After reading Dick Hafer's model railroad cartoon book This is not the Honeymoon I Anticipated, it made me think of some people I've encountered during my 25 years in the hobby. It inspired me to come up with a list of traits that describe the archetypal model train fanatic. Feel free to add to this list.
1) Always wears an engineer’s cap to model railroad functions
2) Also wears a vest covered with railway logo patches
3) Has railway logo signs hanging above his layout, even those of railways he doesn't model
4) Reads major model magazines and the Walthers catalogue like the Bible
5) Never afraid to give other modelers advice, even when it’s not called for
6) A nit-picker in the worst way, always commenting on details
7) Spends 90 per cent of his leisure time railfanning and modeling
8) Likes to tell stories about trains, even if they aren’t his own
9) Talks like he is an expert on the time period and particular railway(s) he is modeling
10) Always talks about his next purchase and loves to show off his latest acquisition or creation.
dekruif wrote:12. You worry about your wiring/scenery/benchwork etc. in bed.
Heh......oops...
13 , States he is between layouts...has been designing layout for past six years
14. Has a junk drawer in his garage that's actually a drawer of junk, pilferred from trash piles because it might someday represent something on the layout.
dwRavenstar
dwRavenstar wrote: 14. Has a junk drawer in his garage that's actually a drawer of junk, pilferred from trash piles because it might someday represent something on the layout. dwRavenstar
How about a footlocker, two large cardboard boxes and a half-dozen mailing tubes...
In the same vein:
15. Goes to garage sales and buys ancient junk toy HO (sort of) to kitbash.
Chuck (who gets that ancient etc when his sister goes to yard sales)
15. He squints like a mole when out in the sunlight because he's spent so much time in the basement (does a mole squint?).
16. His skin is "pasty" looking because again he's spent so much time in the basement and flourescent light really doesn't cause much of a tan.
17. Spending so much time alone, he looks at you like you're from Mars when you ask him a question and he can't find his voice and doesn't know how to answer.
Actually, I've only met a few guys like the ones I've mentioned and most guys are pretty cool.
Mondo
18.) You have a cat named Chessie
Dave
20. "That's good hold it right there" will be etched into the tombstone one day.
21. Stressing about a bad feeder wire while kitchen lamp malfunctions in kitchen.
22) Flips thru railroad calendars slowly and with more enthusiasm than a pin-up calendar.
Rick
RedGrey62 wrote:22) Flips thru railroad calendars slowly and with more enthusiasm than a pin-up calendar.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
AntonioFP45 wrote:24. His car's horn is actually a train whistle!
25. his car has been modified to run off a DCC controler
and:
24A. He blows two long, one short, one long at every unprotected intersection.
24B. He uses the appropriate number of short toots to bring in the flag before proceeding at a stop sign.
Chuck (who would love to have a whistle for a horn)
Thoroughbred diesel wrote:#1 spends more time on this or another forum than with his family. Some of you guys qualify for this one.
He must be talking about those people in the other room that ask me to come out and eat every now and then...
jwar wrote: Thoroughbred diesel wrote:#1 spends more time on this or another forum than with his family. Some of you guys qualify for this one. He must be talking about those people in the other room that ask me to come out and eat every now and then...
Or tend to the second computer for the wife so she can browse HER forums =)
SunsetLimited wrote: dekruif wrote:12. You worry about your wiring/scenery/benchwork etc. in bed. Heh......oops...
Hey I make most of my plans laying down at night in bed!!
Has a long white beard,with a red bandana (like thing) and wears overalls.
25: Likes alcos!!
25B: Likes to take pictures of alcos!!
25C: Likes to run Alcos!!
and finally...
25D: Has a model of an Alco!!
Hows that!!
James
#(whatever): You have TWO cats and the OTHER one is named "PEAKE".
LOL
Darrell, quiet...for now
Has underwear decorated with train themes.....
Cheers,
Mike
trainfan1221 wrote:Actually a friend of mine named his cat Chessie.
To take a different angle on this topic, there was another topic on this forum last year, or maybe the year before last called "You might be a model railroader if..." I copied the list below from the thread, because I thought they were keepers! Thought they could bear repeating here. Enjoy!
You might be a model railroader if...
*You've ever sold a perfectly good freight or passenger car, only because the new superdetailed one you just bought makes the old one look bland.
*You really agonize over decisions like, "Should I buy flowers for my wife or turnouts for my new staging yard ? or Do I need to buy flowers to get these turnouts in the house?"
*You see a piece of plywood, and your first thought is to imagine what kind of layout could be built on it.
*You honestly feel that, if your wife buys a new video tape, that entitles you to buy a freight car, and a new outfit for her means an engine for you. Fair is fair.
*You've ever gotten into a debate over whether Kato is pronounced "kay-to" or "kah-to."
*You've ever worried about spelling the coupler "Kadee" or "KD."
*You've ever traced the route of a wire under your layout by pulling on it.
