I apologize ahead of time if there is a thread for this already, but I didn't see a search option and there was nothing I saw going back a month.
With that said I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to all of you and share a bit about myself. I'm a train novice through and through. I've gotten into the hobby of trains and railfanning because of my twin boys. My boys are 8 and both like trains (one loves them), and they each have their own train set. Together we are working on a model railroad layout (still in early stages). One boy loves watching train videos on YouTube and if we are driving down the road and a trains going by I have to stop otherwise he'll throw a fit, because he loves watching trains so much. Its almost commical at times. Now because they enjoy trains so much I've become a railfan myself and have even ventured out on numerous occasions over the past year to video trains for my boys to watch on a Youtube Channel I created for them and anyone else who enjoys watching trains. At times I'll take the boys with me to the train station or other locations to watch the trains roll by as well.
Through my kids love for trains and model trains I too have become a railfan and and a model railroader. Its a great hobby for us and a great way for me to spend time and bond with my boys. How did you guys get interested in trains and railfanning? Do you share the hobby with family or friends as well?
Thanks for your time and I look forward to learning a lot from this forum.
Trains Northwest
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7z2SF15sZ3pfV_VymvNf9A
I got started in the hobby when I too was about 8 years old. My mom used to take my brother and I swimming at a beach on the Magog River, and that beach happened to be adjacent to CP Rail's Sherbrooke - Montreal main line. I was soon hooked, and so was my brother (although my mom and dad never became railfans). Whenever a train would come out of the yard we'd run out of the water and press our faces against the fence that was a few feet from the track. Great times... This was in 1970 - 1971, and there was still alot of the steam era infrastructure in place... I clearly remember the coaling tower and wondered what it was for. Today the line is still used although the beach is long gone.
My dad never worked for a railroad, but he liked trains and encouraged me when I showed an interest. That was in the 1950's when railroads were not so strict about access to their facilities. We would go to the B&O's yard and hang around the switchmen's shanty, talking with the railroaders and watching the action. Eventually, I got to ride in an Alco S-2 switcher. Until 1959, one steam locomotive was stored in town, and I was allowed to play on it. As I said, railroads were not so strict about access at the time, and B&O was known as a friendly, welcoming railroad. Our shared hobby was a very important part of my relationship with my dad as I grew up.
Tell us where you live (Edit: OOPS! I see. Washington State). Some forum members may be able to suggest nearby railfanning locations, railroad historical museums and tourist lines, or model railroad clubs.
You say one of your sons is less interested in railroads. That's OK. Please make sure you don't force a railroad interest on him. Usually, the interest is there or it isn't, and he has an inborn right to pursue his own path. Be sure to encourage whatever wholesome activity interests him. It doesn't have to be railroads.
Best of luck to you and your boys!
Tom
Nice story guys. Thanks for sharing.
ACY - What's funny is the one son (less interested) used to be a Thomas Train fanatic. Everything was Thomas and he knew every character etc., way more than my son that loves trains. Now the one son loves real trains and the other one (Thomas fanatic) is big into Lego's. The son that loves trains has had a model set for just over 2 years. The son less interested got a model set a year later. We bought one for him because he always felt a bit left out when we would play with the trains, so we bought one for him. He didn't ask for one, but being that he always seemed left out I bought him one. Now both tracks make up part of our layout. I play Lego's with both boys and trains with both boys. Its great because even thought they're twins they each have their own personalities and they both enjoy different things. I feel like a kid again between playing with Lego's and trains on a regular basis. LOL
I live just across the river from Portland, OR. There are some nice railfanning locations with the Columbia River Gorge (WA, OR) and other places like Union Station (OR). In Portland there is the Oregon Rail Heritage Museum. Its a cool place to visist and its free to go. It currently houses the Southern Pacific-4449, Spokane Portland & Seattle-700 and there is an original ATSF Alco PA-1 which is being restored and is now in the Nickel Plate Road paint scheme. There are several model railroader clubs in the area too, but unfortunately with my current work schedule I'm unable to attend so the boys and I will have to wait on that adventure.
