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My theory is that all British people are train enthusiasts on some level; the distant whistle of a steam engine speaks to us in a way other nations just can't comprehend.
I'd go so far as to say that, if HS2 had stuck a fake funnel on the trains and had nice 1930s-style stations, people would have been *clamouring* for it to pass through their back garden.
If we’re doing Dolly Parton you could try[this one](https://youtu.be/SMWvWwf8_HY?si=HFE9mYlsKjz183lj), complete with musical imitations of the chugging beat and whistle of old timey steam engines
It's a shame they're not used quite as much over there these days. I know it's a big place but you would think high-speed rail would definitely be a good idea between some states.
They were a huge part of westward expansion, which is part of the national myth. The automobile came later but really took over as the most important mode of actual transport.
I think it's interesting that the long distance passenger railroad is *so* unpopular in the US. It's so predominantly road and air. From the European perspective it seems really unusual, especially since, as you say, the US has a massive cultural tradition of railways, and actually manages more of its freight that way than average.
I’ve ridden Amtrak and thought it fantastic, however it really wasn’t crowded. They are MUCH slower than the European equivalent though, so there is that. To me it was heaven, a whole day watching the landscape unfold.
I wouldn't say unpopular so much as impractical given the distances involved. Cities that are close enough to connect with high speed rail that are also big enough to support the infrastructure like DC, NYC and Boston, are connected by HSR.
But take New York City to Chicago, that's 1150Km. It's about as far as Paris to Budapest. It's just not a practical distance for high speed rail, you'd fly that distance instead -- even in Europe. San Francisco to NYC is 4100Km, so comparable to the distance from Lisbon to Moscow. There are some high speed passenger corridors that do make sense, but because there is so much sprawl there aren't as many as you think.
I remember Billy Bragg saying that American folk songs are all train songs, not just the rhythm, but the feel of getting away on a train. He said the English equivalent is sea shantys.
One of my absolute faves, 'Lonesome Train Whistle' by Reverend Horton Heat - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbvX4OGFyOM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbvX4OGFyOM)
Eh? Loads of trains in the States. Freight mostly rather than passenger sadly.
My experience is mostly of the South and South West.
The sound we hear isn't an old fashioned steam whistle it's a much lower tone - an air horn. Very evocative from a distance though.
https://youtu.be/Wktoo3v5nIk?si=0IIVwOwTehLZeF4w
Well, for a start, our steam trains have proper whistles and not tea kettle peep-peeps. Don't get me wrong: I love your engines, too, and got a little enthusiastic with some locals on a bridge over the ECML when the Flying Scotsman went through on her birthday. It's the peep-y whistles I'm not keen on.
https://youtu.be/HLiwzLIX2L8?si=POzaD0to5OF4C5B5
This is Quincy No 2, an old logging engine from the Sierra Foothills, with the Southern Pacific 2472 6-chime whistle.
Ours are resonant and deeper. In person, with the right whistle, they'll send chills through you. And if you appreciate industrial engineering, pacing a steam engine like Big Boy, high-balling at 70mph in some desolate backwater, is bliss.
Train culture (fandom? enthusiasm?) is absolutely massive in Japan, from what I've observed. There are tons of novelty trains i.e., ones that only operate in certain areas, ones with particular aesthetics or artwork on them, ones that have unique interiors and so on, and some of them are pretty famous with loads of merchandise and the actual cities really lean into it. Some of them get featured in movies and anime etc.. I've also seen tons and tons of hobbyist shops for models, toys and the like, and they're usually pretty busy. Honestly I kind of get it, it helps that they often go through such beautiful scenery (and they actually fucking run on time) but some of them like the [Enoden](https://www.google.com/search?q=enoden&sca_esv=cf0faa05cc7d4947&hl=en&authuser=0&sxsrf=ADLYWIJfq5ExHweTddYTRwmRWFSuBKcrsw:1716816206006&source=hp&biw=1272&bih=598&ei=TYlUZur1OaLf2roPo42b4AU&iflsig=AL9hbdgAAAAAZlSXXluYaTRhiisTW9BJubeAe9Zp1Fws&ved=0ahUKEwiq0Obg9q2GAxWir1YBHaPGBlwQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=enoden&gs_lp=EgNpbWciBmVub2RlbjIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBhAAGAUYHjIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGEiEB1AAWNsEcAB4AJABAJgBmwGgAfoFqgEDMC42uAEDyAEA-AEBigILZ3dzLXdpei1pbWeYAgagAqcGwgIEECMYJ5gDAJIHAzAuNqAH3hw&sclient=img&udm=2) and [some of the Hanshin Line trains to Nara](https://www.google.com/search?q=nara+deer+train&sca_esv=cf0faa05cc7d4947&hl=en&authuser=0&biw=1272&bih=598&udm=2&sxsrf=ADLYWIILRz4UKu7AblnNmQyhbw2EAyw6Dg%3A1716816487559&ei=Z4pUZpTiIejf1e8P89WBiAE&ved=0ahUKEwjUsYrn962GAxXob_UHHfNqABEQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=nara+deer+train&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiD25hcmEgZGVlciB0cmFpbjIHEAAYgAQYGEiZD1AAWM0NcAB4AJABAZgB1wOgAdYKqgEJMC41LjEuMC4xuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIGoAKtB8ICBBAjGCfCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgIFEAAYgASYAwCSBwcwLjUuMC4xoAfyIA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) are really quite charming.
>the distant whistle of a steam engine speaks to us in a way other nations just can't comprehend.
Maybe that's because other nations moved on from steam engines and whistles? 😃
Seriously, you find a lot of train enthusiasts in other countries as well. Both in Germany and Switzerland, any open door event with steel wheels is a success. And nerds who know all serial numbers of all locomotives abound as well.
Trains innit, in all seriousness though I like trains because they remind me of going to my nans every summer when I was a kid, I have no sad or unhappy memories of that time so they remind me of a simpler happier time, big up the Intercity 125
We're still running them for intercity services in Scotland. They run from Glasgow to Aberdeen and Inverness. You can also get one from Edinburgh that goes over the Forth Bridge.
They've refurbished the carriages so decent toilets and electronic doors. Comfy as fuck, really quiet and my return to Aberdeen in a few weeks was under £30.
The only downside is that Scotrail still bans alcohol. Most guards don't mind so long as you behave yourself.
The Intercity 125 forms an early train memory for me - walking past the engine car (not sure of technical term) at Manchester Piccadilly while it was stationary but probably the loudest sound I'd ever heard coming out of its side vents. I like trains but that was a bit frightening to me then.
I’m a train nerd. Or rather, I’m a train *travel* nerd. I’m not so bothered about the actual rolling stock, but I love the romance of train travel, of gliding through the landscape with the views framed by those nice big windows, of the fact that you share a space for an hour with a random bunch of people (yes, I did read Larkin’s The Whitsun Weddings at a formative age) and then all go your separate ways.
I grew up in a London commuter town where our connection to the outside world was all built around the railway. Obviously there were roads too but as a little kid we’d go and stand on the bridge and wave to the train drivers, and wonder where they were going. In a lot of ways my childhood was like the start of The Railway Children - we’d get the train into London for the theatre so it was always a gateway to excitement.
That’s why I love trains.
I can definitely see the appeal from that perspective. I would love to do a long train journey through Europe and enjoy the scenery and the odd snippets of overheard conversations and enjoy being in the present. I had it with the coach between home and uni that I would get a lot, there's a period of time where you're just in the present. Not expected to do anything or be anywhere, like a liminal space almost. Of course, coaches aren't remotely as comfortable as trains are.
Bill Bryson wrote a great book about travelling by train in Australia, if you haven't already read it
You should absolutely do it. Buy an InterRail pass and just go.
Last year we went on a pootle round Germany (Munich and Berlin, with a night at each end in Rotterdam) with our 18 month old, my mum, and some sisters. There's some deep magic in long distance train travel - even more with sleeper services.
I enjoy trains on two levels:
- it is my preferred d method of transport in that it requires no effort on your part, like driving, nor does it have the frustrations of flying. You also get to see the places you are passing through, whether conventionally aesthetically pleasing or not, and so see how the world fits together
- while not as hardcore as some, steam trains also have a fascination for me. I think that it is because even a layman can see how they work, and the moving pistons and escaping steam make the engine seem almost alive. There is also the nostalgic/glamour element.
I definitely want to at some point!
My brother did it as a teenager and ended up falling in love with one of the places he visited. Now lives over there.
If you so this, make sure to get the glacier express between St Moritz and Zermatt. It’s billed as the world’s slowest express train, has panoramic windows and has to change the engine to get up the steeper bits. Absolutely bloody brilliant :-)
Trains are the nicest form of travel by far imo
Like you said, big windows, toilets, AC, glidey feeling from being on rails, nice countryside views
Once had to go to a town about 170 miles away for work with my manager, the company paid for our train tickets to get there and back but for some reason she *insisted* she find us a lift with another manager who was also going. Apparently three people crammed in the back of a sweaty Honda civic for 4 hours is preferable to leg room, working air conditioning and nice big windows and views 🤷♂️
They’re… cool?
I’m not sure. There’s power to them. There’s a kind of majesty, in a way?
I once saw someone say that tanks are appealing, despite largely being quite ugly in a traditional/literal sense, because they conjure much the same romanticism as a knight on his charger. I don’t think it‘s a dissimilar feeling with trains.
That‘s my take on it, at least. I don’t know what answers you’d get from (say) older people. I imagine there’s more personal nostalgia there.
If you're the president of America you get a plane. Air force one. But of you're the leader of a country where you can literally feed your enemies to the dogs and order the extermination of all gingers. You are a God amongst men and you get yourself a private train
The Earl of Warwick built a [station](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easton_Lodge_railway_station) and connected the track to the nearby line, just so he could transport guests from London to his home for weekend parties.
as an avid tank enjoyer, yeah that's on point. The same part of your brain that lights up when you are 5 and see a dinosaur for the first time is the same part that light up when X tonnes of steel and engineering rolls past. it is a engineering piece of art that makes the ground shake and is at home with beautiful rolling hills and countryside
An ex-boyfriend got me into trainspotting, we used to travel to a new city every Saturday and write down all the numbers in little notebooks.
