Model Railroads
There was once a time when nearly every young boy would have said he wanted to be a train driver when he grew up.
In the meantime he wanted a model train set in his bedroom.
In those days the railroad was the cutting edge of technology and a way to get out of the local area and see more of the world.
The trains were all different and they had more character as each individual railway engine varied so much.
Most engines having a distinctive style and usually painted in its own unique way.
They even had individual names and all of this added to the excitement and the mystery of the steam train.
Today boys are more likely to want to be a spaceman or a helicopter pilot but the love of trains still lingers in us all.
A model railroad layout can open up our imagination and be a whole world of our own choosing.
You can set the period in time and the type of terrain.
You have the choice of steam trains chuffing their way up a slope or the diesel and electric trains we currently see.
You could even have the latest in high speed transit systems rocketing across a flat landscape.
It is all entirely up to you as the model train world is a world that you control completely.
This is the secret of the model train layouts appeal, you have total control over everything that appears.
You are creator of the landscape and director of the events that occur in that landscape.
You can let your imagination run free and do anything you wish.
You can fill the landscape with towns full of people or have an empty landscape with only the birds for company.
Train enthusiasts get dewy eyed and may mourn the passing of the era of steam trains.
With your model train layout you can have as many steam trains as you wish.
The model makers have achieved wonderful results with the detailing of model trains engines and rolling stock.
They are exact scale replicas of trains from long ago and often the original engine may no longer be with us.
Replicated in miniature they can continue to thunder through the landscape you have created.
It may not be 'cool' to be a teenager who is a model train enthusiast but it is a rewarding hobby.
I challenge you to find an adult man who on seeing a model railroad layout doesn't want to take control and have a go himself.
There is something strangely attractive and addictive about controlling the trains on a model railroad.
Whilst many will publicly state it is kids stuff they would love to have a model train set of their own.
One terrific benefit of model railroads is that they do not have to take up a great deal of space.
There are many different scales from incredibly tiny to large garden sized models.
Many people set up a layout in their loft or basement where it is out of the way of the rest of the family.
So it is all ready anytime they want to go and spend a few hours relaxing after a long day at work.
You can spend just a little money or spend a fortune building your layout.
Start with one engine and a few feet of track and slowly build on that and build the little world of your dreams.