ANOTHER WARREN BUFFET QUESTION

MarkInLA Apr 27, 2012

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  1. MarkInLA

    MarkInLA Permanently dispatched

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    Sorry if this is a tired subject, but, do any TB members know exactly what model RR club he belongs to ? Or does he not ? What an oddity it would be to belong to a MRR club an have Buffet as a member who's a ' realroarder ' ( my little name for the 1:1 guys ) and, has no problem paying club dues..!! Dang, if I were he I'd just hop on the real one and or buy, refurbish, and run a large steam engine like 3751...1:1 scale model railroader !!
     
  2. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    Mark, I think that even someone like Warren Buffet would get frustrated very quickly from all the red tape if he tried to run his personal 1:1 scale engine out on the main line, even on the BNSF which he owns a huge part of. Even folks like Buffet have to play by the rules most of the time.
     
  3. Jim Bernier

    Jim Bernier TrainBoard Member

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    Mark,

    Warren Buffet's Berkshire-Hathaway Group owns 99.99% of BNSF, and has cash to be paid to those 110 or so shares of old CB&Q stock that has never been turned in(even under BN). Warren Buffet looks for good companies with management he feels comfortable with. He like the BNSF management and is usually a 'hands off' investor because of that. Seeing the massive capital imprement projects BNSF has planned for this year, there appears to be no ownership throttling the spending at this company!
    I doubt if he ever owned a model train, and looks at BNSF as just another good investment.

    Jim
     
  4. retsignalmtr

    retsignalmtr TrainBoard Member

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    He may not be able to afford his dues if Obama raises his taxes!
     
  5. Jim Wiggin

    Jim Wiggin Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I don't think Mr. Buffet has time for a Model Railroad Club, real railroads keep him busy, along with his other operations. Lets keep the tax and other political comments for another forum.
     
  6. retsignalmtr

    retsignalmtr TrainBoard Member

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    I saw a news article some time back that Mr. Buffet is involved with model trains. For those without humor, a laxitive should cure it.
     
  7. Dave Jones

    Dave Jones TrainBoard Supporter

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    Believe that if you read the heading to this forum it more or less says general info related to model railroading. Mr. Buffet has or collects some model trains, he's chosen to make his life political, this seems to me to be connected.
     
  8. Jim Wiggin

    Jim Wiggin Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Really? Wow, I'm like one of the most easy going mods. I'm well aware that Mr. Buffet is involved with model trains, I was posting in response to your statement regarding Obama and taxes.

    Yes, I have read the title head and yes I'm aware of the affinity of model trains by Buffett. I'm also aware of his political life, however we can still discuss the subject as listed in the title thread. Comments on the possibility of Obama raising taxes is just inviting a political debate that will soon go far from the subject thread.

    It's just a friendly reminder guys, calm down. Coming from Illinois and after spending a year in NJ/NY area, I seriously doubt I'm the one who needs humor or a laxative.

    Now, back to the subject. Yeah the gentleman models with trains, however I don't think he has time or wants to be in a model railroad club. I could be wrong, I'm a man enough to acknowledge that, but someone of his stature might find belonging to a local train club kind of a hassle. I can imagine people bugging him with questions or questioning him on his tactics. Famous people, be it actors, politics, stage, what have you, have a completely different social life. Sometimes not by choice. Again, could be wrong, but he has to have a crazy schedule. Would love to see his collection, bet there are a lot of BN and BNSF in it!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 28, 2012
  9. jpwisc

    jpwisc TrainBoard Member

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    Seeing as Buffet designed the tax proposal for Obama I doubt he's worried about it.
     
  10. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Folks- Lets get back to Buffett and his real or model trains. Any politics belong on another site, not here on TrainBoard. Otherwise the topic discontinues.

    BoxcabE50
    TrainBoard Administrator
     
  11. Candy_Streeter

    Candy_Streeter TrainBoard Member

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    I wouldn't want to be Mr. Buffet. When things come too easily an element of fun is removed.
     
