Train Set Jealousy

Manny, you get 2 minutes more a month of your wife's attention when running trains than I get, the only caveat to that is when  people would visit, then she would trip all over herself showing them the layout that was in the upstairs loft.

We are building a new house and my train room, hobby shop, man cave will be in a building behind the house, so I am imagining that her only visits would be when she has company she can show off to.

Manny...

Sounds familiar.  First date with my wife we were exchanging interests/hobbies/etc..  I think I mumbled something about 'trains'.  Her eyes grew big as saucers...and that was what we talked about over dinner on into the rest of the evening.  And now, she's as much...sometimes more...into this hobby than I!

Trains.  Model railroading.  York.  Pre-war, Post-war, Modern.  Who'da thought it would be the ultimate 'Chick Magnet'???

Oughta rethink that door sign, pal!

KD

Can’t you do a swap?

  I'm too old now for a swap. 

  It took me ten years to get use to my wife's New Jersey accent.

Mannyrock

People from NJ do not have an accent - just like people from Philadelphia do not have an accent

We just moved to Charleston SC and everyone down here keeps asking me to say the word “water” - then they laugh - apparently it’s entertainment for them 😊🤣

I’m originally from NE Philly 🙄

Stick with your wife

@dorfj2 posted:

People from NJ do not have an accent - just like people from Philadelphia do not have an accent

We just moved to Charleston SC and everyone down here keeps asking me to say the word “water” - then they laugh - apparently it’s entertainment for them 😊🤣

I’m originally from NE Philly 🙄

Stick with your wife

I am from Texas.  I went to the Aetna School in Hartford with a guy from Jersey.  It was an interesting experience.

I'm actually surprised when one of my wife's friends expressed interest in my hobby.  I don't have a real layout yet, soon I hope, but when she tells them about it while rolling her eyes, every once in awhile someone starts asking her questions, which she relays to me later.  The questions are good ones, showing that they were into the hobby at one point.  My sister liked the train set, and she asks about it all the time.

Yeah Guys, its pronounced "Watt-Terr" not "Woo-Ta"  :-)

Course, in SC, it's pronounced "Wadda"  :-O

Mannyrock

A little off topic but here is a happy New Jersey  bartender. Jersey girls are unique.

Great story. She's a keeper and a rarity I'm sure. Could you imagine how much fun this woman would be on a train trip?

Wow, I’m a lucky guy, not only did my wife care about my love of Toy trains, she built our home and had the contractor put a basement under the house. Now, you need to know she is happy for me to love toy trains, but she says don’t drag her into it.  She knows it keeps me out of trouble as I’m always under her feet. She came to the basement when CDE TV Lightband came to our home (6 days of filming) and did a filming of the layout for a TV series on a local channel. She actually took a closer look at all of our work and liked it, which made me happy. She invites her friends to check out the trains and has been a great help when the TCA tour bus brought 38 folks to visit our home. Yes, @Don McErlean from Waco Texas was on the tour bus and is a very active OGR Forum member. (Larry on the left, Don on the right) We all had fun. Next Monday, July 25th, the LCCA tours will be at our home, more fun, this time several busses…. You all are invited to, if your a member of the LCCA. Great Story, Happy Railroading Everyone

@Mannyrock posted:

Hey Guys,

       My wife has little to zero interest in my train hobby or layout, and only watches me run it about 2 minutes of month, just because she happens to be in the basement.

       But, yesterday, one of her girlfriends who grew up in Pittsburg came to visit us, and apparently her father was a manager for one of the big railroads for 30 years.  She went crazy when she saw my layout,  and was calling out all of the railroad line names.  She and her brothers all had layouts when they were growing up, and their basement wall was covered with real railroad signs.

      So, she spent about an hour and a half building different trains of box cars and coal cars, and running the trains and switches.

      Of course, my wife is now really mad at me, because she said I "hi-jacked" her friend's visit.

     Hey, . . . who knew?

      Guess I'll have to put a big sign on the basement door:  "NO GIRLS ALLOWED!"   :-O

Mannyrock

Mannyrock I noticed you left the “H” of off Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is the only”burg” in the State of PA spelled with the “H” on the end. If you wife’s friend should catch that little misspelling she may just let you have it! 😁😀🚂

Thanks for correcting me RJT!

Mannyrock

      As to the interest in train sets by older women in the 50+ age range, I suspect that most of them had fathers back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s who had a nice layout in the basement, and even though those women may not have been deeply involved in the hobby, the mention of layouts brings back fond warm memories of their fathers and the layouts.

Just a thought.

Mannyrock

I have a 12X8 permanent O layout in the attic, My wife has her own  N  4X3 in the dining room

My wife of 38 years has no interest in trains, but since she knew I liked trains, she bought me a load of lumber for my 40th birthday so I could start a layout in the attic of the house we had bought a few years earlier.

29 years later we are still in the same house, and she still has no interest in trains. But at least she knows where I am, and she enjoys my little "show and tell" presentations of my latest creations.

I have an agreement with my girlfriend:  She won't talk about how many trains I have, and I won't talk about how many shoes she has.

Frank I’m with you - I don’t get the shoe thing 😊 - oh well if that’s what she wants 🙄

All I can say is LOL

@Frank Mulligan, I understand about the Shoe thing, Wow, as I said earlier in this thread, my wife helped me with my train room, but, she loves shoes, purses, Jewelry, shopping, so, I do not question her purchases, but she does think I have enough trains??? I will say, now that I’m getting old, (soon to be 78) she will help me work on the layout any time I need help. So, we are very happy. She knows we will be downsizing soon, it’s a good thing. Happy Railroading Everyone