Anyone know anything about nicknames used to describe model builders?
Lots of names, though few that can be repeated here.
Non-model railroader don’t know what to call us. I hear “has a train setup,” “runs toy trains,” and the sort. Most come across as mildly condescending, as they’re trying to be polite about something which obviously interests me greatly but otherwise seems really stupid.
The flip side is that, even though my layout is very modestly sized (about 9’x17’) most will still say that “he has a really big train setup in his basement.” And having no other reference, they’ll describe it as really realistic. Civilians.
STINKY
Been called that for years at the club.
I have been also called Stinky at my one buddies house by his wife. We were scenicing my modual and the fumes leaked up thru the floor above. And it has stuck ever since.
I have also been called Knucklehead… Kevin
I am refereed to by friend neighbors & family a like as the crazy old fart in the basement who plays with his trains. I wear that as a badge of honor as I am amongst some really great people most of who reside here on occasionally. All the other names I’ve been called over the years are not fit for this board. Maybe a farm livestock forum would be more appropriate.
This is a little different…
The guys at my LHS keep calling me “The Horn Guy”, even though I keep telling them that I’m not a locomotive horn expert! .[banghead] I just enjoy reading the related info, the history, and listening to sound samples. I call it “Train Music” [^]
Ed Kaspriske (dieselairhorns.com) is THE human locomotive horn guru!
Never had a nickname because I never tell anyone I’m a “train guy” and it doesn’t bother me, I used to tell others about the hobby and they roared, beer in hand, as they gawked at the football game on tv. Then I thought to myself, just what do these guys do in their spare time?? I then realized I was watching them doing their spare time, these people have no outside interests whatsoever, the only interest in life for these people is big bottles of malt and a score of 16 to 24, that’s it, nothing more. So not having a nickname doesn’t really bother me, I’d rather be discussing “stuff” with guys like you.
Don’t mean to take this off topic, but where the heck did the nickname “railroad buff” come from, and why can’t we shake it? I’ve heard it applied to both model railroaders and railfans, and I seem to hear it most often when the local media does a story on an individual or group of modelers/railfans practicing their craft. To me, it sounds really corny and outdated, and I believe it communicates to the public a picture of a goofy old guy in striped overalls with a bunch of RR buttons blowing one of those wooden train whistles every five minutes. Not an image I want to have applied to me or other serious modelers/railfans.
I prefer the term “railroad enthusiast” but that one’s kinda lame too.
Tom
I guess this all reminds me of the piece done by Tom Waites in his Mule CD—" What’s He Building Down There?" —it almost makes one wonder-----
Model Train Nut! The Indian playing with his engines. Toy train nut. He who plays with toy trains. Been called 'em all.
No one has ever called me by other than my name, although when I was in my early teens I was called a couple of nicknames…nothing deprecatory. All my relatives and friends know we well enough and respect me for the rest of my life’s work and interests. They tolerate my train talk when it comes up, which I try to avoid now because I was pretty passionate early on…I know not to wear out my welcome at this point. Strangely, when my wife entertains, or when we do as a couple, it is the women who seem slightly keener to see what I have accomplished and hie themselves down to the basement without invitation. [:D]
Maybe they want their own husbands to get with the programme.
-Crandell
An Amtrak engineer introduced my wife to the term “Foamer” while they talked about me as I shot photos of his locomotive.
As terms go, it’s not especially bad.
It’s an interesting term—where’d that come from? Or rather, whence its history?
well the score was actually 24 to 30, NFC won, and my Steelers won the superbowl, unfortunetly my Packers screwed the pooch and lost out to being in the play offs because someone was an idiot, i prefer micro brew rather than malt, thou shall not watching anything Sundays other than pig skins and race cars for it is a sin, and even though my Atlast Trainman GP9TT Milwaukee Road #208 was built and commissioned in 1954 and the Kato NW2 around the same time, i plan on accompaning the two with a USRA built 0-8-0. my car and my motorcylce will take up the rest of my free time, accept when i’m driving/riding one to the train store. although it might not be a good idea to take the bike there because there isn’t enough storage area on it. i have a mixed relationship wih my local train store. i can’t go there with out buying something and usually don’t have money to buy anything, so i don’t go there very much. i would probably get 5-year-old powty if i went there and didn’t get anything. as for the nickname i don’t have one yet. i’m like the one person that responded. i tend to not acknowledge being a trai model because a most “Civilains” see them as toys, not working models.
by the by, anybody know when the Sports Illustrated swim suit addition is coming out??? and
Well first of all we are Freaks 
But at my hobby shop there like hey its the Conrail Guy.
From what I’ve read it was a description of overly excited railfans who seemed to “foam at the mouth” when seeing something/anything of interest on a railroad. So “foamers” is mostly a name for rabid train chasers and not us model railroaders.
I’ve personally never heard anyone call me a nickname. I’ve never hesitated to mention that I’m a model railroader; I don’t broadcast it though.
‘Train geek’ is popular. Harmless enough. It’s always fascinated me the all various things people are interested in. I can (and do) spend two days at the Springfield train show every year when most folks I know would be bored senseless after an hour.
Some years ago one of my customers was railing (no pun intended) against Amtrak’s electrification project for the Northeast Coridor and speaking of the proponents said, “Have you ver met any of those train nuts? They’re realy crazy!” He was quite emphatic. I didn’t confess.
Hi!
Well, I have called myself a “certified train nut” and “train nut” for short. I guess most of us on the Forum would fall into that category as well.
Mononguy mentioned about being talked to condescendingly (spell?) by folks when they hear he plays with trains. I’ve been there a few times, but if folks get to know me they understand the scope of my interest (and investment) and it takes on an identifier as to who I am. Put another way, I’ve been introduced to folks with the words, “this here is Bill, he collects old trains and has a huge trainset”.
You know, if I had a buck for everytime someone asked about my “trainset” I could buy a few old PFM brass locos!
Also, as Monoguy mentioned, when folks see my Lionel collection and / or the HO layout they are almost always impressed. They remark on the layout as being so huge (only 11x15) and complicated and so realistic and filled with detail. Ha, I won’t lie to you, I eat that up. But of course I know that my stuff is just good - but not great.
Oh, another thing that folks bring up that I tolerate is that they have trouble understanding that the fun (to me and I imagine a lot of you folks) of model railroading is in the building of the layout, and that a layout is never truly finished. I’m in the process now of rebuilding the layout, and folks often say, “gee, that is so much work”, and I often have trouble explaining that it is fun (to me) and not work.
Hey, ENJOY,
Mobilman44
My wife calls me a train geek all the time. [:D] Nothing wrong with that. Could be worse.
Been called a foamer also ( by an ex IC&E employee).
What are avid golfers called? Airplane modelers, “warhammer” builders, ect. We can’t be the only ones being called funny, mean names by the uninformed.
I always seem to run into a few guys who would fall into that catagory at train show.