I live just across the Columbia River from Portland, OR. Locally we have a few nice locations to railfan (ie Columbia River Gorge, Union Station etc.) but I'm always on the look out for new locations as I get more into the hobby. In Portland there is the Oregon Rail Heritage Museum which currently houses the Southern Pacific 4449 and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 along with an ATSF Alco PA-1 which is now in the Nickel Plate Road paint scheme. I've seen the SP4449 speed past me at 50 mph and I've seen it in its current state of repair as its under mandatory maintence right now. The ORHM is a great place to visit and it's free. There are also 3 model railroaders clubs, but due to my current work schedule I'm unable to attend, so my boys and I will have to put that adventure on hold for now.
As for my boys, the less interested son has become a huge Lego fan, so I spend time with him playing lego's and the other son playing trains. Though both have a train set and both have lego's so no one feels left out no matter what we are doing. Heck, with all the model trains and lego's I feel like a kid again. LOL The great thing about my twin boys is that they're each their own person with their own personalities and interests so it makes it fun to be involved with both of them no matter if we are playing trains, lego's or outside playing baseball or basketball etc.
I only got into it a few years ago. The graffiti is what drew me to the trains as my screen name shows. As time went by I learned a lot more about the graffiti culture, met some of the writers, etc and grew to appreciate it. I'm the guy they talk about on the other boards... THAT guy who likes graffiti while everyone and their brother hates it. ; ) The more I got into it I started to take notice of the entire railroad thing be it the locomotives, signals, symbols, etc. I'm trying to make the transition from bencher to railfan and have learned a lot in the process. Learning the symbols has proven to be extremely hard for me but I'm not giving up. I'm constantly researching places to bench at, always striving to improve my train photography and uploading vidoes to Youtube every chance I get. It's a very addicting hobby that I wouldn't change for the world. I tell people it's just like fishing. You never know how many or what you'll catch at any gievn time! : )
Jay
My Dad and Grandfather both worked for the CBQ. Then I was born.
I would have followed in their footsteps. I should have also been born a male.
To this day, people look at my Driver (husband) and ask him questions. He could answer all the questions I could, but he defers to me. I don't answer fishing questions and he lets me talk trains.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
I don't remember my first train ride (I was all of one year old).
But the C&O (former Pere Marquette) ran through my hometown in MI, and seeing their trains come through town was a daily thing, including 3 in about 20 minutes while I walked to the junior high school each day.
My father wasn't a railfan, which was unfortunate, in a way, because I probably would have then experienced the last of the steam running on GTW in nearby Pontiac.
So it's kind of grown on me through the years, borne of opportunity rather than an active seeking of trains. Being stationed places with busy mainlines nearby didn't hurt at all - SP's Coast Line, ICG's Mainline of Mid-America, Conrail's Chicago Line.
Now I'm an active railroader, albeit on a tourist line. But I still do some "foaming" from time to time.
Without knowing where you are in WA, I can't offer any tips (not that I'm an expert on the area), but the Seattle/Tacoma area has a wealth of railroading going on. Wish something had come through at Steilacoom while I was there - talk about trackside...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Older brother got me started when I lived in Celina Ohio.N&W were running along the old NKP line.Family friend also worked at Avon yard in Indianapolis.He had a nice layout in his basement.In 1976 we moved to Defiance.We were 3 houses from the CSX (chessie, B&O)) tracks.The depot was in view of our backyard.Talked to alot of railroad guys as they went to eat or were waiting for another train to pass.Spent lot's of time in the cab.Got our son hooked on trains now as well.He can tell you every make and model of engine.Any questions feel free to ask.
Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").
JoeKohGot our son hooked on trains now as well.He can tell you every make and model of engine.
And most of the train symbols...
