obsession or hobby

[mikebonellisr]

I am semi-retired and have a fair amount of "free" time,so I get to play with my trains pretty often.My studio shares a room with my railroad so that when working or operating i'm in the same room.I find that when i take a break from art work,i start fiddeling with the layout and the break turns out to run a couple of hours.If i run into a problem,like with the way a engine is behaving,i tend to put artwork aside and work out the engine problem.Right now,i've been sitting on a couple of drawings because i've been super detailing,painting and weathering a brass engine.Am I alone in this?

[cwclark]

no..you're not alone..I spend way too much time on the layout but on the other hand, i have way too much to do for the quest to complete it someday..(which will never happen)..just like last night..my wife told me to come in early...so I go to the train room just to install KADEE couplers on 1 car only...well next thing i notice after installing the couplers is that a grab iron and a brake wheel are missing..so there i go through boxes and boxes trying to find the right part...then i notice in one box that my SP daylight passenger train hasn't been put out on the layout yet..so there i go...putting out the passenger train..then i notice that my F-7 B unit has a broken coupler and truck face..so there i go repairing that..finally got it running and now ..what was i doing in the first place?..oh yeah...the grab iron and the hand wheel...ok..back to my original project ...got it finished and now it's 10:30 instead of 9 when i originally was going to knock off for the night...by the time i got back into the house my wife was already asleep ....and this morning..I heard about it from her about my late hours in the train room when we both got up for work...yes it's a hobby and an obsession...Chuck

[vsmith]

To Me: Hobby
To Wife: Obsession
[;)]

[cmrproducts]

There has to be a word that is more obsessive and obsession, because I am well beyond being obsessed with model railroading and my layout!

BOB H Clarion, PA

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cmrproducts

There has to be a word that is more obsessive and obsession, because I am well beyond being obsessed with model railroading and my layout!

It's a disease.

...not fatal, but similar to psoriasis(sp?) - the more you scratch, the more you itch...

[tatans]

Hey! don't sweat it, anytime a person is involved with any type of creative endeavor and not neglecting life's requirements, don't worry about it. Did the world stop because you chose to fix a loco instead of some chore that eventually will get done? just think of capable people you know who are sitting looking out the window at the cars going by just waiting for that blue Buick to come down the street (how sad) And for a real treat go to the nearest dingy dark, smoke-filled, rum -soaked bar and see the other side of people rotting their lives away. Obsession? hardly. keep trainin'

[SpaceMouse]

I'm at work--I'm supposed to be working out our weekly purchases.

[Anonymous]

Me too, sorta. I've been retired for four years, but don't spend as much time on my modeling that I once did. But I do keep busy. I don't have a layout, my two pairs of HO scale modules are boxed up and in a closet. But in my hobby room I have a workbench and my computer, along with modeling supplies and shelves with my completed rolling stock and photo albums.

I've been working on several models lately, and when my eyes need a rest or while I'm waiting for glue to dry (like right now!), I check out things on the computer. I follow about 20 YahooGroups, this forum and several newsgroups so there' s usually someting interesting somewhere. Or I can work on my digital photos, place them in web albums, etc.

As many people have told me, "Since I've retired, I still don't have enough time to do everything I want to!". I have a cabinet full of unbuilt models and a shelf with many "works in progress" that are usually covered in dust!

Bob Boudreau

[Anonymous]

Hey don't EVEN feel guilty, like tatans said "for a real treat go to some smoked-filled rum-soaked room and (I'll add) watch some guys throw away hard earned $$ at strippers that say they are at least 21 but are not and drinking themselves to death. To me modelrailroading is a excerise for the brain as well as pleasure for the eyes, there is nothing more satisfying than to show off your model world to your friends and family,
Like Shemp Howard of the 3 stooges said "Rome was not built in a day, and neither was Saracuse NY!" Man "get on the go and let your trains roll!!" Just keep responsibilies in check:) Yo' fellow modeltrainfan, TrainsRMe

[jwr_1986]

I really should be finishing an essay but this is a lot more fun. My last essay was a rundown of Model Railroad power supplies through the ages. Luckily the layout is a twenty minute drive away so it can't distract me that much. On the other hand if our club had had the foresight to install a shower i could live there. [;)]

Jesse

[Anonymous]

Perhaps an Obsessive Hobby? I've done what chuck so readily related to us in the first reply to the question. It seems that time alters when I'm working on my layout, speeding up until it's literally melting by. My wife, whom I adore, has given me many an ear full over the years about my obsession with my hobbies. Fortunately, with model railroading, the only schedule I'm on is my own, and I can walk away from it whenever I like and it will be exactly where I left it when I return. With some of my previous passtimes this was not the case, and it caused problems in the household. Model Railroading has not been had these evil symptoms, and life plods on without complaint.

Trevor

[Anonymous]

Obsession???

Sure. It will takes years of therapy and lots of money to work through it........

[Anonymous]

Well, there are far worse obsessions - I have friends who spend around £200 a term on "going out" (bars, clubs, etc) - would rather spend the cash on model trains that I'll still have in 10 years time. Still have enough left over to have a good time, just don't spend quite as much as the rest of them!

[AggroJones]

I ain't got no wife to nag at me about not spending time with her. So I can do what ever I want in my spare time. Being obsessed with trains is better than me blowing my money gettting blitzed or whistling at some naked girl.

I couldn't picture me at a strip bar.

[howmus]

According to Webster's Dictionary:

obsession n. the fact or state of being obsessed with an idea, desire, emotion, etc.

hobby n. something that a person likes to do or study in his spare time; favorite pastime or avocation.


Hmm, sounds the same to me! I'd say that I'm obsessed with the hobby of model railroading.

[dwRavenstar]

A stronger (and possibly more descriptive) term would be addiction. A very satisfying and worth while addiction. It's completely legal and unlike the other legal "past times" you have something to show for your investment of time and money when you wake up after a long, pleasant night of indulgence. [:D]

Having "been there, done that" I'm sure that I'm better off rolling the rails than riding the bar stool or rolling anything else for that matter.

Dave (dwRavenstar)

[Anonymous]

[banghead]I Cant get trains out of my head!!![banghead]

[Jetrock]

I'm not obsessed with model railroading--I'm too busy with other things, like volunteering at the railroad museum, or writing papers for my history class about the Transcontinetal Railroad, or doing my freelance research on local trolleys, or railfanning!

[Javern]

If only we could get paid to work on our layouts

[Anonymous]

More like a mental illness for me. [;)]

[TurboOne]

My obsession is spending time with the kids, and the best way so far is with the trains. We get to sit and watch the trains go around, and talk. Couldn't ask for anything more.

Tim

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately for me, reading this darn forum has become an obsession!