Dress the part for Train shows

Except the smell of the trains I would say.  Never came across trains at a show that smelled like B.O.  Nicotine, perhaps, but never B.O.

 

You'd be surprised John. I recently purchased a locomotive that absolutely reeked. Both the train and all the packaging stunk of nicotine, mothballs, and general nastiness. I was actually unable to store the box in my closet it stunk so bad, it's still out in the garage airing out. The locomotive also still stinks, I'm currently trying to flush the smell out by running lots of JT's Mega Steam "Coal-Fired Steamer" through it. Perhaps the new "Eliminator" will do the trick 

By the way, I believe the Orange hall is air conditioned.

I am not positive, but I don't think all the member halls (if any) have air conditioning.

 

 

According to the chart on the National Heart Lung & Blood Institute, 300lbs at a height of 6'7" gives you a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 33.8! THAT is not good!

 

Check it out. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guide...sity/BMI/bmicalc.htm

 

 

This thread certainly stinks of thread hijacking.

I was listening to the radio yesterday afternoon and the host made a comment about train "nuts" making a reference to model railroaders in general and citing the operators at LA Live Steamers as an example. I felt like calling in, but I remembered, never argue with an idiot because at some point an observer wouldn't be able to tell which one is the idiot. Besides, given the professions of some of the LA Live Steamer operators I suspect the E-mails were probably pretty interesting.

 

That said, I have a hat and bib overalls that were given to me by Jeff Remy, a Disneyland RR engineer. I wore the hat at one Open House where we hosted some school children and only when I was actually running a train. Haven't worn it since. Not even THINKING about overalls unless I suddenly get a bucket full of money and start operating in 1.5" scale, or get a dumpster full of money and start operating at 1:1 scale.

OK, I'll admit I bought a Hat when first back in the hobby.

It's from a Real Train I rode on - The Cog railway up Mt. Washington.

But I don't even wear it when running trains in the basement, I doubt anyone will see it on my head in public.

I wear the hat you see in my Avatar so folks can recognise me and run away if so inclined. Other than the the attire is changed daily, and soap and water applied as well.

Keep 'em coming, gentlemen. This is gettin' good! And we haven't even touched on some of the countless train store/LHS  hygiene stories......

I don't know what to say, you guys are covering it all too well. It is funny so keep them coming.  I never really took myself too seriously. I do have the hat though and I do wear it now and then while working on the layout. 

This is my "railroad wear" at train shows since 1976, a good ol' Kromer:

 

Everything else is subject to change without notice...

 

Rusty

No, Bill, some of these guys NEVER have anything positive to say about anything.  If they really want to see what gives the hobby a black eye (imagine a potential newcomer reading this thread for example), all they need do is look in a mirror.  

 

I realize that anyone can say just about anything in the great expanse of cyberspace while safely hiding behind a screen name, but common sense would dictate that some things are best left to face-to-face discussions if they're said at all.  And many things are simply best left unsaid.

Thanks Allan.  I couldn't agree more.  I know things aren't always the way we want them and situations are not perfect, but that is life.  I understand what is being said, but we need to be positive about a great hobby that seems to be slowly shrinking.  

Some people choose to look at the world through rose-colored glasses. Others acknowledge the less desirable aspects and are able to find humor in relating experiences. Reading through this thread, it would appear the majority are in the latter group, and I don't see why that would be a bad thing. If a newcomer were to read this thread and immediately drop any interest in the hobby, then I suspect that person was never serious to begin with. Or has a hypersensitive personality disorder.....

I usually wear a train themed T-shirt to shows and my Trainstock hat.  I especially like wearing my red Santa Fe Super Chief shirt to cheese Ben off!

 

I do make sure it's been washed before I wear it.  To be honest my wife makes sure!

I have been to a lot of smaller train shows over the years.  I have never encountered the hygiene issues that people go on and on about  in the annual "let's count down to/obsess over/ complain about/ obsess over others counting down to and or complaining about York" threads.

 

I am known to wear bib overalls and or and engineers hat from time to time, sometimes not even at a train show.   To me it is not any different than wearing your favorite players jersey to the ball park or the mall.  Life is so short, if you can have some fun with out hurting someone, why not?  

 

I don't look any more ridiculous than the people dressed up in the officially licensed merchandise of their local franchise and you see people who wear that stuff all year round.  I must not be the only one who feels that way.  There are quite a few engineers, conductors and vest that is entirely made out of R.R. patches guys at every show.   It is not just train guys and sports nuts that do it.  Odds are the guy you walk pass in February wearing his Harley hat, jacket,t shirt and boots did not ride his bike there in the 20 degree weather.  He may not even own a bike.    It reminds me of the joke, How come Rodeo Cowboys don't wear their hats and boots when they are not preforming?  They don't want to be mistaken for truck drivers.