Sorry for the double post earlier. My internect connection broke up and I didn't think the comment posted. I guess it did. LOL Anyway there's a bit more info about me and where I'm located. If anyone from the area has any suggestions on railfan locations feel free to share. Thanks.
Was out of work in 1979, bored out of my mind, picked up a copy of TRAINS magazine and was hooked. Have been a subscriber ever since.
No One in my family worked on trains. I got involved in Trains Last August when I noticed trains parked on the tracks in Sandwhich, Il. I had seen them before but started taking down the loco numbers, then I looked them up and then found out what rail roads they belonged to. Next I found out they were on the Mendota Sub. I got a bearcat scanner for Christmas and really enjoy the Defect detectors and Main line dispatchers. Have been researching maps and going to train stations. Discovering how a 4400 Hp loco operates and how the switches work and everything else involved in railroading makes for a great railfan experiance. Only wished I had been interestedin trains 40 years ago.
My dad had an American Flyer when he was a kid (mid 1950's) and still has it today. When I was a kid I would play with it every once in a while; usually when we would clean out the storage closet. As a kid I had a train set for a while too, but eventually got rid of it. Now that my kids have there own sets; I really wish I would have stayed with it as a kid. Its lots of fun and a great hobby. My kids have had a chance to play with my dads American Flyer too which is what got them wanting a train set a few years ago. The kids now have their own American Flyer from the early 1960's as it was given to them by my wife's uncle. He found his old train set from when he was a kid while cleaning out his dad's house. It was a great gift and it still runs great!
The sister in-law got my one son a subscription to Trains Magazine two years ago for Christmas and it was renewed last year. Need to renew it again though. My son likes looking through it for the pictures (eventually he'll start readind the articles), and now I'm going back and reading different articles here and there. There's a wealth of information in there.
My one kid also has some different train DVDs and he's been watching them off and on for the past several years. I find myself being drawn into them as well. Lots of great history and cool images. My favorite is the Clinchfield Challenger video from the 50th Anniversary of the Santa Clause Special. The UP Challenger is an awesome steam locomotive and the video was very well done. So over the past several years I've slowly become more of a fan trains and the hobbies of model railroads and railfanning.
For me it was pretty simple - a rail line ran across the street from my house. It was the Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern "high line" currently operated by Progressive Rail. That coupled (pun intended) with the fact that the top local (Mpls-St.Paul) kid's TV show was "Lunch with Casey" featuring Roger Awsumb as railroad engineer Casey Jones, it was pretty natural I'd be interested in trains.
It's my uncles fault. He worked for the GTW at the Pontiac yards as a loco electrician. He got us a ride on a geep in the early 60's and we were hooked. He moved to CA. and worked for ATSF then SP at West Colton.
So, Tree68, C&O, GTW, what town in Mich.? I grew up in Flint, born in Romeo.
BOB WITHORNSo, Tree68, C&O, GTW, what town in Mich.? I grew up in Flint, born in Romeo.
Milford, on the (now) CSX Saginaw Sub. Shopping trips to Pontiac were regular events. I left right after high school (USAF), so missed out on some great railfanning back in the late '60s.
My father used to take me for walks along the old PRR Trinway-Morrow OH Zanesville Branch when I was very young, and I could see the one train a day head east each night just after dark. Hooked forever.I have the newest generation firmly on the True (Rail) Path - my 3 year old granddaughter loves nothing more than to pull over and watch =real= trains when we see one when we are out and about. She even spent two hours with me at the Marion (OH) station museum last weekend.
The beginning of my first trip by train, when I was two years old, did not thrill me. In later years, my mother told me that from the time we boarded the train in Plant City, Florida until we reached Lakeland (about fifteen minutes), I screamed. I did get over what ever caused my uneasiness. The first thing that I ever remember was looking out the window that night after we left Jacksonville, with a coat on my head to block the light inside; I do not remember anything I saw--the novelty of looking out in that manner is what I remember.
