What Other Hobbies Do N Scalers Have?

Craig Martyn Oct 30, 2001

  1. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    Found this old post from 21 years ago. I think we can call you a photographer now. :D(y)(y)
     
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  2. Ron Petrich

    Ron Petrich TrainBoard Member

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    I'm retired, so these 74 year old bones aren't as active as they once were, but I still...

    Race my Spec Miata during the summer/fall months...
    Walk at least 5 miles per day, rain or shine... no excuses this week, it will be 70+ in NorCal for the next few days...
    Golf, which is one of those 4-letter words...
    Listen to music, mostly classical or 60s/70s folk on vinyl...
    Dote on my one granddaughter, Bernice, who is 11 months old and lives in Chicago (been tough travelling there this year)...
    Treat my wife extra nice at all times so she will continue to let me indulge in model trains and these other hobbies :)

    Ron
     
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  3. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    I am an active gardener but scaling back because of age related issues and have a batch of fruit trees so I have seasonable harvest and canning times. Also an artist that works in pastels. Chief chef and bottle washer of Woodchuck Acres my 2 and a 1/2 acre spread. Fish and crab. Slowly ever so slowly writing a cookbook. And an avid mystery reader and sea story reader.
     
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  4. Doug A.

    Doug A. TrainBoard Supporter

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    Wow, way to revive a 21-year-old thread heavily populated by folks who have passed on. :eek:;)

    My post from the early 2000's still holds up pretty well. Probably would add "working in the yard" and other DIY/home improvement stuff...not really hobbies per se, but I am enjoying the challenge of some of the projects I'm taking on. Been building a "hardscape" backyard basically since right before Covid started....slowly but surely making progress. Doing drainage, running wiring of various types, retainging walls, lighting...the whole nine yards.

    Oh, and I have moved to Z-Scale from N.
     
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  5. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yeah... a thread that preceded my membership in Trainboard in 2002.
    I really did not have other 'hobbies' that I took seriously enough to consider as a hobby. Also some health issues kept me from any active outdoor interest. Model railroading became 'THE HOBBY' I related to... and put all my disposable time and income to pursue. Still is that way 20 years since... though I expanded from 'only' N scale... to Nn3, HOn3 and Z scales.
     
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  6. Ron Petrich

    Ron Petrich TrainBoard Member

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    You gents must have found an elixir for arthritis if you're now working in Z scale... (y)
     
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  7. JBrown

    JBrown TrainBoard Member

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    I collect pre 1960 military guns..
     
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  8. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    At my age (73 next month) my other hobby is making sure I wake up on this side of the grass everyday...;):coffee::coffee:
     
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  9. Hoghead2

    Hoghead2 TrainBoard Member

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    Into Harleys , have a few.
     

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  10. HemiAdda2d

    HemiAdda2d Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I appreciate the kind words, Russ! I have indeed grown a lot in photography in the last 4-5 years. My kit has improved, but even with basic gear, technique and composition makes all the difference in taking quality images. I dabble in landscapes, sunrises and sunsets, wildlife and sports photography as well as astrophotography.

    Wow, talk about digging up bones and a 21 year-old thread! Some of that list is still true today.
    I since had kids, 2 boys that I'm dragging to practices, tournaments and one now to work. In between, I have other interests.

    I'm a huge Cold War nut. I'm a complete nuclear nerd. Nuclear weapons, the aircraft that delivered them, the bases they were assigned, nuclear history in general.

    I'm a geocacher (realistically, searching for ammo cans or tupperware and 35mm film cans in the woods or city, but it cane be MUCH more complicated/exciting), but have been burned out on it since finishing a 9-month research project to create "geo-art", a 52-cache series on the B-52 Stratofortress. It covers many aspects of the B-52 from it's design, development, models, weapons carried, conflicts it was in, missions, special uses (like in NASA), bases it was assigned, etc. The Word doc I wrote to build each puzzle cache listing was over 80 pages long. I have found caches in 14 countries, and 20 states in the US, I own 95 caches, and have found over 1300 caches. Not much in the grand scheme, but I have been in the game since 2012.
    Geoart.jpg

    I'm still into 80s music. Heavy metal, thrash, hard rock, even some hair bands.

