Engineers and Model Trains

I'm an Aerospace Engineer.  I graduated from WPI 2 years ago and now i'm working for Sikorsky Aircraft.  I absolutely credit model railroading to influincing my career choice.  Taught myself from a young age to reapir postwar lionels and i was always rebuilding my layouts.  trains, along with legos, knex, and erector sets introduced me to engineering.  I'm also a musician, hopefully my inbox doesnt blow up with 200 new posts on this one like that topic, lol

and my father's favorite joke when i graduated was "he's officially an engineer...now we're just waiting to find out what type of train he gets!"

Jim,

I too am an electrical engineer and love trains. I credit my boyhood trains for getting me interested in electricity. I got my first train set for Christmas in 1957. Every Christmas since, when setting up my train set, (I always started the day after Thanksgiving) I always enjoyed wiring the track and accessories best. That gave me a partial education in basic electricity and spurred my interest in electrical things and later electronic things. In high school I became a ham radio operator and my interest grew from there. Now, I am working for an electronics company with 40 years experience. I am the electrical guru for my train club and still enjoy running my trains after 57 years of model railroading. What a great hobby! 

Did my apprenticeship as a Toolmaker (Automotive Industry). I bet there are plenty of vacancies in China for Toolmakers..... 

Now co own a stainless steel fabrication company specialising in process pipework & steam systems.

 

Nick

Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering - UCSD.   Don't forget - a lot of airplane pilots are also railfans and model railroaders.  It has to do with a fascination for machinery.

Lots of engineers at NASA. I've seen a few reading through Model Railroad magazines and rail fan publications in my visits to their facilities in recent years. Even saw an astronaut two years ago thumbing through a copy of RMC and a copy of Trains magazine underneath that.

 

The funny thing about engineers, they'll do anything to put that out into the conversation to tell you what they do, even if it doesn't fit, like a woman dropping a hint about her boyfriend or husband where it doesn't seem to belong, to make sure a guy she's talking to gets that she's not interested. Where I work, there's a running joke:

Q: How can you tell if someone's an engineer?

A: Just wait a few minutes, he'll tell you.

I am a ship engineer, been sailing for 6 years now. I figure that is about as close to a train engineer as I'll get!

I am a subterranean engineer  My favorite quote

When the tides of life turn against you, and the current upsets your boat. Don't waste those tears on what might have been, just lay on your back and float

BSEE '73 Newark College of Engineering (Now known as NJIT).

 

Yes, wiring train layouts was always and still is enjoyable.  Rather due electrical work around the house instead of plumbing. 

Does the MacGyver school of engineering count? Been a Millwright for 26+ years, I do a lot of design work and quotes and a little mechanical engineering for the company I work for and at. Loved taking things apart as a kid and this has been what lead me to the Millwright field many years ago. I grew up with model train as far back as I can remember and learned to fix them myself as I seldom had the money to replace or to send them in for repairs. I LOVE THIS HOBBY!

Dan

I am a mechanical engineer with 43 years experience in aerospace structural systems, but I can't say that engineering influenced my joining the toy train hobby. My love of trains comes from my father who was collector of trains made before I was born. 

Aerospace mechanical engineer U of F 1982. Although the ME curriculum today is probably more electronics and robotics intensive, I remember the ME college department head telling me that original mechanical engineering curriculum was developed to support the development of RR steam engines. Thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, kinematics (linkages), structural design and machine design. All of those are what make a steam engine. Pretty neat and something I often reflect on as part of the hobby.

I'm an electrical engineer: couple of degrees, was a registered PE practicing it (power systems) for 37 years.  I am now retired.

I am Structural/Civil Engineer. I specialize in Buildings and Bridges. Working on getting my P.E. License this year.

 

I grew up around the construction industry, so that is mostly how I became an engineer, but I also credit the hobby. 

Joe ... I have a son in NJIT's ME Technology BS program.

Electrical Engineer - Merrimack College

 

Was thinking about chemical engineering in high school but we had a military obligation in my day, the '50s, so i joined the Air Force and asked for the longest course which was 54 weeks for Airborne Weapons Control System Specialist in Denver. When I got out I continued in the electronics field by getting an ASEE and a BSEE. After about 40 years I retired in 2001.

 

I have been playing with trains mostly 3 rail 0 gauge and a few years of H0 gauge for over 60 years.

 

Yardgoat:

 

Small world, my son has a BSCS '05 from NJIT.

 

The school and area changed a lot since I went there, both for the better.

Civil Engineer by degree, EIT for 20 yrs now, never needed my PE. I've mostly worked in construction and facilities engineering.  I've been doing occupational safety for the past 5 yrs, for a federal agency, so I've been dabbling in fire protection engineering.  I still check the railroad websites for jobs.

