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Originally Posted by PC9850:
Originally Posted by C W Burfle:
So, is it the crowd density, or is it the age of the attendees?

Perhaps older attendees have a diminished sense of smell, and don't realize they stink?

Or maybe its the trains themselves that have an odor.

Then there is the possibility that the tableholders in those halls have so much money tied up in trains that they cannot afford the soap and water to shower daily.

All of the above 

Except the smell of the trains I would say.  Never came across trains at a show that smelled like B.O.  Nicotine, perhaps, but never B.O.

Originally Posted by John Korling:
Except the smell of the trains I would say.  Never came across trains at a show that smelled like B.O.  Nicotine, perhaps, but never B.O.

 

You'd be surprised John. I recently purchased a locomotive that absolutely reeked. Both the train and all the packaging stunk of nicotine, mothballs, and general nastiness. I was actually unable to store the box in my closet it stunk so bad, it's still out in the garage airing out. The locomotive also still stinks, I'm currently trying to flush the smell out by running lots of JT's Mega Steam "Coal-Fired Steamer" through it. Perhaps the new "Eliminator" will do the trick 

I was listening to the radio yesterday afternoon and the host made a comment about train "nuts" making a reference to model railroaders in general and citing the operators at LA Live Steamers as an example. I felt like calling in, but I remembered, never argue with an idiot because at some point an observer wouldn't be able to tell which one is the idiot. Besides, given the professions of some of the LA Live Steamer operators I suspect the E-mails were probably pretty interesting.

 

That said, I have a hat and bib overalls that were given to me by Jeff Remy, a Disneyland RR engineer. I wore the hat at one Open House where we hosted some school children and only when I was actually running a train. Haven't worn it since. Not even THINKING about overalls unless I suddenly get a bucket full of money and start operating in 1.5" scale, or get a dumpster full of money and start operating at 1:1 scale.

OK, I'll admit I bought a Hat when first back in the hobby.

It's from a Real Train I rode on - The Cog railway up Mt. Washington.

But I don't even wear it when running trains in the basement, I doubt anyone will see it on my head in public.

I wear the hat you see in my Avatar so folks can recognise me and run away if so inclined. Other than the the attire is changed daily, and soap and water applied as well.

Originally Posted by Lionelbill:

So many cynical, and negative, comments, don't you guys look at the bright side?

No, Bill, some of these guys NEVER have anything positive to say about anything.  If they really want to see what gives the hobby a black eye (imagine a potential newcomer reading this thread for example), all they need do is look in a mirror.  

 

I realize that anyone can say just about anything in the great expanse of cyberspace while safely hiding behind a screen name, but common sense would dictate that some things are best left to face-to-face discussions if they're said at all.  And many things are simply best left unsaid.

Originally Posted by Allan Miller:
Originally Posted by Lionelbill:

So many cynical, and negative, comments, don't you guys look at the bright side?

No, Bill, some of these guys NEVER have anything positive to say about anything.  If they really want to see what gives the hobby a black eye (imagine a potential newcomer reading this thread for example), all they need do is look in a mirror.  

 

I realize that anyone can say just about anything in the great expanse of cyberspace while safely hiding behind a screen name, but common sense would dictate that some things are best left to face-to-face discussions if they're said at all.  And many things are simply best left unsaid.

Some people choose to look at the world through rose-colored glasses. Others acknowledge the less desirable aspects and are able to find humor in relating experiences. Reading through this thread, it would appear the majority are in the latter group, and I don't see why that would be a bad thing. If a newcomer were to read this thread and immediately drop any interest in the hobby, then I suspect that person was never serious to begin with. Or has a hypersensitive personality disorder.....

I have been to a lot of smaller train shows over the years.  I have never encountered the hygiene issues that people go on and on about  in the annual "let's count down to/obsess over/ complain about/ obsess over others counting down to and or complaining about York" threads.

 

I am known to wear bib overalls and or and engineers hat from time to time, sometimes not even at a train show.   To me it is not any different than wearing your favorite players jersey to the ball park or the mall.  Life is so short, if you can have some fun with out hurting someone, why not?  

 

I don't look any more ridiculous than the people dressed up in the officially licensed merchandise of their local franchise and you see people who wear that stuff all year round.  I must not be the only one who feels that way.  There are quite a few engineers, conductors and vest that is entirely made out of R.R. patches guys at every show.   It is not just train guys and sports nuts that do it.  Odds are the guy you walk pass in February wearing his Harley hat, jacket,t shirt and boots did not ride his bike there in the 20 degree weather.  He may not even own a bike.    It reminds me of the joke, How come Rodeo Cowboys don't wear their hats and boots when they are not preforming?  They don't want to be mistaken for truck drivers.

