I debated whether to post this thread or not. But what the heck. Granted, I’m still a railfan/foamer/buff/what have you. But nowhere to the degree I used to be before I started living the dream (even if it is a nightmare at times).
So I had no real hobby to fill in that void, but I think I found it. It may be even um, geekier? than railfanning, but it is what it is. I’d rather not say it, but a clue lies in my ever-changing avatars I use here. The third hobby I’m starting and slowly getting into is O-scale stuff. I never really been much into model trains, but I work with some guys that are, so I think it is rubbing off on me.
Anyone else get a job out here and have to find a new hobby?
You’re better off not to force it… go about your life and keep an open mind…followup on anything at all that strikes you as interesting. And before you know it you’ve got yourself a new hobby…
If you’re talking about anime(going by your avi) I used to work with an engineer who was as well and drew comic books on the side. You gotta find something that interests you outside of this job or you’ll go crazy. I’m a baseball nut, I collect baseball memorabilia along with train stuff. I say whatever makes you happy, do it.
I work for a lumberyard. The thought had never occured to me to take up woodfanning.
Your avatars seem to indicate an interest in anime. My 13 year old son is realy artistic and that kind of things appeal to him. He also likes to sit for hours and watch the 5000 hours of hard to follow anime cartoons available on Netflix. Which part are are you attracted to- the art part, or the TV watching part? [:-,]
“O” gauge railroading? Brother you could do a LOT worse! I’ve been “O” gauging for years, man it’s FUN! I enjoy trains shows a lot more than I ever enjoyed gun shows. Maybe because no-one at a train show is worried about raids…
Murph - you could take an interest in logging equipment - there are models out there of the rigs.
Zug: Art - in all it’s forms - is a great hobby - you can get into it as much or as little as you like. If you just want to do it for your own edification, you can. If you want to share your skills, you can.
Drawing, painting, music, photography - all good outlets.
If you take up drawing, you can get out the sketch pad while you’re waiting for the cab, or the train you’re in the hole for…
[:-,] Drawing trains ? Or at least railroad-related scenes ?
I like your current avatar - reminds me of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel You Only Live Twice, and some scenes from Sean Connery’s circa 1975 film “The Wind and the Lion” - and my attitude towards some cretinous people on certain days . . .
There are a lot of different facets to railroad hobbies. I do graphic art to some extent professionally, but mostly as a hobby. I do watercolors of historical railroading either set in the 1880-1900 era or the first generation diesels. I could really get into model railroading, but I have always held back because I would lose myself in it, and I have never wanted to make that commitment. I see graphic art as being capable of expressing everything that physical models can. Making paintings requires intense historical research and detail references. I have done some railroad photography, but I like the freedom of making images by painting.
I think a lot of times people are born with a natural inclination. You see that being really extreme sometimes such as someone picking up a musical instrument for the first time and soon are playing like they had a lifetime of experience with it. With those kinds of forces, the hobby is likely to find you.
With me being in healthcare and doing the photography thing on the side I didst find myself getting into music a lot lately…now I have something of a not full scale studio using a few pieces of software and a few interfaces…
??? No one here is on my ‘cretins’ list - that’s pretty much reserved for certain politicians and clearly incompetent bureaucrats, health insurance companies, (purported) investment banks, brokerages, and Wall Street types, etc. . . . [:-^]
I’ve been watching them on netflix. Finished a couple of the series (I like to watch one series at a time, in order). I’ve dabbled a little in the art, but I’m no good at it. I draw for fun, but it will never be a career.
The wife and I enjoy traveling and have many / various interests so we intermix them to get the best of all without over doing any one of them. If I try to put to much RR into a trip she gets board and thus it spoils our enjoyment overall so it’s always a balance of interests and we both have gained an interest in each others hobbies. This is also why I converted my Travel Blog to start covering more then just our RR trips as well as put in what-else we saw during our RR trips.
Besides being a train fan, I also am a wood turner, hence my part time job at WoodCraft.
I specialize in turning pens, useful and fun items at the same time, and I teach a pen turning class to boot…
Here is an example of the fun you can have…
Yup, its a cigar pen.
I dont see any reason you can’t follow both hobbies
My middle daughter was a drummer, softball player, (played on three teams at once, school, league and select play) plus played vollyball…if she can do all three, a smart fellow like you can do at least two at once!
I’m guessing your railfanning side has been diminished for about the same reasons as mine. Namely, too much familiarity with the subject. It isn’t the nightmare part per se, but if you are like me, the only real time you normally have to railfan is the local stuff. And you see that every day, so it’s not as exciting as it used to be. When I get a chance to go see things I don’t normally see in different locales, that’s when it’s more fun for me to railfan. (I belong to a local railfan group that meets once a month to show slides. For me the best shows are the ones with slides from the 1960s and 70s. The modern stuff is good, but the older stuff is great.)
I already was a model railroader and I still from time to time pick up books on history. So, my other hobbies haven’t really changed too much.
I’ve decided to do a project documenting the grain elevators of Colorado’s Front Range and Eastern Plains this year. Granted, shooting grain elevators has been done before, sometime quite well (Measure of Emptiness: Grain Elevators in the American Landscape by Frank Gohlke features some downright exquisite photography for example). Still, it’s something I’m interested in and am looking forward to adding my own personal vision to the subject. I’ve only just started the project, but I already have some shots that I rather like:
Bottom line is, if it’s enjoyable to you and doesn’t harm you or anyone else, why worry about it? I know I experience ebbs in the railfanning hobby from time to time, too. If you don’t find any kind of enjoyment when you’re trackside, maybe it’s a good thing to take some time off with another hobby.
I wish you the best of luck getting it all figured out!
I guess I have this backwards. I love sailing, I am the happiest offshore, no land in sight and throw in some sloppy seas and some weather I am grinning ear to ear. But since I have bene doing less sailing around here in exchange for the bigger trips my free time was filled model railroading which has lead me to learn more about how the real railroads work and they types of trains they use.