*Brass isn't something you polish, it's something you paint and weather.
*You spend more on your model trains in a year than some Third-World nations spend on the real thing.
*The latest issue of Model Railroader arrives on the same day as your federal tax refund check, and you open the magazine first.
*The latest issue of Model Railroader arrives on the same day as your state tax refund check, and the only reason you open the check first is so you'll know how much you can afford to spend as you read the ads in the magazine.
*You've ever bought a freight car you had no use for, just because it looked so cool, and then bought more just like it, so it wouldn't look out of place.
*You've ever been tempted to send flame e-mail to someone whose only wrongdoing was outbidding you for that special engine on eBay.
*Your spouse gives you some old newspapers, a bag of foam and a box of Hydrocal for your birthday, and you're speechless with joy.
*You hate watching The Addams Family because of what Gomez does to those gorgeous trains.
*You've ever suggested that your wife's ceramic Christmas village needs a train running through it.
*Your model trains run closer to schedule than CSX's do in real life.
*You have a manila folder in your desk (or a subdirectory on your computer) full of home-drawn trackplans that you know you'll never build, but they're too good to discard.
*You look forward to the latest announcements from your favorite engine maker with more enthusiasm than a six-year-old looks forward to Christmas.
*You think that three hours forming and mounting wire grab-irons on a caboose is time well spent.
*You've ever poured your heart into showing off your layout for friends, and their only questions are, "How much did all this cost?" and, "How fast can the engine go?"
*You sincerely believe that the concept of limited-run locomotives and cars was an evil plot dreamed up by Satan himself.
*You're setting up a simple trainset to run around the Christmas tree, and you're mentally planning the scenery and structures you'll need "to make it look right."
*You hate collectors, because they drive up the prices of the equipment you're trying to collect. (But you're going to run yours, and that's different.)
*Your spouse assumes you can fix light switches, toasters, radios, and vacuum cleaners because "you know all about that wiring stuff from working on your trains, right?"
*You've ever told yourself, "Never again will I try to mount tiny coupler springs while working over a shag rug" or you rip same out to install indoor/outdoor flat carpet over the padding in your den.
*You've ever felt smug because you found an inaccuracy in a published photo of somebody else's gorgeous layout. Not that you'd ever say anything about it, of course.
*You've ever refused to buy a model freight car because the stencilled build date (which you had to squint to read) is a year off from the era you're modeling.
*You've visited a hobby shop on a busy day, and wound up answering detailed questions for other customers before you shop.
*You justify the money you spent at a train show as "just doing my part to improve the local economy."
*Your spouse gives you something expensive but inappropriate, like an articulated stack car when you model the 1950's, and you run it to avoid hurting her feelings, but the whole time, you're squirming inside.
*You refuse to buy an inexpensive, beautifully-detailed boxcar lettered for your favorite railroad, because the prototype car had 14 ribs and the model has 16!
*You feel compelled to browse in the local mall's hobby shop every time you go near it, even though you know they charge list price and have nothing you need.
*You've ever run two or more boxcars in a train, and hoped no one else noticed that they have identical road numbers.
*You've ever tried to justify bringing home a new freight car on the grounds that its your wife's favorite color or matches your shoes.
*You talk about the merits of DCC versus cab control at parties.
*Hardly a day goes by without you making progress on planning the layout you're going to build someday.
*Your family has ever eaten in the den because the kitchen table was buried in decals, tools, and detail parts for your latest project.
*You've ever gotten defensive with your railroading friends about buying a model engine or car from a manufacturer they hold in contempt.
*You've ever calculated how long your layout is in scale miles, and padded the number by adding the lengths of the sidings and spurs.
*It constantly annoys you that the kits for model truck, cars, and boats in the hobby shop aren't made to useful scales, like 1:87
*You've ever told anyone, "I can quit buying freight cars any time I want!"
*You slow down approaching a grade crossing; hoping that you'll have to stop and be the car closest to the crossing.
*Your kids stand in front their present boxes at Christmas and tell each other: "Bet it's another train set"
*Someone asks about a certain structure and you know the exact page where it is in the Walther's catalog
*You prefer to tell the wife you were in a bar with your friends rather than telling her you were at your LHS checking the new $350 BLI steam loco.
*You've ever had a B-day cake in form of an engine
*Disney World is great because it has trains and monorails
*You've entered the key word "4-8-8-4" in Google just to see if something appeared
*You check the MR forum more than your e-mail server
*You've ever wondered which piece of your collection to save first in case a fire
*You build a hot-rod designed specificly for train chasing.
*You sulk because you have to spend money on un-neccissary things such as bills because it takes money away from your model train budget.
*You tried to talk someone into buying you a brass passenger train as a christmas present.
*You were a steam locomotive for holloweeen.
*You move to another house, and it takes 39 boxes just for the train stuff, and 10 for everything else.
*You swear that FRED doesn't mean F-----G Rear End Device!