    Street racing is fun, but hard on tires and gas. I suppose I've grown up a tiny bit. :D:D That, and my 3-ton railfan truck is not fast, but it's still fun to drive. It has a HEMI! :D:D

    I bought a house in 2017, so home maintenance is a hobby of sorts. You know, the 'Money Pit'... Have a landscaping project I'm working on piecemeal, installed a patio in '19, added some borders and making the place ours. Snow removal takes most time nowadays...

    I like to read books--mainly Cold War history, and railroads. I have been aggressively seeking/acquiring books and data on Tennessee Pass and La Veta Pass on D&RGW, since touring both in 2021; it's basically an obsession now!

    I like woodworking. I have a variety of tools, and am a tool junkie. I installed a partition wall (studs, drywall, finishing, paint, door and trim) for my layout in 2020, and haven't touched my layout since uncovering it from the dust cover...

    I have been so absorbed into railfan photography in the last 3 years that I have begun to seek publication. In Sep 2021, Railfan & Railroad Magazine published my first ever feature article, "Why Not Minot?". It centers on the RR history of Minot, ND. I dug into many publications and the Railroad Museum of Minot for the research, and submitted my own photos to illustrate the locations.
    Whynot.jpg

    I have another article on ND branchlines, concentrating on the ex-GN line in ND in the magazine queue.
    That's just about it now.

     
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  11. cbg

    cbg TrainBoard Member

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    Pistol shooting (used to reload but no space now), some woodworking, and slot cars. Have several (hundred) 1/32 cars and in the midst of getting a small home track set up.
     
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  12. drgwspup

    drgwspup TrainBoard Member

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    Wow, I could not believe the date of that original post! That 16 year old in now 37ish??!!! Damn I feel really old now. Wonder if he and/or his band ever went somewhere in the music world?

    Anyway to play along(see what I did there?), non-train interests are: Skiing, snowshoeing, Golf (my other big money suck), traveling to play golf, old EM pinball machines, classic vinyl from 60-70's along with modern country, sports (Go Avalanche, Broncos, Rockies and Nuggets), road and mountain bike riding, hiking, tech (Raspberry Pi and Arduino), home remodeling (about to start on third basement refinish), watching HGTV shows, gardening, woodworking.

    Too many darn interests.
     
  13. OleSmokey

    OleSmokey TrainBoard Member

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    I went to a hobby from back in High School. I bought a really nice weather station Ambient Weather sales a unit that has Wind Temps Barometer Solar Rain, Lighting and get that info to there web sight and a few other as well. I am currently sending data to 4 different companys. It has its fun moments! We had a club back in the day. The "club" is all on-line anymore. A lot of us send data to National weather service and other sites.
    I have seen others post a photo of themselfs and i can so here is one of this old 70'ish male.Look like something out of Lord of the rings or harry potter!
     

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  14. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Or you and Barstow Rick fighting to see who is gonna play Santa Claus each year....
    :LOL::LOL:(y)(y)
     
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  15. OleSmokey

    OleSmokey TrainBoard Member

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    :) Been there, done tbat. It can be fun.
     
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  16. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    The original poster's business grew, made a good deal of detail parts, rolling stock and metal wheelsets, which took the quality of N scale models to unprecedented new heights in the first 1 1/2 decades of the 21st century. He sold his company to Atlas in 2016 and now runs a company that sells metal business cards, is married and a father of two, and finally has the time to build an N scale layout (based on UP's Afton Canyon).
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2022
  17. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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  18. drgwspup

    drgwspup TrainBoard Member

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    What a cool story. 16 year old on TB in 2001 went on to found BLMA Models. Outstanding! I was not a BLMA customer so never knew of the connection.
     
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  19. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    BLMA started in 2000 so he was already running the company. Of course, at the time it was only just a custom loco painting operation running out of his mom's house. But I think they were just about to start doing detail parts. He was quite an entrepreneur at that age.
     
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  20. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Did he sell all of BLMA and operations? Or did he keep any portion, with the rest gone? What is he doing these days? Been a while since I last heard news of him.
     
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