Lionel catalogs on "The Big Bang Theory"

2008 Signature Edition, Volume 1 is the top... 

Yep. Thats it.   My screen cut it off but the living room TV showed it pretty well. 

we really want to get them to our club layout..

Well, Sheldon always says "It's O scale or no scale".  

Then he went out and got an HO set

I think it is pretty darn cool that a show as popular as the Big Bang Theory sometimes features model trains or real trains (remember the train trip when the met the Terminator Girl? or the fellow train nerd that made Amy jealous?).

But, what would be cooler is if they had a show that centered on "O gauge" and was more of the episodes focus.

Might get some of these high spending techies to buy more trains instead of iPhone Apps!

and it looks like the one underneath that is the:

2008 Ready to Run Catalog

Stu

http://www.LionelNation.com/
All Lionel, All The Time

Any way you slice it, this is good publicity for our hobby.

He actually said, "O gauge or no gauge," and I always wish they'd filmed a scene where someone tells him it's a scale issue as gauge indicates width of track and not the ratio of size of the equipment.

I'm not too sure that the show's representation of model trains and people into them are positive at all. They're usually done in a seriously unflattering way.

All that said, I'm a big fan of the show and am consistently baffled as to why this show is so popular (and even more baffled as to why my wife likes it as she's not into anything they talk about and rarely gets the pop culture or sci fi references).

"Big Bang Theory?"

So do we.

He's also got several Lionel trains on his dresser, but I forget in which episodes they are visible.

Leonard and Sheldon like to hang out on my layout...

-Eric Siegel

It's really nothing more than a fun and entertaining show, obviously supported by a great team of writers and a fine cast.  There's no need to try to dissect or analyze it for something that it isn't.  Sheldon is a train (and other) nerd because people who are excessively compulsive about their hobbies--trains or otherwise--are generally seen by "outsiders" as nerds.  Trains and "train nuts" provide good fodder for such comedic treatment.

Marty,

Looks like quite a few seasons back.  Do you know which episode this was?

Jon

He also got an N-sclae locomotive. It was small enough to fit in his mouth

It was actually last nights broadcast re-run.  I'll have to check the DVR and let you know.

Model trains or reference to them have been in practically everything from 1950's Gumby animations to things like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Father Brown, Sherlock and the comics.

Other than a warm fuzzy for the modeling community, I doubt it has any significant influence with most folks one way or the other.

Rusty

Come to York, you will see that they are pretty close to being as portrayed.

Allan, send some copies of OGR to the producers

Last night's episode with catalogs was: 

Season 7, Episode 20
The Relationship Diremption

first aired April 10, 2014.

Season 5 episode 3

"It's O gauge or no gauge"

I completely agree.

While I love this show, it seems that any time model railroaders are mentioned in this show or other mainstream media, modelers are portrayed as nerdy, awkward, anti-social geeks. We are certainly not portrayed in any kind of positive or flattering way.

And what exactly is inaccurate about that portrayal, might I ask?  Seems that how we're portrayed on TV, whether it's the character Sheldon in BBT or Herb Melnick in Three and a Half Men, the perception of participants in this hobby as cooky, arrested-personality oddballs on par with similarly obsessive and quirky Trekkies is there for a reason.

FWIW, I'm in the IT field.  In the distant past, being called a geek was considered an insult.  Nowadays it's considered a badge of honor in our field.  

"Now, I’m thinking about fractal equations. Now I’m thinking about the origin of the phrase train of thought. Now I’m thinking about trains." - Sheldon Cooper

"Gentlemen, this is the Coast Starlight, one of the great American trains operating on one of the classic American routes. On this side, you’ll see panoramic ocean vistas inaccessible to any other form of transportation, while on your side, you’ll be treated to 350 miles of CostCos, Jiffy Lubes, and cinderblock homes with above-ground pools." - Sheldon Cooper

"In what world is a 4-4-6-4 a 4-10-4?" - Sheldon Cooper

The series is chock full of train stuff. To my knowledge there are 2 episodes where most of the episode takes place on a train and then, of course, the cliffhanger at the end of the most recent season (7) has Sheldon boarding a train for a trip by himself to get away from things.