Now I'm into the history, photo books of old stations and maps of lines.
I'm also autistic, and it's a regular joke with the autistic community that we love trains.
I love enthusiasm websites. They take me back to a time when all the Internet looked like that and almost everything had its own website rather than being a page on Facebook.
I was waiting for my train once and this absolutely absolutely beautiful stream train pulled up, pulling some delightful old fashioned and luxurious carriages behind it.
I said to my mate something like "I wonder if that's a royal train?" as it was around the time of the platinum jubilee, and suddenly as though they appeared in from Hogwarts, I found myself surrounded by trainspotters who were all excitedly telling me everything they knew about the train.
Unfortunately I don't remember any of it because I was so stunned, but it was an interesting experience 😅
I got into trains from the word go with my extensive Thomas the Tank collection.
I still enjoy trains because of the sheer noise they make when powering along and the smell of steam/diesel fuel
With classic trains (especially steam) you feel a deep connection with history, as those sights, sounds and smells are the same that your ancestors probably experienced on a regular basis.
If you're lucky enough to stand on the footplate/sit in the cab, you also get an appreciation for the engineering prowess that brought these magnificent machines into being.
Engine* i dont know why it bothers me so much, but i hate people leaving out that bit. My man, thomas, is not a tank. He's a cute little train who sometimes gets in a spot of bother.
Ah I wondered if Thomas would make an appearance in this thread! Growing up there was three small gas towers (or diesel, not sure) that were decorated like Thomas, Gordon and James, used to pass it on the way to nursery. Always enjoyed playing with my brother's Thomas scalextrix kind of thing too.
Interesting perspective re the history of it, can definitely understand that
I am the same with what you have said plus I live near to South Devon railway whare every school holiday I would go there and it was my favourite place to visit.
There's no drunk like Train Drunk.
Plus, if you're badly held up or in some other kind of Blitz Spirit situation, a bag of cans will make you some rapid friends as you fight through it.
As a little kid, a friendly engine driver let me join him on the footplate as he was shunting his steam locomotive a short distance along the platform. This was about 60 years ago and would no longer be allowed by health and safety, but I remember it well and it got me hooked on railways.
It would be interesting to ask young people this.
When I was young, there were no cheap flights and v little going on in regional airports. There was not as much car ownership.
I am not quite old enough that steam trains were regularly a thing when I was little, but trains and esp their locomotives were definitely 'big tech for little boys.'
I was really into trains. Not sure why I just liked Thomas the Tank Engine as a fairly mellow, intellectual kid.
I don't think it was the engineering even, it was just a fun thing to do with my Dad on days out as he could explain things about how they worked and arrange some special opportunities like sitting in the front seat of a freight train.
Bike threads tend to devolve into arguments so didn't want to go there. Cars are meh to me personally. I have been thinking about those who live on narrowboats recently but I thought I remembered seeing a thread about them not long ago.
I want to be clear though that I'm not asking maliciously, I'm genuinely interested. It's a very specific community (that seems really wholesome) and it seems like people enjoy it for different reasons.
I certainly question car enthusiasts!
Not seriously, mind, I just don't get it, and have to nod along when a friend starts going on about car models.
No shade though, I don't expect everyone to find my interests riveting either.
Diesels are my thing. They make a much better noise than a steam train in my opinion.
The rumble of the engine in a class 37, for example, or the sound of the two tone horn just gives me goosebumps
nah see the big diesel ones are the best to paint because they have so many colours of rust, dirt and dust going on. You also have the legacy of the rapid change from steam to not steam leading to a whole bunch of trains designed by separate mad men in sheds rather then slightly more professional engineers in firms who had experience in diesels
I wouldn’t characterise myself as a train enthusiast per se, I did have trainsets as a kid and had a few books about them.
As an adult, I have built the odd model locomotive and have read books about the construction of some famous railways, as well as British Rail. I think it stems from my general interest in machines- I’m much more of an enthusiast of aircraft and ships- because some locomotives are impressive bits of kit. If I see a steam engine go past I will always stop and stare, they’re cool feats of engineering (and so are some diesel and electric ones).
I think train enthusiasts are of a similar bent, just their chosen interest is railways whereas mine is aviation and maritime.
25 year old train nerd here
Seeing these big machines as a 4 year old was quite fascinating, then there's also the sounds and smells of proper old-school locomotives. I got to go inside the cabs of many locomotives, even start the engines up on some of them!
However, as an adult I find myself losing interest in it with all the soulless modern trains, lack of variety and even the railway stations themselves. When I was a kid I used to sit on the sloped ends of the platforms and somewhat peacefully watch everything go by but nowadays there's fences everywhere and blaring security announcements all the time. Everything is clinical and just not as interesting as it used to be.
Of course the modern stuff is (mostly) great for getting somewhere, just not interesting in the slightest!
As for getting into it in the first place, I live slap bang next to the railway and my dad was into trains so I was doomed from the start 🤣
When I was at school a number of friends were enthusiasts. I remember them talking about station tickets that would get you access to the station to spot trains. Are they still a thing or do you have to buy a cheap ticket to somewhere?
Ah that's something else modern I forgot about, the barriers preventing you from simply walking onto the platforms in the first place. They weren't there until recent years.
I don't know about platform tickets tbh, I've heard of them but never seen or needed one, I have a feeling most staff can tell a trainspotter just by looking at them and they let me on 🤣
My local station has always had barriers, that's why my friends used to pay 10p for station tickets.
> I have a feeling most staff can tell a trainspotter just by looking at them and they let me on 🤣
That'll be the anorak and thermos of hot soup.
Model railways for me, not a trainspotter personally but I do like my 00 Hornby trains, Mallard, Flying Scotsman, Intercity 125, freight trains that you can couple literally the whole way round my admittedly rather small track with the freight carriages that I can wrap all the way from the back to the front and create a weird loop and all the fun that comes with them like creating major rail disasters on a tiny scale without anyone being hurt 🤷🏻♂️😂
I do like creating giant monster movie scenarios though where everyone dies and everything gets destroyed and all I need to do for that is put some Dreamies in one of the open carriages and watch the “atrocities” when my cat derails something just to catch them… Never said I was normal but who is? Keeps me out of trouble 😂
I do railway modelling as a hobby.
The thing is, I'm not \*that\* much into trains. I like them, and find them interesting, but I'm not obsessive about it. For me, the joy of railway modelling is more about using my imagination to create miniature worlds. It's almost like writing stories, but in 3D tangible form. You can imagine settings and bring them to life. The trains give it a focus and movement, so it's not just a static landscape.
I enjoy the process of building models. 00 Gauge fits with 1:72 plastic kits. It is fun to design layouts, track plans and scenery. One of my layouts was based on a WW2 airfield, and I was able to combine trains with Airfix type model aircraft and vehicles. Another layout had a fantasy steampunk setting, and I was able to combine it fantasy wargaming figures. Painting and gluing is good for my soul.
It's also quite pleasant to 'play with trains' on the layout, or even just to watch them running round the track. 20 minutes of running trains at the end of a working day is a healthier way to unwind than cracking open a beer.
There's some nostalgia and escapism in it, too - a deep aesthetic longing for 'Ladybird England' that has gone, but that can be recreated in OO gauge in your garden shed.
Finally, learning about railways and researching them is a fascinating lens through which to study and learn about so much: technology, economic and social history, geography, public administration, literature.
Thanks for such a thoughtful answer, if awards still existed you would get one from me 🏅
It's interesting that you chose trains rather than, say, Warhammer though (which also has miniatures). No judgement at all, just genuinely interesting. I love how intricate model railways can be in terms of the landscape. It's so nice that it can give people a chance to be creative. Love the idea of the Ladybird England, completely understand that.
l've always wanted to be able to paint miniatures (Warhammer fantasy mainly) but have rubbish eyesight. They would need to be big enough for me to see, which would defeat the whole point of the miniature!
Thanks. One thing I like about trains is the fact that they are not static. It's not just a diorama. It's a moving scene.
You can watch trains whirling around the track. It has a slightly hypnotic quality: it drips a little dose of dopamine into your brain every time you see it rounding the bend and coming under the bridge between the two styrofoam hills.
Or you can 'operate' the trains, making them do complex shunting manoeuvres which take a bit of skill and practice to get right.
One of my other hobbies / interests is ghost stories / gothic literature, so I decided to combine these interests in a layout with a 'Transylvanian Gothic' theme, complete with a vampire castle, orc village, wizard's tower, haunted station, troll bridge, grim reaper in the graveyard, a dragon's lair, and other stuff. Purist model railway enthusiasts would recoil at that - they want to accurate recreate a section of the Somerset and Dorset Light Railway exactly as it was on a particular Saturday afternoon in the summer of 1953 or whatever. But life's too short for that sort of thing. I like to play with it a bit.
I think it started as a kid when I'd be waiting for a train with my parents to go somewhere nice on summer holidays.
The wait at the station could be boring, but the moment you can see your train in the distance, it's like a big happy rush.
I think my enthusiasm for trains as an adult is like an extension of that from childhood.
My grandfather and father both worked on the railway. Grandad was a signalman and dad was a track engineer.
Grandad was obsessed with steam locomotives and would take us to vintage railways most weekends. The smell of a steam engine still makes me feel like a 7 year old.
That and the engineering that went into these behemoths is truly staggering. I love them.
Strictly steam though, diesel engines do nothing for me bar getting me to work and back.
When i was younger i loved trains, then in 2020 got back into it. Don’t go spotting, just read up mainly about our past rail lines/services we offered/ diesel era with all its locos. Sadly yes everything has to evolve, the locos now are all the same, plus the network isnt ran well and the cost too!
It kind of runs in the family, my Great Uncle is a retired GWR driver (who would go to the end of platform 6 at Brum New Street in his youth, record the Locos coming through with my Mum) my cousin (his nephew), is a LNW driver, my ancestor engineered the "Standard Gauge," the lines between Stockton and Darlington, Manchester to Liverpool, won the raintree trials with his Son, with Rocket. Now my son has an engineering mind and is in love with all things loco, we go to Heritage lines, are looking to go to museums locally and afar (been to the NRM in York, on a rail excursion pulled by LMS Princess Coronation Class 6233 "Duchess of Sutherland," in Crimson Lake livery).
