What are your other hobbies beside trains

[ryan125hst]

I haven't posted on here much in recent months and while the commitments of university are one reason for this (shopping, cooking, washing up, laundry plus timetabled lectures/seminars/labs as well as coursework certainly eats up a lot of time!), another reason for this is due to the fact that I have other interests beside trains.

Over the summer, I spent much of my time watching Vulcan XH558 taking off, landing and flying past with my family as I am lucky enough to live only half an hour away from her base at Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport, so whenever she was heading south she passed us within viewing distance from our house, and it isn't far to travel to see her take off and land. This got me looking at aviation again, from fighter jets and air shows to technical things such as radar. It's easy to get into aviation when RHDS is down the road and there are many light aircraft flying over my house (when I'm not at uni) from Gamston which is even closer!

More recently, I've been quite interested in mobile phone signals and how they work. The four main operators (EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone) all have differing spectrum and bandwidth for their 2G, 3G and 4G services and as someone who is studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering, I have enjoyed finding out about the pros and cons of each network and the reasons behind this, as well as how mobile technology will progress in the future. I have signed up to Digital Spy Forums as a result and I have seen train classes mentioned on there on more than one occasion, so I'm sure there are other RailUK members on there as well!

Any technology interests me really- I'm technically minded and end up going online and finding out how things work. I was looking at digital cinema again last week having gone to the cinema a couple of times recently. I can't believe most cinemas still show films in 2K- barely more than HD. Mind you, it'll surprise you even more when I tell you that most used 35mm film until five years ago or so!

The problem is that when I get looking into something, I get so focussed on it that I end up pushing trains aside for a while, and probably not coming on here much either! Mind you, I'm the same with trains though and can all too easily spend ages on here, or watching rail videos or learning about signalling systems etc.

Well that's me anyway. The question is, do you have any other hobbies as well as trains, and if so, do you find that you're like me and tend to flick between them but struggle to enjoy them all at once (I hope that makes sense?)

Ryan

 

[Oswyntail]

Yes, but as I get tired of one, the next one comes up and taps me on the shoulder. But I do have two types, those I rotate, and those I never tire of.
Never tire - Piano playing, cooking, reading, crosswords

Rotate - Archery, photography, model making, birding - and trains.

 

[Minilad]

I am a man of many anoraks

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

For me, my life is Star Trek (excluding Bad Robot produced films).
The morals and philosophy from the show are principles I believe in greatly, Gene Roddenberry was a true visionary.
The six series, ten films, and countless books, games and fan films show a future which isn't a dystopia. And the design of the series is also of great interest to me as Space has always fasinated me.

I also like Trams (if that counts as non train), buses and other mass public transport, Planets and Satelite Planets, high detail Maps, Physics (like Quantom Englement & Hawking Radiation), Local History, Strategy Games, Computer games like: (Chris Sawyer's Locomotion, Freelancer, Railroad Tycoon 3, Civ 3 Complete, Sim City 3 & 4, GTA SA, GT 3, Minecraft, Mario, etc), Women (which I'm not having any luck meeting nowadays), Dinosaurs (although all my books are wrong now.

I've been spending alot of time recently trying to stop bad things happening in Grimsby in the near future (demolition of six tower blocks, a shopping centre, a swimming pool, the central library, etc), but I've lost my vote now so can only speak out against these bad ideas. The local library reopening has been a great relief for me.

 

[Zoidberg]

In my spare time, I'm learning how to play the flute, how to split the atom, how to construct box girder bridges and how to irrigate the Sahara and make vast new areas cultivatable

EDIT: Perhaps I ought to own up to that being a Month Python reference, in case folk think I am dafter than they already do.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Radio, particularly local and more particularly communitty radio. Buses and other transport too

 

[radamfi]

More recently, I've been quite interested in mobile phone signals and how they work. The four main operators (EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone) all have differing spectrum and bandwidth for their 2G, 3G and 4G services and as someone who is studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering, I have enjoyed finding out about the pros and cons of each network and the reasons behind this, as well as how mobile technology will progress in the future. I have signed up to Digital Spy Forums as a result and I have seen train classes mentioned on there on more than one occasion, so I'm sure there are other RailUK members on there as well!