 

Getting to the model railroaders / railfans are fat topic.  On average if you pick 3 American adults at random 1 will be what ever it is we call a healthy weight this week, one will be overweight, the other will be obese.  So yea, if you look around a train show you will see a lot of fat old guys.  If you look around a quilt show I suspect you will see a lot of fat old women.  If you look around the DMV you will see a lot of fat people who are tired of waiting.  We are blessed with an abundant and cheap food supply, some of the best health care in the world and many indoor jobs that require little to no labor.  I suspect some if not all of those items will soon change and we will long for the days that the obesity epidemic was one of our major problems.

 

So maybe I just have had great luck and am living some sort of charmed life but the train shows I have been to are not magnets for fat, smelly, crusty clothed recluses who recoil like Dracula from sunlight.  I will admit they seem to attract sellers who are convinced that this whole internet thing, what ever it is, is a just a fad.  If they bring their cardboard six pack trays of common Lionel items that have been drug behind a motorcycle to just one more show, some one will pay asking price for all of it and they will be able to retire to the Cayman Islands with their millions.   But that  is a topic for another time.

 

 

 

 

 

Originally Posted by mike.caruso:

       
Originally Posted by PC9850:

Wearing a Lionel or railroad shirt to a train show, ok. Even painting your car in a railroad scheme is kinda neat. But showing up with bib overalls and a conductor cap? Sorry, but people are just going to snicker at you, and it only promotes the stereotype of the hobby as being filled with a bunch of old geeks still living in their parents' basement.

 

 

LOL....unfortunately, I think that's right on the money.  I can't shake the feeling that if I start dressing for train shows, I'll start feeling like this!

 

stlv-world-record-2

 

 

- Mike  (Live Long and Prosper)


       


By "like this" I assume you mean "awesome"?  There is no freedom like being among geeks. 



(Yup, that's me, as the X-Men's "Wolverine,"  on a train.)

Well, you certainly pull it off quite well 

 

Thinking about it more, "Dressing the part" does go over a lot better when the actual point of the event is to dress the part. Like a Comic-Con or a Trekkie convention, which are spectacles unto themselves 

 

Maybe the bib overalls and cap would be more at home at a conductors and engineers convention. As it is, whenever you see the guy in costume walking down the halls of a train show, one can't help but notice all the "oh geez, here comes the conductor" looks and snickering it elicits 

Originally Posted by Garfield:

I have been to a lot of smaller train shows over the years.  I have never encountered the hygiene issues that people go on and on about in the annual "let's count down to/obsess over/ complain about/ obsess over others counting down to and or complaining about York" threads.

 

I am known to wear bib overalls and or and engineers hat from time to time, sometimes not even at a train show.   To me it is not any different than wearing your favorite players jersey to the ball park or the mall.  Life is so short, if you can have some fun with out hurting someone, why not?  

 

I don't look any more ridiculous than the people dressed up in the officially licensed merchandise of their local franchise and you see people who wear that stuff all year round.  

 

BINGO!  Right you are, Garfield!

Originally Posted by Joe Hohmann:

The ones who always say "elderly guys at train shows stink" are the same ones that call motel rooms that cost less than $150./night "rat-infested dumps", and York restroom attendants "pan-handlers". Just some more contributions from the "ME Generation".

There's been some shows I've been at over the past 40 years where when passing some relatively young or middle aged model railroaders, it's preferable to hold your breath.

 

Rusty

Hardly a "me" generation guy...

Originally Posted by Putnam Division:

We proudly wear our club garb, because we're proud of our group's accomplishments in the short time we've been together........and we have a blast, too!

 

When I was a member of our garden railway club in Virginia, all club members proudly wore the club shirts and caps when we conducted one of our half-dozen or so public shows each year.

 

When I attend the York Meet or other shows, I also proudly wear my OGR "uniform."

 

And I have no problem wearing my Alaska RR, NMRA, TCA, or one of a dozen or more RR-related caps when I'm out and about.  Sometimes a stranger will inquire about the logo on a cap, and on more than one occasion over the years it led to finding a new potential hobbyist and even a new friend.

 

You just have to be secure in yourself and not worry what others may think.  I don't live my life for others, and I don't expect them to live their lives for me.

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