Mechanical Engineering with 25 years in biotec piping design and install as well as semi conductor piping.

Mikey

Astronautical Engineer with 10 (and counting) years of exprience in space operations and testing. 

 

-Dustin

BS Math and MSEE.  I have 51 years of experience doing engineering.  My specialty is analysis of dynamic systems, servomechanisms, and designing and building gyro stabilized precision gimbals for the military.  I got my first train when I was 9 in 1950.  I sold it about 5 years later.  It was a Lionel Scout, and I never liked it very much.  I kept a few things from the '50s.  I started buying trains in 1975 and now have a lot of trains, mostly Lionel.

BSEE from Pitt and 30+ years in the mass transit industry.

Yep your hired! Now I have this SC2 that just won't throw this switch ,and I cannot figure out how to phase my Post War ZW with my ZWL... and...

 

Seriously though. I am a Mechanical Engineer by profession and have done body structure development from Dodge Vipers, Amtrak trains, to Peterbilt and Kenworths.

Solving problems is in my nature... especially mechanical ones....

 

Never forget when I took my first v-8 Engine apart at 16 and put it back together. And it worked!

Surprised the Heck out of my Parents. 

 

 

 

Though not an engineer, I'm the latter.  Love machinery-airplanes, helicopters, cars, anything...That's really why I wanted to scratch build model trains.

In certain capacities I'm a network & systems engineer, does that count?

Aerospace Software Engineer.  Trains have GOT to be THE reason I went into engineering. I was splicing Christmas light wires together when I was 4 (would have an adult plug 'em in just in case they sparked - never did).  My parents gave me an electric drill and WEN soldering iron for my 8th birthday. I'd always want battery-operated toys for gifts - those things would barely last a week before I'd scrounged the guts out of them in order to experiment.

 

I've always been comfortable fixing / building / wiring things, and it's probably because of my Lionel habit. Household wiring / airplane wiring / auto mechanics / etc.

When I was 16 I put a '53 Chrysler Hemi into a 39 Ford coupe.  As soon as it was running, the family moved 400 miles from Kansas to Illinois.  The '39 ran just fine all the way.  Unfortunately, I had to sell the car to go to engineering school when I was 17.  I built a '55 hemi in 1962 & 1963 when I was a senior in college.  I put the engine into a '40 Ford convertible.  The engine was bored 1/8 over, 11:1 Jahns pistons, ported and polished, two 4 barrel carbs, lightened valves, shimmed valve springs.  It was pretty quick.  Now I drive a Chrysler 300 C SRT8.  It is a very practical car now with the low gasoline prices.

I am an EE.  I spent 30 years doing process control in industrial combustion (steel mills, ceramic, brick, glass...etc).  I currently do biomedical electronics, ultra miniature implantable devices; I work with wondrful people and we make some really cutting edge stuff.  But the fun part was all the stuff I designed at Right of Way Industries and Train America Studios. 

 

Lou N

 

Structural Engineer also.  Bridges, big bridges, mostly suspension bridges.  Lehigh University, 1991.  PE in 7 states.

 

Stu

I'm a Mechanical Engineer (BSME  from Iowa and MSE from UW- Platteville) with over 18 years experience with the last 16+ designing meat processing equipment.  I have had trains as long as I can remember but I grew up restoring classic cars with my Dad and brother.

Mechanical Engineer and started my own Marine Construction company  43 ago.

I'm an Electrical Engineer (BET UNC Charlotte, 1981). I provide control and instrumentation Engineering for HVAC and Utilities for a large Fortune 500 company.

 

Gilly

Retired mechanical engineer with forty years service, worked as an design engineer/stress engineer for two freight car builders, Thrall Car and Union Tank Car Company, 20 years combined service. Also 13 years as NICTD Commuter Rail Chief Mechanical Officer and Mechanical Department Engineering Manager, remainder of service design engineer heavy industry.

While not an engineer, I'm half way there.  Mechanical Designer, if I went back to school for 2 more years, I'd get that Engineering degree.  My wife is a Mechanical Engineer and now a Signal Engineer for rail systems.

Mechanical Engineer here.  BSME from The University of Texas at Austin in 1994.

Retired with a B.S. Engineering Technology and an M.B.A. Management. Did manufacturing, quality, and industrial engineering as an individual contributor and team project work. Also did management. Very happy that I am retired and have model railroading as a hobby. 

 

Paul Goodness

Professional steam locomotive and traction engineer, 4th Class power engineer.

 

Thom Cholowski

Saskatoon,Saskatchewan

Canada

I guess we have the engineering covered around here for model railroading. I mean driving the trains too. 

 

 

Had an interview with the N&W in 1976. Flunked the back xray; no disc between L1&L2 by age 19. That injury put an end to any hope of ever being a Locomotive engineer....

 

Gilly