Tuesday, 10-24 how come?

[ezdays]

Today's question of the week.... no, that's this week's question of the month... or is it... no, let's just stick with the question of the day:

What got you into model railroading in the first place?

That sounds easy enough to answer.

 

[MasonJar]

Train set for Christmas 1977 (or thereabouts).

Played with it until about 1980, then it was packed away. My parents delivered it to me once I had bought a house, and we were expecting our first kid...

Set it up and have not looked back...

Andrew

 

[lionelfan]

Getting my first Lionel trains in 1961, I was 8 yrs old. The train still runs. I lost interest in my mid to late teens ( girls and cars took over) Then came back again the early 70's and have enjoyed it since.
I think what keeps it interesting, is that I can model a time when things were less complicated and it brings back the simple joy of playing with trains that most of us had when we were young. I really get a kick out of running a old Lionel steamer with the puffing smoke and enjoying the operating accessories. I have tried to keep it simple and so I do not have very much "new" Lionel, only from the late 60's through the early 80's.

 

[ezdays]

After having retired a few years ago, I needed something constructive to do other than the normal "honey-do" things and I have aways been interested in modeling. I was vasilating between trains and RC aircraft when some totally disinterested clerk gave me a rather flippant answer to a question about flying model planes, :curse: so I went for the trains. I chose the right route, I can epress myself as I please creating places that don't exist anywhere else. :thumb: One other big thing, I can run my trains anytime I want, day or night, sunshine or rain. I'd like to see those flyboys do that...sign1 sign1

Oh yeah, and a slight operators screw-up on an RC plane can take out months of work and ruin a few thousand-dollar aircraft. Derail a train once in a while and.... so, big deal...

 

[MasonJar]

Oh yeah, and a slight operators screw-up on an RC plane can take out months of work and ruin a few thousand-dollar aircraft. Derail a train once in a while and.... so, big deal...

I was at a model aircraft show several years ago, and two guys were "dogfighting" with their large scale (1:12?) WW1 biplanes. The announcer was narrating over the loudspeaker - mostly about the prototype airplanes, but also a bit about the models.

Well one of them made this tight twisty turn, and I remember thinking - he's not going to be able to pull out of that in time... Sure enough the plane hit the ground and was almost completely destroyed. The narrator didn't even get excited - he simply ad-libbed "Well, that's going to cost George about $10,000 dollars" and kept right on going with the script. hamr

Andrew

 

[Ralph]

I was originally inspired by a series of articles about building a 4X8 HO layout in Boys Life magazine circa 1970. I also have an uncle who modeled and eventually gave me his HO trains when he decided to go into N scale.
Ralph

 

[hoppercarmaker]

When I was about 5 years old we lived on a hill over looking railroad tracks about a quarter mile below.
let's see that was about.............30 years ago.
Feels like it was yesterday, sure would like to have a few of those years back sign1

 

[kitsune]

Can't remember. Probably some dumb Botchman set with a Santa Fe warbonnet F9 though. Doesn't everybody get one of those at some point in their childhood? I'm amazed they still make them!

 

[jflessne]

My grandpa used to pull out the old Lionel when I would visist. Kept me quietly playing in the laundry room for hours.

I think we had an old Marx engine that never ran!

 

[jflessne]

Oh yeah, and a slight operators screw-up on an RC plane can take out months of work and ruin a few thousand-dollar aircraft. Derail a train once in a while and.... so, big deal... [/quote]

Sorry not to derail the topic but...

Eghhh go out to east Mesa, Az to see the annual Model Jet Rally. You can see an occasional gas cloud that look like nuclear blast in the distance. And soon after a man breaks down and cries.

 

[santafewillie]

My dad collected and ran Lionel trains that dated back to his first set from 1937. He really didn't model, just ran them in complicated loops. As A kid in the 60's, he took me to see an HO layout owned by a man named Bill McClelland (think that's the correct spelling), a newspaper man in Dallas that I never forgot. That hooked me although I didn't become active until 1985.

 

[2-8-2]

My late grandfather had an N scale layout in his basement. I remember going over there as a little boy thinking it was the greatest thing in the world to go down there and run trains.

Grandpa had a slight case of arthritis, and the doctor recommended that he take up a detailed hobby to keep his hands and fingers busy. You don't get much more detailed than N scale model railroading! Anyway...the layout wasn't fancy, just two 4x8 sheets in an L shape. He wasn't very artistic. Some of the trees were just small pine cones painted green, though most were modeled. All the structures are the Plasticville kind. And he didn't pay tribute to any particular railroad or era, the entire roster was mix and match. But I didn't care. It was fun just because he made it fun. Half the layout still exists today. He sold the yard/industry portion shortly before his health started failing. From what I know, a train hasn't ran on it for at least 10 years.

 

[ejen34]

Growing up we had a MEC/Guilford siding run along our boundry with 2-3 passes per day of the local switcher or Geep. Began by taking pictures of the trains, then one day (after 20 years or so) started in N scale.

 

[TomPM]

It was my father's fault. He set up a Lionel set under the Christmas tree when I was three years old. A few years later he built a simple HO layou in the basement.

BTW, that Lionel set, well at least the loco, has made appearences under the Christmas almost every year since. The last time was Christmas 2005. It is expected to be there this Christmas too. The new engineer is now my son. Three generations have operated that loco under Christmas trees.

 

[viperman]

Got a trainset for my first ever XMas, at ripe old age of 6months. Pretty much been hooked since!

 

[stripes]

When I was young my parents used to bring me to all the big department stores in downtown Boston at Christmas time. They had wondefull animated window displays and lights everywhere! Upstairs at Jordan Marsh (now Macy`s) they had the enchanted village and this huge train layout with all the working Lionel bells and whistles!!!
I got hooked, what a nice memory!!

 

[lionelfan]

It was my father's fault. He set up a Lionel set under the Christmas tree when I was three years old. A few years later he built a simple HO layou in the basement.

BTW, that Lionel set, well at least the loco, has made appearences under the Christmas almost every year since. The last time was Christmas 2005. It is expected to be there this Christmas too. The new engineer is now my son. Three generations have operated that loco under Christmas trees.

How neat three generations operating the same Lionel. Speaks volumns about the durability and quality of the old time Lionel sets.

 

[Ralph]

My dad collected and ran Lionel trains that dated back to his first set from 1937. He really didn't model, just ran them in complicated loops. As A kid in the 60's, he took me to see an HO layout owned by a man named Bill McClelland (think that's the correct spelling), a newspaper man in Dallas that I never forgot. That hooked me although I didn't become active until 1985.

You saw Bill's layout?! Cool! He was a frequent contributor to model magazines and wrote an excellent book on model railroad scenary.
Ralph

 

[UP SD40-2]

i grew up with model RRing:thumb: . my dad started the hobby a year before i was born(1964), and we built my first layout in 73-74 . i have been in and out of it till 7yrs ago, been 100% into it since then. -Deano

 

[Collyn]

I blame it on thomas the tank. after thomas it was a hot weels train set. After hot wheels it was a cheap lifelike kit setup on a 4 x 4 sheet of masonite that my dad threw together.