If you are like me, you have separate "train" and "non-train" worlds. My train world encompasses my train hobby, people I know who enjoy trains, watching real trains, and reading about trains. The "non-train" world are careers, family, other hobbies, and activities that have nothing to do with trains. But, occasionally and unexpectedly train subjects enter our non-train world. Anyone got any of these stories? Here's mine:

1) I was on a jury a few years ago, and another juror broke out a Model Railroader before trial started.
2) I sold some old ford wheel rims a few weeks ago on craigslist, and the guy who bought them was wearing a Lionel Trains shirt.
3) One of my beer drinking friends often remarks how she can hear the train horns a few miles away, and nobody else believes her.
4) A few years ago, a work project of mine suddenly required an understanding of the legal ownership of railroad rights of way. Actually, it was my interest in railroad history that discovered the problem, and forced the department of justice and the bureau of land management to get their act together.
5) One day I saw a teenage kid walking down the street with a g-scale gondola under his arm

I've probably got more, but what about you?

About 5 years ago, I was in Belize leading a dive trip of about 20 people over Christmas. Because I lead several dive trips a year, many of my clients are repeat customers. I was rooming with a guy who had been on several trips over the years with me. After a late night dive, we were in the hotel room killing time before bed and I broke out a MRR mag to thumb thru. Turns out my room mate was big into trains ......Allan Gartner of <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.wiringfordcc.com">www.wiringfordcc.com</a><!-- w --> fame. Neither one of us had any idea we were both into model trains....now I build structures for his huge HO layout.....small world.

scubadude Wrote:About 5 years ago, I was in Belize leading a dive trip of about 20 people over Christmas. Because I lead several dive trips a year, many of my clients are repeat customers. I was rooming with a guy who had been on several trips over the years with me. After a late night dive, we were in the hotel room killing time before bed and I broke out a MRR mag to thumb thru. Turns out my room mate was big into trains ......Allan Gartner of <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.wiringfordcc.com">http://www.wiringfordcc.com</a><!-- m --> fame. Neither one of us had any idea we were both into model trains....now I build structures for his huge HO layout.....small world.

GREAT story!

Whew! For a second there I thought you were about to break a big news story about how you spotted Planet X that's supposed to reappear in 2012 and smash into the Earth!!

I must have a few dozen of these stories, but I have to admit I'm in a prejudiced position. Once folks know I'm into trains I meet all sorts of people. Word spreads through the congregation and all the connections come out of the woodwork. Usually if there's a train event coming up featured in the paper I'll find 2 or more copies of the article on my desk.

Just today our retired men's group watched my copy of the Gorre & Daphetid video. I brought along a couple MDC cars I had assembled along with 'the book' to flip through. I had mentioned John Allen in a sermon - featured him, actually - as an illustration, so some of the guys wanted to learn a bit more. Not quite the same, but worlds colliding for sure. Nice to get to share the hobby with folks who may not know scale from gauge.

Galen

My biggest surprise was working with a guy that had a 4' x12' Lionel layout in his basement..We had worked together for 4-5 years and one day during lunch I saw him thumbing through a Classic Toy Train Magazine..We had never discuss trains or to much of anything because he look like your every day pickup driving "red neck" that spends Friday night guzzling beer at "Billy Bob's " and ends up busting his face when he thrown from a mechanical bull.. Turn out he was none of that ..My neighbor that lives 3 doors down likes to watch trains but,that where it ends.

If it wasn't for the electronics experience with my layout, I would not have gotten my Amatuer Radio Licence so easily

15 years ago. On a flight from Hartford Ct., to Detroit, Mi. Off the ground I pulled out the latest issue of Model Railroader. The gentleman sitting next to me, looked over at what I was reading, reached into his briefcase and pulled out the same issue. Both of us didn't get much reading done as we both started to talk about our layouts.

During the years that I was in field service, one of the rep's that worked in Milwaukee was laid off. It was a couple of years later that I ran into him at Trainfest....he was a member of an HO modular group.
I guess the subject just never came up when we were working for the same employer.

Some great stories, especially from Kevin. Unfortunately, I don't have a single collision to report.

I've never experienced that problem to that degree, because railroad history is all around me in Colorado and the railroad is very much a part of the landscape even today. With railroading permeating the landscape, there is no "collision"; just a change of gears from passive contemplation to active modeling.

When I started work we used IBM for computing. Years later I found our contact at IBM was in our Railway club.
At an office Hallowe'en party, one of the guys was dressed up in full engineer's outfit. He turned out to be into live steam.

Years ago, when I was a youth pastor, one of the old deacons found out about my hobby and, with a twinkle in his eye, said, "Come over my house, I got something to show you." Once there, he took me to a 24' x 24' garage, one of two in his backyard, both identical. When he opened the door of the first one, I found it lined from ceiling to floor on all four walls, with shelves...some just above our heads on the ceiling as well...loaded with every conceivable thing Lionel put out its entire history...and 3,4,6 of each to boot in some cases. I was mesmerized for over two hours and thought I had seen it all---until he told me the other garage was just like this one. Sweet...

I must have been having a "Senior moment" on my last post..... I forgot - my other "Intense" hobby: Geocaching..... Lets see..... Geocaching is a game where you get a GPS and hunt for ammo cans and Tupperware hidden by other players. So - we hike along trails and other areas looking for plastic in the woods

~~ Along Rails to Trails paths.....
~~ Along abandoned rail lines
~~ I have 5 Geocaches that I hid, and all 5 teach some sort of Railroad History
~~ I have met 4 or 5 other Cachers that also are interested in railroading and history
~~ I've met a few people that have had relatives that worked for Baldwin Locomotive Works

Still haven't found anyone with a model railroad ...............yet
..... But all of this is due to another hobby entirely

ngauger Wrote:If it wasn't for the electronics experience with my layout, I would not have gotten my Amatuer Radio Licence so easily

Just the opposite, if it wasn't for my electronic background, I don't think I'd have taken the interest in model railroading the way I do. Oh, a love to build things and be creative helped as well...

Nachoman Wrote:3) One of my beer drinking friends often remarks how she can hear the train horns a few miles away, and nobody else believes her.

I live three miles away from the BNSF tracks that parallel Grand Ave., it is now a quite zone, no horns allowed, but I can occasionally hear the trains. Oh, I have a 95dB loss in one ear and a "normal" loss in the other. Frequently I can't even hear my wife when she's calling me from another room, so please explain how I can hear the trains three miles away? :?

It's all in the frequencies Don. You can hear the dull rumble and thud of a train but not the high pitched cackle of the opposite sex. At least that's what I tell my wife! hock:

My worlds don't seem to collide. So far when I tell friends and co-workers I'm into trains they look at me like I'm some kinda of freak or basement hermit. Something I'm actually quite comfortable with as it keeps the hobby my own and separate from other aspects of my life.