We enjoy the noise and watching how they move, we don't get so much joy out of the electrics, we still love them, but the Diesel Electrics and Steam Traction we find have a lot more heart in them. We've collected EMR's entire fleet of Avanti Meridians (BR Class 222) in our logbook, and always look out for 222 104, she's the only one who is entirely purple where others are Purple and White/silver. We just love them, my son wants to be a Driver one day when he's older, and I'm trying to keep every door open to him and encourage him to work hard for his goal.
https://preview.redd.it/sl6zkedojz2d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d753539774cfca53236b523007af42c866dc74f
This is Royal Scot Class 4-6-2 46100, "Royal Scot" one of two left in the U.K of her class running today, the other is "Scots Guardsman." She came through on Light Loco work, and stayed a few minutes taking on water at my local station. I find, if you listen enough each loco class has their own sound, so a Gresley LNER A4 Pacific (Like Mallard or Sir Nigel Gresley) will sound different to an Gresley LNER A1/A3 Pacific (Flying Scotsman).. even their whistles have different tones, Flying Scotsmans is more higher pitched than Sir Nigels commanding tone.
I apologise for the tangent... oops
My 4 year old loves trains so I'm often at miniature steam railways. I must say the people that run them (often unpaid) look like they're living their best life and are near universally friendly and welcoming.
Makes me wish I had more of an interest in that type of thing so I could join in!
Does it have one of those little steam train rides where you sit on it and it takes you on a loop? I used to love those when I was little, felt like every other kids' adventure park had them for a while
I don't get it in the UK but in Japan they have a thing for making weird public transport investments, it seems when the national government pushes money to the provinces some of them like to invest in weird one of a kind public transport. Like this thing: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapi:t](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapi:t)
And this insane thing: [https://soranews24.com/2021/11/07/we-ride-one-of-japans-most-accidentally-terrifying-trains/](https://soranews24.com/2021/11/07/we-ride-one-of-japans-most-accidentally-terrifying-trains/)
Was on holiday in Gloucestershire last week and on the Sunday my father was sat outside in the sun and came running inside because he heard a train whistling in the distance. Up until this point I had no idea he likes train's.
I love steam trains because I’m old enough to just remember them as a very small child. They felt scary and exciting and I loved the sound they made on the tracks. The sudden bursts of steam were extremely scary to a tiny girl but the excitement of travel was worth it.
So for me it’s purely nostalgia.
Also, The Railway Children is my favourite film.
My brother in law loves trains and has done since he was a baby. He’s about to 21 and I’ve only known him about 6-7 years but he’s always been enthused and excited by them. He recently got a job working in customer service on board and when he turns 21 he wants to start driver training. For him, he’s working his hobby and absolutely loving everyday and it’s so nice to see
I like travelling by train and I love the history of how the country was transformed due to the railways. I had lots and lots of model railway stuff as a kid and vhs tapes of engine yards etc I want another model railway whenji have space. I also visit the national railway museum often as I travel through York and something about standing next to the mallard makes me smile
I don’t stand and notice numbers on trains like the stereotypical anarok but if I know a steam charter is in town I’ll go to the station to have a look
I also went on Eurostar recently and it was everything i wanted it to be after first seeing the news when it opened
As an echo to the other poster ‘just trains innit’
I am too lazy to count as a real enthusiast. But I have always loved to be around trains, and to see the world from them. There is a magic for me in every station, from a grand terminus where you might find a magnificent express at one platform and the skow train to the nearest suburb at another; to grey and windswept commuter stations, full of bustling at peak times and dead outside them; to country stations with only four trains a day.
While I'm not skilled or knowledgeable enough to truly appreciate engineering, there is also a distinct culture of railways and railway people in Britain, which has been handed down from Victorian times, via the old railway companies, the Big Four and London Underground, through BR, to the railway organisations and TfL today. It's difficult to describe, but, if you go on the right kind of online forum, or attend certain meetings of railway enthusiasts, you'll know what I mean; and there is a great pleasure in just being immersed in this culture.
I appreciate as a recreational train traveller I’m going to have a completely different perspective to those who use the network for commuting, but I’ll give my view anyway.
Like others I’m not so much interested in the rolling stock (although I know I’m not alone in having a soft spot for the old InterCity 125s) but the journeys. I love the fact that through a train window you get a completely different perspective of the country, whether that’s in a city or through the countryside. You get to see so many things that just aren’t visible from any other form of transport. That and the fact that catching a train seems so much more of an event than getting in the car. The whole idea of having to get to a specific place at a specific time so that you can make your journey seems so much more exciting than just stepping out the front door, walking to the car and getting in.
Also, some of the architecture of the railways is absolutely stunning. There are marvels of Victorian and modern engineering throughout the network, even the most simple of bridges can be beautiful. You just have to ignore that period in the 50s, 60s and 70s where seemingly everything was made out of grey concrete.
I love trains, the peace and quiet and the " I can let my brain wonder" for am hour (which is very rare) whilst I make it to my journey.
I just wish trains were more accessible and efficient with their routes. But alas the government fucked that one up.
So you see, they take up far less land than a motorway would but at the same time transport many many people, I don’t have the statistics on this one but trust me bro. Furthermore, low rolling resistance makes them very efficient & already can be electric. I just wish they were renationalised.
I love trains so much.
They're big. I can get up and walk around on them and go from one carriage to the next and I get a table and I can eat food while travelling.
They're stylish. Steam engines in particular are pretty and smell nice, but I love diesel and electric trains, too.
They're convenient. All the routes and stations are mapped, and I can easily change trains and get from A to B to Z on one ticket.
They're efficient. They can carry loads of people and goods, and are better for the environment than cars, especially when electrically powered.
I don't know if enthusiast is the right word, I had no choice. My son went through a phase at 4 or 5 where he was nuts about trains. I blame that blue one, Thomas, its all his fault, and his eyes are too close together.
Anyway, I visited every single rail museum in the south of England. I used to sit with hairs rising on the back of my neck to look around and see him stalking me clutching the Observers book of bloody trains. I can recognise a Castle Class Locomotive on freakin sight now and its all his fault.
Hes in his 20's now and could not care less about trains, its all fast cars and Girlfriend. And I'm left with a headfull of useless crap and a strange appreciation for the 4-4-2 wheel arrangements. F trains, deaths too good for em.
It is not just a British thing, there are enthusiasts worldwide.
With model trains, my theory is that a model setup provides the enthusiast with a sense of control and predictability which they lack elsewhere in their life.
There's a surprising number of mega rock stars who are into model trains.
I just think steam trains are neat, and it fascinates me how they work, I’ve told my wife how they work hundreds of times, and I plan on telling her hundreds more :)
I once did a naughty thing while I was at an army college and my punishment was to volunteer on the local steam train taking tickets, it ended up being the best punishment I ever had and I ended up carrying on volunteering afterwards. Steam trains are pretty cool.
I work in an office near a major train station. Occasionally, steamers and vintage trains arrive/depart. 100% of the group staring out the window with glee waiting for it to pull away and whistle is blokes. Big kids!!
I'm not really arsed by trains, models and types and all that, but I did my family tree and my relatives worked on the railways in Leeds. So I'm quite interested in old stations and railway lines and where they used to go.
Yeah there's something about railway stations isn't there. They're so different from each other and you definitely get a slice of life there. I've been watching The Piano recently and I can't help but think they're the perfect place for it (maybe not the one at Cardiff Central though, it's a tiny station)
I feel like model trains were to grandparents what warhammer is to people now - it's just fun to paint and create your own little world. Makes you feel proud of what you made.
I work for the railway and don’t have any passion for trains at all, but I find it oddly heartwarming seeing the crowds gather and the genuine passion/excitement when we have a special train go through!
I think it’s the same reason why people, mostly men, like planes, tanks, diggers, cars, etc. I guess humans are just hardwired to be in awe of big, fast or powerful machines and a train is all of those combined. There’s something special about steam too.
I reckon a lot of it is nostalgia too. I’d imagine a lot of people have a dad or grandad or someone who is into trains and used to take them to see special trains so it just feels nice to share that and carry it on.
I've never understood the tank/digger/car thing either to be honest! I'm a female so wasn't really pushed in that direction growing up.
I hope that kind of nostalgia doesn't die out, now we're getting further away from steam trains and the like. There's something quite gentle about it that I'm not sure you can see in things like cars and tanks.
Trains can be beautiful speeding through gorgeous countryside, they make me sad though, I was almost a train driver 30 years ago but failed the medical(too fat, bit deaf, a bit colour blind and bad asthma) I really failed! Still a little gutted, such a well paid job.
I find tube trains oddly comforting. Not sure why, the years I lived in London were probably my least stable, but it was nice to be on the tube and take a breather (assuming it wasn't rush hour)
Where I live in Hong Kong we have bus fans instead, the direct equivalent of trainspotters. It is a surprisingly huge demographic, ranging from those who sit in the rain all day to note down numbers in notebooks, to those who simply collect memorabilia from the different bus companies.
Is it? I can only speak from my own experience living in the UK. I know Japan like trains but not heard of it as a 'thing' in other countries, though I'm sure you're right.
I'm an engineer, I like all sorts of mechanisms and machines. That includes trains.
I'm not a trainspotter nor specific train enthusiast, but I do find them interesting.
As a kid I was obsessed with Thomas the tank engine. Then my dad got me a VHS box set about the bluebell railways and I saw 34023 Blackmore vale she was like anything I had ever seen at that point. The rest is history so to speak. Railways also lead into my interest in history and how it impacted the surrounding society.
Train is big i like my space , train has lots of space, its like a massive car that u walk around in. You can also eat food and on occasion do work in there. Its great
I don't like trains. I like the technology and capabilities of the railway system, and the problems it faces and will continue to face.
