How Many Of Us Are "Lone Wolves"?

Me, for one.  There may be clubs in my area but I prefer to work on my own layout and run here at home.  I have a few over 150 locos, mostly steam - including just about all the big articulated locos, but I like most to run Pacifics, Hudson, Mohawks, etc. - they just fit my layout well.  I have three separate loops and normally run four  trains: the larger loop is 135 feet around and I space two out about fifty feet apart.

 

If I joined a club it would be just to hang out with friends, not as much to run trains there.  

Well, I do belong to a club. But we only set up a couple times a year at shows. I don't make many weeknight meetings because I must wake up too early on weekdays for my day job. (Like 3:15 am.)

So I mostly am alone. I have an engine on display around the house, but pretty much it's in boxes.

I do live for those couple shows.

I do own more than one engine. It would be neat to do it so simply. Have "the" engine. Then you'd be model railroading, not collecting, as so many of us do.

 

 

I am and have culled a hopelessly oversize collection down to favorites which require further subtractions. More is better just does not work for me and I learned the hard way that "all things in moderation" still applies after too much compulsive over enthusiasm in purchasing..the illusion of obtaining a full collection when theres always something missing.

Being a lone wolf does not bother me at all or detract from enjoying the hobby. I am more satisfied with what I have as a result.

Bob,

I am definitely a lone wolf. In the south model railroaders are few and far between. I have a small (12 x 20) 2R layout that I run with one loco at a time. I use conventional 12DC power. If I change to DCC I could run a second loco easily. I model a south Mississippi short line that ran one loco 98% of the time and 2-15 car trains. I generally run 6-8 cars at a time.

 

I have a couple of more locos and I change them out sometimes. I have  no clubs or other railroaders close by so I generally run/operate alone. Not complaining, just fact. My grand kids love to watch and run when they are here. My wife is a big fan of my railroad too.

Malcolm

I love sharing my hobby with others and I enjoy my train buddies, but I have zero interest in joining a club. All of the inherent politics and junk that comes with a club isn't worth it to me. I guess when it comes to my trains I don't want to have to make decisions by committee. I like be the King of my little world.

 

One possibility I would be interested in would be a round-robin style group. I don't know of any in my area though.

 

I am purposely going to limit the number of engines on my next layout. I have a theme in mind and once I have the appropriate engines to fulfill that theme there is no reason to keep buying more. That will only take away time and money from the rest of the layout. I tend to be more layout focused rather than wanting to collect every engine I see. If I had a nice layout and all I needed was one engine to operate it I would be fine with that. I'd might have a few "spares" just incase though I know some people just like to collect the trains and are happy running them on the floor, but that doesn't cut it for me. I'd rather have a layout and fewer trains.

 

I guess I'm another one. I think there's an 0 scale club or two in the Salt Lake valley. But I'm perfectly happy here at home. 

 

I have an 88 square foot layout and run trains simultaneously on 3 independent loops on 2 levels, conventional only. Currently, I have only 8 engines, of which 5 are working. But, they're all I need, since the trains are only run about an hour and a half a week.

 

 

Vern

I am both lone wolf and club member

I am a cellar dweller and maintain a 9x20 layout in my basement. It gives me the freedom to do what I want when I want. Of course friends will stop by to try out an engine or just shoot the breeze.

 

I also belong to a club that has 70+ members and is in the process of building a 4400 sqft layout.

Both venues are rewarding

I tried the club thing twice but it just isn't for me. I did have a very close friend who was also was active in the hobby, but after his passing I've been a lone canine. The stroke I suffered really slowed me down, and subsequent heart problems limit my activity in the hobby, so the lone approach is probably best for me.

 

Jeff C

I have no club and do not no anyone in O gauge around me in NE TN.

One club over in North Carolina I am to far away to be active with. I have a 16X24 U shaped layout with far to many trains. I have tried to get some of the few people I know to bring their children or grandchildren around during Christmas but even that has not worked out to many times.  This does not deter me or keep me from being happy, happy, happy playing with trains by my self. However I will admit it would be nice to have a club around to participate with. In the last 4 years I have had only this site and the sharing individuals to really learn from and That has been very rewarding

Larry.

No club for me, though there is one close enough for me to join.   Too many other commitments and distractions for me to commit to a club schedule and social obligations.   Perhaps after I am retired.   Meanwhile, this forum is my club.

That's a good point. Even though the contact is not multi-dimensional, this forum does have a great social impact about it.

I wouldn't join a club that would have me as a member.

