A couple of recent threads have been echoing some thoughts I've been having recently, about what I find most enjoyable in the hobby. A few weeks ago I got to the point in my running sequence where I run only my analogue trains for a week or two. The click-click of the reversing units, the smell of the motors, the noise...all contributed to taking me back a decade or two to the days when all I had was analogue control. I found myself enjoying the trains at a level I'd forgotten about.

While not about to convert all my trains back to analogue ( ) I have thought about what actually is more fun, and it seems that you don't actually need all the digital control gadgets, sound, lighting effects, etc, to enjoy running the trains! I have resolved to make analogue running part of any future plans I might make for a new layout, perhaps as a seperate analogue line alongside digitally controlled tracks.

The digital improvements to the hobby should be there as an enhancement of the experience, and not as a replacement for the basic fun of running model trains.

I have tried to organise what I enjoy most in the hobby in order of my preference:

1. Manually controlling trains (station stops, route changes, shunting wagons....)
2. Watching trains with realistic consists running on the layout
3. Planning and building layouts
4. Collecting trains
5. Researching prototype trains and railway operations
6. Repairing and improving old models (including digital conversions)
7. Simple automation (eg. turnout and signal control using contact tracks)

What I least enjoy:

1. Rivet counting (fastidiously close attention to prototypical accuracy)
2. Complicated digital and computer control schemes


Although I realise that this is probably opposite to the preferences of some others, I think there is room in the hobby for all the different ways there are to enjoy yourself!

I concur with you in all points. I recently had the same experience with the smell of the motors. Yes, electricity smells. And it smells good.

Yes, the smell of the motors and hot oil is unbeatable, even my dog is starting to take an interest on my analogue engines.

Very good topic Ray . I have almost as much analog locomotives than digital ones at the moment and I will not convert many of them to digital. I like analog locomotives motor "sound", smell and reversing units sound. It reminds me of the time when I was a child. They run better than some delta or digital ones.

I want to run them and it was the reason why I started to build an old Märklin 3600 solid center rail M-track (1947-1956) layout in my garage. I like most the 800 series locomotives, but I don't have many of them.

When I will finally get the catenary installed on my train room digital C-track layouts outer mainline it will be analog for electric analog locomotives and I can remove the current pick-up shoe / slider from them.

I like also to collect locomotives and rolling stock and watch them in their display cases or on the tracks. Manual control of my trains is how I run them and enjoy it a lot.

I'm not a rivet counter either, but I often try to use the same era rolling stock than the locomotive is.

One part of this great hobby is also to fix locomotives, improve them (ball bearings to DCM and C-Sinus motors etc.) and modify the digital ones settings.

I'm glad to see that there are more of us who still enjoy also the analog locomotives .

Regards,
Janne

Hello Ray! Hello all!

This is what I mean about being HAPPY with Märklin

Really enjoying to running, collecting, building etc etc!

And most important is to do as you like to do it! It`s for FUN!!!!!!

Bertil.

I like that the common theme running through these posts is about having fun and enjoying yourself, in whatever way you prefer.

It's a blessing having something to take your mind away from the pressures of work (for those that do) and to keep your mind active (for those who no longer do!)

Thanks to Ray for starting such a happy topic, and thanks to Juhan for making this all possible, and thanks to everyone for contributing so much knowledge and experiences.

I always enjoy getting home on a Friday afternoon after work and reading the forum news and thinking what train things I am going to work on during the weekend. I was actually up until 01h30 early this morning running some trains and checking out some things because I am having visitors this afternoon and I want things to run smoothly !

Anyway, my favourite aspects of the hobby include :

• designing layouts with operating possibilities, like reversing loops and passing sidings, and signal operation, and shunting yards
  
• fitting new decoders to my analog old locos and running them on my digital layout
  
• admiring the wonderful engineering which went into the construction of the locos from long ago
  
• building electronic accessories to the layout, eg braking modules, signal modules, random point switches, flashing lights, etc
  
• meeting Marklin friends and spending time visiting their layouts and they visiting my layout
  
• tinkering with my analog locos

Regards,
John

Thanks to all on this forum, and to Ray for this topic.
I agree entirely.

regards
Kimball

Maybe not dangerous, but still a disorder, no?

I was in a club where rivet counting had completely taken over. There was no way that you could be happy with a locomotive "out of the box", it had to be modified in some way, and it had to be this and that time period and so on. If it had sound, it was a toy, unless it was the exact right sound of course. If it was "from Märklin", oh boy, I will not even go into the ugly details on that.

I became very tired, because the club seemed to have forgotten what having fun was all about. You HAD to criticize, there HAD to be something wrong with the model. It completely killed every enthusiasm that one might show for his new purchase - and you started to become embarassed if you liked a model that you knew the others would not. I stopped, right there.

Then I found out that my nephew (who I rarely talked to) was also into model trains, and his approach was to simply do what he felt like. You know, if he thought a locomotive was nice, he would buy it, simply because he liked the way it looked. I became inspired, because he had the same enthusiasm that I had when I first started. I wanted that enthusiasm back! I wanted to be able to buy some model, just because I felt like it, and because I liked it.

So I started to tell people that this was my new approach, and some of the people I talked to actually said that they had felt the same way. Now we are a little group who meet from time to time, to build our C track layouts (Trix C track) and run the models - some like prototypical trains, and that's fine, some like to run their collections of coil wagons and that's fine too. Should somebody come a long and like to run their 3-rail locomotives, that would work as well. I have tested it, because I have a few Märklin locomotives too. We simply isolate a block of track, and exchange the 2-rail wagons between the too systems.

