We always hear of celebrities in car hobbies etc... I wonder are there any celebrities in model trains?
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It depends on how you define the hobby.
Mandy Patinkin is into Lionel "O" gauge. There is a video interview on You Tube.
Rod Stewart is into HO modeling.
I am certain there are others.
Might also depend on who you consider a "celebrity".
I'm in the hobby and I'm a legend in my own mind! 
Why...my autograph and a couple of bucks will get you a cup of coffee anywhere! 
Seriously, there are a number of celebrities that are model railroaders. I'm certain that Neil Young would be on this list!
Frank Sinatra had either O gauge or Standard Gauge.
Well, Walt Disney and mel Torme come to mind. I am sure there are many others.
Wasn't Rod Stewart seriously into HO?
Edit: Oh yeah, rod was big into them. Cool stuff!
I know a lot of touring musicians who are into model trains. It's mostly HO. I only personally know one guy who's into O. The rest are HO and N.
Neil Young too. He made TMCC.
Here are the ones I can think of off the top of my head:
- Tom Snyder (O Gauge)
- Frank Sinatra (O Gauge)
- Sally-Jesse Raphael (H.O.)
- Gary Coleman (H.O. Ran into him at Train Shack drooling over an O Scale Big Boy)
- Tom Hanks (H.O)
- Michael Gross (H.O. and into Free-Mo. Met him at a modelers meet a couple of years ago)
Bobby Baccala
rat
RIP
According to NMRA .... Michael Jordan does a CNW thing in N.
And, yes .... Rod Stewart. I remember watching an interview with him as he stated his love for running the trains with a couple glasses of wine in the evening.
Rumor is Michael Jordan has N scale trains.
To add to the list...
Tom Snyder
Eric Clapton
Phil Collins
Roger Daltrey
Gene Hackman
Tom Hanks
David Hasselhoff
Elton John
Bruce Springsteen...
And Gary Coleman
Originally Posted by 69nickeycamaro:
i would say Hot Water with 50 plus years in real railroad service plus his immense knowledge of everything, or at least what matters on this forum!!!!!! my opinion!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't forget about Lee Willis OGR's very own celebrity author and Kitbash extraordinar. 
Do any of these celebrities participate on the forum?
Joe DiMaggio and Roy Campanella were into Lionel O gauge.
Originally Posted by Tim Lewis:
Neil Young too. He made TMCC.
I was wondering how long it was going to take somebody to say Neil Young!!!!!
Also - The character SHeldon in Big Bang THeory (A pretend figure)
That's right Joltin Joe DiMaggio was a big Lionel fan.
http://www.boldts.net/TrainsCelebs.shtml
Celebrity model railroaders - Nice big list and what they like
A little before my time but Mel Torme was a big Lionel fan...
I don't believe John Cash was an actual Lionel collector or operator but he did do a commercial for Lionel in the 70's...
John Lasseter of Pixar is known to have a pretty amazing layout. And he supposedly has some of Walt's equipment, as well.
Scotty Bowman, legendary NHL hockey coach
plays with Lionel Trains.
Originally Posted by Timbo:
John Lasseter of Pixar is known to have a pretty amazing layout. And he supposedly has some of Walt's equipment, as well.
He doesn't have any of Walt's equipment, but he does own Ollie Johnston's old plantation engine and some of Ward Kimball's Grizzly Flats stuff.
Add Groucho Marx,Jodie Foster,Warren Buffett,Thurgood Marshall to the list
Other famous model railroaders/railway modelers:
1 - Buster Keaton (funny guy).
2 - Luftwaffe Marshal Hermann Goering (less funny guy).
3 - RAF Marshal Arthur "Bomber" Harris (probably not funny, either).
Guys 2 and 3 used to bomb each other in the 30's and 40's.
Guy 1 seldom bombed.
This comes up every now and then. Anyway, my favorite surprise Lionel operator was Gypsy Rose Lee, who had a custom built (by Lionel) folding layout that she set up and ran in her dressing room between shows.
Add Dave Letterman to the list as well.
Isn't Donald Southerland a model train fan as well?
Neil Young mentioned on a podcast about Pono (very cool product) on the TWIT network that he no longer has his layout ,as part of steps to simplify his life.
Brad
Mel Torme was mentioned earlier. Here's the Velvet Fog in an ad for Gem Models way back when:
Rusty
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Originally Posted by J Daddy:
I don't believe John Cash was an actual Lionel collector or operator but he did do a commercial for Lionel in the 70's...
He was in the Lionel Collectors Club at the same time I was.
We have had our fair share of celebrity contact at the NJ HiRailers
We had this guy come over when Legacy first came out to troubleshoot it
We had Spencer Christian, Frank Field, Kaity Tong and Tom Snyders partner Pam Burke come over to dedicate the Snyder layout.
We have the layouts that this guy was involved with
We have had Muckity mucks from METCA and LCCA
We have had this famous guy over
And our most important Celebrity that ever was connected with the club is this little guy named Chase
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Very impressive Ben!!
Alan
I remember reading a story about Jackie Gleason saying " Booze a and Lionel sure go swell!"
Captain Kangaroo had a display built by Lionel.
Bob Osterhoff
Wow - an impressive list - anyone under 35 these days? Sad to say I bet not many
Wasn't the late Emmett Kelly Jr. a modeler of circus equipment and trains? Seems I recall reading a feature article or two.
Jim McClenin
Originally Posted by Ont Sou:
Wasn't the late Emmett Kelly Jr. a modeler of circus equipment and trains? Seems I recall reading a feature article or two.
Jim McClenin
Yep, he was on cover of the September 1970 edition of Railroad Model Craftsman magazine.
Originally Posted by bluelinec4:
We have had our fair share of celebrity contact at the NJ HiRailers
We had this guy come over when Legacy first came out to troubleshoot it
We had Spencer Christian, Frank Field, Kaity Tong and Tom Snyders partner Pam Burke come over to dedicate the Snyder layout.
We have the layouts that this guy was involved with
We have had Muckity mucks from METCA and LCCA
We have had this famous guy over
And our most important Celebrity that ever was connected with the club is this little guy named Chase
Bene
I have been called a lot of things, but this is the first time I was refered to as a Muckity Muck. I nominate Ben F. to the list of celebrities. He is a legend in his own mind! Lol
Al K
Ronald Reagan had trains in the White House.
