For me it was the Shaker Rapid Transit. I grew up a block away and my grandfather worked at the Terminal Tower. Occasionally Grandma and I would go shopping downtown or ride out to the West Side Market, rails all the way. But the cavernous space under the tower, which I eventually discovered was Cleveland Union Terminal, always amazed me.
Matter of fact a good portion of the downtown area is actually a bridge over the yard.
If that was all, I'd certainly be a trolley modeler, PCC flavor. But there was also the Goodtime cruise ship, viewing the heavy industry along the lakefront and especially the Cuyahoga River really cemented things for me. Whiskey Island being a favorite, the Huellet loaders were amazing machines.
As time went by I dabbled in plywood centrals, but after moving into my own home and doing some traveling I found a few other places I wanted to model, towns like Wellsville and Stubenville. As I researched the rails in those areas, I discovered that all my favorites were actually on the same railroad! The old Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
So now that I have a predrawn track plan I'm in process of building it, under Penn Central ownership. Specifically the CP mainline from Cleveland to Yellow Creek (Wellsville) and the Powhatan secondary from Yellow Creek to Omal, better known as Hannibal.
Fwiw I'm 43 years old but this started when I was quite young.
Modeling the Cleveland and Pittsburgh during the PennCentral era starting on the Cleveland lakefront and ending in Mingo junction
Model railroading is kind of my escape from today and travel back to the glory days of the railroads. I've also had a love for detailed scale models. Model trains aren't the only things I collect either. Scale airplanes are the other loves of my life.
It also gives me a way to plan the future for me (in a small way). And, with a wild mind, coming up with alternate trains (like the George Sponhaltz, or all of the C&P trains so far) tends to distract me if I don't have anything to do. Seeing as my grandma's cousin worked as a cook on the Daylight, and the Espee had a branch in my hometown (Union Pacific still has a line out here), I initially wanted to model it, and I still kinda do. But, my heart belongs to the California and Pacific. As the only railroad I'll seriously model, it'll be pretty important down the road, especially when I eventually join a railroad club. Santa Fe is also a railroad that want to model, but C&P comes first.
This topic has most likely been aired before, but then again there are probably many new members on this group who have never read or participated in this discusion.
A new video is being produced about model railroading and the Piermont Division...(sorry no links as not to offend moderator), and this is part of the interview...what drew me into the hobby as well as others. Are these forces still prevelant today and what now is bringing newbies into model trains?
For me, it was my dad's hobby and having two uncles who ran steam locos with me riding with them on many occasions during the 40' and early 50's. Then after college and in the military, I discovered the John Allen articles in several magazines and I was hooked...big time!! But for me it was the artistic possibilities. Had these articles been about the then state of the art electronics, I never would have purchased the magazines and would still be building and flying RC airplanes. Young folks today seem to have forsaken the hobby for smart phones, social media, and game systems....yet still these high tech electronic goodies are available and certainly part of model railroading today and then some. Should and could this be a driving force for model trains. During the 31 years I co-ran the Timonium show, I witnessed a decline in young folks, and major loss of dinosaurs such as myself.
Your thoughts would be apprecated............thanks.
HZ