Do your hobbies change in priority from time to time?

Usually out to my garage to work on my 73 vette restoration project

my son and i just about finished my train room which was the last room in my basement that was not finished 20 years later

still need to build train layout i was supposed to build one when my kids were young , now I’m shooting for grand kids still we always had a Christmas tree layout

No regrets, as john lennon said “life is what happens when you are busy making other plans”.

That is an interesting question and your hobbies are quite diverse Jonathan . IMHO, they demonstrate that you have an extensive creative ability. Research has shown that musical creativity greatly enhances cognition as we age. I don’t have other hobbies but I have interest in photography, cooking, and exercise. I have found that when agonizing over an issue with my fledgling layout a resolution pops into to my head when I’m doing something completely unrelated. Diversification of hobbies and interest are excellent things.

Warmer weather comes outdoor activities.  Trains are a after thought in the summer.  Things won’t get active again until fall York.

I received a HK 45 semi-auto years back that belonged to my brother who had passed.  3 or so years ago I was bored one day and decided to finally go shoot it, the hook was set.  I've been buying guns since, trying to get a good collection of WW2 firearms that represented the main powers at the time, plus a few modern firearms.  Finally got my Holy Grail last year, a P08 Luger, for half the price they were going for.  Just wish ammo would come down in price.  $2.50 for 1 round of 6.5x50 for my Japanese Arisaka type 38 can get expensive quick!!!

I enjoy history, especially WW1 and WW2 and have plenty of books to read.  My Welsh granddad was in the Royal Machinegun Corp in WW1 and my mom (nurse), dad (9th USAAF), his brothers, her sister (also a nurse) and brother-in-law (Brit tank commander), were all in the service.

I think my next venture will be the Revolutionary War, dig down a bit deeper than what they covered in school.

Certainly.  I am not a single-track person, so I rotate among hobbies and even types of hobbies.  Other indoor hobbies include building models of other kinds than railroad.  I sometimes build a kit straight from a box for nostalgia's sake, but I also kitbash and modify.  I don't do it nearly so often as I used to, but I don't have nearly so much time and essentially no display space, so I am limited by practicalities.  One of them is even a 1/96 scale R/C model, which I have been working on for years.

Outside hobbies include tinkering with our small collection of two-cylinder John Deere tractors--they work for a living, but we're always having to do something or another to keep them in the field, and we have this dream to someday have one pretty enough to call Restored.

My dominant outdoor hobby is Civil War Reenacting, hence the avatar pic.  In addition to commanding a volunteer artillery company (Co. M, 1st Mo. Lt. Art'y) (and also being part owner of one of the unit's guns), I am a Co-Chief Inspector of Region XII, National Civil War Artillery Association, an organization dedicated to training folks to use black-powder, muzzle-loading artillery safely.

I race corvettes, fly rc planes, rc cars and play with my trains. Go between them all the time. Unless, my wife says she has another priority at the time I'm playing.

My son does too. He comes over and we race serious RC cars on my long driveway whilst drinking tasty beverages.

I worked like a slave for 30 plus years and it's good to have some toy time !!!

@trainmankjm posted:

Usually out to my garage to work on my 73 vette restoration project

my son and i just about finished my train room which was the last room in my basement that was not finished 20 years later

still need to build train layout i was supposed to build one when my kids were young , now I’m shooting for grand kids still we always had a Christmas tree layout

No regrets, as john lennon said “life is what happens when you are busy making other plans”.

I was into vehicles for a long time.  I started with a '72 Malibu SS rust bucket in college and then had a '39 Chevy 3/4 ton for 26 years before I decided I could no longer care for it properly.  If I am lucky enough to retire someday, I would like to find a '36 Chevy truck to put back together.  '36 was the first year for a full steel frame, hydraulic brakes, and other "modern" improvements.

I'm a Hockey fan and Commissioner of a Fantasy Hockey League during the season.  Hockey season is long (just ask my wife).  Games start in mid-October and go through early June.  I have a TV in the train room so I can multitask while working on the layout. 

John

@Tranquil Hollow RR posted:

That is an interesting question and your hobbies are quite diverse Jonathan . IMHO, they demonstrate that you have an extensive creative ability. Research has shown that musical creativity greatly enhances cognition as we age. I don’t have other hobbies but I have interest in photography, cooking, and exercise. I have found that when agonizing over an issue with my fledgling layout a resolution pops into to my head when I’m doing something completely unrelated. Diversification of hobbies and interest are excellent things.

