What's in a name?

TrainsRMe was inspired somewhat unimaginatively by Toys R Us, and reflects the fact that trains have evolved into my main diversion.

It was completely at random.  Twenty or so years ago I signed up to a social site.  I noticed that most of the participants used made up screen names.  So, loving trains as I do I just put some railroad names together and picked this one.

i just got used to using it so I used it here too, without the character number limitations.

"Railroaded" comes from my sarcastic wit & dry sense of humor because I work for a railroad & some times in life in general you can't help ending up getting screwed over once in a while. It's a train load of irony. 

First forum name: "Beowulf" - I was an Anglo Saxon (Old English) scholar in graduate school

Second forum name: "Multi-Gauge Art" - at one time I operated LGB, Lionel/MTH O, and MTH standard gauge

Third and present forum name: "Tinplate Art" - I operate mostly Lionel Classics/MTH/LTI standard gauge with some Lionel O and one G scale live steam engine

One winter,when I was 11, I accepted my uncle's offer to ride the freight where he was conductor. I met him at a nearby switch when they stopped and we got into the caboose. There was a crusty, railroady man sitting in the shadows in the corner near the small pot belly stove. He was introduced to me as "Moonman". This guy was scary looking to me, kind of like the disappearing hobo in The Polar Express movie, only more crusty. 

That vision has remained, so, I honor it with that user name.  

Glad to be asked. I use Moonson because that is who I am. That is, back in the 40's, my father was a foreman for U.S. Steel in Pennsylvania. His friends gave him the nickname, "Moon," though I have no idea why. Even my mother called him "Moon" upon occasion. Well, I adored him, and he and I (until he died in 1955) loved trains - real and toys/models - so once I got into this hobby, I named my layout "Moon Township" after him (not the town in PA) and consider myself Moon's son.

FrankM.

Moon and his son

My nickname and favorite railroad. 

Gilly

Moonson, that's a great tribute to your father! Thanks for the photos!

my favorite railroad, Delaware, Lackawanna & Western.

and my first name.

Long live Miss "Phoebe Snow"

I second that!!

I use my real name but am not a real person.

What, me worry?

What a nice thing for two guys to say and to take the time to say so. Thank you,very much, for the kindness.

FrankM.

Moonson, there are some good stories here, but I think yours is the best.  And the first photo of you with your trains is quite charming, but that second one:  I'll bet if something happened to that photo you'd still have it etched within your brain.  It's great.

The New York Central Lines is my favorite railroad .

Seriously my name isn't Rich Melvin.  It's my first name and last name initial.  MartyE

Neighbor kid dubbed me "Farmer Bill" because I was always out in the yard doing something and he figured I must be a farmer.

I'm trumptrain because I am a musician that plays the trumpet and i love music and of course I love trains.  Music and trains are my two greatest passions.  Easy enough :-)

Happy Railroading

Patrick W - The Free State Junction Railway " Where the music is sweet and the trains run on time "

When I joined the forum waaaaay back around 1998 or so I didn't know about forum nicknames so I used my real name. Not as heartwarming as Moonson's story, is it?  

My name is Roy and I added the "boy" part in an effort to reclaim my lost youth.

Oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, and here, all along, I thought you actually were a farmer!

Ya' learn something every day (and  ya' sure can't "judge" a fella by his avatar/moniker, can ya' ?) Ya' li'l bugger, you fooled me good! It was that easy-going, salt-of-the-earth quality to your jocularity that had me believing you were one of those good people who till the land for the rest of us. I'd still bet money you are a good ol' guy, though.
 FrankM.

Are you at least named Bill?

 Well I had to come up with something. The guys at work hassled me when it was bring a train to work day. They said what do you sit down cellar with an outfit on and yell choo choo? You think you're some kind of engineer?

 I was into building and construction. I started overbuilding stuff when I was in charge. We pulled a whole wall out of a house to add an addition out the back with open concept. I looked at the drawing and made changes. I didn't want anything done cheaply that I'd regret. I put in a steel beam that alone would carry the snow load and weight instead of wood. Above that I engineered a truss for extra safety. Onto that I nailed plywood full to roof as I learned to due out west in earthquake areas. Someone working with me asked if I thought I was the engineer on the site??

 I ran sound reinforcement systems and never used the proper title there either. So Hey! I'm a self proclaimed... engineer. U asked me!

Hmm, spell checker swapped out the wrong lettering now. Guess no one else can use it?

 (I like Moonson's story too. I never knew what Nicole's was 'til now. cool post)

Thank you, sir. I carry that photo with me to this day, in my wallet.

If you folks will indulge me further, here's a shot of my father indulging me . He let me run the trains and operate the switches, even crawl under the layout (through the paperbrick skirting) to lay on my back and look up at the platform and listen as the trains - a Lionel Scout and a Lionel 1666 - jetted around their assigned loops. It was heaven.

It still is.

Moon's son.

That makes 2 of us!  While I don't know Bill, I've certinaly seen him at York enough times and may have been a table or 2 away from him at dinner several times at various restaurants over the years.  I also truly believed he was a farmer.

As to me, mine is my first name and a certain number that may just happen to coincide with my member number in an organization.  (though many people apparently just think of me as "Dave with all the numbers" when I explain that to them! )

-Dave

Moonson

Great story. As to your father being known as Moon, I wonder if that could have had something to do with "Moon Mullins," which was one of the most popular "Sunday Funnies" comic strips of the 1930's and 40's. Back in those days everybody read the Sunday funnies - it was like watching "Breaking Bad" these days. 

No. I don't think so, though I am aware of how popular that comic strip was. I had thought that "Moon Mullins" might have been the inspiration for the nickname, but upon seeing the comicstrip character, myself, he ( a drunken sot and obese, if I recall correctly) was so far the polar-opposite of my father  that I could not see any reason for the nickname coming from that "Mullins." Unlike the character, a rolly-polly clown, my father looked and acted more like Clark Gable, in my child's mind, trim and dignified, always dressed immaculately (he never even came home dirty from the steel mill,) and wore his crisp, tailored suits and starched dress shirts every Sunday to Mass. On one occasion, when I asked him why he always carried a linen handkerchief in his pocket, he replied (this was in the early 50's,) "In case a lady ever needed one."

I carry one, to this day.

Moon's son, Frank

P.S. Yet, where you say "... had something to do with..." I wondered if his friends saw something in that popularity that related to my father's hometown popularity, which was considerable, apparent even to this child's awareness. However, when such a connection was suggested, decades ago, to a cousin - his sister's daughter who was a teenager when I was a boy and also treasured him - she rejected the idea heartily.

I thank you, of course, for your suggestion and interest, as well as your very kind words, SouthwestHiawatha. You brought back even more memories.

P.P.S. I apologize to everybody for taking up so much space, here, with my replies, though I have much enjoyed the conversations.

No apologies necessary, Moonson.  I believe we are enjoying the conversations as well.  By the way, I think you had someone around who was a capable photographer.  The photos are all spectacular.