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Offline Mr. Ron  
#1 Posted : 03 July 2022 06:53:19(UTC)
Mr. Ron

United States   
Joined: 05/07/2020(UTC)
Posts: 311
Location: Mississippi, Vancleave
Ever since the first train ran, there have been people making models of trains. I don't think any other form of transportation has been exploited as much as the railroad. What is it that makes model trains so interesting that fortunes have been spent in creating a model railroad/railway? The miniatur wunderland in Hamburg, although a commercial venture first, still reflects the immense interest in trains. Sure, there are people interested in ships, planes and cars, but nothing like the interest in trains. Europe and Great Britain seem to lead the way in model railroading, and I guess that is due to trains playing a big part in everyday life. That is especially true with passenger service. In the U.S., train travel, other than freight service has been replaced by planes and private automobiles. Here in the U.S., trains were a major part of the transportation network until air travel and an interstate highway system took over, but in Europe and the UK, trains still remained the primary means of public transport. I wonder why people are fascinated by trains over other means of transport. Passenger service has held on in large cities with commuter lines, but to travel from one place to another, we drive or take a plane. I grew up at a time when trains were a major means of travel and that led to an interest in model trains. The same may be true in Europe and the UK. I can remember back in the mid 50's, I could travel by train between Boston and Portsmouth, N.H. on the B&M railroad, a distance of about 60 miles. That no longer exists today. You have to fly or drive.
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Online marklinist5999  
#2 Posted : 03 July 2022 14:30:13(UTC)
marklinist5999

United States   
Joined: 10/02/2021(UTC)
Posts: 3,074
Location: Michigan, Troy
Of course there have been many, but as many in automobiles, marine, and flight of course. I like vehicles in general. The early models were wooden, then cast iron, tinplate, then later die cast zinc then plastics, brass, and hybrids of them.
Younger modelers with better sight are motorizing small scale vehicles with micromotors, and fabricating shafts, steering knucles, led lighting, sound, and simulated hydraulics with solenoids and relays.
When a client orders a custom yagt, a scale model is made firstly and presented to them. It's all very amazing.
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Offline Toosmall  
#3 Posted : 04 July 2022 06:42:11(UTC)
Toosmall

Australia   
Joined: 26/07/2021(UTC)
Posts: 608
Location: Sydney
Cameras were a hobby in themselves, or probably more to the point lenses. These days the quality of professional glass is amazing. Unfortunately so many people only use a phone camera.

I like model trains but I also like trying to get an photo more than a simple snapshot.

DSC_0174_053911.jpg
This was with a compact camera for depth of field (top left, white styrene foam for bouncing light)
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Offline kimballthurlow  
#4 Posted : 04 July 2022 09:53:13(UTC)
kimballthurlow

Australia   
Joined: 18/03/2007(UTC)
Posts: 6,653
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Originally Posted by: Toosmall Go to Quoted Post
Cameras were a hobby in themselves, or probably more to the point lenses. These days the quality of professional glass is amazing. ....


I worked for quite a few years with a Japanese optical company (cameras, photocopiers, telescopes etc).
When I visited their factory in Japan in the 1990s they showed me lens making machinery they had purchased from Germany in the 1930s and were still using to make the high-end lenses.
Those lenses were often ground for 24-48 hours to achieve the quality required.
Many telescopes (for use in periscopes, survey equipment, stellar observation) prior to the 1980s used lenses where the glass quality was less than desirable, so to gain extra light-passing qualities they would dispense with what was called an erecting lens.
So the image observed by the viewer was always upside down.
That mattered little, because the brain adjusts within hours on first use!
It is possible that film cameras never had an erecting lens because the film did not CARE!
Which is why old B&W photography from more than 100 years ago was sublimely defined.