I am a semi-pro photographer as well with publications in multiple magazines over the years.  While I, like most, shoot digital these days I still have fond memories of shooting with my Hasselblads and various 4x5 cameras.  Photography, cooking, and exercise requires working both the creative and technical sides of your brain.  While my exercise routine has slacked, I have finally started doing regular walks / runs of 3+ miles in the morning to get some semblance of fitness.  My cooking?  Well my wife is from the south and I can't hold a candle to her skills.  I leave the quality work to her as I will never be that good at it!

@Bob Delbridge posted:

I received a HK 45 semi-auto years back that belonged to my brother who had passed.  3 or so years ago I was bored one day and decided to finally go shoot it, the hook was set.  I've been buying guns since, trying to get a good collection of WW2 firearms that represented the main powers at the time, plus a few modern firearms.  Finally got my Holy Grail last year, a P08 Luger, for half the price they were going for.  Just wish ammo would come down in price.  $2.50 for 1 round of 6.5x50 for my Japanese Arisaka type 38 can get expensive quick!!!

I enjoy history, especially WW1 and WW2 and have plenty of books to read.  My Welsh granddad was in the Royal Machinegun Corp in WW1 and my mom (nurse), dad (9th USAAF), his brothers, her sister (also a nurse) and brother-in-law (Brit tank commander), were all in the service.

I think my next venture will be the Revolutionary War, dig down a bit deeper than what they covered in school.

I enjoy target shooting also, but since covid hit I have not been to the range.  The whole idea of just focusing on a paper target is so stress relieving.  My brother purchased my grandfather's WWII M1 which was manufactured by Remington.  My grandfather also received a "trophy" Japanese equivalent for winning the battle of the island he fought on, but it was in 1944 and the quality of those rifles were questionable. 

Personally, I have pistols in most of the common calibers from .22 to .45 and enjoy the calm that comes when the only thing on your mind is the target in front of you.  My wife owns the rifles.

@palallin posted:

Certainly.  I am not a single-track person, so I rotate among hobbies and even types of hobbies.  Other indoor hobbies include building models of other kinds than railroad.  I sometimes build a kit straight from a box for nostalgia's sake, but I also kitbash and modify.  I don't do it nearly so often as I used to, but I don't have nearly so much time and essentially no display space, so I am limited by practicalities.  One of them is even a 1/96 scale R/C model, which I have been working on for years.

Outside hobbies include tinkering with our small collection of two-cylinder John Deere tractors--they work for a living, but we're always having to do something or another to keep them in the field, and we have this dream to someday have one pretty enough to call Restored.

My dominant outdoor hobby is Civil War Reenacting, hence the avatar pic.  In addition to commanding a volunteer artillery company (Co. M, 1st Mo. Lt. Art'y) (and also being part owner of one of the unit's guns), I am a Co-Chief Inspector of Region XII, National Civil War Artillery Association, an organization dedicated to training folks to use black-powder, muzzle-loading artillery safely.

In high school, I had a youth counselor who was into black powder.  While I wasn't that knowledgeable at the time, I always found the cloud of smoke to be quite interesting as well as the "sonic boom".  I haven't built anything but train models in probably 35 to 40 years, but enjoyed building ships and planes during my youth.

@Ron H posted:

I race corvettes, fly rc planes, rc cars and play with my trains. Go between them all the time. Unless, my wife says she has another priority at the time I'm playing.

My son does too. He comes over and we race serious RC cars on my long driveway whilst drinking tasty beverages.

I worked like a slave for 30 plus years and it's good to have some toy time !!!

My part time employer, Scott Mann's hobby, is building and flying RC planes.  I wasn't permitted to do that as a child, but it certainly sounds fun!

Call me crazy, but twisting knobs and throwing switches is pure entertainment in itself.  When my grandparents took my brother and I on a tour of the Yorktown when we were in middle school I think we touched everything.  Some of it still worked.

My latest acquisition is the Behringer "Model D" which is exact replica of the Minimoog.  The original goes for 10 times what I paid for this and is extremely more reliable.  Maybe there is a lesson for train manufacturers in this?

About four years ago, I added O Gauge trains to a long list of hobbies I dabble in.  A few have been mentioned already: cars, firearms, photography, but also fishing, golf, breweriana, and sports memorabilia.