My second trip was three and a half years later, when my mother, my oldest brother and my youngest brother went up to Virginia to visit relatives; I liked the trip.
Ten years later, my sixteen year-old brother and I took a trip which Amtrak would not allow, for I was only fifteen, and we traveled by ourselves--bus up to Charlotte (no adult to put me on the train), train to Atlanta, change in Atlanta (no changes now permitted without an adult); overnight to Birmingham (no overnight trip without an adult); change; and down to New Orleans; and a bus to Baton Rouge to visit our oldest brother and his family. After two weeks there, we headed for Chattanooga to vistit an uncle and his family; our brother did take us to New Orleans because the bus we planned to take was canceled; overnight to Chattanooga--while we were on our way to the diner out of Birmingham, the conductor talked with us when he looked at our pass, but our traveling without an adult did not bother him in the least. Our uncle did meet us in Chattanooga, and took us back to the station when we left; down to Atlanta and change for our overnight trip to Charlotte; then a bus home. This trip hooked me on travel by train, especially as we spent twelve hours going from Birmingham to New Orleans, and I stood at the rear of coach most of the time, looking at where we had been and watching the northbound semaphores clear as we passed them.
After that trip, I began visiting the station at home and talking with the agent, who became a long-term friend, even after he was transferred to two different stations. I was delighted to discover Trains magazine at a newstand the spring after that trip, and have subscribed ever since.
Two years later, I spent two months in Baton Rouge, and went home by myself, again riding a pass--this time from Baton Rouge to New Orleans to Birmingham to Atlanta and then to Charlotte (but hitch-hiking home from Charlotte). Amtrak would have allowed this trip, for I was seventeen.
In succeeding years, I rode trains as often as I could, and came to know many men in road service and in station service (and I was known to men in road service whom I did not know).
Best of all, my wife, who was hooked on train travel when she was a little girl, and I met on a train that we were both riding because it was to be discontinued after two weeks and a day after we met. We took trips together as often as we could, and enjoyed not only the scenery we passed but also simply being on a train together.
Riding on a pass? My father, whom I do not remember, worked in the ACL shops in Tampa, so, even after he had died, my mother was able to get a pass in the South for herself and her dependent children. The penultimate trip we took together, she had a pass from Washington to Birmingham over the RF&P and SCL; when the conductors came through after we left Washington, I told them, "Here is my transportation and our space; my mother has her transportation," and she showed them her pass.
Johnny
DeggestyIn later years, my mother told me that from the time we boarded the train in Plant City, Florida until we reached Lakeland (about fifteen minutes), I screamed.
Reminds me of a youngster (about the same age) who wanted nothing to do with getting on one of our trains. If he could have reached both sides of the door, they'd have had a fight on their hands.
Once he was inside the car, all was good, and I think he enjoyed the ride.
My granddaughter (18 months at the time) wanted nothing more that to stand at the gate of our baggage car and watch the scenery go by when she rode with us.
I couldn't help it. Our back yard looked out on the South Shore Line where it passed over the CWI and NKP and also looked out on those lines before the houses across the alley were built. Grandma's house (where Dad grew up) was across the street from the PRR Bernice Cutoff.
My late aunt (Mom's sister) once opined that I never outgrew trains, which is about what happened.
After his service in WWII my dad was assigned to duty in Louisville,Ky. For some time we continued to live in Memphis. His regular ride between those points was on trains of the NC&StL, L&N. Where we lived(in Memphis) our house backed up to the MoPac local line between their yard, and their local service lines. Trains were part of my environment. Our first model railroad layout was an American Flyer. I was hooked. As a teen and later adult I modeled in HO, and railfanned at every oportunity. Thru H.S. I worked in a local Hobby Shop; built layouts, repaired trains,and was involved with, the then new, M.T.M. and enjoyed listening to others who shared similar interests.
As an adult, I used to tell people, I was a professional tourist, and railfan; while driving OTR for 20+ years. As Paul,(CSSHEGEWISCH) indicated: "...I never outgrew trains.."