If you can't tell, I'm a huge fan.

Thanks,

Eric Siegel

This is yet another of several threads on this forum that's come up about the Big Bang Theory and main character Sheldon Cooper's love of model trains. I too, am a huge fan of the series and am amused whenever this comes up.

But this series is in its eighth season now and the model train references overall, have been few and far between. Every time Sheldon mentions something about model trains or something is shown in reference to the hobby, some members on this forum just seem to go crazy, then we get a rehash of everything that's been mentioned before.

Sheldon's love of model trains does add more "quirkiness" to the show and hardly portrays those who love model trains in a positive light. But, who cares?

Exactly right!  Too many people spend way too much time fretting over perceptions that may be held by others.  Be yourself, which is all you can be in any case, and don't worry about how something you care about is depicted in a TV sit-com.  In the grand scheme of things, it's meaningless and trivial.

An evening of lively train talk at "Jerry's Junction" is what we all need

Yep.....My real job was an IT Senior System Analyst for almost 25 years. 

I have no problem wearing the geek badge.  We won......many of the 'normal' folks are still working and lesser jobs.....so I kinda feel things equal out.....I'm retired playing trains.

As for Big Bang...I enjoy it. No Seinfeld maybe but good fun......and I laugh at all the train references.....no matter flattering or not.

I'd like to know if there is a connection.....writer, producer or director....between BB and King of Queens?? While King of Queens did not have as much model train references they had many.....even if only in the background of Spence's apt or at Doug's Dad's train shows. They also had a few toy collector episodes.......wonder in there is any connections?

I get a real kick out of it.  I think I have watched Sheldon fill out the forms for Penny's dislocated shoulder ten times. (Lack of Adhesive Ducks)

Being a model train freak is a lot like being a liberal - you gotta have guts to admit it.  The average adult looks upon us as men playing with dollhouses.

I admit to both - do not give a darn if folks think I am a nerd.  I do more macho things than most, even though I have a fear of heights.  I create art with my locomotives, and I stick to my liberal principles, even when all my friends are to the right of Limbaugh.

Sheldon is a lot like some scientists I have known.  My friends who are real scientists do not get it - I think it might strike a little too close to home.

All opinion.

I have a co-worker who is convinced that I'm Sheldon's buddy from the Dinner Train episode.  Thing is, I saw that episode and immediately thought of every annoying guy I've been stuck next to on an Amtrak trip...

Jon

 The IMDB is your friend... 

I use IMDB but never this cross reference existed.  Now to figure out WHO???

Its merely a PROP, used to identify a FICTIONAL CHARACTER. Nothing more, nothing less.

Anytime something (even remotely) "train related" pops up outside of this forum some folks get a bit carried away with the overthinking.

This hobby is not mainstream, and most of the general public does not care about it.....its ok.

We, as a group, make note of it here because ONE of the many things most of us have in common is detail. The saying 'It's all in the details' is a good quote as far as describing many of us.  Attention to detail is what attracts me to movies, TV shows (binge watching Boardwalk Empire now), any type of miniature weather trains cars or planes. Little details like Lionel catalogs on the night stand means someone knows....cares....has an eye for detail and many of us like that....and appreciate it.

I get that, I believe that was Marty's point in his first post.

Its just the "over analysis" of a FICTIONAL character after that that seems a little over the top.

Having said that, I be willing to bet the majority of Big Bang Theory fans didn't pay any attention to what catalog was on his nightstand.

Given the language and subject matter on the show, it certainly isn't welcoming "newcomers " to the hobby.

Agreed....a very small number of folks caught it. But it's kinda like the 'Easter Eggs' they put in DVD and BR disks.....fun to catch the inside details!!

Wow this was over analyzed to ninth degree.