Closet Model Railroaders

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

We all know about the loud 'n proud famous MRR’s: Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Michael Gross, etc. Is there anyone else who harbours suspicions about other so-called big names that might be keeping a train set or two stuffed away?

I’ve got one: Neal Stephenson.

If you don’t know him, NS is a successful Seattle-based author, mostly dealing in historical and speculative fiction. He’s been publishing since the late '80s, and nearly every book he’s produced has some sort of MRR or trainy reference. I submit the following:

Zodiac: the main character builds bits of his layout between eco-vandalism sprees

Cryptonomicon: one of the four main characters professes a liking for trains; another refers to Filipino foliage as looking like ‘the nubby green stuff that model railroaders put on their mountains’

Baroque Cycle: predates anything trainy, but one of the major plot points is the main character’s involvement in Thomas Newcomen’s Engine for Raising Water by Fire, the first commercially viable steam-driven water pump (and an obvious precursor to the Industrial Revolution)

Anathem: Refers to an earlier historical period where ‘heat engines began to move about the landscape on rails’

Reamde: A Russian character expresses wonder at a society that can support magazines that dither over the smallest details of model trains (and custom motorcycles)

None of these are convincing references, of course, but NS’s fiction is hardly labourious in explaining everything; he leaves much for the reader to figure out for themselves. One of his books even goes so far as to delve into ‘dog-whistle politics’, meaning embedded signals that only the converted would hear. Hmmm…

I might just be seeing things through train-coloured glasses, too. Doesn’t really bother me, that. Anyone else? Any suspicions about who might have a Trix Big Boy lurking in his or her closet?

Stu

2

In the past, Mel Torme, Walt Disney (live steam) and Frank Sinatra (O gauge/Lionel) all were model railroaders- in Sinatra’s case, there is a video from the 1990s that chronicles his layout. In the recent movie “Saving Mr. Banks” the Mary Poppins author exits Disney’s personal office in the early portion of the movie, passing by a photo of Walt Disney astride one of his live steam locomotives.

I am sure there are others today, but remember, many famous (in public) people lead much quieter (and more discreet) lives when not in the public eye- and, given the way the media operates today, if they are model railroaders, perhaps they choose to keep quiet about it.

By the way, isn’t Stephenson one of the “steam punk science fiction” types of authors (and we all know how much of a role steam played in railroading!)?

Cedarwoodron

3

I’ve read all of those, except for the last one, and other than the main character in Zodiac, I never noticed the train stuff.

I wouldn’t call most of his stuff Steampunk. Only some aspects of Diamond Age migh tbe considered Steampunk, most of the rest would be more Cyberpunk, and Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle more historical fiction. The last two actually tie together (Baroque Cycle is 3 long books or 8 shorter ones), and it can be confusing to follow at times because you are jumping around between many different POVs. But worth reading. His short story, the Great Simolian Caper, sort of set the stage for cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.

–Randy

4

NS has also gone on record stating that ‘bits and bytes will only get you so far. Making things in the real world is where it’s at. Learn to weld.’ Not a hint per se, but an indication that his interests are more hands-on than one would suspect.

I knew about Walt Disney, Phil Collins, Sinatra (one of our local businessmen bought Frankie’s collection when the estate put it up for sale). I’d love to hear that, say, Prince Charles or maybe even Vladimir Putin were closet train geeks…

5

I’m not famaliar with any of the works you list. Are these characters good guys or bad guys?[:o)]

Paul

6

This video shows some of Walt Disney’s live steam train; you have to get about 4 minutes into it for the live steam part

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Rf7Ygy6TA

7

There’s always closet MRR’s. When I set up my diorama at work (12"x30"), they made their presence known . So far at work I met 3 active and 2 “I always wanted to try that out” people.

8

Sam Posey, the race car driver

9

Don,I suspect there may be unknown thousands of closet modelers that is very active in the privacy of their basement or spare room…

Here’s why I think that…Every year during the week of the county fair I talk to several that has a 4x8’ layout ranging from Lionel to N Scale…

Some of the older fellas say they built a 4x8’ layout for the “grand kids” but,the more they talk the more it seems they built it for themselves.

10

Who pretty well blew the door off the closet with Playing With Trains.

And the title of that book pretty well explains why closet model railroaders who have highly visible day jobs tend to keep the door closed and locked.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - somewhere in Clark County, NV)

11

Which I haven’t read. I think I’ll have to change that. Toot toot!

Stu

12

Putin doesn’t need a model railroad. He could just nationalize Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi

13

With the Olympics on NBC now, I’m surprised nobody as mentioned their primary commentator, Bob Costas. He has a fairly extensive Large Scale layout. I think MR did an article or a short blurb about him in that regard a few years ago.

14

After reading this thread, I purchased Sam Poseys book off of EBay. Its the Softcover version with a center section of pictures for several master modelers and their work. I read the first 44 pages last night and I have to say I’m enjoying it. Ill report back after ive finished.

15

For history buffs, the late Justice Thurgood Marshall enjoyed running his O-scale passenger trains whether he was in deep thought with regards to a case or just relaxing.

16

Supposedly Bruce Springsteen is a huge train nut. He even had the typical Lionel trains when he was growing up, but his landlord would not let him keep them when his family moved out of the rented house in Jersey. I am almost positive though Bruce does have model trains…he seems like that kind of guy. Maybe John Fogerty (CCR) as well.

17

Here’s another SpecFic author that may be - S. M. Stirling. In The Peshwa Lancers, while trains don;t play a real major role, every time there IS one, the descriptions of the locomotives are pretty detailed - considering at no time do any of the characters board a locomotive, use one as a getway or a weapon, or anything. The wheel arrangments described are proper for the role given to the locomotive, and each one that appears is listed as belonging to a certain class. Pretty high detail for what is essentially a background prop that pay no real purpose to advancing the story. As in, the described fast passenger 4-6-2 could have been a 4-4-0 or a 4-4-2 or a 4-6-4 or simple described as a “fast passenger locomotive” for all the bearing it has on the actual story. So clearly Stirling knows something about steam locomotives - perhaps he is a closet railroader.

–Randy

18

Way back in the past, Frank Sinatra was said to collect old Standard gauge toy trains. And at some point in the early 1960’s Mel Torme actually did some print advertising for one of the brass importers — I think it was Gem. I always wondered whether Mel was a real modeler, or if he was just doing it for the money. Always hoped it was the former.

19

Sinatra was not just a train guy- he was an accomplished abstract oil paint artist as well. In his day, Mel Torme was very proud and not shy about his train collection. Disney’s number one illustrator- I forget his name, Kimball or something similar(?)- was also a “partner-in-grime” with Disney on his home live steam layout, and had a video out in the 1980s about his own train interests.

Many “public entertainment figures” who have demonstrated talents are multi-faceted in their ordinary lives away from the glare of the media. It makes them all the more impressive and inspiring in their talents and abilities. Just think of Jay Leno and his car collection- a guy who knows his way around tools as well.

Someday, model railroading might just get it’s own proper respect as an “art” form, perhaps on a par with cross-stitch or beading ([;)]) !

Cedarwoodron

20

Ward Kimball also had an extensive collection of really early toy trains - wood and cast iron pull toys from long before electric trains, and very early live steamers. Many are pictured in the first chapter of Sutton’s “The Complete Book of Model Railroading”. He also had some full-size equiment with a short run of track to move it on, that was the Grizzly Flats Railroad.

–Randy