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I am sitting around table having dinner and my fathers law asked me are you still playing with trains I said yes and he said your a little old to be playing with trains my reply was there are men all over this great country that play or collect trains with a lot better jobs then me. He replied there is no way that there is educated men out there playing with trains. I tried telling him there doctors and lawyers and many  professional men and women that are playing with trains. He laughed and said no way. So let's here what you do or did so I can prove to him this is true.
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Originally Posted by bigdogjeff1:
I am sitting around table having dinner and my fathers law asked me are you still playing with trains I said yes and he said your a little old to be playing with trains my reply was there are men all over this great country that play or collect trains with a lot better jobs then me. He replied there is no way that there is educated men out there playing with trains. I tried telling him there doctors and lawyers and many  professional men and women that are playing with trains. He laughed and said no way. So let's here what you do or did so I can prove to him this is true.

No use trying to tell your father-in-law anything.  His lack of respect for you and your hobby is very disturbing!  You don't need his approval.

 

Good Luck!

 

Take care, Joe.

Joe has an excellent point.  But for your informal survey, I will answer.

 

I'm a telecommunications engineer.  Normally, I don't mention this, the folks at work don't even know.  I graduated from college Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 average.  I will say that I'm not that intelligent, but I just applied myself well and gave the professors what they wanted.  Now, as I am nearing retirement, I see that I am getting slow at learning new technology.  The younger folks learn much quicker.  You don't have to tell your father-in-law that part, just tell him the Summa Cum Laude part.  

 

BTW one of those younger engineers is an N scale enthusiast.  He has a massive N scale layout with in incredible number of diesels and modern rolling stock.

Last edited by Mark Boyce

I'm certainly no doctor, but I do have a bachelor's degree, and I've spent the last 29 years in the fleet management business. Married to the same woman for the last 24 years, and raising two very active boys. However, I do not drink, smoke, gamble, golf, fish or hang out with the guys, so there are those that would suggest I'm not a "real" man. Don't really care, as I only answer to the 3 people that live in my house, and they seem to like me and my trains. 

FOUR guys in my HO train group are/were Computer software engineers !

I am a ware house worker with forklift License 20 year + &  10 + years in food service .  

 

Ask your father in law what his hobbies are/were  ? 

 

Maybe he jealous you have a hobby !

the inlaws are either PITA or really nice ! no middle ground! 

 

Better yet Show him this forum !  We are a great & fun group of people !

we also have our bad days as well !

 

 

 

>>>

No use trying to tell your father-in-law anything.  His lack of respect for you and your hobby is very disturbing!  You don't need his approval.

 

Well you said it nicer then what I was thinking.

Personally I don't think that you should bother to prove a thing to him.

Because he has already proven that he is just another ignorant person, but probably more arrogant no doubt thinking he is more superior than you or any other that collects & "runs" model trains

 

BTW, Remember guys and gals. Adults  don't play with trains, we "run" them

Last edited by subwayrunner

Frank Sinatra.

Neil Young (might point out he helped develop TMCC and Legacy).

 

Retired SW Engineering Mgr for major aerospace mfr. Not allowed to discuss what I did.

 

Personally know several main line airline pilots ($200K+/yr) heavily into model trains.

 

Does F-I-L have the same feeling about guys who build r/c planes?  How about the guys who fly r/c jets and have several thou wrapped up in their birds?  Isn't it the same - just modeling different MODES of transportation?

>>He replied there is no way that there is educated men out there playing with trains.

 

Oh how people with this mentality PMO. You see, because this goes beyond his thoughts regarding people that collect & run train. Way beyond. These people out there that think that they are just so much more superior then others.  Oh I have way to much to say. But I will bite my tongue. 

Last edited by subwayrunner

I'm a Project Manager/QC Engineer in the Energy,Oil and Gas industry. I manage up to 250 million dollar projects all over the world.I too play with trains.

 

My ex-wife's father hated my hobby and oftentimes took similar cheap shots. It's all in the past now and I never look back. 

 

 

 

Last edited by Former Member
Originally Posted by Carl Orton:

Frank Sinatra.

Neil Young (might point out he helped develop TMCC and Legacy).

& Mandy Patinkin, Rod Stewart, Buster Keaton, Ward Kimball, Ed Dougherty, Tom Snyder, & more.

 

And of course, the Renaissance man himself, Rich Melvin. The F-I-L Résumé would, I'm sure, pale in comparison to Melvin's.