*When you are on Vacation in another city, and the First thing you do in your Hotel room is look in the phonebook for the Hobbyshops!!!!!!
*You've ever gone to a Chinese restaurant and studied your chopsticks thinking to yourself, "These things would make GREAT Douglas Fir trunks!!!"
Dan Stokes
My other car is a tunnel motor
Sure sign of a model train fanatic? When your wife tells you she wants a divorce, and rather than try to find out why, your first thought is, "Great, how am I going to move my layout.." Not that I've ever done that...
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
CMSTPP..
I know this is a long shot, but..Do you like Alcos?
stokesda wrote:To take a different angle on this topic, there was another topic on this forum last year, or maybe the year before last called "You might be a model railroader if..." I copied the list below from the thread, because I thought they were keepers! Thought they could bear repeating here. Enjoy! You might be a model railroader if... *You've ever sold a perfectly good freight or passenger car, only because the new superdetailed one you just bought makes the old one look bland. *You really agonize over decisions like, "Should I buy flowers for my wife or turnouts for my new staging yard ? or Do I need to buy flowers to get these turnouts in the house?" *You see a piece of plywood, and your first thought is to imagine what kind of layout could be built on it. *You honestly feel that, if your wife buys a new video tape, that entitles you to buy a freight car, and a new outfit for her means an engine for you. Fair is fair. *You've ever gotten into a debate over whether Kato is pronounced "kay-to" or "kah-to." *You've ever worried about spelling the coupler "Kadee" or "KD." *You've ever traced the route of a wire under your layout by pulling on it. *Brass isn't something you polish, it's something you paint and weather. *You spend more on your model trains in a year than some Third-World nations spend on the real thing. *The latest issue of Model Railroader arrives on the same day as your federal tax refund check, and you open the magazine first. *The latest issue of Model Railroader arrives on the same day as your state tax refund check, and the only reason you open the check first is so you'll know how much you can afford to spend as you read the ads in the magazine. *You've ever bought a freight car you had no use for, just because it looked so cool, and then bought more just like it, so it wouldn't look out of place. *You've ever been tempted to send flame e-mail to someone whose only wrongdoing was outbidding you for that special engine on eBay. *Your spouse gives you some old newspapers, a bag of foam and a box of Hydrocal for your birthday, and you're speechless with joy. *You hate watching The Addams Family because of what Gomez does to those gorgeous trains. *You've ever suggested that your wife's ceramic Christmas village needs a train running through it. *Your model trains run closer to schedule than CSX's do in real life. *You have a manila folder in your desk (or a subdirectory on your computer) full of home-drawn trackplans that you know you'll never build, but they're too good to discard. *You look forward to the latest announcements from your favorite engine maker with more enthusiasm than a six-year-old looks forward to Christmas. *You think that three hours forming and mounting wire grab-irons on a caboose is time well spent. *You've ever poured your heart into showing off your layout for friends, and their only questions are, "How much did all this cost?" and, "How fast can the engine go?" *You sincerely believe that the concept of limited-run locomotives and cars was an evil plot dreamed up by Satan himself. *You're setting up a simple trainset to run around the Christmas tree, and you're mentally planning the scenery and structures you'll need "to make it look right." *You hate collectors, because they drive up the prices of the equipment you're trying to collect. (But you're going to run yours, and that's different.) *Your spouse assumes you can fix light switches, toasters, radios, and vacuum cleaners because "you know all about that wiring stuff from working on your trains, right?" *You've ever told yourself, "Never again will I try to mount tiny coupler springs while working over a shag rug" or you rip same out to install indoor/outdoor flat carpet over the padding in your den. *You've ever felt smug because you found an inaccuracy in a published photo of somebody else's gorgeous layout. Not that you'd ever say anything about it, of course. *You've ever refused to buy a model freight car because the stencilled build date (which you had to squint to read) is a year off from the era you're modeling. *You've visited a hobby shop on a busy day, and wound up answering detailed questions for other customers before you shop. *You justify the money you spent at a train show as "just doing my part to improve the local economy." *Your spouse gives you something expensive but inappropriate, like an articulated stack car when you model the 1950's, and you run it to avoid hurting her feelings, but the whole time, you're squirming inside. *You refuse to buy an inexpensive, beautifully-detailed boxcar lettered for your favorite railroad, because the prototype car had 14 ribs and the model has 16! *You feel compelled to browse in the local mall's hobby shop every time you go near it, even though you know they charge list price and have nothing you need. *You've ever run two or more boxcars in a train, and hoped no one else noticed that they have identical road numbers. Jay Norfolk Southern Forever!! Reply 12 Subscriber & Member Login Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more! Login Register Users Online There are no community member online Search the Community ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Model Railroader Newsletter See all Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox! Sign up
*You've ever run two or more boxcars in a train, and hoped no one else noticed that they have identical road numbers. Jay Norfolk Southern Forever!! Reply