Is anyone embarrased about our hobby?

[egmurphy]

I guess I've reached that stage in life where I don't spend much time thinking about what other people think about me. My wife is very supportive of my hobby, and that's what matters to me.

Of course, I'm not what you'd term a foamer, and kind of go about my hobby quietly. I'm not exactly evangelistic about converting people to the hobby, unless they ask.


Regards

[Modelcar]

....My interest in railroading traces back to the 30's.....and I don't know just what started it but it has been with me all my life since then. I have a genuine interest in the civil engineering of the physical plants....and the immensity of power needed to move such massive amounts of weight....and how all this comes together to move customer's products. The engines, special new cars, and everything that works together to make it all work.....If other people think that is strange...so be it. It happens to be an acute interest of mine.

[adrianspeeder]

I am embarrased about some of the people IN the hobby. They shall remain nameless to avoid hissyfits.

What others think of me and my hobbies? I don't give a ****.

If anyone is an ***hole to me they get it right back. Like the other week when I had just crossed puttin 65bucks of gas in the tank of one of the trucks, a lady came up all huffy and started to write my tag number down. Thought I had a right at that point to ask WTF and she went off on how I am killing the environment, oil wars, yadda yadda and her group is starting a list waiving her paper at me. Well I spun everything she threw at me around and when she wouldnt quit, grabbed my digi cam and took a pic of her plate and said I would post it on the dumb*** list. Then I kept taking pics of her till she was so POd that she drove away. Went and talked to the clerk who said I was the first one to make her leave. hahahah

Adrianspeeder

[tree68]

Some people I know in the fire service can't figure out why I visit fire stations when I travel...

Anybody who isn't interested in your interest (birds, thimbles, dolls, etc) is likely to think of you as a little off. Come to think of it, why would anyone collect ceramic thimbles you can't even use to sew?[;)]

Visiting a place like Folkston (see my "Postcard" thread), and I'm sure Rochelle and the other popular fanning locations, renews your faith in the hobby.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Nuclearwinter

I am not embarrased about my hobby. I enjoy trains and so there are some people who don't whoopppy Doo. They don't know what they are missing. So some people might think it is wierd or geekish, so what... I am a geek and proud of it. :)

Amen! 100%

[mustanggt]

QUOTE: If anyone is an ***hole to me they get it right back. Like the other week when I had just crossed puttin 65bucks of gas in the tank of one of the trucks, a lady came up all huffy and started to write my tag number down. Thought I had a right at that point to ask WTF and she went off on how I am killing the environment, oil wars, yadda yadda and her group is starting a list waiving her paper at me. Well I spun everything she threw at me around and when she wouldnt quit, grabbed my digi cam and took a pic of her plate and said I would post it on the dumb*** list. Then I kept taking pics of her till she was so POd that she drove away. Went and talked to the clerk who said I was the first one to make her leave. hahahah

Was she driving an insight or a prius?[:p]

[Jack_S]

My lifelong major "hobby" is reading, which everyone seems to understand.

For 25 years, one major active hobby has been singing with a very good Classical Chorale. This involves considerable effort in rehearsal and concert, which is sometimes a bit strenuous for me as I am disabled. Everyone seems to empathize with this hobby, also.

My hobby, when I was still physically capable of doing it, was working as a track worker/official at road races wherever I lived. I did that for 30 years. I was a Flagger and then a Nationally Licensed Observer for SCCA. When people found out that it was unpaid volunteer work they thought I was insane.

I tended to agree, it did seem insane sometimes, but overall I loved it. A typical day could involve arriving at the track at 7 AM for registration and a meeting, go out to one's assigned turn at 8 AM, and work in the CA High Desert midsummer sun. Then, after a lunch break for a free box lunch, back out to a different turn until almost dark. That lunch, and a beer party at the end of the day, was our only pay.

But I love racing and I had the best seat in the house: right next to the track.

Compared to that my RR interest seems normal to most people.

Jack

[Anonymous]

Not at all, people I work with think it is strange. Example: One said it was stupid to sit by the railroad tracks waiting on a train, he was a hunter so I come back with I think it is stupid to sit in a tree when it is freezing cold out waiting for a deer you may or may not see, case closed. If you don't like it then don't worry about it, you don't have to say anything.

[TheS.P.caboose]

I'm not embarrased to say I'm a railfan. Trains and railfanning are amoung my interests.

