This morning I was in a haste to go to class because the roads weren’t in the best condition because of the recent snowfall and ice storm. I had grabbed the textbooks I needed and shoved in my backpack not knowing that I had shoved my March issue of MR. When I got to school, I was taking out the book I needed for one of my classes and there was the magazine. Well, I had time to kill so I began reading some of it. A lady who sits next to me saw what I was reading and asked to look at it.
I was thinking what could she say that would insult the hobby. She started saying things like how she doesn’t like steam engines because the are “monochrome.” She showed some of the pictures to some of her friend and they started looking at diesels and judging how pretty they were based on colors. I couldn’t stop laughing.
I am not making fun of women or anything but it made my day and I thought I would share it with you all.
I was always under the impression that the ‘sufficient’ response was in relation to the horsepower of the motor, which is something Rolls and Bentley never published.
Back in the day, there was a short paragraph (in Bull Session, IIRC) about somebody’s wife who paid an unannounced visit to the model railroad club. She wanted to see whether the models were scale, tinplate or blonde…
I won’t add the last five words, even though they were published in Model Railroader a half-century ago - something to do with a steam locomotive feature which was an aftermarket add-on then, but standard issue now.
My most un-favorite comment is, “Why don’t you run the Bullet Train?” To the mundanes who say that, it just isn’t Japan without Shinkansen (which, in 1964, ran from Tokyo to Osaka via Nagoya, and never came within 50 kilometers of the Upper Kiso Valley.)
Really attractive young waitress from next door: Do these engines have small diesels in them? I though they were supposed to smoke.
Me: pauses and check her out um… pause and again check her out, while thinking of something Nah, with the price of gas, we’d go broke trying to run them chuckle They don’t smoke because they are electric. Or at least they aren’t supposed to.
A younger kid: How many cars will that consist pull?
Me: I’d run out of cars before I ever figured it out. (Genesis F45, 2 P2K SD45s, Atlas U30C)
An older fellow: That’s a nice unit train
me: Um, thanks. (the train was a mix-up of different types of cars)
A kid around christmas: Look Mommy, SANTA!!! pointing at some Santafe diesels
Suprisingly I’ve never been asked how fast it could go.
I have to agree with the children who ask operators to make the trains go faster, as they creep around the set-up at train shows at ultra-mega slow ‘‘speed’’, any slower and they would go backwards, when did this highly over exaggerated ultra slow speed start?? seems if one person thinks this is neat, everyone thinks this is the ‘‘norm’’. I asked one operator if he would (could) slightly speed up his train, he did (slightly) and the onlookers actually applauded.
Just goes to show that there’s a lot to like in this hobby! And it seems to me that comments about the aesthetics of various liveries are hardly rare in the literature.
Though I’ve never been put down or made fun of, I was asked once. “I think model railroads are neat. But why would you want to do that? I mean, what do you get out of it?” I thought about it for a few seconds and my response was “about the same reason and the same things as you get from watching basketball except it’s in my basement and on anytime I want.” He understood. [(-D]
You could always allow that a particular diesel model has ‘steerable’ trucks, just like some of the big diesels. In that case, the hoggers are paid more 'cuz they have more to do and it takes more skill.
One that has happened more then once, I usually wear a N/S or N&W ball cap . Person behind the counter:looks at the hat and say oh do you work for the railroad, Me: no just into model railroading you know the little small one’s. Person behind the counter: No seriously do you work for the railroad? Me: Yeah my trains parked around the corner.I couldn’t fine a spot out front Person behind the counter: Either stretches their neck looking or say thats cool. Just for the record not a set of tracks for mines.
Why do you play with toy trains? Because my wife made me sell the real one’s said I was scaring the neighbors