I seen a special on Merrile Haggard The country singer.
He evidently is into model railroading.
He had what looked like “O” scale equipment.
http://www.boldts.net/TrainsCelebs.shtml
http://www.8-track-shack.com/merle-haggard-my-love-affair-with-trains-p-68123.html
Looks like this was discussed here previously and probably everthing else.
Who’d of thunk it?
It may have been discussed before, but it was long enough ago so most of us missed it or forgot it. Interesting some of the names mentioned. I imagine some of the older entertainers used to travel by train now they miss them. (Sad, the list one could make of those who have gone to the great train station in the sky.) Would be hard to build a layout while traveling the country as some of them do, but building cars and structures would be good time fillers. Get right to bench work, track work, scenery or operations when they get home.
Thanks for bringing it back.
Have fun,
As always in these discussions, you have to take these lists of “celebrity model railroaders” with a big grain of salt. Especially in the peak years of toy trains, a lot of celebrities (actors, politicians, etc.) had their pictures taken visiting the Lionel plant or showroom, often holding an engine or something, or appeared on a TV show sponsored by Lionel or American Flyer etc… but weren’t model railroaders or collectors. For example, the kids on the set of “The King and I” had an American Flyer train set (perhaps furnished by AF?) that Yul Brynner posed by, but AFAIK he was not otherwise involved with trains.
I know in the interviews in the show last night Merle what looked like some (Lionel?) O gauge cars on a display shelf behind him, but I don’t recall reading or hearing anything about him being a model railroader or collector per se. As noted in the show, his father worked for the ATSF in California, and Merle grew up in a house his father built from an old Santa Fe wood boxcar he bought from the railroad.
I’d say he likes railroads. Here is a picture of one of his tour buses:
A man who visited Merle Haggard at his home, said he has model trains running all through his home, valued at $250,000, so I think that’s enough to qualify him as a model railroader and not just a a toy train light weight.
That in addition to the classic songs he has written about trains, his tour bus insignia, and his psychological makeup, due to his fathers work, and his hobo traveling as a young boy, qualifies him as a bonefide Model railroader of the heart at least, possibly more than some people here on this forum.
Trains have always been a visceral subject in traditional Country music.
http://www.rounder.com/artist/music/default.aspx?pid=61361&aid=97367.
Someone else made up the list about miscellaneous celebrities on the other old thread.
I’d say that qualifies him. I wonder if he does his own or hires others to do the building.
Merle had a album years ago called “My love affair with Trains”…all train songs with Merle talking between cuts and train SFX…Album had photos of his layout which at that time was O scale…You might pick up a copy on E-bay…I have two DJ albums that I salted back and also the 8 track!!..guess that dates me!!..He also had a much earlier album showing Him and a old car that tires had been removed from rims and was setting on rails…looked to be somewhere in desert…Don’t know if it realy ran on the rails…Jerry
I remember that album. I borrowed it from the library once way back when. And I do remember the pictures of his trains. I want to say the notes on the back specifically mentioned Haggard’s model railroading.