In the mobile phone section of DS there is a mobile phone expert who also posts here a lot with a similar username.

I've toggled between radio/broadcasting and trains/transport over the years and I was very active on DS from about 2005 to 2010 when I was probably more interested in radio. At the time I became quite well known in a certain stratum of the radio world so when I started to post here a lot someone on DS messaged me to ask if it was the same person. I'm back on DS now a bit more now that a number of radio stations are about to start up on the second national DAB network, including the return of Talk Radio and Virgin Radio.

 

[alexf380]

I, myself, am currently in training to become an actor, so the theatre is something that does interest me greatly. I also have a (sadly declining) interest in the NFL. Declining only because I've lost my subscription to Sky Sports, so I've no way of watching it anymore. I've also got a member of the opposite sex to keep happy, but if I chuck her a box of chocolates and a kiss every so often it generally keeps a smile on her face.

And then, of course, there's trains. I could talk about those all day...

 

[Ash Bridge]

Any technology interests me really- I'm technically minded and end up going online and finding out how things work. I was looking at digital cinema again last week having gone to the cinema a couple of times recently. I can't believe most cinemas still show films in 2K- barely more than HD. Mind you, it'll surprise you even more when I tell you that most used 35mm film until five years ago or so.

Well that's me anyway. The question is, do you have any other hobbies as well as trains, and if so, do you find that you're like me and tend to flick between them but struggle to enjoy them all at once (I hope that makes sense?)

Ryan

Well my other long term hobby is home theatre and I dare not tell my wife how much I have spent over the last twenty years on this passion, regarding your comments on the use of film in cinemas it may surprise you to learn that we are only now (with 4K digital formats) just approaching the resolution that film could achieve, it's also interesting that some Hollywood movie makers are reverting to shooting blockbusters on film again and turning their backs on digital, for example Spielbergs 'Warhorse' was shot entirely on celluloid apparently.

 

[Busaholic]

Well my other long term hobby is home theatre and I dare not tell my wife how much I have spent over the last twenty years on this passion, regarding your comments on the use of film in cinemas it may surprise you to learn that we are only now (with 4K digital formats) just approaching the resolution that film could achieve, it's also interesting that some Hollywood movie makers are reverting to shooting blockbusters on film again and turning their backs on digital, for example Spielbergs 'Warhorse' was shot entirely on celluloid apparently.

I still use a camera with film, and believe vinyl is superior to other forms of reproduction of good pop and rock music. Glad to hear Spielberg is so enlightened too, though no doubt he'll be classified as an old fogey or, even worse, a Luddite by some.

 

[jp4712]

Trains are very much my second hobby. First priority is keeping my 'toy' on the road...

Click for bigger version


Rochdale 235, Museum of Transport Greater Manchester, October 2015 by Paul Williams, on Flickr

 

[RichmondCommu]

I have several; football being the main one. I used to play five a side until recently (not bad for a 49 year old ) but following a recent injury (and several hours in A & E) I've now retired. However I have supported Derby County since I was a little boy and my two daughters and my youngest son all have season tickets, as do I and my Dad and my two sisters!

I also love hill walking although our trips to the Lakes / Peak District / Yorkshire Dales are sadly few and far between.

I also love music although I can't play a note! My wife and I have a large record collection and try and see one gig a month. The latest gig were the Maccabees and they were ACE!

Finally, I'm also building a model railway (my first) however progress is slow! I spend around two hours a week on it and I'm trying to construct everything from kits / scratch build where ever I can.

 

[RichmondCommu]

I've been spending alot of time recently trying to stop bad things happening in Grimsby in the near future (demolition of six tower blocks, a shopping centre, a swimming pool, the central library, etc), but I've lost my vote now so can only speak out against these bad ideas. The local library reopening has been a great relief for me.

I hope you don't mind me asking but how have you managed to lose your right to vote?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Besides the large amount of time that I spend on this website, I think that the historical side of railway companies is one that I spend much time upon and I still have O S Nock as one of my favourite authors. Being 70, I am no longer as active as I once was.