Trains have dominated the last 4 years as I've been in a major acquisition phase.  Now I'm beginning to narrow my focus within the O Gauge hobby so I'm buying less and selling some.

Yup. I’ll move back and forth between hobbies. My planned permanent layout slated for this year is on hold, so I’ll have varying interest trains until I start planning the Christmas layout. I also have a love for sports memorabilia, but the market for that is ridiculous right now. A few other things that peak my interests are craft beer, bourbon, and reading or watching podcasts about political/legal/economics. So yeah, I have a bunch of interests that peak and wane at different times.

@GG1 4877 posted:

Trains has always been my main interest in both the prototype and model form, but recently I have rediscovered my interest in music.  Specifically analog synthesizers and the creation of sound.  I recently purchased a Minimoog rack mount clone and was so excited by it, I am purchasing a rack mount ARP 2600 clone to add another level of sound creation to my library.  At the same time, I am getting my 1983 Roland Juno-60 repaired to factory spec prior to the end of the month.  What I find interesting is that while I have never stopped collecting trains, it has been 10 years since I last took a strong interest in my original music.

I simply pose this question, when you have multiple hobbies do you find that you tend to go back and forth between them?  I have been watching several O scale trains on that auction site but spending my available funds on new music gear.  To keep this on topic, I did recently purchase an Atlas baggage-coach and another GGD 12-1 Pullman, but my desires in adding additional trains has taken a backseat to my personal studio for now.

Other hobbies is not a new topic, but when you deviate from the nearly religious collection of trains, where do your hobbies take you?

Interesting. I learned to refine my steel guitar playing with Jerry Byrd as an instructor when I resided in Hawaii during the late 1970s. I’d kept my Fender equipment all these years and resumed practicing about a year ago after having spent a considerable sum getting my pedal steel overhauled and tuned along with the Fender Dual Showman amp. Both look and sound brand new now.

I had considered redoing my train layout instead, but am now in my mid-seventies. Since I have no arthritis or joint problems yet, I can still pick the strings and slide the steel. Our small group has become pretty good and we can transition from country music to Hawaiian music and back to country with no problem.

So, I’ve come to enjoy playing music again, but still like running the trains. Just not as much as before. 😉

My main other 'hobby', although it's not quite that, is being a Meet Referee for the Local Swim Club of USA Swimming (USAS).  I've worked upper level meets with Olympians, and chaotic ones with 8 & unders. I've been doing this since the mid-90s when my kids started swimming.  One left the sport after high school, and the other swam through college, ending in 2010.  I've kept on doing it, kinda my way to give back to the community.  Even though I do swim meets in my local area, I really don't know the kids anymore, or their parents.  Heck, I don't really even know most of the other officials anymore.  Every once in awhile though, I see a kid that's a son/daughter of one of my kids friends or the grandkid of someone I know.  That's always nice.

Other things for me are drones and pistol shooting (I'm in Texas after all).  But the time with them pales in comparison to swimming.  When I'm reffing meets, there's not much time for trains either.  Luckily meets are generally one every 3 to 4 weeks.

O Gauge 3 Rail trains has always been my main love and focus. Since moving to the new house 5 years ago I had professional friends in this are that were Rail Car and Rail Fans that I could never join Them as it was to far from where I lived so during the summer I spend time time with then enjoying the rail cars and rail fanning and a lot of time in my shop where I attempt to be a woodworker. I am also a gun collector several WWII rifles M1, M1 Carbine an O3 and an O3A all great to shoot and a couple of 1911 thou not WWII Vintage. But with limited funds not so much any more even sold all my reloadeding stuff to a very good friend that I would shoot with at our old house. Been giving so thought to maybe picking ups mid 60's Ford or Mercury always loved the mid size Falcons and Comets had both as a kid, 2 Falcons a 64 and a 65 and my girlfriend had my grandmothers 66 Comet.

@Csxcellent posted:

Yup. I’ll move back and forth between hobbies. My planned permanent layout slated for this year is on hold, so I’ll have varying interest trains until I start planning the Christmas layout. I also have a love for sports memorabilia, but the market for that is ridiculous right now. A few other things that peak my interests are craft beer, bourbon, and reading or watching podcasts about political/legal/economics. So yeah, I have a bunch of interests that peak and wane at different times.

Craft beer is a weakness of mine.  I'm close to 2500 unique beers on the Uptapped app.

