When Workin' on the Railroad is Most Fun

Work = suck

train = 👍

one has absolutely nothing to do with the other 

Arnold, the most fun for me is a morning like right now. It's raining, only about 74 and dark outside. Perfect for working on the railroad. I'm retired and that part of my life has been finished for over 12 years. Don

scale rail posted:

Arnold, the most fun for me is a morning like right now. It's raining, only about 74 and dark outside. Perfect for working on the railroad. I'm retired and that part of my like has been finished for over 12 years. Don

Don, the morning is also a favorite time of mine to run trains. Morning sunlight shines through my basement windows enhancing the beauty of the layout.

Arnold, I do not know if I am exactly addressing the issue you are referring to, but I think a thought provoking topic like yours is open game to rabbit trails.  I am semi-retired, though that wasn't my plan.  I'll only be 62 in a couple weeks.  I never really liked the electronics field, but after 42 years I am now in a rather stress free position.  The most stress is at times wondering if they will have any work for me for a few weeks.  Anyway, when I am putting the engineering information into the goofy database they have us use (I still always draw a Visio drawing for the technicians just like when we used pencil and paper) It keeps my mind occupied how to portray a circuit in the software, then once I have one type down pat, it is rote for the next however many.  I then get bored and start thinking about trains.

As far as favorite time for trains; any time I can get a few free minutes from doing stuff for 4 elderly relatives and my wife who has some health issues.  I can forget about all that stuff when I am doing anything with the trains.

When I was working,I enjoyed my trains most when I had a tough day at work,it was a release from the reality of life.

Mike

When I was Big in HO before I started O Scale I had to kinda stop HO due to my arthritis Friday Night was always train night. I have carried that over to the O scale. I’m still working been driving a truck for 28yrs and been in intermodal for 22yrs. I will be 50 in about 2 week and finding out trying to run the trains after a stressful day does not help especially if something goes wrong while running them. So my  alternative is this fourm I’ve try to be more active on here then in the past and it helps the stress. I still have my Friday Night Train night every week and think I’m going to keep it that way. I never  work or run trains during the week when I’ve had a stressful day. It just doesn’t work for me anymore.

From 1995 to 2005 , I found myself supplementing the continuing enjoyment of teaching high school with the adventure and creative satisfaction of creating my model train layout, upon returning home each day. Saturdays came to be included in the newly found custom. The result was a constantly happy life, possessed of success in the classroom and a layout I discovered I wanted to share with others .

That's my story.

FrankM

Moonson posted:

From 1995 to 2005 , I found myself supplementing the continuing enjoyment of teaching high school with the adventure and creative satisfaction of creating my model train layout, upon returning home each day. Saturdays came to be included in the newly found custom. The result was a constantly happy life, success in the classroom, and a layout I discovered I want to share with others .

That's my story.

FrankM

Frank, if I was the OGR Magazine Editor in Chief, I would publish your above reply in the next issue of the magazine. I can't think of a better endorsement for the model railroading hobby. Arnold

Interesting subject, Arnold.  I am 70, fully retired but not fully away from my trade.  I was a union carpenter for thirty years and since my retirement, fourteen years ago, I have been busy as ever.  When I was working, train time was usually Friday nights, well into the early hours of Saturday.  Now I find train time is whenever I can get a few free moments.  

I must agree that a non-productive day zaps my enthusiasm at times and I spend more time sitting in front of this screen looking for inspiration from others.  But when my creative juices are flowing, I can get immersed in a project so deep, that when SWMBO calls my name, I startle.  

My favorite quote is, "I'm in my own little world.  But it's okay, they know me here". 

chinatrain99 posted:

Work = suck

train = 👍

one has absolutely nothing to do with the other 

A classic response!

I've been happily retired since 2010, after 25 stressful years in IT.  But I don't recall my enthusiasm for the railroad modeling hobby ever being directly affected by my job.

Arnold, I think what you're really asking is "Do you enjoy your hobby less when you're in a bad mood?"

Moonson posted:

From 1995 to 2005 , I found myself supplementing the continuing enjoyment of teaching high school with the adventure and creative satisfaction of creating my model train layout, upon returning home each day. Saturdays came to be included in the newly found custom. The result was a constantly happy life, possessed of success in the classroom and a layout I discovered I wanted to share with others .

That's my story.

FrankM

....a life well lived!

Great topic Arnold!  Since I first saw your post of this topic, Ive done some self reflecting.  I've also enjoyed what everyone has had to say/share on this topic as well!  

The most joy I experience running my trains and/or working on my trains is usually on Sunday mornings and Friday nights.   Sunday's are a day when I usually have no scheduled place to be, although being a musician, there are certain periods of the year when Sundays can be heavily scheduled with various gigs. ( I have several of those Sundays/and Saturdays coming up soon! )  Fridays are usually the end of the work week for me ... so the first thing I do when I get home is grab a cup of tea and head to the train room for a while.  

