i have been in ho model railroad for the last 10 years.
Since 1968 for me.
Sheldon
Started in 1978.....on and off in the hobby till 2001, then I got back into it in earnest.
Physically or mentally?
Started with wind-up around the Christmas tree in earlier fifties when I was below 5 and Dad had an O-27 layout. That was up until I was about 8.
No trains then until about 62', when I met a kid down the block who had an HO layout. I guess I was 12. Dabbled with HO through high school.
When I moved to NY in '70, I painted up my O-27 in black-light colors and ran it in my black-light room.
In '74, I moved back to STL and didn't mess with trains again for about 20 years. Not that I wasn't thinking about them and building layouts in my mind. In 95, my grandson was born and there just had to be a train around our tree. And each year I've gotten back in deeper.
I just took him to a model railroad clinic in Farmington Mo. this past Saturday.
:o I have been in the hobby since 1977 when I was 2 years old and got my first Tyco Chattanooga CHOO CHOO set then it was to Lionel then back to HO now it is HO, Large Scale and 1:1 scale with a fairmont motorcar.
Stephen
Railfan since I was in the cab of a Pennsy steamer at a very young age .(Modeling since 1970.)
My father bought my daughter a Spectrum Russian decapod in the WM paint scheme (HO) scale with some track and rolling stock. It was her Chritmas present in 2005; I've been hooked since. It has now taken over the basement; I'm now looking at building an addition.
Hmmm.
Trains since 1948 (Hafner windup.)
Electric trains since 1950 (Marx and later Lionel)
H0 trains since 1966 (Tyco. followed by many others)
G-scale trains since 1987 (Bachmann, of course)
12" to the foot since 1988 (Saskatchewan's only operaing steam locomotive)
And when I die, I hope they cremate me, mix my ashes with a shovel full of sand, and use them to clean the flues on the steam locomotive of their choice.
Ahhh, a trip down memory lane. Around the early 50s I had a Lionel 027 on a large board. Big oval with track running down the middle. I had the automated milk car, one gondola, one flat car, one box car and one caboose. During this time my dad gave me three brown (Lionel?) passenger cars. Then in the mid 50s I got a Lionel Rock Island PA with three passenger cars. Then there was the fire. Started again in HO in the late 60s. Built a 4-6-2 from a kit and had about 10 or so freight cars. Lost all of that in a divorce....I still can't figure out what she wanted with the train set, but she got it! Then started my 2nd HO layout in the 70's in the garage, tore it down when I moved in the 80s. Had about 5 engines and 20 or so freight and passenger cars at that time. Started my 3rd layout in the mid 90s with around 10 engines both diesels and steam and 50 or so freight and 10 passenger cars. Currently in the process of disassemblying that and am starting my 4th layout in a 16 x 24 shed built in my back yard. It will be mostly steam with a little diesel every now and then. I'll be modeling the transition era in a free lanced "Central Arkansas" theme.
Railfanning with my Dad since I can remember - mid '50's
First electric train Hornby Dublo - OO Scale - 1957 Xmas
Stopped in High School for motorcycles, cars & girls
Started again in HO early 70's
Received my first train set in 1973, TYCO. Played with that until about 1979. Went away to boarding school, university, tech school, started my career. Started again in 1996, a couple years after I bought my first house After decades of building static models that just sat collecting dust the lure of watching my handiwork move and my memories of being a kid working on the model railroad with my Dad got the better of me . Have been in neck deep ever since. Met tons of great people, improved my modelling skills greatly. Belong to 2 clubs, in the middle orginising 2 shows, one local, one NMRA. Won't give up this hobby till I'm forced :)
brad
All my life, All 13 years of it.
John C, was that Hornby Dublo by chance 3 rail? Our group recently had a set donated to us. It is in pristine conditon, not even a spec of rust on the tin plate track, and it is hard to tell that the trains have ever been played with. We presently have it on static display at our local museum.