During the City of Industry accident involving the Union Pacific, I was one person who was e-mailing one of the news stations asking them to ask the right questions so the story would be better reported. I did this with pride and looking more for safety of our hobby.

Being safe out in the rail world is important to me and most of us IMO. But embarrased.....no way.

[MP173]

Back in 1979 a friend and I went on a Valparaiso, In to Philadelphia to New Orleans to Chicago train trip. One night was spent in a motel (New Orleans), the rest was on trains. The occasion was to ride the Southern Railway's Southern Crescent before they joined Amtrak. We rode the next to last trip.

The train was filled with railfans, including obviously me and my friend. Halfway to New Orleans we both decided we were sick and tired of the railfan community and I began distancing myself. Later that year while in Peoria to see NKP's 765, we took a short trip up to Edelstein Hill to see some ATSF action. While there, a very prominent East Coast rail photographer proceeded to place his flag on the hill and declare it his. To prove his point he even retrieved a saw and cut down a small tree that was in his way for a photograph!

It takes all kinds in this world and in this hobby. I have moved from a take a picture of every train, know everything about locomotives (quick....what is the difference between a GP 9 and GP18?....I used to know), know every track in the midwest, where it goes, etc....to simply a middle age guy that enjoys watching and occasionally photographing trains.

My girlfriend thinks it is neat, my youngest son enjoys watching a train go by, and my biggest customer (1/3 of my sales) is railroad related. The great thing about reaching middle age is you just dont give a *** anymore what people think.

So, when i go off on one of my hobbies - astronomy, blues guitar, running, fishing, personal finance (if you think this is a passionate crowd, take a visit to morningstar's website and checkout the Vanguard forum...people get into serious disagreements and are banned over efficient markets, passive vs active investing, and the benefits of index funds) I realize why I invest my time in that activity. IT IS BECAUSE I WANT TO and I ENJOY IT.

When the neighbor walks by at 545am and hears me working on call and response on minor and major pentatonic scales AND hears my scanner picking up NS 177 calling out the signal at East Spriggsboro and remembers I was outside with my ETX90mm resolving double's at 96x; she knows all is well in my world.

Tomorrow I will play guitar, I will run 3 miles, I will catch numerous crappies on Geist Resevoir, I will listen to my scanner and check in on this forum, and will probably ponder my asset allocation.

Life is good.

Never apologize for what you are passionate about as long as it is legal and you dont hurt anyone.

ed

[unclejoe009]

definately 3. my friends know, and they dont care. my family knows and of course they dont care. my fiance has started going to museums and the 7 1/2" guage railroad i spend time at and she enjoys it. i think the only person who thinks i'm a bit wierd is my future mother-in-law, who always asks me, "dont you ever get tired of trains?" and my answer is always the same, "no". if you are embarassed about this hobby, then why is it your hobby? a hobby is something to entertain you and let you enjoy little bits of life from time to time, not something that should be an embarassment, and if somebody thinks otherwise of what you enjoy doing, then let them, because to be cliche, opinions are like ***holes, everybody has one.

Matt

[mersenne6]

What's to be embarrased? As I've always said - There's nothing to be embarrased about as long as it isn't illegal, immoral, or fattening (and if it eats well I'll hide my embarrasment and have a second helping). Face it, if you have any kind of an interest outside the mainstream (and the mainstream is a pretty narrow little brook in my opinion) someone, somewhere, is going to view that interest with disdain. That is their problem - not mine. More often than not, when the subject of interests comes up and I describe mine the reaction is more one of interested curiousity than disdain.

[Anonymous]

Nothing to be embarrased about. In the '60s our hobby was looked down upon my many, but now, as I speak to different groups, and involve myself with the mainstream I find that many people external of railroading and railfandom are really quite fasinated by it all.

But here are a few more of my personal passions that cause a bigger furror than railroads.

I'm intrigued by old barbershops. I've had this interest as long as railroading. So, at age 15, in '65, I learned how to shave with a straight razor. I still do. People think that one is whack-a-do.

Once, when I worked an Amtrak job from Milwaukee to the Twin Cities, I noticed that both the conductor and head brakeman (I was the flagman) had beautifuly laundered white shirts with shiny, stiff collars. The next morning when we all met back at the trainmen's room at the depot, I saw the brakeman sitting with his shirt on, but it had no collar. He got up, went to his locker, and pulled out a box that contained about 6 stiff, starched collars. He selected one, attached it to his shirt with his tie, and finished dressing. That was it for me. The whole trip back the conductor and brakeman explained the old-time ritual of wearing detachable collars. I still wear them much to the dismay of my laundry guy. I have a Yahoo group devoted to this as there are men out there that still wear them as well.

