ARE RAILWAY MODELLERS "ODD" ?

3665 Views 36 Replies 18 Participants Last post by Dave c, Mar 30, 2007

Brian Considine

Discussion Starter · Mar 24, 2007

A statistic that cropped up in another topic yielded the fact that a large proportion of the population regarded Railway Modellers as "odd".

This got me thinking (not good on a Saturday morning !) about other hobbies that we may see as odd.

So, let's have a light hearted look at some other hobbies (some of us here may even "indulge").

I'll start off with one of mine ;
Fire Preservation - I have 1 preserved fully operational 35 year old Landrover Fire Engine. I also have a 20 year old Dodge Fire engine fully operational & working for a living.

A couple of others :
The Pill Box Society (they have an interest in the Pill Boxes left over from WWII, mostly on the south & eastern coasts (a friend of mine is a member).
Morris Men (no comment).

Anyone care to add and/or comment to the list ?

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Gary

· #2 · Mar 24, 2007 (Edited by Moderator)

All women collectors are ODD!

Why would the ladies want to collect china dolls and thimbles and china frogs and even miniature houses?

I have yet to meet a single male collector of these items however have met a number of lady collectors of the above. They have all yet to convince me of the merits of such collecting although my male arguments for model railways definitely stack up!

What about those who have the hobby of dressing up as Klingons from Star Trek and who speak Klingon?

Happy modelling
Gary

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dwb

· #3 · Mar 24, 2007

>The Pill Box Society

When I first read this, you reminded me of my Grandmother and the row of pills she would set out in front of her to take after a meal..

>Pill Boxes left over from WWII, mostly on the south & eastern coasts
There's a string of them along the Kennet and Avon canal in west berkshire. One was recently half or maybe completely buried when a road bridge embankment was realigned.

David

Gary

· #4 · Mar 24, 2007 (Edited by Moderator)

A Pill Box recently emerged from the windswept beach at Black Rock Sands near Portmadoc. It caused a lot of local interest and has become a minor tourist attraction.

There are of course all those adults who race Scalextric cars at various clubs around the country and the radio control community. It does seem odd that these hobbies are not considered odd when railway modelling is. Is it that anything to do with cars is considered macho and butch and competitive and all action and anything to do with trains is considered to be rivet counting and dull and boring and museum like by the wider community?

Its up to us to correct this thinking!

Happy modelling
Gary

alastairq

· #5 · Mar 24, 2007

anyone who takes more than a superficial interest in a non-work related topc is 'odd' to most folk....shows how superficial much of society is nowadays?

Over the years I have found I go through spells of focusing more, or less, free time on railway, or railroad, modelling.

I also like, and have,old cars and bike(s). I compete in the more 'nostalgic' forms of motorsport...which, tied in with the above, take up more, or less, of my free time....currently 'more'...

I, (and more so my wife) have what maight be deemed an unhealthy interest in steam, and other, railways (trains)...and on most holidays manage to fit in a visit or two.

My young son also shares those interests.......in fact, the other year we happened to use a train to get to Exeter....and he was surprised it had no steam engine.....his whole rail travel experience up to that point had been behind steam engines, so HE thought that was the 'norm!'

what I find pleasantly surprising, is the actual REAL amount of interest in railways, and modelling, that one finds in life....from some very surprising sources?

I think the OP's topic stems largely from those whose free time is solely governed by the media?

Whose idea of 'using free time' properly involves sinking copious quantities of alcohol.....?

To me, football supporters and avid followers fall into the same pigeon hole as we modellers seemed to have been placed by others......ie odd, seeing as football seems a pretty pointless pastime?
ie, it falls in line with the old Roman phyllosophy of 'keeping the unwashed masses happy' with specatacle?

perhaps therein lies the key to how others view or hobby?

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alastairq

· #6 · Mar 24, 2007

perhaps even more to the point, what worries msot folk about railway modellers, or others viewed in a similar ode, is that 'we' dont actually give a stuff about what others think of us, and what we do?

Which is largely contrary to a society where 'impressions' are deemed of vital import?

'street cred'.anyone?

Gary

· #7 · Mar 24, 2007 (Edited by Moderator)

Hitting a small white ball around a wet muddy field with a stick and sitting for hours on end by a canal in silence in the poring rain with a piece of string with a hook on the end attatched to a long pole both seem to be very odd things to do and yet are two of the countries most popular pastimes.

Happy modelling
Gary

John Webb

· #8 · Mar 24, 2007

dbclass50: Snap! Re fire appliances - have a LWB Austin Gypsy still undergoing work. I thought I'd get it finished after I took early retirement - no such joy, where did I find the time to go to work!

Morris Dancing: done by enthusiasts and appreciated mainly by tourists.

I think that's the problem - if you are enthusiastic for some things you may perhaps be able to appreciate other peoples' enthusiasms - but sometimes people cannot (or won't). And those who only gaze at their TVs or computer games seem to be the worst at understanding other hobbies, I have noted.

Regards,
John Webb

Brian Considine

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 24, 2007

QUOTE (John Webb @ 24 Mar 2007, 20:19) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>dbclass50: Snap! Re fire appliances - have a LWB Austin Gypsy still undergoing work. I thought I'd get it finished after I took early retirement - no such joy, where did I find the time to go to work!

