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How Did You Get Started In Model Railroading?
In the 6 April Posting we asked “What Do You Like Most About The Hobby?” and got some great feedback from readers.
This week the question is “How did you get started in the hobby?” Feel free to share your story using the COMMENTS link below. I’m sure others would like to hear what got you started with model trains. Submit your comments to the Blog Moderator using the link below.
10 Responses to How Did You Get Started In Model Railroading?
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I used to live next to the main line as a child and so was always fascinated by trains. I got my first train set as a birthday present from my parents. From that acorn, a mighty oak grew.
5 years ago Santa gave my neighbor’s grandson Jordan a train set for xmas , and I started doing things with him and for him , from making paper houses and a tunnel . and have since caught a major case of MRRD ( Model RailRoaders Disease ) the basic layout that the Elves set up ( 4 x 8 ) has grown to around 130 sq. feet in my neighbor’s basement the layout being a combination of O and ON30 , with a small HO loop in the original layout . we’ve done some very detailed work with the scenery building hills mountain tunnels , made houses and train cars from kits , scratch and kit .bashed , Last year we did 2 mini 32″ x 48 ” N and HON layouts , and this past January did a small Z scale layout in an old suitcase , and recently acquired 2 mixer cases to do larger Z and N Layouts in that I’ll be able to take out to show people
as a kid back in the 60’s had large layouts ( 80 sq feet ) in the attic , but nothing as nice as what we’ve done in my neighbor’s basement
I was raised on the Iron Range of Minnesota. I was a young boy during the steam/diesel transition era. I can remember the 2-8-2s, 2-10-4s and my favorite, the 2-8-8-4 Yellowstone M3/4 series. They routinely passed within 100 yards of my home. I loved the smell of hot oil, steam and when close enough, they seemed to breathe. I can still remember the whistle of the Yellowstones, they sounded more like ship’s horns. The Yellowstones could haul 150-175 full ore cars. They did tend to tie up the grade crossings. During the late 50s, steamers started disappearing to be replaced by SD-9s. It took 4 SD-9s to haul the same load as 1 Yellowstone. After my retirement, I decided to model The DM&IR during that steam transition era and remember my childhood.
I grew up in the 40’s and 50’s steam era with first ride on IC Land of Corn to Chicago. After many trips on Amtrack and the Durango-Silverton, my lovely wife bought me “the best Christmas present ever” an HO train set. I don’t think at the time that she had a clue what I would create in the basement. I’m hooked!
I started when I was five. I got a Lionel from my grandparents. A Santa Fe freight. I still have it and it still runs.
A good question
As a 10 year old, my father owned a newsagency/toy shop, where he had on stock a Triang train set. I wanted it, and he said I could have it so long as I paid the ticket price for it. I thinking this unfair I asked where would I get the money, he said “Get a job”. “But I’m only ten, where would I get a job”. He responded by directing me to the service garage across the road from home “Go and ask Mr Noack” he said. I did, and got the job. Eighteen months later I was the proud owner of a train set. Fifteen years later, now married and settled down, I remembered that set, and began to build a proper N scale layout. It was followed by 3 more and then into HO. Dad taught me the value of things, Mr Noack (Ray) taught me the value of having a job. Both taught me how to work, and the train set taught me the value of the world’s greatest hobby
I got into it cause here in Erie, Pennsylvania we had, at one time, street running with the Norfolk Southerners. And at that time Conrail was still a railroad. Not to mention my father, R.I.P. DAD, was a model railroader. Even though he had a layout in the attic that we were not allowed to even see. But knowing he had a model railroad that peaked my interest and the real railroads in Erie got me started and I just ran with it and turned my interest in trains into my wide range of knowledge of railroads and model railroading that I have now. My brother really didn’t get into it until he was like 10 but then he went into cars and being a mechanic. Then once we both got into our 20’s he started to get a little into model RAILROADING and I tried to give him some info and get him into the whole aspect of trains. It really didn’t stick until we both got into our 30’s and now he’s got the railroad bug. He’s really into the whole Z scale world. He really likes that but they are still too new so I’ve got him into the world of N scale and at the present time we’re working on a small lil N scale layout. I say small cause we share a mobile home and don’t really have the room for him to run with it like I am. I’m in the process of design of an HO scale layout that I’m gonna share my bedroom with. It’s gonna be a point-to-point switching railroad. I’ve come up with like 50 different track plans but I’ve narrowed it down to about 5 different ones I like so I’ve got a decision to make….LOL. And to think it all started with my father’s layout in the attic that we were not allowed to even see and street running Norfolk Southern…..LOL. This truly is the BEST HOBBY IN THE WORLD!!!!! I freakin love this hobby and will NEVER stray away.
5 years ago I decided I had enough of working and wanted to retire. She who must be obeyed told me I could retire if I got a hobby. So I’ve been retired for 4and a half years and have 3 massive layouts, 2 in n scale and 1 in oo scale
Many years ago my dad bought us kids a Hornby wind up train for Christmas but it was three or four years before we got it as mum said he hadn’t finished playing with it yet. then i saw a Marklin electric train set in a shop window as a Christmas display and i wanted one of them. It took nearly a year for me to save enough money working after school for a pound a week but eventually i did get a set and mu uncle who worked at a building supply store got me a sheet of pinex and some other timber to put around the edge etc and i had a 8 ft by 4 ft layout in my bedroom. I have since sold the Marklin as it was tin plate in those days running on 16 volts AC and a three rail system. I then advanced to American HO scale Dc and this was set up in a garage that was 18 ft wide by 36 ft long that was no longer being used on the orchard where we lived this layout had scenery etc as my second attempt at that side of the hobby it took 7 years to construct as i was working as a panel beater at that stage, so a couple of hour after tea was the norm, now that i am married and have our own home my space is limited to a 3 m by 4 m space in the garage. Unfortunately my wife does not share my hobby. Now that I am retired I have more time and every Friday a mate and I spend at least 6 hours working on a layout at a steam park Just out of Christchurch NZ we live 20 miles away and have to travel by car one week we use his car and then alternate with my car. Just as well my wife has her own car so now having 60 odd years with model railway I still find that i can learn something new every day. All Layouts that I have something to do with are running DCC and sound. How far have we come since those early days.
I am 26 years old. I started this hobby last year. I grew up in Eastern Europe till I was about 9 years old. My family moved to the United States in 2001. What I remember most about my childhood was the trains that passed by everyday. Sometimes, us kids would sneak off, to get close to the trains. The immense noise and the shear height of the trains was super impressive as they passed my eyes. The smell of the coal and the the smoke filling the air was very memorable as well. In the United States, I asked my dad to buy my some trains, he did and I played with them all the time. I would make my own train tracks. Recently, I got back into the hobby because I realized how happy trains made me. See in life we are forced to conform and be what the world wants us to be. I am reclaiming my freedom to choose what I want to do, and building trains is one big part of my life. I am grateful to be a part of this community.