We have great fun!

Regarding "fun"...

I think it's fun is to see what others have done to build their "1/87 empires", large or small...
I think it's fun to see some members doing some "extraordinary" projects...
I think it's fun to test new models, and buying them when I can afford it...
I think it's fun to see the variety of forum discussions, from NMR to the deepest digital discussions - and always learn a new thing....
I think it's fun to have the forum running and active since 2001...
I think it's fun to see discussions to see where members with "My way is the only way" attitude listen and agree upon trying suggestions from others...
I think it's fun to maintain the forum and suggest improvements to the developers as well as trying to develop the rest of the site myself...

In short - I think it is fun with both trains & software development stuff for this site, and the most fun for me is that the site brings people from all the corners of the world together...
I also think it is fun that my & the team humble efforts seem to be appreciated by many members (mostly...)...

So - I love to run this site with all the great members, wouldn't be as fun without you all....

Now when you mention it....

Forgot to say - I think it's fun to see all the pictures of models and layouts in the forum, some are good and some are excellent....

As you Piet, I have also worked many years in the IT business and do not wish to control my (future) layout fully with computers...
But I want to use computers as a complement for controlling things like lights, background sounds, other off-rail effects and such...

Thanks Ray for starting such a wonderful positive post - sometimes we forget to have FUN with our trains!!
I just love looking at the visiting children's faces when they see the layout for the first time - the sheer fascination take me back to when I was their age......and when they keep on wanting to come back and learn how to make "hills", and "rocks", and how to control the trains (for the "older" children), it just makes it SO worthwhile.......What FUN!!
Thanks everyone...Joe

Hi,

Now on to what I enjoy in the hobby, in some order as I feel today.
In 12 months time I may feel differently. I use Ray's items as a guide.

I enjoy most in the hobby in order of my preference:

1. Admiring the workmanship in models, including the "rivet counting" close attention to prototypical accuracy, either hand-made or mass produced.
2. Researching available models on the internet.
3. Researching prototype trains and railway operations to purchase and run similar miniature trains.
4. Watching trains with realistic consists running on the model layout.
5. Belonging to local Clubs where I mix with others of similar interest (these are mostly 2 rail).
6. Repairing, modifying and improving old models (including digital conversions) - I don't do a lot of this, but like it.
7. Manually controlling trains (station stops, route changes, shunting wagons....)
8. Collecting all sorts of model trains, even models from yesteryear.

What I don't do, because it would be an effort for me:

1. Simple automation (eg. turnout and signal control using contact tracks)
2. Complicated digital and computer control schemes
3. Planning and building layouts (I have built one which works, that is enough).

regards
Kimball

Hello,

At this moment, I'm enjoying the most two things:

1 - Playing Dr. Frankenstein adapting Walthers/Athearn rolling stock to run in M roads.
2 - Planning and designing a non Germanic / non American, but rural Costa rican layout.

Great topic, Ray.

Most fun for me, in no particular order:

1. Assembling a simple layout and then disassembling it in order to build a new one. There is always magic when the next simple layout is complete and the first train runs on it;

2. Mixing and matching wagons to different locomotives, both DC and AC;

3. Watching a long train go by with the wagons waiving like the tail of a pet.

4. Watching locos race one another.

5. Pushing locos to their speed limit.

6. Going on this and other forums to chat about trains.

7. Listening to whistles and bells of trains, including battery trains.

8. Watching videos on trains on You Tube, especially those that open a brand new train set, like ... (cannot post names, no advertising allowed

9. Making videos and posting them on You Tube.

There it is.

Thank you Ray.

Hello Richard!

Yes, worth the time cleaning the tracks...

My advice is to use this cleaning car:

http://www.tonystrains.com/technews/clean_machine.htm

You could do the job by simply having fun, even if the price isn't cheap. Some parts of my layout is so difficult to reach to clean it... this car do a wonderful job here.

Cheers,

Walter

You are becoming famous, Ray, at least your topic is.

I took the liberty of asking the same question you did on an Italian forum "3 Rotaie" (3 Rails), giving you credit for the topic, and in less than 24 hours the page has been viewed 179 times.

If anyone is interested in looking it up, this is the site: http://www.3rotaie.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9417

Hi Ray,

What I find most fun is the Challenge......A test of one's abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating undertaking.

Ian.

Dear all,

I could not agree more to what all have been posted in this thread! Currently I'm working on
1. hand made street lights
2. H0 buildings using sites like http://papertoys.com/
3. Building my own cargo containers with the help of http://www.norbtach.nl/b...cont45/4x45fthcont.html.

All thanks to marklin-users.net community for being so resourceful. As rightly posted by Mr. Serrano on Facebook community page, this is indeed a disease which makes us live for more:)

Regards,
Madhu

What I like most is having some trains running around while I'm reading a paper or something. Just the trains making mileage and me listening to the sound and looking every now and then where they are.

Next preference is having 4 trains running on my tracks, two on each direction and having the speed synchronised that they do not collide (45 years ago I used the Marklin signals to do this on my analog track divided in three blocks ...). Man where has time gone ? A family, kids grown-up ... They left their legacy in the lay-out but have gone their own ways.

Some analog beauties will not be converted ... ever.

Henk

Hi all,

well it seems that the jury is in and model trains are good.

Yes yes the sound of loco's on M track cant be beaten(cant convince my fiancae though!).

Anolough(who needs digital, its ok Im only jealous that I havent any!) is the only way to go, still running my origional BR89 I had as a boy many moons ago.

I also love this "club" for all the answers etc to my many questions.

Mike.