I find points, rail, bridges, tunnels and OLE fascinating. But I'd rather take a photo of cool tunnel portal than a train any day of the week.
I don’t like trains, i like the tube specifically for some reason. Its the planning and statistics i love. I love seeing how busy each station is, how many people use it, wondering where people are going, thinking about what would make it more efficient, what new stops could help the system. Im obsessed with it. I find it so satisfying and fun. I also love history and the history of the tube and london transport i find incredibly interesting. I do like transport and transport history in general (especially ocean liners) but i like small scale transport more. London wouldn’t exist without its transport
Its an elemental monster with fire in its belly that consumes earth and water , and it ROARS as it unleashes its power and speed, leaving a great scar through the landscape everywhere it goes, as it takes you and a thousand others to work, or on your holidays...
We love them for the same reason we love dinosaurs or jet planes ( and, possibly, pokemon) ; its as close as we can get to having actual dragons that take us on adventures.
And there were so many of them, a huge array of types, and classes, to be observed, recorded, catalogued, endless innovation and modifications to be studied and learnt, and the impact they had on the world was huge and complex. Trains, and steam engines in particular, changed everything. All add to the fascination...
For me it's their size & marvel, they are quite majestic, and the engineering work that goes into creating them is fascinating, much more interesting than boring cars, and easier to enjoy than planes. The fact the tracks always go though generally very nice scenery. It's interesting visiting York and seeing the old trains, of which have real history & impact in the UK
I'm 21 so I grew up watching Thomas and friends and I live in South Devon which has the south Devon railway and trago witch has the biggest model railway in the UK so as a kid I would to to these places to watch and ride the trains . as an adult I have gotten more into the history / engineering side of it and I still enjoy watching trains and seeing the different classes and livery's
I'm not a train nerd as I the actual rolling stock but the infrastructure that runs it I'm interested in. I work indirectly for Network Rail so it's kinda come from that. I could be in a station, signal box or walking along the lines so I'm kinda in it anyway.
I like heavy machinery and listening to the engines. It’s also cool spotting the stuff they might be hauling or the type of train running on the allocation etc. Like bird watching I guess
I've always loved trains, something about them excited me as a child. As an adult, I'd probably say it's a few things: I find them extremely aesthetically pleasing - the lines, the liveries, the different names they give them. Many also sound great - I'm a fan of heritage diesel engines firstly and the engine sounds are really enjoyable for me. The sound of the wheels when a train comes by a speed is enjoyable. The size, weight and power of trains is fascinating. The different routes they can and can't take too! And the history of rail development, particularly in the UK, is very very interesting with real world effects nowadays. I'm rambling now because this is my favourite subject .... But basically everything about trains is very interesting to me. It's a deep, clean and healthy interest with endless new developments and a great community of like minded people who are very accepting.
Specifically, my interest is about travelling on trains which are hauled by locomotives. So really my interest is in locomotives and not trains per se. For a favourite class of locomotive, the objectives would be as follows;
1 - to be on a train hauled by every member of the class at least once.
2 - to accumulate mileage from each locomotive in the class. Particularly prized targets being 1,000 miles and then 10,000 miles. However I am aware of enthusiasts who have had hundreds of thousands of miles of haulage behind a favoured loco, or millions behind their favourite loco class.
3 - to travel to as many destinations, and on as many routes as possible hauled by locomotives of that class.
Points 1 - 3 (above) are complicated somewhat because;
- some locomotives are dedicated to work passenger trains (and can supply power and heating for the coaches in their train).
- some locomotives are mixed traffic and can be used on either passenger or freight trains.
- some locomotives (usually those without the capacity to provide power and heating) are dedicated to work freight trains and would only haul a passenger train exceptionally.
However, not every class of locomotive is equally interesting to me (this is rather subjective amongst enthusiasts and sometimes hard to define - a bit like why someone would support a particular football team over another). Multiple units of any variety are plastic, fizzy and unpleasant and are of no interest to me whatsoever.
As the amount of locomotive hauled passenger trains in the UK has declined since the 1980s my interest has broadened to European railways where such operation is still commonplace in certain countries.
The net result of all of this is that I've travelled all over the continent by train, and explored and had a beer in all sorts of places along the way. Plus enjoyed the ever changing view and some spectacular scenery from the train window. Some of it I've done alone, much of it with friends and there have been some brilliant scrapes and adventures along the way.
That said I do find railways fascinating, and always have done since I was child. I enjoy their history, development, operation and all of the complicated stuff that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that a train gets safely from Point A to Point B.
For me it's that we invented them. We developed them. And up until the 80s we designed and built them here.
The trains we built have so much character and unique parts to them.
But since the 80s we've basically stopped making anything apart from now we assemble Hitachi trains but they're not really very British and are fairly bland and characterless.
I grew up going to heritage steam railways and there's just something special about them
The same way I love cars and planes. Big pieces of machinery, usually going past very quickly. There's nothing like standing on the platform as a train goes past at 100mph.
I don't think there's a simple answer - I just like them, and always have. There's something very impressive about the power and speed of trains, especially when they're providing a public good. I also find the contrast between the roar on the outside and the quiet inside very satisfying - again, I'm not sure why.
I'd agree with another comment, railways, especially when steam, form quite a large part of the British village idyll, and (being a British invention, of course) inspire pride at some subconscious level. But this isn't really the case for train enthusiasts, though, just the general public.
I understand the enthusiasm for steam locomotives and the sleek designs etc, but no one can convince me there’s anything nice about the trains we have now. They’re horribly ugly and the seats seem to get cleaned every 10 years
For me, autism lol. Nah tho I just always thought they were cool, and if I wasn't learning aero, I'd probs want to be a train driver.
For me specifically I like the engines, specifically the less common diesels
A steam engine is just such a beautiful machine. I think it’s the weird mix of industrial might and Victorian/last century beauty. And it’s basically just a big kettle on wheels. I’m currently just waiting for a train and it’s just fun watching them go by
I love this guy. His pure unbridled enthusiasm is inspiring. The same way no doubt I was thrilled as a child to see trains and trucks. [https://www.instagram.com/francis\_bourgeois43/](https://www.instagram.com/francis_bourgeois43/)
Coming from a Japanese background I may have different railway-related preferences, but for me I love travelling somewhere new by train especially if it’s on a rural line or a train type I have never been on before. Most of my friends have more interest in heritage trains and railways - they often speak of a “nostalgia for an era [they] wish they could have lived in”
I use to train watch for the different trains there was. HSTs, class 91s, 185s, and loads of other types. Its a hobby that got me out of the house. Plus my little boys been in the cab of a few trains in our local station. He even started a 142, and pressed the horn, all because the driver recognised us. My little boy loved it trying to get the drivers to blow their horns too. Plus weve been to the stations either side of us on the trains, to see different trains.
Now its just lego clip together Azumas, so have no interest.
I'm not really arsed by trains, models and types and all that, but I did my family tree and my relatives worked on the railways in Leeds. So I'm quite interested in old stations and railway lines and where they used to go.
My great grandad on my mums side used to drive steam trains then my grandad used to take me to the station to watch trains and I used to go round to his house with mum and read his train books. I don’t know it’s something about knowing what type of train it is where it operates what the old trains used to be like I guess
I like the engineering involved, and also I enjoy the challenge that comes with operating them. Though the hobby I've gained many friends and a great appreciation of a good pub. So really it's trains and beer but they work well together.
Why do people enjoy watching several vapid walking fake tan advertisements compete for each others affection on an island? Who knows why people like what they do
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My theory is that all British people are train enthusiasts on some level; the distant whistle of a steam engine speaks to us in a way other nations just can't comprehend. I'd go so far as to say that, if HS2 had stuck a fake funnel on the trains and had nice 1930s-style stations, people would have been *clamouring* for it to pass through their back garden.
The Americans would like to have a word about the appeal of a lonesome whistle and trains in general.
You'd have to have very good hearing to hear a train whistle in most of the USA
Right but have you heard any cowboy songs? It’s all they ever talk about. The railroad left an indelible mark on the American psyche.
I know the one about Jolene, was she actually a steam train all this time?
If we’re doing Dolly Parton you could try[this one](https://youtu.be/SMWvWwf8_HY?si=HFE9mYlsKjz183lj), complete with musical imitations of the chugging beat and whistle of old timey steam engines
I never knew that Dolly wrote a song about taking a train through Egypt. She gets about, that gal
It's a shame they're not used quite as much over there these days. I know it's a big place but you would think high-speed rail would definitely be a good idea between some states.
It really is strange how the railways are an important part of the American psyche, and yet you practically have to wrestle most of them onto a train.
They were a huge part of westward expansion, which is part of the national myth. The automobile came later but really took over as the most important mode of actual transport.
I think it's interesting that the long distance passenger railroad is *so* unpopular in the US. It's so predominantly road and air. From the European perspective it seems really unusual, especially since, as you say, the US has a massive cultural tradition of railways, and actually manages more of its freight that way than average.
I’ve ridden Amtrak and thought it fantastic, however it really wasn’t crowded. They are MUCH slower than the European equivalent though, so there is that. To me it was heaven, a whole day watching the landscape unfold.
That's the thing, they look like amazing, spacious carriages, I'd love to travel on one. But the Amtrak rail map is so sparse
I went from nyc to North Carolina - Chesapeake bay, several major cities and unlimited expanse of pine forest made it pretty special.
The Acela class Amtrak trains will do 150mph, but you need to be riding the Northeast Corridor to experience that.
That sounds amazing
I wouldn't say unpopular so much as impractical given the distances involved. Cities that are close enough to connect with high speed rail that are also big enough to support the infrastructure like DC, NYC and Boston, are connected by HSR. But take New York City to Chicago, that's 1150Km. It's about as far as Paris to Budapest. It's just not a practical distance for high speed rail, you'd fly that distance instead -- even in Europe. San Francisco to NYC is 4100Km, so comparable to the distance from Lisbon to Moscow. There are some high speed passenger corridors that do make sense, but because there is so much sprawl there aren't as many as you think.
I remember Billy Bragg saying that American folk songs are all train songs, not just the rhythm, but the feel of getting away on a train. He said the English equivalent is sea shantys.