I'm a introvert mostly.  I'm in a local club.  But with work and family, I rarely attend meetings or set ups.   My train layout is stress relieve for my Son and I.   I go through periods when I enjoy some social interaction.   By lately,  I have been happy staying in my shell.  I've also just been lurking here on the forum recently vs. posting.  Except for this thread.

I used to be that way for many years and in a way I still am.  I don't think I would ever join a club but I have joined a group of guys that meet every Tuesday night and just hang out at someones house with a layout.  No rules, no policies, no standards just having fun running stuff on each others layouts.  Kind of nice getting to know people who share the same interests and to see all the different routes one can take in this hobby. 

Lone Star lone wolf, that's me.  The various toy train forums suit me just fine.

 

Pete

 

 

I'm pretty much a lone wolf: Just me, the basement and the S Scale Great Plywood Glacier.

 

Like most folks, I've got more locomotives (and rolling stock) than I care to admit to, (yes, it IS possible in S...) in scale, hirail and Flyer, but I keep returning to the pair of conventional DC 2-8-0's that make up the backbone of my railroad.

 

Rusty

No club in my area.  Even if there was, I would only go to meet some others with a common interest, not to run trains or build a club layout.  The biggest bonus of joining a club for me would be the knowledge of other people.  I could use it on my home layout.

Trains are a way for me to relax.  Enjoy it most by myself.  Even my wife realizes it & respects my limited time I get to pull an engine out of the box and look at it (no layout yet). 

As for locomotives, I have 2 more Lionel UP steamers & I am done.  Got a killer deal on MTH UP turbines, so I picked them up.  Got all I need.

Look forward to building my layout.

I have a few friends who are railfans and we do railfan things together, there are clubs in the area, but I just don't have the time. I'm a musician and I work a lot in the evenings either running rehearsals or working at my alma mater recording concerts. Which is why forums like this and social media are all the more important.

Me.  It was not the case back in the 80's & 90's went to every

NETCA, Greenburg's meet. and loved each one I attended.  Many

of the guy's I befriended have since passed away.  

 

My health in recent years has not been the best.  My train room is

a great sanctuary.  There I can enjoy the trains that I have and the

great stories that go with them from my days going to train meets,

with a great group of train lovers. The memories of those great deals,

the coffee, and the one's that gut away.  

 

Good times. and at present I enjoy this Forum for all the current opinions,

and facts about this great hobby.

 

Many thanks,

 

Billy C 

I have been looking for an O gauge club in my area of approx. 2.3 million people. So far in 3 years, haven't found one. Only a couple of HO clubs. LHS does not know of an O club either, I've asked. Have met a few O-gaugers at my LHS, but many I have only seen one time, so don't know them well. A few I have met were here visiting from out of town. Guess that puts me in the lone wolf club.

Bob,

 

I guess for the most part I fit into the group of Lone Wolves. I recently left TCA - little bang (pop) for the buck - so I no longer attend YORK where all of my train friends show up twice yearly. There are no 3 rail guys in my immediate area that I am aware of, so I get few visitors to my Metacomet Central Railroad. Most of my socializing is done here, and on my own forum which has now been rendered near useless since Google recreated their group forums to something they call Neo-Google - If it ain't broke, don't fix it! When I need something repaired I drive up to Marty (Fitzhenry) and that is always a treat since he and Dolly are such nice folks.

 

Yes Bruce I do.

Larry

Very interesting thread. I have commented several times about our hobby as being a bunch of cave dwellers. It is surprising how many of us exist. When I got serious about my layout I joined the LCCA. you can go on their web site and search by towns and find other members. In my small community, three towns on Aquidneck Island pop 65,500 there are 14 members. I have managed to meet one.

So, I guess you could classify me as a cave dweller, lone wolf. That being said, what really got me socially involved was this forum. I have attended several members open houses' which has been followed up by making friends with members and getting to know them in the real world. I fully expect to continue those friendships because I enjoy the company and because it has lead me to a vast improvement in my interst and growth in the hobby.

 

The last question relative to one engine is NO WAY! I am an operator and run many different consists of both post war and modern equipment. I don't really collect engines but I need a reasonable size group to "play" with.

I am a lone wolf in a city of one million  as I run Lionel 027   and most every one includingthe various clubs  run HO    I run one  engine at a time,    the one I recieded in 1959  from Santa Claus    

Bob,

I am a member in TCA & TTOS both on the national level. I would classify myself as a "Lone Wolf". There are no local divisions anywhere near by. Since I run only tinplate from the 1910-1934 era. I'm all alone and isolated even more. This is fine as it does allow me more time to focus on my trains and practice being a, "Lone Wolf" even more.

