always been a fan of trains big and small and living on th emain east - west line across australia helped, laying awake at night hearing those old 830 class SAR diesels shunting used to be heaven, but never had the wherewithall to build a model layout, and health and a few other things kept me from becoming a loco driver and a few years ago a friend (and fellow train nutter) happened to be using his copy of TRS UTC, he let me have a quick try and a week later I bought a copy, ive since owned UTC, 2004, and now on 2006............... whats not to love!
what made you like trains?
- Thread starter NYCboy
- Start date
WileeCoyote
Eatibus Almost Anythingus
One word. Thomas.
Of course there were other influences as well, my dad had been doing LGB for some time before I was born, so I ended up growing up playing with that a lot and watching Thomas (so yes, he did beat it into me). And since we lived in Scranton at the time we went to Steamtown a lot, now we are in Germany where a lot more trains run. So railfanning opportunities are pretty much endless.
So far I've gone to more museum railways and railway musuems than I ever thought existed (heck, I need to get dressed and start pedalling if I want to get to the one I work at soon). I still watch Thomas occasionally, though only the old ones with George Carlin and Ringo Starr as the narrators.
WileeCoyote
Of course there were other influences as well, my dad had been doing LGB for some time before I was born, so I ended up growing up playing with that a lot and watching Thomas (so yes, he did beat it into me). And since we lived in Scranton at the time we went to Steamtown a lot, now we are in Germany where a lot more trains run. So railfanning opportunities are pretty much endless.
So far I've gone to more museum railways and railway musuems than I ever thought existed (heck, I need to get dressed and start pedalling if I want to get to the one I work at soon). I still watch Thomas occasionally, though only the old ones with George Carlin and Ringo Starr as the narrators.
WileeCoyote
kool.train toys is also a part of why i like trains
Spawn_of_Chaos97
Trainz for Everyone!
MTH Big Boy, saw one at a train show last year and was hooked.
I was 14 months, with an ear infection, and Mom bought me a Brio circle set to pass the time (this was during and after the Great Ice Storm of '93, for those familiar with their recent Birmingham history...), and I was hooked.
Dad only made it worse, of course, and it's only ever gone downhill from there! :hehe:
Dad only made it worse, of course, and it's only ever gone downhill from there! :hehe:
johnchisem
Mr Grumpy
What made ME like trains?...........
...........lack of success chasing girls!
Never mind I did find Miss Right eventually, trouble is she's ALWAYS right. To prove a point, I'm off out with the 8f this weekend and she is moaning like heck about having to walk to work.
John
...........lack of success chasing girls!
Never mind I did find Miss Right eventually, trouble is she's ALWAYS right. To prove a point, I'm off out with the 8f this weekend and she is moaning like heck about having to walk to work.
John
Here is a lengthy tale . . . and international one.
I'm an old fart now . . . living in California.
I was born in Japan and moved to US when I was 16. Ever since I can remember, if my parents took me anywhere, it was a combination of trains, tram and bus. We didn't own a car until I was 7 years old. But my commuting to my Catholic (English speaking) school was a daily 30 minute train ride and a 20 minute bus ride to get to school . . . every day, each way . . . since first grade.
So if I went anywhere away from home (with permission) was walk, train and bus ride. When I was 7 I finally started to get a weekly allowance of 30 yen (about 7 cents) a week. On weekends I would just take off in the morning to the local station, buy a child's local ticket for 5 yen (1-1/2 cent) then ride to the Yokohama Central station. As long as I didn't exit the station, I can walk to all the long distance platforms and hop on any train I wanted. All I had to do was avoid the conductor who checked tickets from time to time. Plenty of bathrooms to hide in. Couldn't go too far cause I had to be home by 3pm. This was 1959/1960 so plenty of steam to watch. Nothing was more impressive than to watch a D51 (looks like a Northern "elephant ears") steam engine come through with freight. I did this at least once a month . . . when I was 7 years old.
Sundays were my tarin days. I HAD to go church. Catholic churches were few and far between in Japan. The closest one was 5 stations away plus a 15 minute walk. My father was usually away cause he worked on a ship, my mother wasn't baptized yet so I was SENT to church since I was 5 years old with train fare. When I turned 7, I was given permission to go to church then do whatever but had to be home by 3pm. The station where I got off to go to church had a branch line coming over the local commuter rails. On the walk to the church, a couple of rice fields away was a branch line yard. I eventually found out that there was a freight train that dropped off some cars there every Sunday around 10am. On Sundays I would go to the early mass at 8am, then take a detour to a grade crossing, walk the tracks to the yard, sit at a safe distance and watch the freight drop off, then watch the local electrified switcher go to work. More often than not the freight train was late so the switcher and the crew just had to wait. I'd usually walk by closer to take a better look at the switcher. I eventually got to know the crew. The younger guy did all the running around. Throwing switches (all manual ones), coupling and de-coupling. He showed me how to throw switches, set couplers for coupling and all the cool stuff. The driver of the switcher eventually got concerned about safety about having a kid running around his loco. He finally said that if I wanted to be around when he was shunting, I HAD TO BE IN THE CAB for safety!! So for about 8 months, every Sunday I got to ride in the cab of a switcher while the driver did his work. I got to meet the driver's 18 year old son who often rode in the cab as part of his training to become an engineer . . . to follow in his father's footstep. It all ended when they re-scheduled the Sunday freight to another day. But what a year that was !!
This all happened back in the days when the crew communicated with flags and hand signals from one end of the train to the other . . . they didn't even have walkie-talkies ! No one ever sued anyone, and rules were quite laxed . . . thank god for that.
Now . . . ANY kid that goes through an experience like mine can't help but have rails for blood veins. Once yor hooked . . . its for life.
