Tell How You Became A railroader

[Theterboliner]

to be honest i all ways loved train for when i was a kid. my first train set i had i be leave it was an n scale in the back of my mom's store. i lost that set some how don't remember how . i finally got back into it with ho in 2000 and been going ever sence. i do love real trains too i try to get pictures of them ever chance i get.  ;

[kevin2083]

small world? Or is it big hobby?

[Guilford Guy]

Theres often a few buffs in each school... There a science teacher with American Flyer, and while screwing around school with my friends, found a BNSF 2008 calendar in one of the Spanish rooms...

[kevin2083]

I quickly found 3 people into trains when I brought a pinata of a Southern F9 to Espanol dos.

[Terry Toenges]

My dad built a Lionel layout right after I was born. I got out of it in my late teens.  I got into it later in life because I liked the old time Wild West stuff being made. I'm getting out of it again because I'm getting burnt out on it and getting old.

[Jhanecker2]

I made the mistake of telling a group of friends ,that I had a deprived Childhood due to the fact I never had an electric train as a child . This comment was overheard by my sister . Looking for a Christmas present she could buy for me , she decided that an electric train was it.  She knew that I had been a model - builder , was capable of working with metal, wood and electrical equipment . She figure it was the answer to what to buy.          We were raised in Chicago , rode the "El", and had railroad tracks all over the neighborhood.    I also  worked  for  Pyle National as an inspector for nineteen years ,  they made electrical connectors  , lights , and industrial  switches .   They  were major manufactures  of railroad electrical  equipment and I inspected many different lines of terminated cables both mechanically and electrically.   I found a good number of fellow employees  were former railroad men and some were model railroad collectors .   Some of our friends also enjoyed model trains.   I get a kick out of going to the Illinois Railroad  Museum , my brother-in-law is a member. I like to see where the stuff I inspected was installed. Also I now live on Rai;road street  several miles up the track from the museum.

[Santa Fe buff]

I saw an train, the trunks appeared to be floatling, I studied them and found out they have wheels. I never took any care in modeling them until one Christmas my dad bought my a Life-Like HO Rolling Thunder set, seeing the realistic senery that came with it, and the extra real locomotive and cars made me want to model for life. I still love real trains, just not as much as modeling them.

Which Life-Like was your dad buying from? I know all of the Life-Like sets I got as a kid were only slightly above complete and utter s***.

I don't know, but mine was acually quality.

[thirdrail]

I became a railroader when I got out of college and applied with the NYC and EL in New York. They weren't hiring, so I went to Philadelphia and applied with the Pennsylvania Railroad. It promptly sent me back to New Orleans, and except for two years with the Veterans Administration I worked for railroads all my working career. The last 18 of that I spent in charge of marketing and ancillary functions for a short line.

As far as model railroading, I got an American Flyer set after World War II at the age of six. There is a world of difference between being a modeler and being a railroader. You might want to change the thread title.