All - in - all I find that when first, my life  ( professional and personal ) feels in balance and deeply productive my resultant feeling is that of deep personal enrichment and thus my enjoyment of my trains is greatly heightened.  When my life feels out of balance/stressed, my enjoyment of my trains usually decreases.... although at times just observing the trains run for a while provides a temporary escape which I find good/helpful. 

 For me personally, the lesson I've learned is that basic things like getting enough sleep, physical exercise ( I go to the gym 6 - 7 days a week ), eating a healthy diet,  and scheduling free time ( I just cut my private teaching schedule back beginning last month so I'm no longer teaching late into the evenings ... so I can have more free time and go to bed earlier )  are important factors that allow me to experience the maximum enjoyment of ALL of life's blessings ....  and of course for me ( like many of us here on the OGRF) trains are one of life's wonderful blessings. 

Thank you, all, for your most interesting replies.

China train 99, I appreciate your succinct frankness.

Don, I will think of you during morning runs, rain or shine.

Mark, it is so true how thinking about trains can keep us from having moments of boredom.

Frank, how wonderful it must be for you to be mindful that you have had, and continue to have, a creative and happy life, as a teacher and model railroader.

Dan, I believe you and I have much in common: we most enjoy our trains, particularly postwar trains and accessories, when we are are being productive in other aspects of our lives.

Balshis, you are correct that a bad mood tends to lessen my interest in trains, though there have been times in the past when trains helped get me out of a bad mood.

Patrick, I also relate to what you've artfully expressed about your feelings concerning trains, and I suspect there are other Forum members that have similar feelings. There is much wisdom in what you say about having balance in one's life: exercise, good diet, work and play. Our trains and layouts sure give us opportunities to work and play. 

Let us all continue to play with our trains and, whatever our age, always embrace the child within.

Thank you, again, for all of your contributions.

Arnold

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Moonson posted:

From 1995 to 2005 , I found myself supplementing the continuing enjoyment of teaching high school with the adventure and creative satisfaction of creating my model train layout, upon returning home each day. Saturdays came to be included in the newly found custom. The result was a constantly happy life, success in the classroom, and a layout I discovered I want to share with others .

That's my story.

FrankM

Frank, if I was the OGR Magazine Editor in Chief, I would publish your above reply in the next issue of the magazine. I can't think of a better endorsement for the model railroading hobby. Arnold

Super to hear you say that, Arnold. Thanks very much. You are a thoughtful and considerate gentleman, indeed.

FrankM

chinatrain99 posted:

Work = suck

train = 👍

one has absolutely nothing to do with the other 

I think we all know the old saying, "a bad day at home is still better than a good day at work."

Steve

anytime I have a chance.  I enjoy building the most.

I had an interesting day today at work and was going to post a new topic entitled The Metaphor of Model Trains. Before doing so, I did a quick Forum search and noticed that I previously touch on that topic in this thread.

I suspect that we all are susceptible to our life circumstances that impact what we think about our hobby. I'm now in the late years of my 6th decade, and still plug away at my profession to make a living. No question about it. When I've had a productive day at work, I revel in model railroading; when I have not been productive for several or more days at work, model railroading loses its excitement for me. I don't think these attitudes are good or bad, they just are my truth now that I'm in the autumn of my life.

I think the reason for this is that model trains are a powerful metaphor for me. This is especially true for the locomotives. All powerful, and majestic in appearance and performance. I feel like a powerful locomotive when productive at work. If not productive there, I'm pathetic, even more so than the puniest derailed hand car. LOL.

I also love hand cars, including an O Gauge MTH hand car I bought 20 years ago. And, I still adore the Postwar Lionel gang car that was a Christmas present when I was a wee lad in the mid-1950s.

The model trains that we cherish tend not to be cheap. The good ones, even those not top of the line, cost at least a few hundred dollars, and top of the line locomotives are $2,000 plus. No way am I going to spend a few hundred or more dollars on trains unless I've made some serious money in my profession.

Have any of you folks had similar thoughts?

Arnold

Arnold,

Although I'm retired, some days are more productive than others. One of the productive things is spending time with my model railroads either running trains or photographing the layouts for pictures to post on the Forum. My accomplishment for today has been to look over the new Lionel catalog and decide what to buy. When the weather is nice, I sit outside and read railroad books from my personal library.  Such are the advantages of being retired.

I've been buying O gauge trains for the past 23 years so I really don't need any new ones. I've become very selective about what I purchase and don't spend as much as I used to. But, new items inevitably appear and I continue to do some buying. It's a good day when a new engine eventually arrives in good condition and runs well.

MELGAR

When I wake at 1:30 mulling over work, trains and layout work are a lifesaver. Sometimes I just fire a big diesel up, parked just to hear the motor idle.