Passions are just that, and I think they're healthy. Otherwise we all would be sitting still at green lights with our super-sized bundle of curly fries blabbing on our cell-phones about nothing.

Mitch

[Richard A]

Embarrassed? Quite the opposite, I've always been proud of my hobby and my participation in it. Although now retired for medical reasons (I'm only 60), I always listed rail fanning and model trains as hobbies, along with reading, walking, and music. I was a management consultant and clients and prospective clients almost always wanted to know exactly what I did in pursuing my railroad hobbies. I even managed over the years to bring a few into either rail fanning or model railroading. If any of them thought poorly of me behind my back, it was their loss. To each his or her own.

[jeaton]

Straight razors and detachable collars??? Now that is something completely different.

The father of a friend collects typewriters. And it is a very big collection that he will show at the drop of a hat.

Anyone who looks with disdain upon the hobby interest of others deserve the fate of expiring from terminal boredom.

Jay

[Anonymous]

Anyone remember the commercial from a while back where the pro basketball player gets some "nerdy" magazines instead of his Sports illustrated? I believe it showed him sneering at Model Railroader.
Kind if insulted me, but I guess thats the way we are percieved by some folks.
Maybe the producers of some of those awful rail themed made for tv movies should read some of our publications before insulting our intellegence again.
Jimmy

[JoeKrause]

I think you wrote an very intelligent post about watching or modeling trains as a hobby. I certainly believe that anyone can get carried away with enthusiasm for a subject to the exclusion of healthy relationships with others. However, railroads and trains really are "connectors' in so many ways with others. Trains and model trains connect generations. Railroads do far less environmental damage than any other mode of travel except walking and canoeing. The history and the geography that we can learn by watching and/or riding trains connect us in time and space with many, many different peopleand places. Go into a railroad passenger station and see the variety of races, ages, body types and shapes all sharing the belief that maybe the trains someday will be on time, but also they share the idea that they will not be subject to inhumane searches, crowded seating conditions, too many inconsiderate persons with cell-phones or lap-top computers. (there are some, I admit)
I genuinely enjoy volunteering 5 or 6 days a week down at the Lafayette, Indiana Amtrak station assisting passengers with questions about Trains # 51 (M-Th-Sa) and #317 (Su-T-W-F). Where is the train? When will it arrive here? (scheduled for 7:22 a.m) Where can I park without my car being ticketed or hauled away? What if I don't have a ticket? Can my handicapped son travel as long as a qualified adult travels with him?

[fuzzybroken]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mehrlich

I guess I'm kinda like Jay. It takes a lot more than watching trains to embarrass me. I figure a guy who stumbles in drunk every night has more to be embarrassed about than me out watching trains.


mike

I'll agree with Mike! I enjoy a beer now and again, but gotta keep reasonably sober so I can chase trains!!! Occasionally I drink a beer while I chase trains (see www.fuzzyworld3.com/tc08.html )!!! No, no, nothing illegal...

I would say I'm definitely #3! Although I realized the other day just what kind of geek I am... I've been moving my "old" web pages to my Handspring Visor handheld, so I can rewrite some of the code while I'm out waiting for trains, and then reassemble the pages when I get home!

Have a nice day,
-Mark
www.geocities.com/fuzzybroken
www.fuzzyworld3.com

[arbfbe]

Embarrassed? Got over that a LONG time ago. Afterall, there are others who collect stamps and play golf. What wastes of time those are but I am glad others enjoy them so much since it cuts down on the prices of railroadiana and the numbers of intruders along rail lines and fishing streams.

[PigFarmer1]

#3 here. Some *other people* embarrass me, but I don't worry about myself. I really couldn't care less what anyone else thinks about what I'm doing.