I didn't become a train engineer . . . but I sure dreamt about it a lot when I was a kid.
Time goes by . . . then LIFE happens. Suddenly your 55 (sigh) . . . BUT . . . guess what . . . EVERY time I hear or see a train, any train, my heart still skips a beat . . . just like the first time I saw a steam engine close by. "Wowww . . ."
Its that old undescribable feeling inside all train people that wells up when we hear, see or ride a train.
Thats my story
I'm an old fart now . . . living in California.
I was born in Japan and moved to US when I was 16. Ever since I can remember, if my parents took me anywhere, it was a combination of trains, tram and bus. We didn't own a car until I was 7 years old. But my commuting to my Catholic (English speaking) school was a daily 30 minute train ride and a 20 minute bus ride to get to school . . . every day, each way . . . since first grade.
So if I went anywhere away from home (with permission) was walk, train and bus ride. When I was 7 I finally started to get a weekly allowance of 30 yen (about 7 cents) a week. On weekends I would just take off in the morning to the local station, buy a child's local ticket for 5 yen (1-1/2 cent) then ride to the Yokohama Central station. As long as I didn't exit the station, I can walk to all the long distance platforms and hop on any train I wanted. All I had to do was avoid the conductor who checked tickets from time to time. Plenty of bathrooms to hide in. Couldn't go too far cause I had to be home by 3pm. This was 1959/1960 so plenty of steam to watch. Nothing was more impressive than to watch a D51 (looks like a Northern "elephant ears") steam engine come through with freight. I did this at least once a month . . . when I was 7 years old.
Sundays were my tarin days. I HAD to go church. Catholic churches were few and far between in Japan. The closest one was 5 stations away plus a 15 minute walk. My father was usually away cause he worked on a ship, my mother wasn't baptized yet so I was SENT to church since I was 5 years old with train fare. When I turned 7, I was given permission to go to church then do whatever but had to be home by 3pm. The station where I got off to go to church had a branch line coming over the local commuter rails. On the walk to the church, a couple of rice fields away was a branch line yard. I eventually found out that there was a freight train that dropped off some cars there every Sunday around 10am. On Sundays I would go to the early mass at 8am, then take a detour to a grade crossing, walk the tracks to the yard, sit at a safe distance and watch the freight drop off, then watch the local electrified switcher go to work. More often than not the freight train was late so the switcher and the crew just had to wait. I'd usually walk by closer to take a better look at the switcher. I eventually got to know the crew. The younger guy did all the running around. Throwing switches (all manual ones), coupling and de-coupling. He showed me how to throw switches, set couplers for coupling and all the cool stuff. The driver of the switcher eventually got concerned about safety about having a kid running around his loco. He finally said that if I wanted to be around when he was shunting, I HAD TO BE IN THE CAB for safety!! So for about 8 months, every Sunday I got to ride in the cab of a switcher while the driver did his work. I got to meet the driver's 18 year old son who often rode in the cab as part of his training to become an engineer . . . to follow in his father's footstep. It all ended when they re-scheduled the Sunday freight to another day. But what a year that was !!
This all happened back in the days when the crew communicated with flags and hand signals from one end of the train to the other . . . they didn't even have walkie-talkies ! No one ever sued anyone, and rules were quite laxed . . . thank god for that.
Now . . . ANY kid that goes through an experience like mine can't help but have rails for blood veins. Once yor hooked . . . its for life.
I didn't become a train engineer . . . but I sure dreamt about it a lot when I was a kid.
Time goes by . . . then LIFE happens. Suddenly your 55 (sigh) . . . BUT . . . guess what . . . EVERY time I hear or see a train, any train, my heart still skips a beat . . . just like the first time I saw a steam engine close by. "Wowww . . ."
Its that old undescribable feeling inside all train people that wells up when we hear, see or ride a train.
Thats my story
FattyPants
New member
When I was four my parents would ride take me on bike rides next to the railroad yard in Waterville, Maine. And we lived next to the yard, so you could always see it.
Then when we moved to the Maine woods, it just happened that a branch line passed by behind us. Every few days an ancient, whining GP7 would rumble by with some creaking and groaning boxcars sinking the rails deep into the soft ballast. I understand that that GP7 is still operating to this day!
Then when we moved to the Maine woods, it just happened that a branch line passed by behind us. Every few days an ancient, whining GP7 would rumble by with some creaking and groaning boxcars sinking the rails deep into the soft ballast. I understand that that GP7 is still operating to this day!
NSWGR_46Class
Just call my Captain Rude
Well I am dead sure it is in my family gentics, to many rail fans in both side of the family for it not to be.
ballastwater
New member
well
i liked them from the start
i liked them from the start
specter02147
New member
Thomas the Tank Engine (only the Railway Series and up to season 5 on Tv) I still enjoy reading but know i read Sodor: reading between the lines(2005) and the Island of Sodor: It's Railways, people and history (1985). both are adult-themed books with the second one (If you can find it, goes for about 240$ or 120 pounds, or alot of pesos. I still watch the first two tv seasons. (No busting please)
The Tallylln also got my interest in trains going.
The Tallylln also got my interest in trains going.
traincrazy0918
Keepin it on the rails!
everyone likes trains in the begening because of what they can do,but as some people get older they start to hate them,but some start to like them even more.(like me)
alexander55
New member
how i got into trainz was train sets when i was 3 my dad built me one it was beutifl mountains and rivers and stuff it was ho-scale then that got destroyed so i loved trains sence then i got into subway when i wass 5 in newyork it was a r40 my favorite subway of all time idk y =P thats how i got into train
p.s my first ho scale train was a gp-35 csx blue
p.s my first ho scale train was a gp-35 csx blue
alexander55
New member
^
i did that too ahhh good times...
i did that too ahhh good times...