 

Getting to the model railroaders / railfans are fat topic.  On average if you pick 3 American adults at random 1 will be what ever it is we call a healthy weight this week, one will be overweight, the other will be obese.  So yea, if you look around a train show you will see a lot of fat old guys.  If you look around a quilt show I suspect you will see a lot of fat old women.  If you look around the DMV you will see a lot of fat people who are tired of waiting.  We are blessed with an abundant and cheap food supply, some of the best health care in the world and many indoor jobs that require little to no labor.  I suspect some if not all of those items will soon change and we will long for the days that the obesity epidemic was one of our major problems.

 

So maybe I just have had great luck and am living some sort of charmed life but the train shows I have been to are not magnets for fat, smelly, crusty clothed recluses who recoil like Dracula from sunlight.  I will admit they seem to attract sellers who are convinced that this whole internet thing, what ever it is, is a just a fad.  If they bring their cardboard six pack trays of common Lionel items that have been drug behind a motorcycle to just one more show, some one will pay asking price for all of it and they will be able to retire to the Cayman Islands with their millions.   But that  is a topic for another time.

 

 

 

 

 

That's the way dresses everyday

 

Doug

I generally wear my "still Plays with Trains" t-shirt

I usually wear some railroad-theme t-shirt ... and my SP&S 700 Engine Crew hat

       
       


By "like this" I assume you mean "awesome"?  There is no freedom like being among geeks. 



(Yup, that's me, as the X-Men's "Wolverine,"  on a train.)

Well, you certainly pull it off quite well 

 

Thinking about it more, "Dressing the part" does go over a lot better when the actual point of the event is to dress the part. Like a Comic-Con or a Trekkie convention, which are spectacles unto themselves 

 

Maybe the bib overalls and cap would be more at home at a conductors and engineers convention. As it is, whenever you see the guy in costume walking down the halls of a train show, one can't help but notice all the "oh geez, here comes the conductor" looks and snickering it elicits 

What was the question? Don

 

 

 

 

 

I don't remember!

 

Now I remember, it was about Lionel Twain. Don

fantastic bullsh**t.  Who woulda thunkit?

Hey Bob, "Who woulda thunkit?"  Hu really is on first! Don

One year Houston Tinplate went to the RR Museeum in Galveston, the same weekend as Dickens on the Strand.  This was also the fall of the first Harry Hotter movie.  So we dressed in period outfits for railroading or the movie.  Great move.

Temper, temper!

Chris, I don't think Bob was mad at all. I think he was enjoying it. Don

LOL! The tears, I cannot stop laughing. .

In that case....tsk, tsk on me!

Popi glad to see your enjoying the hobby to the fullest!!

 

Generally jeans and some sort of train logo shirt is my limit. However we do have a few train club members that will show up at our open hpouse events in engineer coveralls or sometime a conductors uniform

Steve

BINGO!  Right you are, Garfield!

The ones who always say "elderly guys at train shows stink" are the same ones that call motel rooms that cost less than $150./night "rat-infested dumps", and York restroom attendants "pan-handlers". Just some more contributions from the "ME Generation".

And some folks complained about the thread concerning whether our trains were models or toys.

 

The NOIVE

We proudly wear our club garb, because we're proud of our group's accomplishments in the short time we've been together........and we have a blast, too!

 

 

From L to R: Ben, Ken (Kanawha), Tom (Gilly@N&W) and myself (Putnam Division).

 

Peter

There's been some shows I've been at over the past 40 years where when passing some relatively young or middle aged model railroaders, it's preferable to hold your breath.

 

Rusty

Hardly a "me" generation guy...

Never! For all the above, and I once paid to run a steam loco in Essex and I dressed like a normal person as well.

Define "normal."  There no longer is a "normal" as far as I can determine.  

When I was a member of our garden railway club in Virginia, all club members proudly wore the club shirts and caps when we conducted one of our half-dozen or so public shows each year.

 

When I attend the York Meet or other shows, I also proudly wear my OGR "uniform."

 

And I have no problem wearing my Alaska RR, NMRA, TCA, or one of a dozen or more RR-related caps when I'm out and about.  Sometimes a stranger will inquire about the logo on a cap, and on more than one occasion over the years it led to finding a new potential hobbyist and even a new friend.

 

You just have to be secure in yourself and not worry what others may think.  I don't live my life for others, and I don't expect them to live their lives for me.