PLEASE BE CAREFUL HOW YOU REPLY. I am not looking for any oppinions or long responses, and I really do not want to start much discussion. I just need input for an idea I am trying to put together. I need help. Your help is very much appreciated.
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How many facets are there to being a Model Railroader? It is an all-encompassing hobby that required many skills. I am trying to put together a list of the skills and interests included in the hobby of Model Railroading. I know I have not come up with all of them.
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Prototype operation
Watching trains run
Electronics/electrical
Woodworking
Researching prototype history
Mechanical design
Landscape/scenery design
Building models
Collecting equipment/models
Displaying models
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ADDED BY SUGGESTION:
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SNJROY: Painting (Airbrush and had), I can’t believe I missed this one.
MAPGUY: Computer Programming
MAPGUY: Inventory Management
BRENT: Being an ambassador for the hobby
IRON ROOSTER: Civil Engineering
ED: Home Construction Skills
ROB: Author
Dr WAYNE: Imagination/Creativity
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That cannot be all. What should I add to the list?
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I will add your ideas to this orginal post to keep a cummulative list up to date.
You need to have the eyes of an artist, the hands of a watchmaker, the legs/persistence of a long distance runner and the heart of a child to be a model railroader.
Brush painting and airbrushing. I know model railroaders who have only two skills: putting an engine and cars on a track and making them run… And can be really bad at it!
You need to be an ambassador of the hobby. Explain all the facets involved and why it is enjoyable. When people are not inquisitive enough to educate themselves about anything, they become dismissive at best and fearful at worst. Showing them some wiring under the layout is something that peaks their interest and I find elevates their mindset to a higher plane.
When I was younger I used to “hide” the fact that I was a modeler. It was much easier for me to avoid the usual “plays with toy trains” mentality.
Since then, I’ve matured and I’m not inhibited to share my hobby with others. Over the years I have had some positive influence introducing about six individuals to the hobby. Some I met at social events, some were co-workers. Three of them have since built small layouts and have purchased models and supplies and publications. This “customer base” helps us all in new product development and a greater “knowledge base” of information out there.
I meet up with these folks, and others, at train shows and invite them to my layout. I’m glad to have encouraged these people to be a part of the hobby.
I — and in turn — all modelers can benefit from having larger numbers of participants in the hobby.
I don’t know why anyone would not want to promote model railroading.
Let me back up here…I like to show my non-train friends what I’m doing, but I’m not going to go out of my way to try to get anyone involved. I truly believe that if they want to know more about it, they will ask.
I recently had another batch of relatives in from England. They wanted to see the layout after my sister told them about it. I could have taken them into the trainroom and said there it is and after a look gone back to the kitchen.
Instead, I fired it up and with my wireless DCC controller had a couple of trains running, was moving engines on and off the turntable and in and out of the roundhouse all with the same controller.
I then showed the bundle of wire underneath the TT/RH for all the feeders and a bunch of the other wiring involved with the layout. This peaked the husbands’ interest immediately as he is in the tech business.
His wife (my Cousin) had a real fascination with the foam mountains and how I made them. I took a hunk of foam and showed her how by just gouging chunks out of it you got the shapes and showed her the thirty odd colours I used to paint them. I showed her all my coffee cans of sifted dirt, ground foam, leaves, and homemade static grass applicator.
Then I showed them the wiring I was working on to light the RH. LED/lampshade.
The result was they learned just what is involved with the hobby, so much more than they had thought.
I decided to add Brent’s suggestion of being an ambassador for the hobby. Even though this is something I do not do anymore, it is something that others might feel is a large part of the enjoyment.
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In fact, twenty-five years ago when I was a club officer in Scale Rails of Southwest Florida, I took being a hobby ambassador very seriously.
You need research skills and the mindset of both a museum curator and a librarian.
Research skills to find both the prototype information and the modeling information. Even knowing how to search these Forums and this website takes some skill. Knowing how best to use the “Advanced Search” function on the Walthers website takes some experience and skill.
Museum Curator to know what to keep and prize, what can be discarded and its value; what is and is not duplicative and what is best used as trade bait.
Librarian – related to research skills, but how to organize the materials you have so that they can be found. I refer not just to traditional library “literary” materials such as useful articles, books, digital and 35mm images, and favorite websites, but also the “library” of parts, tools, materials and supplies that all of us acquire.
Needless to say diplomatic skills can also be beneficial. A subset of that is negotiating skills, useful not only on the homefront, but at swap meets.
Any votes for mathematician, civil engineer, and/or draftsman?
In addition to the stuff listed elsewhere, I use those three all the time. The size, shape, and dimensions required to bring the layout into existence were a breeze.
i know this is not what your looking for but to be a modeler you do not need most of the skills that have been listed , the first and formost thing is the desire , then the skills come as you advance into the hobby, some never advance past the first level a loop of track , then others move into the hobby for other reasons some listed ones some are not listed.
This is not meant to be a list if what it takes to be a model railroader, but a list of what is included under the massive umbrella of model railroading.
I am having problems with this thread, but you may attribute that to my bad command of the English language!
I got my first train set when I was 7 years old. Had my Dad told me at that time, that I´d have to develop skills and knowledge in:
Prototype operation
Railfanning
Electronics/electrical
Woodworking
Researching prototype history
Mechanical design
Landscape/scenery design
Building models
Collecting equipment/models
Displaying models
Painting
Computer Programming
Inventory Management
and have to learn how to be an ambassador for the hobby, I´d have problably screamed and run away, never to touch model trains again.
IMHO, the most important facet is our love for trains and their model representation, this is the driving force behind our hobby, which lets us develop the skills we need for it. That and, last but not least, having fun in what we are doing.
I have the feeling that the fun part is forgotten.
That’s similar to the “How long is a rope?” question. Each modeller will embrace only the facets which apply to his or her interests.
The hobby indeed may encompass many skills, but not all are required by all modellers.
If I can put the track together, and place a locomotive on it, and plug in the transformer and make the train move, am I not a model railroader of sorts?
And if I build a live steamer, using all the myriad skills needed to do so, I am also a model railroader - no “better” than the first person, I think, but definitely different.
I’m uncertain as to your reasons for pursuing such a list, but it seems to me that it’s destined to be inconclusive.