@Yellowstone Special posted:

Interesting. I learned to refine my steel guitar playing with Jerry Byrd as an instructor when I resided in Hawaii during the late 1970s. I’d kept my Fender equipment all these years and resumed practicing about a year ago after having spent a considerable sum getting my pedal steel overhauled and tuned along with the Fender Dual Showman amp. Both look and sound brand new now.

I had considered redoing my train layout instead, but am now in my mid-seventies. Since I have no arthritis or joint problems yet, I can still pick the strings and slide the steel. Our small group has become pretty good and we can transition from country music to Hawaiian music and back to country with no problem.

So, I’ve come to enjoy playing music again, but still like running the trains. Just not as much as before. 😉

To be fair, the Fender 3/4 Squire in the photo belongs to my 22 year old daughter, but she is much more interested in her classical style playing of her favorite anime productions.  My guitar playing is probably my weakest skill as I started playing stringed instruments on the bass guitar and now have four basses that all have unique qualities with two Deans in 4 and 5 string that just simply rock, a Gibson Victory fretless, and a Geddy Lee signature Fender Jazz.  Like trains, I find that each instrument has a unique quality that makes it desirable for many reasons.  My favorite electric is this guitar my wife researched as a Christmas gift that I had no knowledge of prior to her gifting it to me.  To be fair, I still don't honestly know what all the switches do.

@RJT posted:

O Gauge 3 Rail trains has always been my main love and focus. Since moving to the new house 5 years ago I had professional friends in this are that were Rail Car and Rail Fans that I could never join Them as it was to far from where I lived so during the summer I spend time time with then enjoying the rail cars and rail fanning and a lot of time in my shop where I attempt to be a woodworker. I am also a gun collector several WWII rifles M1, M1 Carbine an O3 and an O3A all great to shoot and a couple of 1911 thou not WWII Vintage. But with limited funds not so much any more even sold all my reloadeding stuff to a very good friend that I would shoot with at our old house. Been giving so thought to maybe picking ups mid 60's Ford or Mercury always loved the mid size Falcons and Comets had both as a kid, 2 Falcons a 64 and a 65 and my girlfriend had my grandmothers 66 Comet.

My father in law who passed away way to young at age 64 had a convertible '64 Fairline that never got properly restored.  Cars are so much fun, but the skill level in my experience is way more than my skill level.  I find that rather interesting as I had a Roland SH-101 bass synthesizer of 1980's vintage that had a battery leak and I traced the leak to the circuit board that created a short circuit and repaired it while I was in college.  I think I must have less patience now then then than.

Absolutely,  work got in the way of my hobbies.  Trains both o and now ho, fish keeping with multiple tanks plus a pond that will get larger this summer, cat care with the rescue group and cycling.  Now learning wheel building and braising steel frames.

Kinda, like a whole lot of younger guys the "cursed video games" do take up a bit of my time on occasion, with Destiny 2 being my current one since it just dropped a massive update a few weeks back. Despite technically taking place in an apocalypse some of the multiplayer maps do have train cars with crates labeled for the weapon foundries in the game and I'm tempted to label a few boxcars for em. Maybe I'll get a few of those Destiny megablox sets and have a little train top fight scene between The Guardian (main character) and a few of the aliens you fight in the game on top.

Yes!

Hi Johnathan, cool thread!

looks like you are enjoying both things (trains and music making) and I think it’s so much about enthusiasm and certainly in whatever the moment one’s attention can include passion! There are times when I don’t go near my postwar layout equipment. There are times when I replace the 50’s vintage train feelings with new musical ideas as well. Hey that  Hagstrom 6 string is cool, great neck and very funky microphonic pickups! They make great antennas! I combine music listening with train running (stereo and turntable in basement) but it’s hard to play a guitar  and control the ZW! Thanks for sharing the photos. I can be found riffing or running postwar most days off.

Your set up looks like Joe Zawinal would like it, so would Jan Hammer!

I listen to them when running Lionel!

As I get older, things I do have less contact, slower pace, easier to reach, and do not need a steady hand.

As we get closer to spring, we get closer to boating / sailing season, which is short in Northern New England, so trains and layout construction will take second place. However, as I get older, I find myself being very happy if we get a rainy weekend during the summer so I can get back downstairs to my train room.

