Mother been too close to 3R hobby

Good for her! We always need more moms in the hobby.

I wouldn't probably be in this (sporadic) life long hobby if my mother hadn't listened

to a clamoring kid who had played with his cousin's latch coupler pre-war Lionel, and

gone in with my grandfather to produce a board mounted train set during an immediate post WWII December holiday. 

My mother passes away in 1987 but was responsible for my love of trains. One Christmas, around 1956-57, I awoke to find a Lionel Scout set around the tree that she had bought &from that time I was hooked.

"Thanks Mom"

Seeing I still live at home (I'm a college student) it is usually (when I bring something in, not terribly often but...)

"How much did that cost?"
"Stop wasteing your money"

"Why do you need another train"

"Aren't they all the same"

yada yada yada.

My go-to line is it is just a repair and cost $20. Ends the conversation every single time.  

Both my parents love/loved the trains. Dad’s passed by St Peter but at 90 Ma still enjoys watching the trains run. On their 63^rd anniversary June 14^th 2009, I surprised them by setting up in the living room the train they took on their honey. (Thanks to Jim Sutter for helping me get it in time) The afternoon Hiawatha from MTH.

Even before that Ma always liked having the trains around. I remember when she was about 85 and I wasn’t around she was demonstrating for a friend a brand new Lionel RTR set we had set up on the floor around the Christmas Tree. She wasn’t experienced with running the trains and crashed the thing into the sliding glass doors. She was so upset when I came home and I couldn’t stop laughing about it as she tried to explain. About the only obnoxious noise she will tolerate around the home are the trains, even the Mighty Sound of Steam and the buzzing of the Gateman seem to be magical sounds for her. She always knows when something isn’t right with one of the trains and though she may not know the terminology she doesn’t hesitate to let me know if it needs attention.

Ma has a O27 circle with a Lionel Lines freight set running on her coffee table (curse me if I ever let the smoke fuid run out) and an MTH Hand Car on a 36” straight track bumping and going on a steamer trunk in her living room that she shares with the dogs.

Matthew B. very nice story & photo.

My mother died at 83 in 2003; she was very much a Southern lady, but she was also

very much the tomboy when she wanted to be. (She and my father built a beach cabin

on Mobile Bay in the 1950's - pretty much alone - and I used to get her to show the

guys in the neighborhood her muscles she got swinging a hammer; she thought that was

hilarious.)

My father built my layout in 1955 in a corner of the dining room; 4X8, of course - but

with buildings (he built), a siding and 2 spurs - early "hi-rail" . 2055 Hudson, and

so on.

When the layout was finally taken down during my high school years, one of my mother's

friends said "aren't you glad to have that darn old train table gone?". 

She said "No, I kind of miss it; I always liked it."

Not a big, touching story, but my mother new that life has room for lots of different

things - "boy things" included. She was a girl, but she was no sissy.

There was a railfan meeting in Flatonia, TX.  Mother has sister at a farm nearby.  Carpooled out of Houston.  She hates I-10, and I wanted go travel along the Glidden Sub of the UP.  Place her stuff in her truck, my stuff and radios, and the hunt was afoot.  Came back by Houston METRO's LRT "carbarn", and we saw some of the new S-70 railcars.  She wants to ride one.  Early weekend daytrip!

Mother had a theory.  If I was playing with Lionels, Marx and Williams, then I could not be getting into trouble.

For me it was (and still is) my dad. About once every month or two months, he concedes to my plees and we go trainwatching in either Swickley, Mt. Washington, or downtown. The big challenge now is convincing him to get up at six in the morning to take pictures of the Pennsylvanian before it's 7:05 AM departure time (I have yet to succede).

My Mom died in 2006 at age 90 and she enjoyed the fact that I had trains. My brother and I had trains when we were young so I guess the train thing stuck.

My Mom gave me everything even though Mom and Dad had nothing, we were poor but my brothers and I did not know it until we got older. My dad died young but Mom went on into her 90's, God I miss her!!!!!!!