My dad was interested in trains and had an American Flyer set. I must have picked up the bug from him early because as soon as I could walk I would sneak out of the apartment and go the half block to Chester Blvd and watch the trolleys on Route 13. My mother was exaspirated with me because I did that so often.
My father had worked for the Monon before I was born, so I claim it to be genetic. My earliest memory (or manufactured memory) is going to the Monon yard in Lafayette and sitting on the lap of the engineer (a friend of dad's) of their only FM locomotive (H10-44 #18) when I was about 2 years old as we moved around the yard.
We later moved to the south suburbs of Chicago and on Saturday mornings, to give my mom a break, dad would take me out for a drive and we would usually end up along IC's Markham Yard on Dixie Hwy to watch the action over the hump.
Whenever we would drive anywhere and cross a railroad track (this was north east Illinois, so there never very far to go before crossing one), I would always ask what railroad it was and my dad always had the answer. I learned to navigate by railroad.
Spent a couple summers during college working for the MP at Yard Center in Dolton during it's major expansion and construction. This was the period where the MP/L&N had just taken over the C&EI and I remember seeing 2 car passenger trains running by with the E unit having large L&N painted on the side and the C&EI logo's painted out. Wish I had a camera then, but it is hard to take a picture while swinging a spike maul. Did get some photos of the power around Yard Center later.
Have been working for railroads for 42+ years and having a great time.
Great responses guys. I appreciate you guys sharing. Its neat to see how different people have found their way into the hobby.
I grew up in Mandan,ND, which was the HQ for the Northern Pacific 's Yellowstone Division. We had a family friend who worked for the NP, and probably as some sort of open house, he took me into the cab of a locomotive. I was two, and totally hooked. Imagine my bliss heading off to college in Colorado, and being an hour or so away from Sherman Hill, the D&RGW's Moffat Line, or the BN/AT&SF/D&RGW joint line...Good times! My wife doesn't get it, but allows me to pursue (at times) my addiction.
I have been interested in trains all my life. I'm 66. The Lehigh Valley mainline ran thru our farm near Batavia, NY and I never missed watching the trains go by. I'm a model railroader and have over 50 years of Model Railroader and all the issues of Trains Magazine. I started taking pictures of trains in 1968 and have thousands of prints and slides. Always wished I had been born 10 years earlier so I could have seen steam on the mainlines, but I did see all the great Alcos on the Lehigh. A lot of relation on my father's side worked for the railroads, but all were gone before my time. My Great Grandfather worked as a fireman for the New York Central and I have his last pass from 1940 and his Hamilton watch which still keeps perfect time. Also many rule books that he saved. My Great-Great Grandfather was the engineer on the Buffalo & Erie Railroad's New York Express that derailed on Dec. 18, 1867 near Angola , NY in which 49 people died. I never knew about this until I read his name in a book about train wrecks.
I'm retired from driving dump trucks and plan on lots of railfanning the next few years.
For me it started in a little town called Portage PA. My Grandparents, both sets of whom were next door neighbors, and they lived across the street from the four track mainline of the PRR. The Portage station was also located here. My Mom told me once I was old enough to see what was going on it started a love affair that is alive and well to this day. Many hours day and night spent on the front porch's. Altoona was about 20 miles to the east, the parade of first generation diesels and the survivors of steam seemed to be endless. Back then to see 160 trains daily of which about 40 of them passenger trains, was not uncommon, and I seen it all and have a vivid memory of it.
I had several relatives who worked for the PRR in various capacities that went back three generations. Today my son is an engineer for NS so the connection is still there. My layout is the PRR in the 1950's, the decade it started for me. I have always said a railfan who dies knows he went to hell if he returns as a gondola car, if he went to heaven he returns trackside in the 1950's. In time my appreciation for the history and study of not only the PRR but other railroads grows more and more each day.
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