I know almost every body here loves this hobby, and enjoys many aspects. However, there might be a thing or two you don’t like. so what are your favorite and least favorite parts of model railroading? My favorite is running trains, and my least favorite is putting down track.
I like everything in this hobby with the exception of missing all the hobby shops and dealers that have closed up over the years. I like building benchwork and modules, tracklaying, wiring, scenery, and running trains, but I especially like switching the most.
I guess my #1 like- to model particular notable structures that set a scene, by scratchbuilding (mother-in-law’s house in Hutchinson Kansas)
or #1A- by kitbashing (house across the street from back of where I used to work, from 2 story Bachmann Sears catalog house kit)
#2. I like to operate trains and switch industries. But I haven’t been able to do this much lately due to #N and #N-1.
#3 Layout design just for the fun of the design. I occasionally read posts asking what to do with their space. Once, someone in with an apartment in Kuala Lampur wanted some ideas about how to model Rosenberg, Texas railroads.
#4 Freight car “modification” to match prototype. I would say kitbashing but I usually have to start out with so-called ready-to-run cars and then kiticize them before bashicating.
For last place, it is tossup between tracklaying and wiring.
Making things/scenes come alive and look/sound real. Sometimes I wish I could model smell, like diesel or steam locos. Also, learning/doing helps me challenge myself.
Richard
I like running trains and I realy enjoy learning about the prototypes of the models I have and how they are operated. I also enjoy doing scenary even if it I still have a ways to go to make it look great.
My favorite part of the hobby is going to shows with my club. It’s fun socializing with other clubs, vendors and of course the patrons. My least favorite part of the hobby is probably locomotive maintenance. I honestly hate ripping them apart and servicing them.
My least favorite part is not finding what I need to complete a project. The other (least favorite) is waiting for the UPS or mailman to bring me my stuff!
Chris
What I like most is building structures & bridges super detailing and weathering. What I dislike is electrical work, really need help with that.
Sam
Best part: 1 is scratchbuiding , been doing this in N scale for many moons and now starting HO. 2, running a Rock Island train with 30 black coal hopper cars. Looks so cool.
I am in limbo with my current layout…it will come down as soon as we sell, so I am not willing to put anything more into it. Accordingly, for the past couple of years my passion has become one of producing credible imagery. It is enjoyable, creative, and demanding, particularly if I am at all interested in improving my product.
At some point I will be faced with the sober reality that the most effective improvement will come from a better subject. At that point I will have to ‘fish or cut bait’. [:|]
Crandell
The only thing I really dislike doing is ballasting track.
For the rest, it’s a toss up. I like different things at different times, and I can usually find something to do that suits me at the moment.
I’m into just about everything but scenery. Gadgets are my favorite though, basically anything electronic.
I would have to say the favorite thing is being able to use your imagination and creativity in bringing things to life. That can either be through the layout design and construction, the scenery, the buildings, the trains (especially converting locos from DC to DCC, which is a personal accomplishment to see it run the first time right after installing the decoder). Another nice thing is having the end meet with your first when laying track. This past year is the first time I put down ballast. Although tedious, it turned out pretty well for my first time. I am confident the next time will be even better. I guess it’s being able to challenge yourself to “do it better” the next time, no matter what it is. I know my DCC installs are becoming better, neater, cleaner and faster each time. Since the DCC for 3 locos went well, I cannot wait to round up a few bucks and start buying SOUND decoders.
My least favorite would be plaster cloth. For some reason I don’t have the patience for it. As a matter of fact, I appointed my wife in charge of applying plaster cloth. I just buy it and leave the room when she’s working. Another “least” is constructing tunnels, they just don’t end up looking like I planned. Even though these are my least, I keep reading articles and these forums in search of the “key”.
Interesting question and full of so many possibilities. As per many others I enjoy the majority of aspects to model railroading but I would have to say my favorite is coming up with ways to accomplish, create or make something w/o relying on store bought products. This is very challenging and very satisfying when the results work out. Since I’ve never had a lot of cash to spend on the hobby, I’ve always had to work with what I had or could scrounge. It’s taught me a lot and enhanced my creative ability. Next I very much enjoy detailing and customising locos and rolling stock to suit my freelance railway and it’s needs.
Least enjoyable for me would be anything overly technical or mechanical. I don’t have the patience for it. The simpler the better here.
I enjoy repairing and tuning up of HO locomotives, espicaly older brass. I do this for myself as well as others. I enjoy making them run smooth and quiet, thus making them a joy to run. I also enjoy building older wood freight car kits and the newer laser cut wood structure kits. Helps pass the long winter days when I am stuck in the house. I find as I get older, that I really hate being out in the cold, and would rather be indoors next to the fireplace with a warm fire going and working on a kit or brass engine. I hate doing benchwork and scenery, track laying is ok, I can work with that. Cheers Mike
One of my favorite things is detailing “human” scenes - towns, industries, etc.
I’m not really fond of electrical work (and I don’t think electricity is really fond of me, either).
Favorite: a reason to not visit my inlaws. Least favorite: when the inlaws come over thinking they are model railroding experts telling me what I am doing wrong. I could MU a GG-1 with a Big Boy and they wouldn’t know the difference.
I have to concur with many posters that certain aspects of the hobby appeal to different people at different times, in particular when you get kind of burned out from doing one thing for to long. For me, nailing down one favorite thing is hard though I’ve always really liked researching prototype railroads and equipment, particularly through fine photography books, such as those by O. Winston Link, also I really love just seeing what others do in terms of building layouts, making models and seeing how they may share their knowledge and passion of the hobby for the rest of us, but not in a nit-picky, condescending way. I liked building the models much, then painting and weathering. Though I never got to good at painting honestly, but weathering I did love much and look forward to doing again.
Speaking of nit-picky and condescending, this hobby, like any other, certainly has its share of people who think they’re hot stuff for either their supposed abilities with airbrushes, x-acto knifes and sheet-styrene and of course credit-card model railroaders who act like they’re better hobbyists for being able to afford the nicer trains. I’ve known both, but found the hobby’s craftsman still less annoying then pretentious card swipers. As a younger modeler, my teens and early '20s, I had little money but significant talent, particularly at weathering models at one point, yet I knew many older guys who lacked the talent to build and paint models but liked to show off their latest in expensive models.
Alvie
Well, it’s really kinda difficult for me to cite any particular aspect of the hobby that I don’t enjoy…even ballasting, which seems to be a dreaded bugaboo for most others!
I would have to say that my favorite areas of the hobby include: researching the hobby’s long history and demographics, scatchbuilding structures, creating realistic scenery, painting rollingstock and collecting vintage HO locomotives and specialty cars.
CNJ831
I love ballasting track! It gives me an excuse for gulping a couple of doubles of Scotch!
I get great enjoyment out of scratchbuilding structures; my chief dislike is ripping 1 by material for constructing tabletops and cutting roadbed from plywood sheets-- I find both fatiguing and monotonous.and always rejoice when it is done.