I’m a freshman in college, and for my Public Speaking class right now we are working on an arguement speech, where we pick a subject and pick our point of view on it and explain it. I am wanting to do it on Model Railroading and that it is the worlds greatest hobby. I know it is and I throughly enjoy it but my speech cant say “cause I say so”. I have to provide reasoning and logic to back up my claims, like what makes this hobby stand out from all others? How has it helped you? What can you do in this hobby that makes it special. I would like for as many people to answer this post so I can actually put together a small survey to present as well. I would like your opinions on this subject, and tell me why is this the worlds greatest hobby to you. If there are any websites that also help with this would you please pass them along too. I would like to thank all of you in advance for your help in trying to promote the hobby in the college world. -Michael
You can discuss the sub set of skills that Model Railroading encompasses.
David B
That’s probobly what he was thinking, maybe we should name a few…
- Woodworking
- Reaserch
- Painting
- Wiring
- Art (a.k.a. scenery[:)])
Etc. You get the picture. I can’t think of anything else off the top of my head.
Geometry/Architecture
That helps a lot, but what makes it special to all of yall too? Why did you get started in the Hobby? Please keep the anwers rolling in. Thanks.
Rocky, I spent almost 20 years as a computer programmer. And I found that dealing with code, debugging and picky end users, I needed a means to relax. Model railroading has provided just that. When I come home in the evening, I look forward to whatever project I may be working on at the time. The nice thing about model railroading is that because it encompasses so many different disciplines: carpentry, electrical wiring, painting, modeling (both stock and structures). I hope this helps you some.
Time spent with my Father instead of the Boobtube.
Terry
Allright, one-by-one or scattered. Just rough notes, you can refine + build on them): (If you quote me, name’s Sawyer Berry)
special
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Conglomoration of hobbies. Like Ty said art, math, woodworking, etc.
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Vastness. Many choices. Scale, era equipment, can go G scale outdoors.
Helped me by sharpning my skills. Better painter, majorly.
Builds Knowledge of trains.
You can do whatever floats your boat. If you like big steam, run huge steam locos. Switchers: pure switchers. Nut of particular type of loco (ex. GP30), run all GP30s. Only like logging, all logging industries. Deserts, pure desert. You can do anything.
World’s greatest hobby because there’s something for everyone, like I said, big steram locos… You learn all sorts of stuff in this hobby, from carpentry to how trains work to art skills.
The hobby keeps (mostly) men home and busy, not only during the period when they are raising their families, but later when they are retired and wish to avoid being underfoot in the kitchen or elsehwere.
As has been mentioned, it is a hobby that demands competencies in electronics, carpentry, research and planning, drawing and geometry, and in the creative and artistic side of the hobby where one must bring amorphous synethetic and natural materials together and render them into a scale depiction that the maker and others can appreciate and judge satisfactory.
The hobby requires self discipline if it is to be enjoyed well and fully. Those who can’t control their spending impulses, or who can’t bring themselves to do all the steps necessary to effect a functional outcome on their layout during construction will be disappointed. In turn, so will those who love them and who wish they’d do things differently.
In a nutshell, the hobby is very demanding of all its proponents and practitioners because very very few of us brings a complete set of skills to the hobby. We all have to learn and to develop a modicum of skill in order to make the whole work. In a “Gestalt” form of reasoning, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Addendum on architecture - I am not an architect, but a specialized aircraft maintenance building I designed was built to my plans. I learned the necessary skills by following scratchbuilding articles in the model press.
Started with a Christmas present tinplate train set at the ripe old age of five - months! That was slightly over 70 years ago.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Hi Michael,
I would say there is no other hobby that encompasses such a wide range of experience from young kids with a “starter” trainset on the floor or table to crusty old hands with 50 or more years in the hobby. A hobby where you get to develop a large skill set if you so chose. I would include ;
The dream ( if I build it I’ll have fun ! ) [8D]
Design ( pen and paper to CAD and working out how to use the CAD program first ) [%-)]
Understanding and building to plans ( why doesn’t my 30x20 layout fit in an 8x4 room ? ) [D)]
Maths and calculations ( benchwork, scratch building, computer programming )
Carpentry ( benchwork, new train room , new house because of unhappy spouse ! ) [:-^]
Metal fabrication ( benchwork, scratch building, securing investment )
Landscaping in miniture ( but on a grand scale - making mountains ! )
Electrical wiring and electronics ( making it work WITHOUT sparks flying !) [#oops]
Precision ( if your careless when you build it trains will fall down and you’ll be behind the [8] )
Painting / Spray painting / Air brushing ( paint removal when required ! )
Trouble shooting & problem solving ( need I say more !! ) [banghead]
Lateral thinking ( I CAN make a square block fit a round hole, or, what have I got / can I make to replace / fix that $100 part / building / loco ? )
Photography ( if I manage to complete all of the above ! )
Financial genius ( how the hell can I afford this ! ) [;)]
A better husband ( I bought these for you darling ! Why ? Just because I love you. ) [:X]
Communications skills an
Modeling quiets the voices in my head.[{(-_-)}]. Think about this seriuosly.
What they all said plus:
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You get to play god [:-,](with a small g). You can build an entire self contained world to your own specifications. It’s the sim city game in three dimensions.
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Actually, I like it because of the variety of skills it requires (or al least can make use of). If I get tired of laying track I build scenery or refurb cheap rolling stock or add some wiring or …
I think that the large skill set and opportunity to learn and improve are the driving forces. Plus it’s fun to see things move, fun to move things by remote control. MR has sights, sounds even smells.
It’s also safer than some other hobbies and you can decide how much time and money you will invest and on what schedule.