 

[NY Yankee]

I like to workout. I do both cardio and weights

I play the viola (an instrument similar to the violin) on and off

I like to watch YouTube videos. My favorite videos are old cartoons (X-Men, Spiderman, Batman, etc). I also like European dance songs.

I'm 31 and I'm trying to meet a nice woman. I haven't had any success. Hopefully when/if I travel to Europe (UK, France, Netherlands, Germany), I'll meet someone.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Well that's me anyway. The question is, do you have any other hobbies as well as trains, and if so, do you find that you're like me and tend to flick between them but struggle to enjoy them all at once (I hope that makes sense?)

Funny thing is, I don't actually see trains per se as a hobby - for me, it's more a general interest in sustainable transport. For other interests - Labour and politics takes up a lot of my time, but I love most forms of science, computer programming and technology too. And some performing arts. And languages. And yes, I'm the same as you - so many interests that it's a struggle for me to keep up

I also like Trams (if that counts as non train), buses and other mass public transport, Planets and Satelite Planets, high detail Maps, Physics (like Quantom Englement & Hawking Radiation), Local History, Strategy Games, Computer games like: (Chris Sawyer's Locomotion, Freelancer, Railroad Tycoon 3, Civ 3 Complete, Sim City 3 & 4, GTA SA, GT 3, Minecraft, Mario, etc), Women (which I'm not having any luck meeting nowadays), Dinosaurs (although all my books are wrong now.

Civ3? Well since Civ has come up, I may as well give a plug for anyone who likes playing Civ4, for the Games of the Month which I help to run. You download a map, play the game, submit your result, and compare your game with others. It's great fun - umm - well, if you like Civ that is Probably inexplicable if you don't like or have never heard of Civ! Latest game (spot the site that uses the same forums software as railforums...) There are games of the month for Civ3 and Civ5 too, but I'm not involved with those.

I used to love Transport Tycoon (and to a lesser extent Locomotion) btw, but that was in the days when computers were less powerful and games were less sophisticated. Sadly, now I find those games insufficiently complex/realistic

Rather agree with you about StarTrek and ethical values.

In the mobile phone section of DS there is a mobile phone expert who also posts here a lot with a similar username.

Gosh, you mean I have my own mobile phone section? Well I never! Sometimes I even surprise myself

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

I hope you don't mind me asking but how have you managed to lose your right to vote?

The government changed from household registration to individual registration on the electoral roll, I was sent a letter from the council threatening me with a fine of £70 if I put incorrect data on it, but they typed in my name wrong already, and I always ignore threats like that.
Also the small print said I would be put on the open list first meaning my details would pass to companies, currently I've been on for 5 years on the editted list which I prefer. I voted every time I could.
I got a letter later from the council saying "they have to assume I've moved", but my brother didn't get this nonsense. The papers have reported that 800,000 registered voters have vanished as a result, if that many people can't vote then any election in the future is effectively rigged and I'll have no part in it.

-----
DynamicSpirit, I played Transport Tycoon too, but only my old and now broken computer had DOS on it. Locomotion's only problem is not being able to buy companies, It's my favourite transport game otherwise, Locomotion is on my Vista computer when updates aren't being downloaded automatically. Civ3 Complete is the best civ game due to the editor allowing nearly anything, I've got a Star Trek mod download, it needed alot of tweeking but it's great, there's no limit to the resources and technologies, buildings, and units you can add. I played Civ4 once at a friends house and got annoyed when a bear wiped out my army, is it better other than grapghics and religion being added?

 

[TheEdge]

Well. Lets start with the obvious. Modern trains, utterly bore me. I work on them but my 170 tonight is as interesting to me as my Skoda. A tool, a useful but uninteresting tool. Steam trains however is where the heart lies. Could ride, watch and enjoy those magnificent behemoths day after day. Still stand by the best noise in the world is a 4 cylinder ex-GWR design at speed, especially a King with its added hammer noise!

Away from the trains. Small trains. For years I've wanted a proper model railway and now I am finally getting round to building one, even got donated a spare room to fill with it! A fairly simple yet realistic looking round and round setup. From there we can move on to my non rail related interests. High up there comes gaming. Long time gamer and I build PCs to indulge that. At the moment I am really into games like Armoured Warfare and War Thunder. However various simulators (Train, EuroTruck), city builders and real time strategies rotate in and out. I'm really hoping for a new Empire Total War over here. We can then move onto the interest in military history, aviation and various Earth sciences.

