Folloowing my question about what got you started - models or the real thing…
I’m wondering… which sense would you reckon hooks you to trains most?
The smell of hot track on a sunny day?
the sound of a loco hauling or a lonesome horn?
the sight of a long drag snaking through the scenery?
the taste of a cold beer/coffee at a friend’s layout or meet?
the feel of ballast when you trip over…?
I got laughed at? Well, I was at a meet and confusing everyone by running CNW left road… dead slow - two SD40-2’s on the point were barely crawling over a grade crossing… and I was “out of it”… miles away… having a great time. So, someone wanted to talk to me and they had to nudge me to get me back on the planet. Whatever… those 6 axles looked great! [(-D]
PS that “GREAT” is a happy [(-D]GREAT[(-D] - if anyone’s wondering.
For me, it’s probably the sound—imagine a coal drag getting closer and louder. Some places here, you can hear the trains long before you see them. The horns, the hard-working diesels, the thump of the rail joints.
But, what’s really awesome…is getting buzzed by an Amtrak train at 79mph when you’re completely stationary. I had that happen to me once while in Strasburg–first I heard the horn, stuck my head out the coach window. I only got one chance, and I took it. All I caught was the nose of the F40 and a boxcar across the way…before the train disappeared into the distance. All of that took a matter of seconds!