Kimball

HO Scale - Märklin (ep II-III and VI, C Track, digital) - 2 rail HO (Queensland Australia, UK, USA) - 3 rail OO (English Hornby Dublo) - old clockwork O gauge - Live Steam 90mm (3.1/2 inch) gauge.
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Offline kimballthurlow  
#5 Posted : 05 July 2022 07:32:49(UTC)
kimballthurlow

Australia   
Joined: 18/03/2007(UTC)
Posts: 6,653
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Originally Posted by: Mr. Ron Go to Quoted Post
Ever since the first train ran, there have been people making models of trains. I don't think any other form of transportation has been exploited as much as the railroad. What is it that makes model trains so interesting that fortunes have been spent in creating a model railroad/railway? The miniatur wunderland in Hamburg, although a commercial venture first, still reflects the immense interest in trains. Sure, there are people interested in ships, planes and cars, but nothing like the interest in trains. .... I guess that is due to trains playing a big part in everyday life. That is especially true with passenger service. In the U.S., train travel, other than freight service has been replaced...


I think the fascination of modelling trains begins (as you believe) with our experiences as children.
When we were born trains had been around for more than 100 years, and alongside that history our travel made us want to capture the magic.

The automobile has only been around since the 1890s and does not have the same appeal to our generation.
Aircraft have been around since the early 1900s and the same applies.
Ships have always had modelling enthusiasts, being around in small or large form since time began.
The models were built usually by sailers to pass the time, but prior to the last century had to be crafted in materials such as wood, bone and natural fibres.
The availability of modern materials has made modelling from scratch so much easier no matter what the object.

Kimball
HO Scale - Märklin (ep II-III and VI, C Track, digital) - 2 rail HO (Queensland Australia, UK, USA) - 3 rail OO (English Hornby Dublo) - old clockwork O gauge - Live Steam 90mm (3.1/2 inch) gauge.
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Offline 1borna  
#6 Posted : 05 July 2022 21:51:26(UTC)
1borna

Croatia   
Joined: 21/12/2012(UTC)
Posts: 1,340
Location: Hrvatska
When traveling by train, you go from the city center to the city center without the complicated journey to the airport and the procedures there.
In addition, you can move freely on the train, look at the surroundings or read something
and on longer journeys you can comfortably sleep and dine.
In a car you can't be relaxed and move around, in buses and planes it's just a little better in terms of movement.
You can always take more luggage by train than by bus or plane. Today, trains have become much faster than before, they are even faster than road vehicles, while airplanes have an advantage only on longer journeys.
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Offline GaryTrooper  
#7 Posted : 29 July 2022 12:31:04(UTC)
GaryTrooper

United States   
Joined: 26/01/2018(UTC)
Posts: 390
Location: Hailey, Idaho
I believe the draw of model trains is the physics behind it. Consciously or not, watching a loco pull a long rake of wagons up a hill or around a curve is a wondrous thing. Planes are amazing things too but you can't string them together to make long chains and flying them requires great skill and a singlur focus on one aircraft at a time. Cars range in interest from the Volkswagen Thing to a Bugatti or Lamborghini. Just recent advance in small motors, infrared sensing, and digital controls will allow modelers to create crowded city street scenes with lots of movement. This type of car modeling is very expensive compared to trains and road construction is more technical then snapping train track together. Ship and boat modeling requires lakes, ponds, or pools for operable models. Slot cars are dead (Apologies to the Faller AMS enthusiasts who still have working systems. They were/are pretty cool.) Model train manufacturers make easily expandable integrated systems which makes it one of the more easy hobbies to get into and continue to add to over time. IMHO.
G - LGB
O - Lionel and MTH
HO - Marklin
N - Mix of manufacturers mostly Kato
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Offline Bigdaddynz  
#8 Posted : 30 July 2022 00:01:35(UTC)
Bigdaddynz

New Zealand   
Joined: 17/09/2006(UTC)
Posts: 18,661
Location: New Zealand
I've recently had some interest in building model tanks. Not any old tank, but specifically 1:35 Leopard 2 tanks. This is so I can have a rake of them pulled on 1:32 flatcars by my Gauge 1 trains. I don't want World War 2 German tanks because of the obvious connotations, especially if I were to pull them with, say my G1 BR44 or G1 BR58.

That leaves me with the modern day Leopard 2's, which would tick off two categories of vehicles mentioned. Now I just have to find time to build them (and also suitable kits).
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