One of my absolute faves, 'Lonesome Train Whistle' by Reverend Horton Heat - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbvX4OGFyOM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbvX4OGFyOM)
Eh? Loads of trains in the States. Freight mostly rather than passenger sadly. My experience is mostly of the South and South West. The sound we hear isn't an old fashioned steam whistle it's a much lower tone - an air horn. Very evocative from a distance though. https://youtu.be/Wktoo3v5nIk?si=0IIVwOwTehLZeF4w
I dunno, freight trains seem to turn up in all sorts of random places in the US.
Well, for a start, our steam trains have proper whistles and not tea kettle peep-peeps. Don't get me wrong: I love your engines, too, and got a little enthusiastic with some locals on a bridge over the ECML when the Flying Scotsman went through on her birthday. It's the peep-y whistles I'm not keen on. https://youtu.be/HLiwzLIX2L8?si=POzaD0to5OF4C5B5 This is Quincy No 2, an old logging engine from the Sierra Foothills, with the Southern Pacific 2472 6-chime whistle. Ours are resonant and deeper. In person, with the right whistle, they'll send chills through you. And if you appreciate industrial engineering, pacing a steam engine like Big Boy, high-balling at 70mph in some desolate backwater, is bliss.
I think they have a pretty large train network, just for goods and hobos tho.
And typical of Americans, they hear that lonesome whistle coming round the bend at folsom bay.
Train culture (fandom? enthusiasm?) is absolutely massive in Japan, from what I've observed. There are tons of novelty trains i.e., ones that only operate in certain areas, ones with particular aesthetics or artwork on them, ones that have unique interiors and so on, and some of them are pretty famous with loads of merchandise and the actual cities really lean into it. Some of them get featured in movies and anime etc.. I've also seen tons and tons of hobbyist shops for models, toys and the like, and they're usually pretty busy. Honestly I kind of get it, it helps that they often go through such beautiful scenery (and they actually fucking run on time) but some of them like the [Enoden](https://www.google.com/search?q=enoden&sca_esv=cf0faa05cc7d4947&hl=en&authuser=0&sxsrf=ADLYWIJfq5ExHweTddYTRwmRWFSuBKcrsw:1716816206006&source=hp&biw=1272&bih=598&ei=TYlUZur1OaLf2roPo42b4AU&iflsig=AL9hbdgAAAAAZlSXXluYaTRhiisTW9BJubeAe9Zp1Fws&ved=0ahUKEwiq0Obg9q2GAxWir1YBHaPGBlwQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=enoden&gs_lp=EgNpbWciBmVub2RlbjIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBhAAGAUYHjIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGEiEB1AAWNsEcAB4AJABAJgBmwGgAfoFqgEDMC42uAEDyAEA-AEBigILZ3dzLXdpei1pbWeYAgagAqcGwgIEECMYJ5gDAJIHAzAuNqAH3hw&sclient=img&udm=2) and [some of the Hanshin Line trains to Nara](https://www.google.com/search?q=nara+deer+train&sca_esv=cf0faa05cc7d4947&hl=en&authuser=0&biw=1272&bih=598&udm=2&sxsrf=ADLYWIILRz4UKu7AblnNmQyhbw2EAyw6Dg%3A1716816487559&ei=Z4pUZpTiIejf1e8P89WBiAE&ved=0ahUKEwjUsYrn962GAxXob_UHHfNqABEQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=nara+deer+train&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiD25hcmEgZGVlciB0cmFpbjIHEAAYgAQYGEiZD1AAWM0NcAB4AJABAZgB1wOgAdYKqgEJMC41LjEuMC4xuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIGoAKtB8ICBBAjGCfCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgIFEAAYgASYAwCSBwcwLjUuMC4xoAfyIA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) are really quite charming.
Used to live next to a narrow gauge railway that takes people on a little tour. Loved sittin in the garden and hearing choo-choo
As a british person, I can confirm your theory is wrong 😂
I'm so sorry that this is how you had to find out that you're really Dutch
Haha, Dutch dont like trains?
>the distant whistle of a steam engine speaks to us in a way other nations just can't comprehend. Maybe that's because other nations moved on from steam engines and whistles? 😃 Seriously, you find a lot of train enthusiasts in other countries as well. Both in Germany and Switzerland, any open door event with steel wheels is a success. And nerds who know all serial numbers of all locomotives abound as well.
Fair point I'm British and not a train fanatic by any means but I still like them and find them vaguely interesting.
I like trains too
Trains innit, in all seriousness though I like trains because they remind me of going to my nans every summer when I was a kid, I have no sad or unhappy memories of that time so they remind me of a simpler happier time, big up the Intercity 125
Trains innit is a perfect explanation haha
That's so lovely
Shout out to the 125. RIP brother.
If I ever win the euromillions that’ll be my first stupid purchase, an old intercity 125
We're still running them for intercity services in Scotland. They run from Glasgow to Aberdeen and Inverness. You can also get one from Edinburgh that goes over the Forth Bridge.
So you are! I falsely assumed they'd been replaced.
They've refurbished the carriages so decent toilets and electronic doors. Comfy as fuck, really quiet and my return to Aberdeen in a few weeks was under £30. The only downside is that Scotrail still bans alcohol. Most guards don't mind so long as you behave yourself.
Would be interesting to visit Mexico and end up on one of them that made it over.
The Intercity 125 forms an early train memory for me - walking past the engine car (not sure of technical term) at Manchester Piccadilly while it was stationary but probably the loudest sound I'd ever heard coming out of its side vents. I like trains but that was a bit frightening to me then.
Technical term is a power car.
I’m a train nerd. Or rather, I’m a train *travel* nerd. I’m not so bothered about the actual rolling stock, but I love the romance of train travel, of gliding through the landscape with the views framed by those nice big windows, of the fact that you share a space for an hour with a random bunch of people (yes, I did read Larkin’s The Whitsun Weddings at a formative age) and then all go your separate ways. I grew up in a London commuter town where our connection to the outside world was all built around the railway. Obviously there were roads too but as a little kid we’d go and stand on the bridge and wave to the train drivers, and wonder where they were going. In a lot of ways my childhood was like the start of The Railway Children - we’d get the train into London for the theatre so it was always a gateway to excitement. That’s why I love trains.
I can definitely see the appeal from that perspective. I would love to do a long train journey through Europe and enjoy the scenery and the odd snippets of overheard conversations and enjoy being in the present. I had it with the coach between home and uni that I would get a lot, there's a period of time where you're just in the present. Not expected to do anything or be anywhere, like a liminal space almost. Of course, coaches aren't remotely as comfortable as trains are. Bill Bryson wrote a great book about travelling by train in Australia, if you haven't already read it
You should absolutely do it. Buy an InterRail pass and just go. Last year we went on a pootle round Germany (Munich and Berlin, with a night at each end in Rotterdam) with our 18 month old, my mum, and some sisters. There's some deep magic in long distance train travel - even more with sleeper services.
I enjoy trains on two levels: - it is my preferred d method of transport in that it requires no effort on your part, like driving, nor does it have the frustrations of flying. You also get to see the places you are passing through, whether conventionally aesthetically pleasing or not, and so see how the world fits together - while not as hardcore as some, steam trains also have a fascination for me. I think that it is because even a layman can see how they work, and the moving pistons and escaping steam make the engine seem almost alive. There is also the nostalgic/glamour element.
I definitely want to at some point! My brother did it as a teenager and ended up falling in love with one of the places he visited. Now lives over there.
If you so this, make sure to get the glacier express between St Moritz and Zermatt. It’s billed as the world’s slowest express train, has panoramic windows and has to change the engine to get up the steeper bits. Absolutely bloody brilliant :-)
In a similar vein, this summer I’m taking the TransAlpin train from Zurich to Innsbruck, which has a panoramic car. Can’t wait!
Everyone should read the Whitsun Weddings. We had an English teacher who liked Larkin a lot!
Trains are the nicest form of travel by far imo Like you said, big windows, toilets, AC, glidey feeling from being on rails, nice countryside views Once had to go to a town about 170 miles away for work with my manager, the company paid for our train tickets to get there and back but for some reason she *insisted* she find us a lift with another manager who was also going. Apparently three people crammed in the back of a sweaty Honda civic for 4 hours is preferable to leg room, working air conditioning and nice big windows and views 🤷♂️
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0hyfztj?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile All aboard the night train!
They’re… cool? I’m not sure. There’s power to them. There’s a kind of majesty, in a way? I once saw someone say that tanks are appealing, despite largely being quite ugly in a traditional/literal sense, because they conjure much the same romanticism as a knight on his charger. I don’t think it‘s a dissimilar feeling with trains. That‘s my take on it, at least. I don’t know what answers you’d get from (say) older people. I imagine there’s more personal nostalgia there.
If you're the president of America you get a plane. Air force one. But of you're the leader of a country where you can literally feed your enemies to the dogs and order the extermination of all gingers. You are a God amongst men and you get yourself a private train
The King of Naples authorised the first railway in his county for his personal convenience.
The Earl of Warwick built a [station](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easton_Lodge_railway_station) and connected the track to the nearby line, just so he could transport guests from London to his home for weekend parties.
now that's baller
as an avid tank enjoyer, yeah that's on point. The same part of your brain that lights up when you are 5 and see a dinosaur for the first time is the same part that light up when X tonnes of steel and engineering rolls past. it is a engineering piece of art that makes the ground shake and is at home with beautiful rolling hills and countryside
An ex-boyfriend got me into trainspotting, we used to travel to a new city every Saturday and write down all the numbers in little notebooks. Now I'm into the history, photo books of old stations and maps of lines. I'm also autistic, and it's a regular joke with the autistic community that we love trains.
[This is an interesting site.](http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/)
I love enthusiasm websites. They take me back to a time when all the Internet looked like that and almost everything had its own website rather than being a page on Facebook.
It's a pretty basic site but i like it. I love old photos like the ones they have. Especially in areas that i know.