 

[Oswyntail]

....I play the viola ..... I'm trying to meet a nice woman......

Isn't that the old cliche in orchestras - that violas only get to play three notes in any piece, and never get the girls? (Totally unfounded, I'm sure)

 

[LowLevel]

Volunteering on heritage railway as a different thing to my just liking 'trains' - I'd say I'm equally an enthusiast of the relaxing pursuit of sitting in a wooden shed full of levers on a nice quiet day with a book and something to cook pulling off for the odd train and doing some cleaning.

Reading both fact and fiction books, particularly about history, sci fi and some crime novels.

Walking and drinking ale in interesting places, while eating nice food.

Visiting museums.

Animals - I don't currently have any of my own (though my parents have a dog) but I love meeting them - I'm the kind of loon that takes great satisfaction over stopping to play with a cat in the street or giving dogs attention when I come across them on my trains and I love watching birds flying about. I can even cope quite happily with rodents scurrying around, seeing them more as cute than anything else!

 

[Haydn1971]

Hmm... I've a very expensive habit in photography, I'm getting into running at the age of 44 after nearly 28 years of not ! I love exploring the Scottish Highlands and Islands, hope to combine my road building career with that one someday, enjoy listening to music, I'm fascinated with Science Fiction, and in particular how this links to science fact - stuff like megastructures etc...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Funny thing is, I don't actually see trains per se as a hobby - for me, it's more a general interest in sustainable transport.

Actually, this is me, I've had involvement with transport investment and engineering projects, partly I've a professional interest, but partly a fascination with how things work in terms of engineering, operations and financially

 

[trentside]

Besides all things public transport, I absolutely love reading - both fiction and non-fiction. Fortunately my job lends itself to this hobby, as I get lots of time in the back cab when I'd be otherwise unoccupied. The only downside is that I can't get on with a Kindle, so my house is gradually filling with books.

Besides this, I also love video games - from strategy and simulation to RPG and FPS games, I enjoy most things. Not got as much time as I used to have for these, but still like to have a couple of gaming sessions per week if I can.

I used to play tennis, but that's fallen by the wayside, as has scuba diving!

 

[Bevan Price]

I like to workout. I do both cardio and weights

I play the viola (an instrument similar to the violin) on and off

I like to watch YouTube videos. My favorite videos are old cartoons (X-Men, Spiderman, Batman, etc). I also like European dance songs.

I'm 31 and I'm trying to meet a nice woman. I haven't had any success. Hopefully when/if I travel to Europe (UK, France, Netherlands, Germany), I'll meet someone.

Good luck. If you find one, I hope you have better luck than me, and find someone you can trust........ Some of them only want the contents of your wallet, as presents (or in some cases, as cash), and cause more sorrow than pleasure.

 

[341o2]

Isn't that the old cliche in orchestras - that violas only get to play three notes in any piece, and never get the girls? (Totally unfounded, I'm sure)

I think you are referring to opera, where many plots revolve around the tenor getting his way with the leading lady, and the bass gets a discreet kiss in act 2 (bit of poetic licence)

The play the Marriage of Figaro subsequently an opera made reference to the traditiion that if any servants wished to marry, the Lord of the Manor would ensure that the bride was not a virgin

So that's music for me, planes, most things old and mechanical (even lawnmowers) photography, aircraft, radio comedy ( from the Goons to I'm Sorry, I'll read that Again)

One ISIRTA episode, usually referred to as Murder on the 3.17 to Cleethorpes in fact has no murder, but a send up of From Russia with Love and a brace of British Rail jokes

 

[Crossover]

Besides all things public transport, I absolutely love reading - both fiction and non-fiction. Fortunately my job lends itself to this hobby, as I get lots of time in the back cab when I'd be otherwise unoccupied. The only downside is that I can't get on with a Kindle, so my house is gradually filling with books.