I think my interest started with watching the trains out my grandparents’ third floor apartment window in Dover NJ so many years ago. Then again it could have been my father’s early Lionel set and motorized erector set with working sawmill, fountain, steam engine, generator etc.
Karl
If a person is studying for an engineering degree, model railroading is an excellent way to apply theory in all disciplines and make it practical. Applying it all to something tangible that you enjoy motivates you to study harder. For civil/structural, you can size beams, column, and truss loads on your computer and on your model railroad you erect them with pre-formed plastic structural shapes that you buy. If you know the modulus of the plastic, you can even test the beams and you get a good feel of how the loads transfer down to and bear on soil. You can plot model railroad curves the way a surveyor does using basic trig functions. For electrical, you can calculate basic circuits such as oscillating grade crossings with rail detection. You then solder them together and make them work. For mechanical, you can calculate torque and horsepower for the motor and gear train in a diesel engine and test your results with a spring gauge. I’m sure you can think of more examples.
The argument will be the models you set up in physics and electrical labs are better applications than model railroading. This is true but the models in most cases are not very exciting and they do not represent the real world as well as model railroading. Excitement breeds motivation. Model Railroading is exciting.
MODEL RAILROADING RULES
Thanks a lot, yall are geniuses. I have what I need now for the parts of the hobby, now if I could ask yall to tell me why yall got started in this hobby. I need enough people to answer thisso I can have a sound reason for why this hobby continues today, and why there is always a younger generation of model railroaders. I know why I am a model railroader, I need to know why yall are so i can make mention of it in the speech of the reasons people get into the hobby. Thank you all for you help on this so far, my hat is off to you.
Try this link http://trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/1372505/ShowPost.aspx
on a forum that I have already started, some good answers there.
I think I read into your origional post too quickly. To make a long story short, I got started in model railroading when I was three with a push train, push train track, and building blocks. I can’t explain why but I was absolutely fascinated by it all and it entertained me for hours. Later in boyhood, my parents bought me electric trains and plastic building kits for XMAS and birthdays. Dad helped me with building benchwork for a model RR.
I think model railroading is the world’s greatest hobby because once you’re hooked, it stays with you for life. You get to imagine things and make them real. You learn all kinds of basic skills like electrical, carpentry, architecture, and art. It gives you a sense of self worth to construct something like a model railroad. When traveling, you find things for your model railroad at shops anywhere in the country and when placed on your layout, they become momentos of your travels much like a photo album. I can look at a choo choo I’ve had for thirty years and remember what I had for breakfast the day I got it. The most important aspect of it all is trains, city scapes, and scenery are fascinating objects and model railroading lets you live out that fascination in your own mystical way.
The argument often is model railroading costs a lot of money. This isn’t necessarily true. The more critical you are about your models, the more it costs. Scratchbuilding saves lots of money. Basic, reliable equipment such as Athearn Blue Box saves a lot of money too. Because model railroading is a lifetime hobby, all the money you spent on it in the past five or ten years has a way of staring you in the face all at once and the numbers add up quickly. This is really a dillusion because it is much cheaper than all the useless consumables we spent money on in the same amount of time. If you spread the costs out, model railroading is very affordable.
Michael,
I’ll give you some reasons I’m in MR,
My parents grew up in the steam era in Australia and since before I can remember they were taking my brother and I to steam museums and on steam excursions. One of my earliest memories as a child is of watching 3801 ( Legendary New South Wales Government Railways Pacific class streamliner ) running light, flash through Liverpool station ( south west of Sydney ) We had to wait for the rest of the train, lead by 2 other 38 class engines to draw into the station and pick us up for the excursion. Once clear of a weight restricted bridge 3801 was hooked back up to lead what turned out to be the last ever tripleheader of this class of engine.
My Dad built us a Hornby Doublo layout when we were kids and at the time I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread ! We had a pet Budgy that would fly around and land in front of the trains when they were moving and then run around in front of them ! Dad also built, with my brother and I helping, a bigger layout with more modern equipment when I was in my early teens.
Present day, and my kids go beserk whenever they see a train, especially the XPT, which is a reasonably high speed passenger train we have out here. I bought them a Lima model of the XPT and they love it. They also love Thomas the tank engine and Percy and have them too. They have a 6 x 4 layout in the house and ask to play with it nearly every day. I now take them on a local steam trip and they have a ball going for rides. I guess I want them to have as much fun as I had as a kid and I also want them to develop a sense of history, which I find facinating. I hope too that real steam trains will be running when they are old enough to have kids of their own.
I’ve always been a Railfan of sorts, but not always had a MR. My kids enthusiasm for trains has rekindled my interest in MR . I have only been back to the hobby for the last couple of ye
This hobby covers just about anything you could imagine, and skills, computer, art, electronics,…need I go on…
If your wondering how the hobby got started, early child pull toys are one direction and it just mushroomed. Loco makers would make models of their engines to sell to railroads.
Video games have been around for say 25 years. TV started around 1946 to 1948. Movie’s a round for 95 years or so. Model trains just about the time the first real train started.
Main thing for my self, made me start to look at everything. 3 years ago I never really looked at a tree, buildings, rivers, bridges and what ever. Now, ever drive to work I look and take mental notes on what I am seeing. Then figure out what I can do to recreate it.
Then there is the quest! Rather it before the next rolling stock, engine, building or tree. It gives us something to look forward to.
It also the young and old something to enjoy together! I am 52 now and when I am at the clubs track an 8 year old is enjoying the same thing as me. Try that with music!
When I started this hobby it was to do something easy for a hobby. Boy I was wrong and in away glad I was wrong. I am learning new skills and able to use some old skills as well.
But the main thing is a quest keeps you young at heart. I have had many a quest in my life and this one is a keeper.
Hope this helps a little.
Cuda Ken