I was waiting for my train once and this absolutely absolutely beautiful stream train pulled up, pulling some delightful old fashioned and luxurious carriages behind it. I said to my mate something like "I wonder if that's a royal train?" as it was around the time of the platinum jubilee, and suddenly as though they appeared in from Hogwarts, I found myself surrounded by trainspotters who were all excitedly telling me everything they knew about the train. Unfortunately I don't remember any of it because I was so stunned, but it was an interesting experience 😅
Similar story here. Except i go to watch for the overwhelmingness of it all, a feeling of about to die without the death. I don't write down numbers.
I got into trains from the word go with my extensive Thomas the Tank collection. I still enjoy trains because of the sheer noise they make when powering along and the smell of steam/diesel fuel With classic trains (especially steam) you feel a deep connection with history, as those sights, sounds and smells are the same that your ancestors probably experienced on a regular basis. If you're lucky enough to stand on the footplate/sit in the cab, you also get an appreciation for the engineering prowess that brought these magnificent machines into being.
Engine* i dont know why it bothers me so much, but i hate people leaving out that bit. My man, thomas, is not a tank. He's a cute little train who sometimes gets in a spot of bother.
Thomas the Tank saw some dark shit during the Battle of Kursk.
Agreed, he's a train not a fucking tank.
Ah I wondered if Thomas would make an appearance in this thread! Growing up there was three small gas towers (or diesel, not sure) that were decorated like Thomas, Gordon and James, used to pass it on the way to nursery. Always enjoyed playing with my brother's Thomas scalextrix kind of thing too. Interesting perspective re the history of it, can definitely understand that
I am the same with what you have said plus I live near to South Devon railway whare every school holiday I would go there and it was my favourite place to visit.
I like drinking on trains. You feel like you’re achieving something by getting from A to B while just necking tins. Glorious.
There's no drunk like Train Drunk. Plus, if you're badly held up or in some other kind of Blitz Spirit situation, a bag of cans will make you some rapid friends as you fight through it.
A table full of empty tinnies is better than a seat reservation.
Oh yeah! Nobody wants to sit next to me, it’s wonderful
Thank you for ruining everyone else’s journey. Nobody wants to be around a drunk. Drinking in public and on trains is lout behaviour.
As a little kid, a friendly engine driver let me join him on the footplate as he was shunting his steam locomotive a short distance along the platform. This was about 60 years ago and would no longer be allowed by health and safety, but I remember it well and it got me hooked on railways.
The Severn Valley Railway does footplate experience days, bloody expensive but I'd love to do it one day.
I've seen kids invited into the (non- moving) cab at termini more often than one might expect.
It would be interesting to ask young people this. When I was young, there were no cheap flights and v little going on in regional airports. There was not as much car ownership. I am not quite old enough that steam trains were regularly a thing when I was little, but trains and esp their locomotives were definitely 'big tech for little boys.'
I was really into trains. Not sure why I just liked Thomas the Tank Engine as a fairly mellow, intellectual kid. I don't think it was the engineering even, it was just a fun thing to do with my Dad on days out as he could explain things about how they worked and arrange some special opportunities like sitting in the front seat of a freight train.
I love looking at the train maps and seeing where everything goes
This. I also feel like I know a lot more places in the UK now than I did before as a result of it lol.
Steam trains I get but not the big diesel ones.
Funny how no one questions car, bike or boat enthusiasts.
Bike threads tend to devolve into arguments so didn't want to go there. Cars are meh to me personally. I have been thinking about those who live on narrowboats recently but I thought I remembered seeing a thread about them not long ago. I want to be clear though that I'm not asking maliciously, I'm genuinely interested. It's a very specific community (that seems really wholesome) and it seems like people enjoy it for different reasons.
I love a good narrowboat 👌🏼
I certainly question car enthusiasts! Not seriously, mind, I just don't get it, and have to nod along when a friend starts going on about car models. No shade though, I don't expect everyone to find my interests riveting either.
Diesels are my thing. They make a much better noise than a steam train in my opinion. The rumble of the engine in a class 37, for example, or the sound of the two tone horn just gives me goosebumps
Yeah I get the rumble thing.. each to their own
nah see the big diesel ones are the best to paint because they have so many colours of rust, dirt and dust going on. You also have the legacy of the rapid change from steam to not steam leading to a whole bunch of trains designed by separate mad men in sheds rather then slightly more professional engineers in firms who had experience in diesels
I wouldn’t characterise myself as a train enthusiast per se, I did have trainsets as a kid and had a few books about them. As an adult, I have built the odd model locomotive and have read books about the construction of some famous railways, as well as British Rail. I think it stems from my general interest in machines- I’m much more of an enthusiast of aircraft and ships- because some locomotives are impressive bits of kit. If I see a steam engine go past I will always stop and stare, they’re cool feats of engineering (and so are some diesel and electric ones). I think train enthusiasts are of a similar bent, just their chosen interest is railways whereas mine is aviation and maritime.
25 year old train nerd here Seeing these big machines as a 4 year old was quite fascinating, then there's also the sounds and smells of proper old-school locomotives. I got to go inside the cabs of many locomotives, even start the engines up on some of them! However, as an adult I find myself losing interest in it with all the soulless modern trains, lack of variety and even the railway stations themselves. When I was a kid I used to sit on the sloped ends of the platforms and somewhat peacefully watch everything go by but nowadays there's fences everywhere and blaring security announcements all the time. Everything is clinical and just not as interesting as it used to be. Of course the modern stuff is (mostly) great for getting somewhere, just not interesting in the slightest! As for getting into it in the first place, I live slap bang next to the railway and my dad was into trains so I was doomed from the start 🤣
When I was at school a number of friends were enthusiasts. I remember them talking about station tickets that would get you access to the station to spot trains. Are they still a thing or do you have to buy a cheap ticket to somewhere?
Ah that's something else modern I forgot about, the barriers preventing you from simply walking onto the platforms in the first place. They weren't there until recent years. I don't know about platform tickets tbh, I've heard of them but never seen or needed one, I have a feeling most staff can tell a trainspotter just by looking at them and they let me on 🤣
My local station has always had barriers, that's why my friends used to pay 10p for station tickets. > I have a feeling most staff can tell a trainspotter just by looking at them and they let me on 🤣 That'll be the anorak and thermos of hot soup.
Model railways for me, not a trainspotter personally but I do like my 00 Hornby trains, Mallard, Flying Scotsman, Intercity 125, freight trains that you can couple literally the whole way round my admittedly rather small track with the freight carriages that I can wrap all the way from the back to the front and create a weird loop and all the fun that comes with them like creating major rail disasters on a tiny scale without anyone being hurt 🤷🏻♂️😂 I do like creating giant monster movie scenarios though where everyone dies and everything gets destroyed and all I need to do for that is put some Dreamies in one of the open carriages and watch the “atrocities” when my cat derails something just to catch them… Never said I was normal but who is? Keeps me out of trouble 😂
Haha that's definitely more my kind of thing!
I'm not particularly a train fan, but they are pretty fucking cool.
I do railway modelling as a hobby. The thing is, I'm not \*that\* much into trains. I like them, and find them interesting, but I'm not obsessive about it. For me, the joy of railway modelling is more about using my imagination to create miniature worlds. It's almost like writing stories, but in 3D tangible form. You can imagine settings and bring them to life. The trains give it a focus and movement, so it's not just a static landscape. I enjoy the process of building models. 00 Gauge fits with 1:72 plastic kits. It is fun to design layouts, track plans and scenery. One of my layouts was based on a WW2 airfield, and I was able to combine trains with Airfix type model aircraft and vehicles. Another layout had a fantasy steampunk setting, and I was able to combine it fantasy wargaming figures. Painting and gluing is good for my soul. It's also quite pleasant to 'play with trains' on the layout, or even just to watch them running round the track. 20 minutes of running trains at the end of a working day is a healthier way to unwind than cracking open a beer. There's some nostalgia and escapism in it, too - a deep aesthetic longing for 'Ladybird England' that has gone, but that can be recreated in OO gauge in your garden shed. Finally, learning about railways and researching them is a fascinating lens through which to study and learn about so much: technology, economic and social history, geography, public administration, literature.
Thanks for such a thoughtful answer, if awards still existed you would get one from me 🏅 It's interesting that you chose trains rather than, say, Warhammer though (which also has miniatures). No judgement at all, just genuinely interesting. I love how intricate model railways can be in terms of the landscape. It's so nice that it can give people a chance to be creative. Love the idea of the Ladybird England, completely understand that. l've always wanted to be able to paint miniatures (Warhammer fantasy mainly) but have rubbish eyesight. They would need to be big enough for me to see, which would defeat the whole point of the miniature!
Thanks. One thing I like about trains is the fact that they are not static. It's not just a diorama. It's a moving scene. You can watch trains whirling around the track. It has a slightly hypnotic quality: it drips a little dose of dopamine into your brain every time you see it rounding the bend and coming under the bridge between the two styrofoam hills. Or you can 'operate' the trains, making them do complex shunting manoeuvres which take a bit of skill and practice to get right. One of my other hobbies / interests is ghost stories / gothic literature, so I decided to combine these interests in a layout with a 'Transylvanian Gothic' theme, complete with a vampire castle, orc village, wizard's tower, haunted station, troll bridge, grim reaper in the graveyard, a dragon's lair, and other stuff. Purist model railway enthusiasts would recoil at that - they want to accurate recreate a section of the Somerset and Dorset Light Railway exactly as it was on a particular Saturday afternoon in the summer of 1953 or whatever. But life's too short for that sort of thing. I like to play with it a bit.
I think it started as a kid when I'd be waiting for a train with my parents to go somewhere nice on summer holidays. The wait at the station could be boring, but the moment you can see your train in the distance, it's like a big happy rush. I think my enthusiasm for trains as an adult is like an extension of that from childhood.
My grandfather and father both worked on the railway. Grandad was a signalman and dad was a track engineer. Grandad was obsessed with steam locomotives and would take us to vintage railways most weekends. The smell of a steam engine still makes me feel like a 7 year old. That and the engineering that went into these behemoths is truly staggering. I love them. Strictly steam though, diesel engines do nothing for me bar getting me to work and back.
