Good way to relax

  • Thread starter Thread starter MonteRCMS
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

MonteRCMS

Guest
Good way to relax … with model railroading.


Excellent video … start small, learn as you go, enjoy and relax.
 
Last edited:
Actually, if you visit model train shows, you can find second hand locomotives and cars and track for small amounts.

The key thing is to talk with folks … almost everyone is eager to share their experience(s).

Some places have model railroad clubs where you don’t even need to spend any money.

I found one public library that had subscribed to “Model Railroader” magazine but put it in the children’s room instead of in the hobby area of the adult section.
 
Check the YouTube I posted and then there are many additional YouTubes listed along the edge of the screen.

Development of railroads was an incredible period of American and world history … because for the first time, people achieved mobility that was not restricted by walking or riding on horseback.

Railroads achieved true liberty for people who were no longer limited to their own village.
 
Last edited:
How much room do you have?

If you don’t have a lot of space, then you can get into model railroading without spending a lot of money.

Take a look at the videos.

Plan and dream.

There are many different scales as well.

Z scale is the smallest.

TT is next.

N is next biggest. Half the scale of HO.

HO is half of O.

O and 027 are next.

G is probably the largest. Often used outdoors.

Then there is the MD … Jerry Joe Jacobson … a working doctor who loved live steam. He read a lot and one day found an actual abandoned railroad for sale. Crazy. But he bought it. Got to talking with the businesses on the right of way and learned that they were interested in shipping freight by the railroad.

Found some old steam engines that he restored and ran for tourists.

There was one employee on the railroad … a young lady who answered the phone. He ended up marrying her and they had four children.

Did an amazing job developing and expanding the railroad.

 
Last edited:
Also, beware furzilla problems. 🐱🐶

In all seriousness, it does sound like a fun idea. I’ll keep it in mind for when I actually have a basement or something.

I’ve been told we can thank modern railroads for the idea of time zones. It was the first time we could travel fast enough that we needed to be able to coordinate time between distant places. Before that you just went by noon for your town, which might not be the same as noon the town over. Can’t do that with trains because you need to know who’s on the track when.

And I swear I don’t know anything at all about “cheap” hobbies draining your budget
hides bags of beads
.
 
Day dreaming is free.

The public library may have appropriate books and magazines.
 
You don’t need a basement.

Some of the scales are small enough to operate on a bookshelf.

Check to see if there is a model railroad club near you. They may have a “Z” scale layout for you to look at and ask questions about.

There are a ton of videos to review.
 
Last edited:
Railroading was always merely a hobby for me. Didn’t have the time or the money to indulge, although for a couple of dollars I would visit an annual model railroad show at a local high school.

They DID have second hand magazines of model railroading and real [proto-type] railroading that I could buy for very cheap.

One day I took a temp job and they didn’t want me but had to fill a vacancy. So I got assigned to a remote location … that had great sandwich trucks.

Got to chatting with one of the police officers who had stopped for coffee.

Turned out they had problems with people getting into crashes between their automobiles and railroad trains operating in a switching yard slowly pushing freight cars around. The trains moved so slowly … walking speed … that the automobile drivers could not detect the movement of the trains … and they would collide.

Well, one thing led to another.

Got to play with REAL trains.

They didn’t have much of a budget, so we had to invent low cost approaches to train accident prevention. Very interesting several years.
 
Last edited:
Model Railroader Magazine may be available in your local library. Call them and ask. Sometimes, they put it in the children’s room or the Young Adult section. You need to ask them where they keep it.

 
Last edited:
Actor Michael Gross has been a lifelong rail fan.


Google youtube michael gross

click here ^^^ Here is a bunch of YouTube videos with Michael Gross talking about model railroading.


Gross is a passionate railfan with an extensive collection of railroad antiques. He is an amateur railroad historian, photographer, modeler, and part-owner in a working railroad, the Santa Fe Southern Railway, a former branch line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway which operates between Lamy and Santa Fe, New Mexico.[7]

He is also the spokesman for the World’s Greatest Hobby campaign sponsored by the Model Railroad Industry Association that promotes the hobby of model railroading. He has also been a spokesperson for Operation Lifesaver, a campaign promoting safety at railroad grade crossings.[8] Beginning in 2009, Gross is the “celebrity spokesman” for the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.[9] He is also a member of the Santa Fe Railway Historical Society.

He tells the story that he met his wife while at a luncheon and he mentioned to her that he liked railroads … and so did she. Ta-da!
 
Last edited:
I knew the answer without looking at the list: yes. 🙂
It is really nice to hear the old whistle blowing in the distance. I will miss it when we move away someday.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top