ever had times that you wished you had some help with work on your layout, you would like to have fellow modelrailroaders helping you create your world??
On my last layout, I had help with getting the basement ready and doing the benchwork and I was glad to have it.
But, I'm like many others who've commented here. Once the actual construction of the layout began I wanted to do it myself.
I've never belonged to a club, but I've heard enough stories from people who have to eliminate that idea.
I was a member of a few round robin groups and generally they were pretty good.
The thing is, as you add members sooner or later you'll have a personality conflict.
If you have a group and decide to add someone, it's easy to say, "It's just one more guy."
Mathematically true, but it's not that simple.
Presumably, he was introduced by a current member so we can assume that relationship is fine.
But, he has to get along with the other members and they all have to get along with him.
There were instances in two of the groups we had where personality conflicts created so much tension it was almost not worth going to some of the meetings.
The group disbanded over time anyway, as many of them do.
But I have no desire to start down that road again.
As someone else said, having to get along day-to-day with people can be difficult enough.
No one needs that in their hobby.