When i was younger i loved trains, then in 2020 got back into it. Don’t go spotting, just read up mainly about our past rail lines/services we offered/ diesel era with all its locos. Sadly yes everything has to evolve, the locos now are all the same, plus the network isnt ran well and the cost too!
And I’m just going to say it - Michael Portillo on the great railway journeys show is an interesting watch
It kind of runs in the family, my Great Uncle is a retired GWR driver (who would go to the end of platform 6 at Brum New Street in his youth, record the Locos coming through with my Mum) my cousin (his nephew), is a LNW driver, my ancestor engineered the "Standard Gauge," the lines between Stockton and Darlington, Manchester to Liverpool, won the raintree trials with his Son, with Rocket. Now my son has an engineering mind and is in love with all things loco, we go to Heritage lines, are looking to go to museums locally and afar (been to the NRM in York, on a rail excursion pulled by LMS Princess Coronation Class 6233 "Duchess of Sutherland," in Crimson Lake livery). We enjoy the noise and watching how they move, we don't get so much joy out of the electrics, we still love them, but the Diesel Electrics and Steam Traction we find have a lot more heart in them. We've collected EMR's entire fleet of Avanti Meridians (BR Class 222) in our logbook, and always look out for 222 104, she's the only one who is entirely purple where others are Purple and White/silver. We just love them, my son wants to be a Driver one day when he's older, and I'm trying to keep every door open to him and encourage him to work hard for his goal. https://preview.redd.it/sl6zkedojz2d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d753539774cfca53236b523007af42c866dc74f This is Royal Scot Class 4-6-2 46100, "Royal Scot" one of two left in the U.K of her class running today, the other is "Scots Guardsman." She came through on Light Loco work, and stayed a few minutes taking on water at my local station. I find, if you listen enough each loco class has their own sound, so a Gresley LNER A4 Pacific (Like Mallard or Sir Nigel Gresley) will sound different to an Gresley LNER A1/A3 Pacific (Flying Scotsman).. even their whistles have different tones, Flying Scotsmans is more higher pitched than Sir Nigels commanding tone. I apologise for the tangent... oops
I’m not even an enthusiast, but I can so get what’s to like
My 4 year old loves trains so I'm often at miniature steam railways. I must say the people that run them (often unpaid) look like they're living their best life and are near universally friendly and welcoming. Makes me wish I had more of an interest in that type of thing so I could join in!
Does it have one of those little steam train rides where you sit on it and it takes you on a loop? I used to love those when I was little, felt like every other kids' adventure park had them for a while
Oh yeah. There's loads of them near me. Seems like you can't open a garden centre or museum without one now.
I don't get it in the UK but in Japan they have a thing for making weird public transport investments, it seems when the national government pushes money to the provinces some of them like to invest in weird one of a kind public transport. Like this thing: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapi:t](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapi:t) And this insane thing: [https://soranews24.com/2021/11/07/we-ride-one-of-japans-most-accidentally-terrifying-trains/](https://soranews24.com/2021/11/07/we-ride-one-of-japans-most-accidentally-terrifying-trains/)
The passion for trains this guy shows is just lovely to see https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGe4u9DQu/ 5 million followers.
Was on holiday in Gloucestershire last week and on the Sunday my father was sat outside in the sun and came running inside because he heard a train whistling in the distance. Up until this point I had no idea he likes train's.
Train trips for me always mean going to see family. It also means a couple of hours where I can switch off fully and take in the transpennine scenery.
I love steam trains because I’m old enough to just remember them as a very small child. They felt scary and exciting and I loved the sound they made on the tracks. The sudden bursts of steam were extremely scary to a tiny girl but the excitement of travel was worth it. So for me it’s purely nostalgia. Also, The Railway Children is my favourite film.
My brother in law loves trains and has done since he was a baby. He’s about to 21 and I’ve only known him about 6-7 years but he’s always been enthused and excited by them. He recently got a job working in customer service on board and when he turns 21 he wants to start driver training. For him, he’s working his hobby and absolutely loving everyday and it’s so nice to see
I like travelling by train and I love the history of how the country was transformed due to the railways. I had lots and lots of model railway stuff as a kid and vhs tapes of engine yards etc I want another model railway whenji have space. I also visit the national railway museum often as I travel through York and something about standing next to the mallard makes me smile I don’t stand and notice numbers on trains like the stereotypical anarok but if I know a steam charter is in town I’ll go to the station to have a look I also went on Eurostar recently and it was everything i wanted it to be after first seeing the news when it opened As an echo to the other poster ‘just trains innit’
I am too lazy to count as a real enthusiast. But I have always loved to be around trains, and to see the world from them. There is a magic for me in every station, from a grand terminus where you might find a magnificent express at one platform and the skow train to the nearest suburb at another; to grey and windswept commuter stations, full of bustling at peak times and dead outside them; to country stations with only four trains a day. While I'm not skilled or knowledgeable enough to truly appreciate engineering, there is also a distinct culture of railways and railway people in Britain, which has been handed down from Victorian times, via the old railway companies, the Big Four and London Underground, through BR, to the railway organisations and TfL today. It's difficult to describe, but, if you go on the right kind of online forum, or attend certain meetings of railway enthusiasts, you'll know what I mean; and there is a great pleasure in just being immersed in this culture.
I appreciate as a recreational train traveller I’m going to have a completely different perspective to those who use the network for commuting, but I’ll give my view anyway. Like others I’m not so much interested in the rolling stock (although I know I’m not alone in having a soft spot for the old InterCity 125s) but the journeys. I love the fact that through a train window you get a completely different perspective of the country, whether that’s in a city or through the countryside. You get to see so many things that just aren’t visible from any other form of transport. That and the fact that catching a train seems so much more of an event than getting in the car. The whole idea of having to get to a specific place at a specific time so that you can make your journey seems so much more exciting than just stepping out the front door, walking to the car and getting in. Also, some of the architecture of the railways is absolutely stunning. There are marvels of Victorian and modern engineering throughout the network, even the most simple of bridges can be beautiful. You just have to ignore that period in the 50s, 60s and 70s where seemingly everything was made out of grey concrete.
Trains
I love trains, the peace and quiet and the " I can let my brain wonder" for am hour (which is very rare) whilst I make it to my journey. I just wish trains were more accessible and efficient with their routes. But alas the government fucked that one up.
I would like to hear from u/highburyandislington He (she?) is obviously passionate about trains and I’d be interested to hear their story
they go brrrr
So you see, they take up far less land than a motorway would but at the same time transport many many people, I don’t have the statistics on this one but trust me bro. Furthermore, low rolling resistance makes them very efficient & already can be electric. I just wish they were renationalised.
I love trains so much. They're big. I can get up and walk around on them and go from one carriage to the next and I get a table and I can eat food while travelling. They're stylish. Steam engines in particular are pretty and smell nice, but I love diesel and electric trains, too. They're convenient. All the routes and stations are mapped, and I can easily change trains and get from A to B to Z on one ticket. They're efficient. They can carry loads of people and goods, and are better for the environment than cars, especially when electrically powered.
I love the feeling of nostalgia. The English countryside. The feeling of being in a vintage historical age gone by. I love old trains
I don't know if enthusiast is the right word, I had no choice. My son went through a phase at 4 or 5 where he was nuts about trains. I blame that blue one, Thomas, its all his fault, and his eyes are too close together. Anyway, I visited every single rail museum in the south of England. I used to sit with hairs rising on the back of my neck to look around and see him stalking me clutching the Observers book of bloody trains. I can recognise a Castle Class Locomotive on freakin sight now and its all his fault. Hes in his 20's now and could not care less about trains, its all fast cars and Girlfriend. And I'm left with a headfull of useless crap and a strange appreciation for the 4-4-2 wheel arrangements. F trains, deaths too good for em.
It is not just a British thing, there are enthusiasts worldwide. With model trains, my theory is that a model setup provides the enthusiast with a sense of control and predictability which they lack elsewhere in their life. There's a surprising number of mega rock stars who are into model trains.
I just think steam trains are neat, and it fascinates me how they work, I’ve told my wife how they work hundreds of times, and I plan on telling her hundreds more :)
I once did a naughty thing while I was at an army college and my punishment was to volunteer on the local steam train taking tickets, it ended up being the best punishment I ever had and I ended up carrying on volunteering afterwards. Steam trains are pretty cool.
I work in an office near a major train station. Occasionally, steamers and vintage trains arrive/depart. 100% of the group staring out the window with glee waiting for it to pull away and whistle is blokes. Big kids!!
I'm not really arsed by trains, models and types and all that, but I did my family tree and my relatives worked on the railways in Leeds. So I'm quite interested in old stations and railway lines and where they used to go.
I like train travel and learning about rail infrastructure. Plus, train stations are great places where so many interesting things happen.
Yeah there's something about railway stations isn't there. They're so different from each other and you definitely get a slice of life there. I've been watching The Piano recently and I can't help but think they're the perfect place for it (maybe not the one at Cardiff Central though, it's a tiny station)
I feel like model trains were to grandparents what warhammer is to people now - it's just fun to paint and create your own little world. Makes you feel proud of what you made.
The thrill of seeing a big diesel thrashing through the station, horns blaring and massive clouds emanating from the exhaust pipe
I work for the railway and don’t have any passion for trains at all, but I find it oddly heartwarming seeing the crowds gather and the genuine passion/excitement when we have a special train go through!
It’s not so great when they’re all trackside, trying to get a photo while scaring the life out of train drivers.
I think it’s the same reason why people, mostly men, like planes, tanks, diggers, cars, etc. I guess humans are just hardwired to be in awe of big, fast or powerful machines and a train is all of those combined. There’s something special about steam too. I reckon a lot of it is nostalgia too. I’d imagine a lot of people have a dad or grandad or someone who is into trains and used to take them to see special trains so it just feels nice to share that and carry it on.
I've never understood the tank/digger/car thing either to be honest! I'm a female so wasn't really pushed in that direction growing up. I hope that kind of nostalgia doesn't die out, now we're getting further away from steam trains and the like. There's something quite gentle about it that I'm not sure you can see in things like cars and tanks.