Besides this, I also love video games - from strategy and simulation to RPG and FPS games, I enjoy most things. Not got as much time as I used to have for these, but still like to have a couple of gaming sessions per week if I can.

I used to play tennis, but that's fallen by the wayside, as has scuba diving!

I'm sure there's a reason you have an Avantix

 

[scott118]

When my shifts allow, I race 'motorbikes' in the UK and on the continent. I like to ride my mountain bike, to clear my head and keep fit, and then when the sun starts to set, and the weather is warmer, I like to go dogging.

 

[ainsworth74]

I'm sure there's a reason you have an Avantix

Avantix is just a version of Windows CE is it not? In which case there must be a way of getting Minesweeper to work on it

 

[DynamicSpirit]

The papers have reported that 800,000 registered voters have vanished as a result, if that many people can't vote then any election in the future is effectively rigged and I'll have no part in it.

I rather agree that many of the changes the Conservatives are making do look rather like an attempt to rig future elections in their favour. However, if you (and people like you) don't register to vote, that's just going to make things even worse.

DynamicSpirit, I played Transport Tycoon too, but only my old and now broken computer had DOS on it. Locomotion's only problem is not being able to buy companies, It's my favourite transport game otherwise, Locomotion is on my Vista computer when updates aren't being downloaded automatically.

I thought Transport Tycoon was a brilliant idea. In my mind, the weakness was that in the game, people would always just take the first bus/train/plane that turned up, no matter where it was going. Unlike real life, they didn't have particular destinations they were trying to get to. That meant there was no advantage when playing in trying to build an integrated network of routes. One of my personal side-projects has been trying to write a similar kind of game but which is more realistic in that regard. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably be finished in about 500 years time

Civ3 Complete is the best civ game due to the editor allowing nearly anything, I've got a Star Trek mod download, it needed alot of tweeking but it's great, there's no limit to the resources and technologies, buildings, and units you can add. I played Civ4 once at a friends house and got annoyed when a bear wiped out my army, is it better other than grapghics and religion being added?

Civ4 is very different from Civ3 - graphics and religion are relatively minor as differences go. I would say Civ4 is much better, but that obviously depends on taste. It is still very moddable. I /think/ it's at least as moddable as Civ3, although I've never played with that. Certainly, you can add new techs, units and buildings etc. The main difference as I see it is that the game dynamics have been changed in a way that makes the game more 'sophisticated' (in the sense you have much greater choice of different strategies, and you have to balance competing demands in a way that's much more realistic than Civ3). It's also less of a warring game - it's perfectly possible (except on the highest difficulty levels) to play a peaceful game, building your economy up, and win that way, if you wish.

A few examples:

• AIs are more intelligent, and every AI leader now has his own unique personality. And when it comes to diplomacy, they remember who their friends are, who has helped them, etc.
• The tech tree is more flexible. Unlike Civ3, if you want you can ignore whole areas of technology - for example focusing only on military techs or focusing only on techs that help your economy.
• Battles require more careful strategy. You can't just send in the highest strength attackers; different units have different strengths and weaknesses, so you have to match those up (for example, spearmen are strong against mounted units, but very weak against other melee units - which corresponds nicely to real life).

Civ4 is quite a learning curve if you're used to playing Civ3. Personally, once I got through that curve, I never looked back, but obviously tastes vary.

 

[deltic1989]

I quite enjoy gaming, it's mostly simulators and goes in cycles.
I'm currently in the TS 2016 part of my gaming cycle on PC, and GTA V on the Xbox. However next week it might be FSX and Call of Duty.

That aside, I also enjoy tinkering with cars. I have had a long line of old BMW's, but recently I have branched out into other makes, recently doing up a Ford KA and a Mk5 Fiesta.
You will find a picture of my current project below. Sadly she failed her MOT, but with a little TLC, she will be worth more than the £250 I paid for her.

 

[Crossover]

Myself, I have an interest in most things technical, I guess. That's where my interest in rail really came from and I enjoy learning how things work

I am also fairly involved in amateur dramatics, where I am usually found on the lighting desk. They keep trying to get me to go on stage, but so far their attempts haven't worked

Avantix is just a version of Windows CE is it not? In which case there must be a way of getting Minesweeper to work on it

Very true