  12. MarkInLA

    MarkInLA Permanently dispatched

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    Funny how one's original thread title and/or question can get ignored and the rest of the posts go off on a tangent..I didn't ask what anyone thinks of the man or about his politics. I didn't ask if you think he's too rich to not have time to be a MRRer..He's got lots of time I'm sure, like any other person who puts in a full week of work, and then on weekends or tuesday nights has a hobby..He's human...I did hear he's in a club..All I asked is which one, if any..BOXCABe50 has it right. And as far as rules and regulations of the RR are concerned ,there are abandoned lines and old sidings a person who, hello, owns a RR, could certainly run an engine and some cars on after being shown the ropes by and accompanied by an engineer (his employee)..Railfans and Speeders do this all the time..Come on guys,please stick to the thread title..
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 8, 2012
  13. UPCLARK

    UPCLARK TrainBoard Member

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    Buffet wouldn't have to find the time to build a layout or join a club. He'd just call one of the "museum quality" LOL! layout builders and tell them how many square feet he wants to fill. And magically..POOF!
    A construction crew shows up to put up a brick building and right after that, here comes a semi filled with train layout ready to assemble.

    Gee, I wonder if he's looking to adopt a hoplessly addicted model railroader? LOL!!!
     
  14. randgust

    randgust TrainBoard Member

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    OK, not political. But in case you're wondering.... this was making all the rounds late last year. You just can't make this up.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtVAO6a55o8

    OK, so he's Lionel, and there is scenery, and BN hoppers....and apparently no shame. So if you think the man has no models, or no sense of humor...think again. And it doesn't look like somebody that hired DaVinci to paint his ceiling either, more like just another attic railroad and he's truly enjoying himself. I'll admit, I was stunned when I saw it, but it's hard to hate a guy in a shirt that says 'still plays with trains'. So if you do see the guy in a hobby shop, or at a club, me thinks he may be one of 'us'.

    You'd be just as stunned the number of real railroaders that do modeling, in all facets. It's usually fairly quietly, but there's some incredible collections and layouts out there, you just have to sometimes know somebody for a decade or more to find out. Our office wears it proudly with a running HO layout in the window, and that tends to start a lot of conversations.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 9, 2012
  15. jagged ben

    jagged ben TrainBoard Member

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    Here's the thing... ALL KINDS of people play with trains. Or, er, that is, model trains. The only real caveat is that they tend to be male, not female, with a few notable exceptions. People with less money may not be able to do it as fancily, but they still buy trainsets and the desire is still there. "Real railroaders" do it probably in roughly the same percentage as the general population. Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and atheists do it.

    And people with lots of money and success also do it, and if anyone ever suggests to you that it isn't true, show them the clip randgust posted.
     
  16. Jim Wiggin

    Jim Wiggin Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Pretty cool. Hell Neil Young liked toy trains so much, he had ownership in Lionel. This maybe Warren's way of winding down after a long day, or week. Funny how model trains do that.
     
  17. GeorgeV

    GeorgeV TrainBoard Member

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    I saw Warren Buffet interviewed on one of the financial channels the other morning, along with Bill Gates and Charlie Munger (Berkshire Hathaway VP). The topic of railroads and BNSF came up and Mr. Munger said "Warren's been playing with trains his whole life!" followed by much laughter. So he must do something with toy or model trains.

    George V.
     
  18. kalbert

    kalbert Guest

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    I guess if I were a member of a club Mr. Buffet's area I would probably offer him a membership. Seriously. I'd send him an email or an old fashioned letter just like any other prospective member of our club.

    "I am a member of Arm Chair Railroad Club, and understand you are interested in model railroading, or railroad modeling. We meet the 5th Thursday of the month in the basement at Moe's Pub in downtown Springfield, and welcome guests to attend. If you wish to join, we have a $85/year membership fee that includes free admission to our fall swap meet, a t-shirt, and a decal sheet with our logo in sizes suitable for Z scale through G. Look forward to seeing you at a meeting some day.

    Sincerely, Me."
     
  19. nscalerone

    nscalerone TrainBoard Member

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    As a fellow "Nebraskan", I can tell you that Mr. Buffet is a very nice, down to earth gentleman. How nice the world might be if all who had wealth like his were the same..................................
    I don't pretend to know him, to know if he has trains or not, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit. If you didn't know he was wealthy, you might be fooled into thinking he was just a regular guy.
     
  20. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Per my post #10 in this topic- As we cannot stay on topic, topic is closed. Political discourse belongs elsewhere, outside of TrainBoard.
     
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