I live in the city, all the guys in my family don't live even 15 minutes away,and they know that just about any Saturday afternoon they could come over, go up to the train room and drink some beer,shoot the s..t, I gave up asking years ago.

my wife says that they have no interest,It would be like asking me to come over and look at a coin collection,I keep telling her that I think it's a little different,because of the different aspects of scenery,construction etc,She says that's because I find that interesting

As for the lone wolf aspect,

Living in the city,I can walk to the corner to a bar

Anyway a few year's ago on a Saturday I'm on my way out to go have one or three, and I'm just thinking that the regulars there really don't have much to talk about with you.

You tell em,Hey I went to the beach today,or I went to the drag's today,well they look at you like you're from another planet,they don't do stuff,they sit in a bar all day.

So I usually end up sitting there by myself.

Well before I leave,I thought wouldn't that be neat if the bar had a layout,then I thought, wait a minute,If I'm gonna be sitting by myself, I can sit upstairs by myself and drink some beer and run some trains,

And so began mostly when we are home on Saturday afternoons,late in the day I'll go upstairs and just sit and enjoy the trains,drink a couple of beers.

The end

With trains, no question I am. Part of it is forced because as far as I know there is only one other O gauger on the island and I lost his phone number. He reads the forum sometimes so maybe he can contact me again. But even my last layout on the mainland was my private place. Hardly anyone even knew I had a layout. It was a little to personal for me to share though I loved sharing it in OGR and this forum. Don 

Am a "lone wolf" in several respects - have NEVER been to York, and have NEVER had a desire to go, yet have been a TCA member form 1974-1984 and 1991-present.

 

Human nature, eh? 

 

Prefer to run MY trains ONLY on my layout, and generally by myself. Visit train shops but not for the social aspects.

 

DO buy and sell on the OGR Forum - member since about 2001, but do NOT sell on auction sites, nor do I attend auctions.

The LONE WOLF gets all the LONELY FOXES!!! We have a saying at the auctions...no friends after 10am!!!  Ron B.

Yes.  reluctantly.  I tried to start a club here in Beaumont Ca. without much luck.

Am I a Lone Wolf ??  Yes I am.  I started in this Hobby 11 to12 years ago after I was into HO when I was a kid. I have a lot of equipment and $$$$ invested but I still have not completed my layout due to all the surgery I have gone through. The biggest being the Loss of my right Leg 3 years ago. But I will be going soon since I have been building this current layout since last year. Then I went for a Valve replacement surgery back in November. I have Built this Layout 97% by myself with a very little help from my Son who shows no interest in the hobby what so ever. I just built a yard extension which adds another 16 feet to the layout.. So give it some time and I'll be back playing with my Trains. Hear are a few photos of my progress

Scot

Have fun building your layout and keep us posted.

I am in the processes of taking mine down.

Charlie Are you going to do another layout?  or are you getting out of the hobby? Either way I wish you the best.     Scot

I am a lone Wolf. I do not know how clubs work, but I know I would not be able to attend meetings on a regular basis. I am comfortable running my own layout, I have two loops. I run two Legacy engines separated on one loop and one TMCC engine on the other loop.

 

Lone Wolf? Can't say for sure. My neighbor is building his layout, I'm helping him and have brought over engines and cars to run. He comes over and helps me, and runs  his stuff on mine also. We have both made suggestions for each others and adds to our fun factor of running trains. Since we live next to each others, its only a few steps.

I'm in Calgary. City of over 1,150,000.  No "O" gauge club.   I only have 2 locos now for my 4 x 8 layout. 1 TMCC and 1 DCS.

I live in south Jersey and I'm sure that there are more than a few clubs here and over in Philly but I'd rather go it alone.  My train room is something of an escape pod and I enjoy the privacy that it provides me.  Its kind of funny that this topic came up because in my family I'm known as "The Lone Wolf" and I suppose I am something of a Maverick.  I just like to go my own way.

I have tried to get involved with a train club here in the West Palm Beach FL area but they have only H.O. train clubs here, so I won't join one because of no O gauge club.

I went to the train club at the South Florida Fairgrounds here in WPB FL and wasn't enthused with them because they are into DCC & Digitrax stuff. I do a little H.O. but it would cost me big money(and I don't have money for it) to change over to DCC and scale Kadee couplers for H.O.

 

So for now I will stick to running my own O gauge trains and tubular track.

I have the MTH DCS command control and four engines that work with the DCS.

 

As for new engines if I can afford them they will be Williams because of keeping it simple and no command control. With rolling stock I will buy what I can afford or like to buy.

 

Lee Fritz