I was surprised to see how much of this 00-3 rail is being bought and sold on eBay.
Hi Jim, Yes, it was 3 rail tinplate. I got a Canadian Pacific - pacific locomotive and 3 coaches in the blood & custard paint scheme. They were really British prototypes, but back then I didn't know that. For my next birthday I got a Royal Mail coach that actually picked up and dropped off lead bundles of mail at a Post station. Alas, it and I parted company many years ago. I've often though of trying to purchase another one, but the prices are huge! British Hornby collectors pay in pounds what us Canuks pay in dollars for them (at 2.25 to 1 last I checked). I do have wonderful memories of it though.
Cheers!
I received my first Lionel 027 in 1960.
You do the math.
1978
I have been in HO 60 years. I have seen alot of changes. I have seen Bachmann go from junk to great, and other companies die. The only one that I can think of that is still going is Walthers. Also Model Railroader Mag.
First layout was with my Dad & Brother 1968-1974, Tyco train running around Tyco slot carset, Both HO. I even joined the "HO" club at our grade school. 3rd-4th grade 69-71. I remember grandpa's cigar boxes covered in construction paper made for good "strip malls" W/ parking lots full of Matchbox & Hot Wheels cars.
Second go was also in HO, I purchased my son a Tyco HO G.I. Joe
set from a garage sale we used it from 1985-88. he also had the slot cars.
I still have his train set.
Third time I wanted to add some thing to my wife's Christmas village
so in 2004 I took GI Joe track and ran a Christmas trolley (Bachmann Brill) HO. Well my wife has Relinquished ownership of Village so I could run my
On30 passenger train in 05, and added On30 freight train for 06. She now Knows this will last 'til may or June than 2 Mos. planning 2 Mos building next years display.
'64 was a very good year.
a very good year,
for wide eyed boys,
with sinders in their eyes.
Two ovals of track,
a pair of locos to play.
It was a very good year.
Thanx for the memories Big Bear.
I guess I got my first trains when I was five - Lionel steam. When I was seven, I guess, I received a New York Central streamline passenger train - AA diesel with three cars. It was taken apart, never to run again, when we moved to Japan in 1953. In college I dabbled with HO but gave away the stuff to some friends with young children in the early '70s. The "stuff" included a painted Jeresey Central ten Wheeler camel back, probably brass. I went back into HO about 1989 when I purchased an undecorated Walthers single sheaf wooden boxcar.
One funny story concerns my reserve service. I was in a unit in Richmond, Va and for long time I'd leave the meeting on Saturday and go to Cheseterfield Hobbies to check it out and buy stuff. Then I'd meet a friend from the unit who lived in DC, and we'd have a couple of beers and eat dinner. One evening, John said, "Gene, you always dash off as soon as we're released. You having an affair with some woman?"
Gene
I started my first layout in '76 at the age of 8. Mov3ed on to other things, then re-discovered the hobby in '02. Lot's of fun!!
Mark,
Your very welcome.
Memories are treasures from ones own past, when shared with other generate stories oh so fast.
I'm a poet & didn't even know it.
Well it a all started about 1943 in frisco, I was about 4 or 5 yrs old wein i "hooked" my 1st ride in a engine, & the 1st HO train was a varney docksider and some ore cars with it, wein i got older I had the SP round house as my "toy box". By then my mom moved to San Mateo,Ca. But i spent A LOT TIME at Misson bay round house & Bay shore shops, But that was a long time ago................Thank's Mark.
OOPS!!!! Make that BIG BEAR, sorry. tiny.
2007 marks my 5th modeling anniverary. ;D ;D ;D
Pre-War TRIX out of a shop window display on Christmas Eve 1947 with two 0-4-0 locos LMS & LNER; such were the shortages. It was printed tinplate on Bakelite base track. The back of the track was printed ex-food cans.
1986, i was 3 i recieved a lionel O-27 0-4-0 oval 2 cars and cabbose, probably worth hundreds now.
HO scale since 1985!