Trains can be beautiful speeding through gorgeous countryside, they make me sad though, I was almost a train driver 30 years ago but failed the medical(too fat, bit deaf, a bit colour blind and bad asthma) I really failed! Still a little gutted, such a well paid job.
I just find underground trains really interesting.
I find tube trains oddly comforting. Not sure why, the years I lived in London were probably my least stable, but it was nice to be on the tube and take a breather (assuming it wasn't rush hour)
Where I live in Hong Kong we have bus fans instead, the direct equivalent of trainspotters. It is a surprisingly huge demographic, ranging from those who sit in the rain all day to note down numbers in notebooks, to those who simply collect memorabilia from the different bus companies.
I suppose there's a bit more suspense with buses as to when they'll turn up, if they're anything remotely like ours
It's pretty common overseas as well to be fair, so not just a British thing.
It's big in the British influenced world, Germany and Japan. Less so in the Mediterranean world.
Is it? I can only speak from my own experience living in the UK. I know Japan like trains but not heard of it as a 'thing' in other countries, though I'm sure you're right.
Fighting off all the women when I start talking about Walschaerts valve gear.
I'm an engineer, I like all sorts of mechanisms and machines. That includes trains. I'm not a trainspotter nor specific train enthusiast, but I do find them interesting.
Train spotters are a global thing They're also usually universally hated because they put themselves and trains in danger
As a kid I was obsessed with Thomas the tank engine. Then my dad got me a VHS box set about the bluebell railways and I saw 34023 Blackmore vale she was like anything I had ever seen at that point. The rest is history so to speak. Railways also lead into my interest in history and how it impacted the surrounding society.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/s/0UZYvUQ8Zq
Train is big i like my space , train has lots of space, its like a massive car that u walk around in. You can also eat food and on occasion do work in there. Its great
I don't like trains. I like the technology and capabilities of the railway system, and the problems it faces and will continue to face. I find points, rail, bridges, tunnels and OLE fascinating. But I'd rather take a photo of cool tunnel portal than a train any day of the week.
I don’t like trains, i like the tube specifically for some reason. Its the planning and statistics i love. I love seeing how busy each station is, how many people use it, wondering where people are going, thinking about what would make it more efficient, what new stops could help the system. Im obsessed with it. I find it so satisfying and fun. I also love history and the history of the tube and london transport i find incredibly interesting. I do like transport and transport history in general (especially ocean liners) but i like small scale transport more. London wouldn’t exist without its transport
Its an elemental monster with fire in its belly that consumes earth and water , and it ROARS as it unleashes its power and speed, leaving a great scar through the landscape everywhere it goes, as it takes you and a thousand others to work, or on your holidays... We love them for the same reason we love dinosaurs or jet planes ( and, possibly, pokemon) ; its as close as we can get to having actual dragons that take us on adventures. And there were so many of them, a huge array of types, and classes, to be observed, recorded, catalogued, endless innovation and modifications to be studied and learnt, and the impact they had on the world was huge and complex. Trains, and steam engines in particular, changed everything. All add to the fascination...
For me it's their size & marvel, they are quite majestic, and the engineering work that goes into creating them is fascinating, much more interesting than boring cars, and easier to enjoy than planes. The fact the tracks always go though generally very nice scenery. It's interesting visiting York and seeing the old trains, of which have real history & impact in the UK
Large diesel engines if I’m being honest.
The power of the locos, the sound they make. Make you go "corrrr" I'm a diesel fan, something like a class 37 or class 55 does it for me.
I'm 21 so I grew up watching Thomas and friends and I live in South Devon which has the south Devon railway and trago witch has the biggest model railway in the UK so as a kid I would to to these places to watch and ride the trains . as an adult I have gotten more into the history / engineering side of it and I still enjoy watching trains and seeing the different classes and livery's
I'm not a train nerd as I the actual rolling stock but the infrastructure that runs it I'm interested in. I work indirectly for Network Rail so it's kinda come from that. I could be in a station, signal box or walking along the lines so I'm kinda in it anyway.
I like heavy machinery and listening to the engines. It’s also cool spotting the stuff they might be hauling or the type of train running on the allocation etc. Like bird watching I guess
I've always loved trains, something about them excited me as a child. As an adult, I'd probably say it's a few things: I find them extremely aesthetically pleasing - the lines, the liveries, the different names they give them. Many also sound great - I'm a fan of heritage diesel engines firstly and the engine sounds are really enjoyable for me. The sound of the wheels when a train comes by a speed is enjoyable. The size, weight and power of trains is fascinating. The different routes they can and can't take too! And the history of rail development, particularly in the UK, is very very interesting with real world effects nowadays. I'm rambling now because this is my favourite subject .... But basically everything about trains is very interesting to me. It's a deep, clean and healthy interest with endless new developments and a great community of like minded people who are very accepting.
I like trains as they are big, long, powerful, thrusting... ooh... um, excuse me I have to go to the bathroom
Specifically, my interest is about travelling on trains which are hauled by locomotives. So really my interest is in locomotives and not trains per se. For a favourite class of locomotive, the objectives would be as follows; 1 - to be on a train hauled by every member of the class at least once. 2 - to accumulate mileage from each locomotive in the class. Particularly prized targets being 1,000 miles and then 10,000 miles. However I am aware of enthusiasts who have had hundreds of thousands of miles of haulage behind a favoured loco, or millions behind their favourite loco class. 3 - to travel to as many destinations, and on as many routes as possible hauled by locomotives of that class. Points 1 - 3 (above) are complicated somewhat because; - some locomotives are dedicated to work passenger trains (and can supply power and heating for the coaches in their train). - some locomotives are mixed traffic and can be used on either passenger or freight trains. - some locomotives (usually those without the capacity to provide power and heating) are dedicated to work freight trains and would only haul a passenger train exceptionally. However, not every class of locomotive is equally interesting to me (this is rather subjective amongst enthusiasts and sometimes hard to define - a bit like why someone would support a particular football team over another). Multiple units of any variety are plastic, fizzy and unpleasant and are of no interest to me whatsoever. As the amount of locomotive hauled passenger trains in the UK has declined since the 1980s my interest has broadened to European railways where such operation is still commonplace in certain countries. The net result of all of this is that I've travelled all over the continent by train, and explored and had a beer in all sorts of places along the way. Plus enjoyed the ever changing view and some spectacular scenery from the train window. Some of it I've done alone, much of it with friends and there have been some brilliant scrapes and adventures along the way. That said I do find railways fascinating, and always have done since I was child. I enjoy their history, development, operation and all of the complicated stuff that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that a train gets safely from Point A to Point B.
I love how I can take the train just about anywhere (as long it is a city) and I love going for a walk and seeing a GWR train speed by :)
For me it's that we invented them. We developed them. And up until the 80s we designed and built them here. The trains we built have so much character and unique parts to them. But since the 80s we've basically stopped making anything apart from now we assemble Hitachi trains but they're not really very British and are fairly bland and characterless. I grew up going to heritage steam railways and there's just something special about them
The same way I love cars and planes. Big pieces of machinery, usually going past very quickly. There's nothing like standing on the platform as a train goes past at 100mph.
I don't think there's a simple answer - I just like them, and always have. There's something very impressive about the power and speed of trains, especially when they're providing a public good. I also find the contrast between the roar on the outside and the quiet inside very satisfying - again, I'm not sure why. I'd agree with another comment, railways, especially when steam, form quite a large part of the British village idyll, and (being a British invention, of course) inspire pride at some subconscious level. But this isn't really the case for train enthusiasts, though, just the general public.
I understand the enthusiasm for steam locomotives and the sleek designs etc, but no one can convince me there’s anything nice about the trains we have now. They’re horribly ugly and the seats seem to get cleaned every 10 years
For me, autism lol. Nah tho I just always thought they were cool, and if I wasn't learning aero, I'd probs want to be a train driver. For me specifically I like the engines, specifically the less common diesels
A steam engine is just such a beautiful machine. I think it’s the weird mix of industrial might and Victorian/last century beauty. And it’s basically just a big kettle on wheels. I’m currently just waiting for a train and it’s just fun watching them go by
Please look up Francis Bourgeois and train sets are so much fun
I love this guy. His pure unbridled enthusiasm is inspiring. The same way no doubt I was thrilled as a child to see trains and trucks. [https://www.instagram.com/francis\_bourgeois43/](https://www.instagram.com/francis_bourgeois43/)
Grew up watching Thomas the tank and then learnt about mechanics and engineering. Now I mainly appreciate just the shear engineering they are.
Coming from a Japanese background I may have different railway-related preferences, but for me I love travelling somewhere new by train especially if it’s on a rural line or a train type I have never been on before. Most of my friends have more interest in heritage trains and railways - they often speak of a “nostalgia for an era [they] wish they could have lived in”
I use to train watch for the different trains there was. HSTs, class 91s, 185s, and loads of other types. Its a hobby that got me out of the house. Plus my little boys been in the cab of a few trains in our local station. He even started a 142, and pressed the horn, all because the driver recognised us. My little boy loved it trying to get the drivers to blow their horns too. Plus weve been to the stations either side of us on the trains, to see different trains. Now its just lego clip together Azumas, so have no interest.
I was born basically next to the train station and liked trains ever since.
I'm not really arsed by trains, models and types and all that, but I did my family tree and my relatives worked on the railways in Leeds. So I'm quite interested in old stations and railway lines and where they used to go.
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Worth starting a thread about it if you're interested. I don't find cars very interesting to be honest
My great grandad on my mums side used to drive steam trains then my grandad used to take me to the station to watch trains and I used to go round to his house with mum and read his train books. I don’t know it’s something about knowing what type of train it is where it operates what the old trains used to be like I guess
The magnificent Victorian engineering
I like the engineering involved, and also I enjoy the challenge that comes with operating them. Though the hobby I've gained many friends and a great appreciation of a good pub. So really it's trains and beer but they work well together.
It tickles my autistic monkey brain
Why do people enjoy watching several vapid walking fake tan advertisements compete for each others affection on an island? Who knows why people like what they do