Hollywood never gets anything right. Why would they start with proper portrail of railfans?
I’ve been known to clear a room or two with train videos myself.[;)]
I get called “nerd” and “stupid” for going and chasing trains, but ill just laugh when they have to work at McDonalds the rest of their lives and im in an engine[:D][:p][:p][:p][:p][:p]
At a retirement party for a co-worker last year, the presenters came up with a “Top 10 list” of things for the retiree to do after he quit work. #8 was ‘wait by the railroad crossing and count the train cars’. I don’t think the retiree was a railfan, and this was the only railfannish item on the list. But it was a gentle ‘dig’ at the hobby…
Just remember, everyone’s hobby is nuts except for your own!
I sort of fall into category #1 & #3, because I like trains as much as anyone else, as well as having a little knowledge to share with the rest of us who are fans in the truest sense.
Someone mentioned about the bird watchers and some of the other oddites that others do. No one mentioned the people whogo out and chase golf balls around the course all day long. Sure it gives them fresh air, and some exercise (providing they are walking).
There have been a lot of questions about the different railroads in the Chicagoland area (which is my department), partly because I used to work for a railroad too. But so what.
I have other hobbies too, and one of them can coincide with what we do. I listen to fire/police calls on a scanner, but there are all of the railroad frequencies that I also have programmed into the scanner. The one frequency I love to listen to in the Chicago area is 160.545 which is used by the NS in and around Chicago and parts of Inidana.
Railroad police seem to have an interesting type of work. They also have more jurisdiction than a city police officer, but most of it is around their railroad.
Another hobby that I am into is Amateur radio; writing poetry; doing calligraphy work; helping out at The Jerry Lewis Telethon. There are those who say things about all of what I do, but I could care less. It goes to show you how ignorant people are to what others do. What do they do, beisdes go home and watch TV, or a ball game (which by the way, I am a Chicago Cubs Fan).
So let everyone say what they want, because we know we are better and seem to know more than they who think they know it all.
ralph zimmer ralphn9kym@aol.com
People who have a problem with someone else having a hobby or likes and dislikes different from themselves are just plain stupid and ignorant.
Correct!!
If that is the case, time for new friends! My family and friends are fine. In fact a few friends have enjoyed it with me. RR’s, for me, are a lesson in American History and I appoach the hobby in that way.
I’m category 3. There are some hobbies where the enthusiasts aren’t embarrassed, but should be. Train fanning isn’t one of them.
This is about the stupitest thread I’ve seen to date on Trains.
Me, I mostly tell everyone that I touch, I’m a railfan! Its this honesty that gets me the perks!
Jim
I agree. It is real important your comfortable inside you own skin. If your not you need to get there quick.
HAY YOU SAID IT BROTHER!!![:D][:D]
I have never been called any names for being a railfan, at least not in recent years. In the past, I have taken some of my friends with me when I have gone out on a railfan trip and next thing you know their hooked on trains too!!
I only get those annoying “choo-choo” train gifts from my mother, as she finds them “cute” and “fun”.!
Nope! And no one has hassled me face to face, either. But those people fall into two groups - either they are interested in any information I can give them, or they look at me like I am talking about spaceships!
So…what’s wrong with spaceships? I use one each time I have to return to my home planet to give a progress report on the downfall of humanity. The ships have the newer tri-warp power generators, enabling it to cross over into the fifth dimension for quicker travel. I can get home in just under 30 kelgars (about 8 earth-days). Not too bad for a mere reporter! The leaders of our planet get to use the new quad-warp drives; this enables them to jump to the sixth dimension. They can really get around.
We are working on developing the Infinite Probability Drive; however, it is unlikely we will succeed. Too many weird thing happen during tests.
By the way, what you are thinking of me right now is sort of how my wife thinks of me when I tell her I am going out to “chase” trains. She just rolls her eyes, and accepts it, realizing I could have far more expensive, dangerous, or harmful hobbies.
Zardoz - driver has been saying for years he is from another planet! I think he is starting to believe it, too! His pertains more to finding a parking place right in front, knowing (guessing) the right Jeopardy answer, pulling some things out of his, well somewhere, and being right!
Maybe with your travel abilities and his guidance, you could both take a little trip?
Send post cards!
Aw, did this strike a little too close to home to Mr. Sterotypcial #1 I am somebody special, I know more than anybody else, I call everybody stupid, I chase off forum members crybaby.
Gabe
At least I’m not obscesed with sports statistic’s, player worship, or getting rabid foaming at the mouth when my team wins or loses, or throwing beer/seat/knive at another fan at a game who just happens to be wearing the other teams jersey.
Nor do I obscese about the perfect trailer queen Harley/Hot Rod/Sports Car and invest 10’s of thousands of dollars in a obscesevly perfect vehicle that I’ll never drive.
Nor am I convinced that the United Federation of Planets is real and that Capt Kirk and Mr Spock are secretly watching me to make sure I’m worthey of contact in the future.
Nor am I sitting at the local Nudie bars shoveling dollars into the g-string of some girl whos standing next to me simply because I’m shoving dollars into her g-string because I’m convinced she’s actually interested in talking to me.
All these are based on people I have met who’s hobbies I consider more damaging than anything I’ve ever done with my trains. Every hobby has those that are way too obscesed with them, or take them far too seriously. As for the Geek factor, one of the advantages of age is that you become far less intersted in other peoples opinions about what your doing. No one at work pays any attention to the latest loco pic on my coputers wallpaper. I dont make a fuss about my hobbies, because they are just that, my hobbies, and no one even bats an eye (or rolls an eye) anymore. If someone doesnt like my hobby, too bad, I really dont give a dam what other people care, I just think whats so screwed up in thier lives that they have to take pleasure putting down other peoples hobbies.
I once met a lady who thought model trains were stupid and childish, then I found out she a HUGE teddy bear collector…I mean, go figure!
No one ever felt it wierd that I liked trains. What folks did question was how I concidered myself a “fan.” Most people felt a “fan” is some one who roots for something i.e team,horse race & such.Since there’s no para mutual betting on trains racing against there schdules,it’s nothing you could physically root for.They say I am mostly a train “observer” I know, that doesn’t roll off the tongue as well as “fan.” Easter
Me…embarrassed, heck no! People at school think it’s interesting because it’s a more uncommon hobby. The school was going to do a story about me in the school newspaper about me and my train hobby. An engineer once told me to tell anyone that ever gives me static about my love for the hobby to kiss my @$$, because they are the ones who won’t make anything of themselves, he went on to say that when I get a job with the railroad that they will look stupid because I’m already studying up. He also said you will love the look on their face when they see what your driving in a few years. (I guess he was working from expierence because he had been working for about 7 years and 2 hours ago when he went on duty he got out of a 2005 Chevy (heck yeah!) pickup.) So, they can just do what ever they want, (hope I ain’t stepping on any toes) play paintball, ride 4 wheelers, go muddin’, and fight, we’ll see how many of them go pro in those fields while I’m railfanning and learning and in a few years blowing the horn for them at the crossing and seeing how many of them made something of themselves.