I've wanted a home layout for years, but my priority (along with several others over the years) was the completion of the AGHR layout in San Pedro. Then came acquisition of equipment to run on said club layout. Now that I'm retired and located in a new home, the priority has been toward layout design and acquisition of track (I've picked up building kits long the way, but they'll need to be built). Locomotive and rolling stock acquisition has been on the back burner, save for a few items.

In May 2020 I finally purchased a 2015 C7 Corvette, been wanting one for a decade.  Then I joined SCDA, an organization that rents out Road courses fully staffed with all the safety staffs, flag stations manned etc.  So for the past two spring and summers, I have been going to Watkins Glen International and Lime Rock Park and learning how to drive this amazing automobile.   I went to 8 days on track both years, and then I get to do all the extra maintenance work, changing and upgrading brakes, flushing out and replacing the brake fluid annually.    It's awesome, and I am blessed to still be healthy enough and have the reflexes to still do it.  So it's like 6 months of Model Railroading, and 6 months of adrenaline rush. 

@chris a posted:

In May 2020 I finally purchased a 2015 C7 Corvette, been wanting one for a decade.  Then I joined SCDA, an organization that rents out Road courses fully staffed with all the safety staffs, flag stations manned etc.  So for the past two spring and summers, I have been going to Watkins Glen International and Lime Rock Park and learning how to drive this amazing automobile.   I went to 8 days on track both years, and then I get to do all the extra maintenance work, changing and upgrading brakes, flushing out and replacing the brake fluid annually.    It's awesome, and I am blessed to still be healthy enough and have the reflexes to still do it.  So it's like 6 months of Model Railroading, and 6 months of adrenaline rush.

Man that sounds awesome. I have the itch but not the budget. I adore the challenger scat pack and hellcat, so I’m hoping to add that to my hobbies one day.

Age is catching up to our crew that has fished offshore for 49 years. Most of us have sold our larger boats… fortunately one still has a 65 foot sport fish and a new mate was hired yesterday. At 74, I am the second youngest. Can’t wait to try my new knee on a swordfish.

Trains remain important all year and there is time for both hobbies.

I've pretty much always had just trains for a hobby.

But 3 yrs ago my grandson came to live with us on 30 minutes notice.  So taking care of/providing for him is now a much larger endeavor than a second hobby.  And at 71, the trains are now going to have to be secondary.

Other interests besides collecting trains are recreational drone flying to capture the world in video and stills from a non earth bound perspective. Also SWLing, metal detecting, and gardening. With the first grandchild coming this summer any time I might in the past have spent on my aforementioned interests, including trains, I will now joyfully spend with him.

Thanks for the great topic!  I fade in and out of my hobbies over time, and my hobbies have changed over time.  While our children were home, if they had certain interests, I would often become involved in that pursuit so that I could both encourage them, and help them continue with something that they enjoyed.  

Our daughter was an excellent artist from an early age, and unfortunately, I mess up stick figures, so that was a challenge.  At the time, the Disney artists still had an actual colored "pen and paper" art studio, with the artists actually drawing the individual "cells" for the cartoons, etc., at their desks.  Disney World would allow you to go to the actual studio and watch the artists draw, so we would take our daughter there on occasion.  Among the full-length cartoon features that we were able to view the artists drawing were the following:  "Oliver & Company", "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and The Beast", and "Alladin".

In grade school, our oldest son began to take an interest in RC Cars, which I encouraged and participated in.  That interest continues to this day, and both of us are avid RC Car fans.  

Yes, my interests are always bouncing around seems like it depends on the time of year. Besides the trains (my main interest) R\C airplanes, R\C cars, Hot wheels, 1\24 scale diecast (just the older muscle cars} and driving my Dodge Challenger R\T Classic of course only in the summer and not on rainy days!!! LOL Just a big kid at heart, trying to enjoy what is left of life!!

I rotate between woodworking, model railroading, and my vinyl record stash. All three of my hobbies get along in the basement. Sometimes I turn off the engine sounds and spin some R&B or classic rock while a train runs.

Right next to the train layout...

Trains are largely a cold weather priority. Like many posts above, my similar warm weather hobbies start to take priority, antique cars, civil war reenacting, regular outside house and yard maintenance chores. Plus I have some musical performance responsibilities around Easter and Decoration Day that take up time (trumpet 45 years). I have one more postwar engine project to complete once I (hopefully) find the parts I need at April York, then training season slows down, but really doesn't come to a dead stop. I'm slowly working on some scenery projects all through spring and summer.