Not specifically my mom, but my mom's side of the family is where I got my first real model trains.  My grandpa on my mom's side gave me his original HO scale trains, which, I did not actually receive until 2nd grade.  Those original 13 pieces of rolling stock, which included two engines, has now grown to a fleet of 84 pieces, including 11 operable engines (and five static dummy engines).  My first piece of O gauge equipment was my Conrail GP38 which I got in 2006 from my uncle who worked for Conrail (now Norfolk Southern trackage).  It wasn't until 2010 that I could run it, when I purchased my Lionel starter set.

My mom has been supportive of my hobby.  I think it's growing on my brother, as well, who may be accompanying me to my next operating session.

My Mom ( passed on in 1972 at age 51 .... much too early ) loved to help with my and my brother's early layouts back in the late 50's early 60's.   She loved making the tunnel out of chicken wire, balled up newspapers and paper mache.  Her finished product always looked like  "real mountains" to my brother and me.  We just loved them!   The buildings on the layout  ...  she loved to arrange along with the streets as well.  She had a keen eye for the placement of objects on the layout.

Had my Mom lived on, I could imagine that she would have liked attending some trains shows and perhaps even York.

I miss her and her memory lives on for many wonderful reasons and ..  whenever I run my trains ... I think of her.  Thanks Mom for encouraging my love of trains! :-)

Patrick W

I purchased a Plymouth Switcher and my wife held it for ransome. A $100 engine cost me  anther $200 so she could make credit card payment. I'd rather deal with your mom. LOL

Not about my mother, but my grandmother.  My brothers and I each had lionel trains.  My parents hit a financial squeeze and we had to move into a different house.  The trains remained boxed up.  We asked about having a board and layout but that was not a priority at that time (and rightly so).  Fast forward to my birthday and my grandmother has come to visit.  She asks me what I would like for my birthday and I told her I would like wood so dad could build us a board for a layout.  Well she grabs her pocketbook, reaches in and hands me a $20 bill?  Note - this was in 1953 so $20 was a chunk of money.  My dad worked nights so he was off during the day.  With the $20 in hand my dad and I walked to the local lumber yard and he bought the necessary lumber, to be delivered later that day.  So now my brothers and I are anxiuosly waiting for the lumber yard truck to show up.  After what seemed like an eternity, the truck shows up and the driver and my dad carry the wood into the basement. Next thing we know, my dad and my uncle are in the basement sawing, hammering, etc.  Just abut the time my dad had to get ready for work they had put together a board measuring 8' x 16'.  It seemed huge.  The next morning my brothers and I were quick to put up a couple of loops, arrange some plasticville houses, etc.  As I remember I think we played with it every day, most days making a different layout.  We stayed in that house for another 6 or 7 years and continued to use the layout.  And each time my grandmother would visist she would ask about our trains and trek down to the basement to look at it.  She would also ask if we needed anything else for it.  Of course we did but we never said we did. She was a wonderful woman and the perfect grandmother.

BTW for the folks raised in Queens, NY in the 50's the lumber yard was called Kew Forest Lumber located in Forest Hills.  It is long since gone.

We never lost the love of trains from those days, thanks in part to my grandmother's generous birthday present to me that year. 

Ed

When I was a kid my best friend and I had fun with my train set, reconfiguring the track into a giant ramp and launching my Marx 2-4-2 steamer on flights across the basement, aiming at my Mom's laundry basket near the far wall - which we sometimes hit, and sometimes not.  She just looked at us and shook her head and said, "You won't get another one soon if you break that."  But it never broke - it became a 0-4-0 eventually, but it ran as long as I can remember.  I think she viewed toy trains in the basement as preferable to what we might be doing outside away from her view - particularly if we left the house with fireworks.

That's an interesting idea, although potentially destructive. How much range did you get on those launches? It might be entertaining to combine that with Dale ManQuen's radical train racing techniques.

http://www.trainfacts.com/trainfacts/?p=248

Ooops, a bit of a digression.

In 2010, and 2012, when UP brought the 844 to Houston, she got to see it.  Fell in love with it.

Also, we got to ride the UP dome car CHALLENGER.  Loved it.  Also saw the real 1982, 1988 and 1996 Heritage loco's, which i have models of!