I must find the time to get some pic's up on my blog - the Land Rover is due for a minor makeover for the show season so will probably post the pics then.

Be interesting to see some pics of your Gypsy - BTW - are you OK for the relevant kit for the vehicle ?

bangerblueed

· #10 · Mar 24, 2007

other odd hobbies

Civil war re enacters ?
Phillatelists ?
Radio hams ?
Collectors of obscure packaging /Bottles ?
Antique dealers ?
Plane spotters ?
Internet forum addicts ?
Film buffs ?
Naturists ?
Ramblers ?

can't be bothered to name any more but i couldn't imagine why anyone would want to do any of them but they do

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neil_s_wood

· #11 · Mar 25, 2007

I think any kind of non-conformance creates fear in the uneducated mind. It scares them that there may be something going on beyond their comrehension and their defence mechanism instinctively tells them to ridicule it. Lets face it sport is stupid and pointless and video games are moronic so all hobbies and passtimes can be insulted quite easily in some way or an other. Here in Australia I see lots of people running or cycling or engaging in some other pointless form of energy wasting and it baffles me. I really don't understand it at all. I guess thats how they see us.

Brian Considine

Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 25, 2007

Keep Fit (AKA going to the Gym) - don't quite see the point of running or cycling & going no-where, & why bother moving heavy things around that don't need to be moved ?

I was going to mention Radio Hams, but then as I happened to be a CB'er in the 80's have no room to talk - 10/10.

7113

· #13 · Mar 26, 2007

YES! Well I am anyway.

Apart from railway modelling I collect beer glasses (no dbc50 not just the contents!), model buses from my local area (East Kent), goat related items (don't even ask) and British trucks in HO scale.

Apart from that I think I'm fairly normal.

Regards

John

Jeorge

· #14 · Mar 26, 2007 (Edited by Moderator)

I like;

Clandestine radio (ODD)
Shortwave Radio numbers stations (SAD and ODD)
The effects of drugs and the mind (God knows how I wanted to know about this, but it is rather facinating. That said, i would never be foolish enough to try it myself)
Anything Mechanical (Something like an electric motor can hold my attention for hours)
Physics (love it.)
Anything old and/or historical
Communism (Don't ask, Just don't. I really dont know why/how I got interested in something like this)

And there always will be the trains

I'm just another normal 15 year old...

Jeorge, who is recovering from a serious accedent: My new Egger Bahn loco just took a nose dive off of my desk (damaged coupling - fixed now) I nearly cried....

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Gary

· #15 · Mar 26, 2007 (Edited by Moderator)

We seem to have move on from what we consider to be ODD to what we actually do that is ODD!

This possibly makes the topic even more interesting!

I do a spot of rambling, hill walking and cycling simply because I believe its better for you than smoking, drinking and being a couch potato in front of the tele. As I believe this am I ODD as most of the population smoke, drink and are couch potatoes in front of the tele?

I am also addicted to Star Trek and watch it avidely to a chorus of "dad we are not watching Star Trek again!". I admit this is a couch potato thing however surely I am allowed one vice out of the three?

Happy modelling
Gary

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dwb

· #16 · Mar 26, 2007

>most of the population smoke, drink
I couldn't possibly afford to do either of those and indulge in model railways.

as for the couch potato thing, I only seem to watch broadcast TV once a week these days.

David

ozwarrior

· #17 · Mar 27, 2007

I have a mate that besides railway modelling collects matchboxes.

Apparently it's a dying hobby as they don't do them with pictures anymore. I wonder if most hobbies/pastimes are ageing? I suppose with PC's/Playstations etc they must occupy a great deal of time for younger ones in particular. (Says me who's currently sitting at a pc screen!

)

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pedromorgan

· #18 · Mar 27, 2007

i think all hobbies are concidered odd by many people. anyone who does anything out of the ordinary is concidered a freak.

I personally do mosaics and stained glass lamps as well as collecting stamps and model railways.

Peter

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7113

· #19 · Mar 27, 2007

Whoops - forgot my love of cats - both domestic, as in Buzz my furry house mate, and wild ,as in Siberian tigers. (no I don't own a tiger, but I do sponsor one)

Regards

John

Dave c

· #20 · Mar 27, 2007

I also do the Scalextric thing, and i do get a fair bit of ribbing at work, escpecially when I go into the detail of how to set a car up.

I think we all as humans have hobbies of one type or another, if we didn't, when we was outside of work we would all just sit on a couch doing absoluetly nothing. So we can assume that at some point during our childhood we have been influenced by others into trying something and we have quite enjoyed doing that something. At the end of the day, and I hate that saying, we all need something to fill our time, some choose caravaning, some collect stamps, the list goes on and on.

I have, now and in the past, modelled railways, supported Fulham FC and England all over the country, fished, darted, motorbiked, classic car'ed, played snooker, badminton, squash, football, line danced, ceroc danced once, photographed, gone to the cinema and theatre and travelled the world, and they call me ODD !!!

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