Last edited by ADCX Rob
Originally Posted by bigdogjeff1:
I am sitting around table having dinner and my fathers law asked me are you still playing with trains I said yes and he said your a little old to be playing with trains my reply was there are men all over this great country that play or collect trains with a lot better jobs then me. He replied there is no way that there is educated men out there playing with trains. I tried telling him there doctors and lawyers and many  professional men and women that are playing with trains. He laughed and said no way. So let's here what you do or did so I can prove to him this is true.

I'm a software engineer and I play with trains.   One of my best friends is a doctor.  He has a really nice Lionel layout.  I know two lawyers in town that have huge layouts.   You do what you like....and I like trains!

Last edited by Panther97

Tell the father-in-law that you know of a guy that takes care of 70 square miles of ranch land with just his wife and 8 horses, is partners in another 80 square miles, and he has to "play with" trains to keep his sanity.

I graduated with honors from a university, have been a brakeman/switchman, a Microsoft network administrator for a hospital, and a chuck wagon cook. And "all of us" play with trains.

I have two Masters Degrees.  One in Divinity (I was a clergy person) and one in Marriage and Family Therapy.  I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I have journal articles to my credit.  The list goes on, but that should be enough.

 

I collect pre war trains, and I run them, and I play with them.  

 

What about Warren Buffet?  Doesn't he play with full size and O gauge trains? 

 

There is a wonderful quote out there that I wish I could credit appropriately -

"I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed man." 

I'm a professional musician and teacher.  I founded a classical chamber music group and have performed with that group in concert halls throughout the United States.  I have my own teaching studio and also teach at a leading performing arts high school.  I've taught music at the colleges. Additionally, I've recorded for major television networks and have appeared with orchestras and chamber music groups at embassies, museums, and major concert venues. I'm called upon frequently as a consultant to school systems and instrument manufactures. 

 

I consider model railroading as an art form, for it is a highly creative and imaginative hobby.  My friends and family enjoy and support my participation in this art form.  I LOVE TO RUN MY TRAINS especially after a long busy period of work. 

Last edited by trumptrain

bigdogjeff1 we must have the same father in law. thank God he is an x. i used to hear him complain about my hobbies all the time. after the divorce i told him i graduated from Univ of Illinois with honers you didn't finish high school. i paid for my home in Chicago in 6.5 years you rented. i own my own business actually 3 different ones you don't. i never asked to borrow a dime from you but you have borrowed from me. my muscle cars and trains keep me around the house your playing poker with the boys in a bar ???

so i guess the doctors lawyers business men that are little babies playing with their little choo choos are all losers. i thank God i can be a loser in his eyes as well. don't worry about what he has to say the only one that is important in the matter is what your wife says. and the real bottom line as long as your bills are paid do what makes you happy as we only have 1 life to live so why be miserable like him???

Retired now.....but for 25 plus years was IT Senior System Analyst. Been into trains all my life. 

Blessed that both my and my wife's family were train folks. And my father in law was a model railroader too.

Model railroading taught me a lot of real world skills. Figuring out layout wiring at age 8 will last your life.

 

First, the old man sounds like a jackass.

 

Now then, I'm an undergrad at the moment completing three degrees, a member of Phi Beta Kappa (nation's oldest and most prestigious honor society). I'm working on getting some research published, and am also working on a Fulbright application right now. I expect to graduate magna cum laude and continue into a decent (read: excellent) law program following my Fulbright experience, if that comes to fruition.

 

I'm young, so haven't "done" a whole lot yet, but I'd say I am setting myself up to be fairly successful in the future.

Last edited by Andrew B.

Also, I am unsure how the list is sourced or confirmed, but, according to Wikipedia, the following people are model railroaders:

 

Tom Brokaw

Warren Buffett

Winston Churchill

Hermann Goring (I don't agree with his politics, but he was successful at what he did, no matter how bad it was)

Gene Hackman

Tom Hanks (modeling a Southern Pacific line)

Michael Jordan (N scale of Chicago)

Frank Sinatra

Bruce Springsteen 

Rod Stewart (multiple magazine features)

Bob Costas

Johnny Cash (did Lionel TV ads as well)

 

I doubt the old man is more successful or intelligent than any of the above.

 

I am a retired piping superintendent that spent the last 25 years building Biotech and Semi Conductor facilities and love playing with my trains and riding trains in Europe as I will this year for two months.All the best to your father in law who may have his head firmly entrenched in the sand.

Mikey

Respect your father-in-law, he is your wifes father and a part of your family.

Trains real or model it is a passion we have and it is hard for someone to

understand that don't have love of TRAINS! Like when we were young and

seeing the train around the Christmas Tree, or hearing a Nathan P5 old cast

horn, or seeing the Union Pacific 844 at 60mph and your 10 feet from it.

It is a love or passion, how do you explain it, if you don't understand!

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