[Anonymous]

No way

[CSXrules4eva]

Hay I am most certainly not embarrassed at all. Not one bit!!! I love trains and when people ask me what I like to do or what my hobby is. I tell them. Trains. Most people I tell that to are amazed, they just don't see how an 18 year old girl is obsessed with trains.
When I was in high school I didn't tell to many people about my train fettish. I felt that they didn't have to know, espually since I was the Asst. captin of the school's ice hockey team. People in my high school really didn't know about it until I was a senior. Word got out when I did my senior presentation on railroad safety. I had just about half the school show up for that one, I think I got many people becasue, I showed some videos of actual collisions and fatalities (spelling). I also set up a demostration. I got asked tons of questions during that one. I'm glad that's over, I was real nervous!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton

Straight razors and detachable collars??? Now that is something completely different.

The father of a friend collects typewriters. And it is a very big collection that he will show at the drop of a hat.

Anyone who looks with disdain upon the hobby interest of others deserve the fate of expiring from terminal boredom.

Jay

Jay,
Now what did you expect from the South Side?
See how you reacted? WIth curiosity and I believe some interest. Just like the outside world towards us in the railfan community.
Just like trains, razors and collars aren't different, they just have receeded in the distance. But, like trains, are still alive and well.

Mitch

[adrianspeeder]

QUOTE: Originally posted by artmarkI learned how to shave with a straight razor. I still do. People think that one is whack-a-do.
Mitch

Sorry man, I like to keep sharp things AWAY from my neck. hahaha

Adrianspeeder

[AlcoRS11Nut]

I was #2.....then I was like....F@#$ It.....and became really open about it....my friends think I am nuts....but I like that........ :)

[Anonymous]

Embarrased? Nope- I like trains and so do I [:D]

It's not like I collect merkins... or gallstones. Sheesh!

[SealBook27]

I'm not nearly as embarrassed about it as my two daughter's. But they have a brother who is on my side, and my newest son-in-law is already interested in trains. When my daughters were still living at home, putting on a train video gave me the living room to myself.

[Anonymous]

Gabe, I too would have to fall into catagory 3. If we all drove red cars, had white houses, watched the same TV show , ate nothing but Captain Crunch, and voted for the same presidential candidate, and collected Frisbees as our hobby, the world would be a very boring place. Humans have a bad habit of looking down on anybody who isn't into "their thing." Say you ran into a guy (or girl, sorry Sarah) who collects and "plays" with Frisbees. He could be a 1,2, or 3. As a 1, he would chastize you because you don't know the difference between an Af-331 and a Af332 frisbee. Our hobby has the same type. Just because we haven't done 20 years of extensive research on some obscure shortline he feels that we are not worthy railfanners or modelers. These are usually the types the general public deal with because they are willing to pipe up at a moments notice to let everyone know just how knowledgable they are on "their" subject. People that do this ( no matter what the subject ) are labeled as geeks or dorks by those listening, because the person makes those around him feel as though they are stupid because they don't as much as him on this subject. I have belonged to snowmobile clubs, 4 wheel drive clubs and many other organizations, and there is ALWAYS one person in the group who was way overboard, knew it all, and was willing to let that be known at any time. Those are the ones labeled geeks or nuts. The general public (or known as the non railroad people) usually has contact with this type at train shows ,etc. so the whole hobby is perceived as being made up of these types. I live close to the Nelson switchyard and even the UP workers call us FRN's. The last two words are railroad nuts. I'll let you figure out the first word. That is only because there is a small amount of guys that sit there all day figuring out and writing down switchlists and watching the action so they assume we're all that way.
My point is before I get of my soapbox, my scratch built buildings are never going to be in RMC, and if they were some body would rip it apart and tell me their's is better, my layouts never going to be in MR, and if it was the same would happen, but they are MINE and my standards are the only ones I have to meet. Sure I don't know everything I need to know about Rock Island ( my modeling and fanning choice) but I enjoy what I know and am learning the rest, at my pace. Just because I don't know the roster list for some obscure railroad that you're into doesn't make me any less of a railfan.
All I know ( and MAMA ) is that when I go upstairs to work on my chunk of the ROCK or just piddle and run trains is that my blood pressure stays on an even keel and I'm not worried about the problems of the world or if Saddams running around in his underwear, so that must mean I'm enjoying the hobby and that really is the bottom line. If the rest of them want to collect Fribees or whatever, so be it. I'm happy and that's all that matters. [soapbox]

[Anonymous]

P.S. Those people that think they know everything, really annoy those of us that do.

[(-D] [banghead]

[gabe]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I found them interesting.

Did anyone see the Numbers episode about trains? I think they intentionally tried to make us look droll in the show. Just an aside; not that that affects how I view the hobby and those in it.

Gabe