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Rail Enthusiasts: Are you 'out'? Or are you still 'in'?

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185143

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Most people I've met think it's great that I can go out and spend all day travelling to a place they've never heard of!

As most people soon realised, I could often find them cheaper tickets to wherever they wanted to go rather than just the open return..

I had to laugh the other day though when someone got off a 507 I'd also alighted from at Liverpool Central and said, very immaturely to the guard 'choo choo Thomas!' Of course... he couldn't have known the guard's name actually WAS Thomas! (Off topic slightly I know but it was funny!)

Some guards have taken the mick a bit, particularly on the Cumbrian and Cambrian coasts when i've shown my rover issued miles away for the 5th time that week and it's 'which random place are we dropping you off today then?':D'

I've certainly heard 'you're nothing like I thought you'd be' a few times once people have got to know me-which says a lot about the perception of rail enthusiasts... (I hope!) In fact I don't think I've ever met anyone who's been overly negative about it, or certainly not for long.
 
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roversfan2001

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I've certainly heard 'you're nothing like I thought you'd be' a few times once people have got to know me-which says a lot about the perception of rail enthusiasts... (I hope!).
I've had that a few times when my friends have clocked on to the fact I like travelling on trains, the stereotype of enthusiasts is still a thing clearly. Though like you say, now I save me and my friends significant amounts of money whenever we go to football games they're suddenly not saying anything about it :lol:
 

class387

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That’s braver than me dude. I used a fake name on here for a few months I was so scared of people finding out my passion for trains :lol: As sad as it sounds in Year 10 and 11 reputation is key.
I deliberately don't care about my popularity at school (in all areas) to avoid having to cover up my railway interest. I'm not sure how ridiculous I sounded explaining to my friends about GTO traction on a 465 during a school trip last term.
 

PeterC

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It is interesting, and sad, to note the change in attitudes at since my schooldays in the 1960s. Back then collecting train and bus numbers was something generally done in the third and fourth forms (years 9 and 10 in new money). Collecting numbers was something that most would give up early in the fifth form but maintaining an overall interest was regarded as perfectly natural.

Certainly the bulk of my general knowledge about the geography of England and Wales came from an interest in railways rather than anything that I was taught at school.
 

Thebaz

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Certainly the bulk of my general knowledge about the geography of England and Wales came from an interest in railways rather than anything that I was taught at school.

Quite the same here - My geographical knowledge of the country is mostly born of poring over rail maps and then locating them on the 1:50000, and nothing to do with the fact I have a degree in geography!
 

E_Reeves

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I'm pretty open about it, but in a way it has helped me. I've been able to travel a lot more than most of my friends and it's helped me to gain general knowledge and such. I get the odd comment but I just laugh it off and try to come up with a savage comeback. I've heard the term "train watcher" being used a fair bit too (not to me) which is rather amusing :lol:
 

GW43125

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Can’t help but remember the time I was on a charter and these two teens on bikes rode up to the crossing to give us a certain hand gesture. I just rolled down the droplight and smiled sweetly.
 

Tetchytyke

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these two teens on bikes rode up to the crossing to give us a certain hand gesture.

Hah, you've reminded me of a trip to Blackpool. Two lads tried to moon the train, one of them tripped over his underpants and fell down the embankment. Still brings a tear to my eye now 20 years on :lol:

I'm not out, I'm not in, I'm just me. People are happy to ask my opinion on cheap tickets, especially when I find them first class tickets for a third less than they'd have paid for standard. I saved my company £250 split-ticketing on a recent short-notice jaunt to Birmingham, so its seen as useful geekery now!
 

rg177

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I think most of my friends must know that i'm up to something when I hop on multiple trains for a few days :lol:

To be honest i'm mainly seen as a useful source of cheap tickets (and as I typed this one of my friends actually messaged me to ask for a railcard discount code) so it's probably not in people's best interests to take the mick. People used to in high school but such is life, now i'm at university there are far stranger things to be interested in.

Train staff themselves are usually more impressed at my knowledge, such as a Southern OBS on one of the overnight Victoria-Brighton services, I was admittedly a bit drunk but he actually suggested that I look to get myself a job on the railway as I was discussing the whole DOO saga and how really nobody was winning, with staff morale at rock bottom and passengers losing faith in the service. (Although I dread to think what his management must be like if he thought a drunk teenager was displaying superior knowledge)

Hasn't exactly been a disadvantage in the female department either, you just obviously need to not start screaming about that "legendary thrash" in front of the missus :lol:
-
 

HainultLoop

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I'm not sure how ridiculous I sounded explaining to my friends about GTO traction on a 465 during a school trip last term.

Haha, reminds me of a school trip by train to London last year where I say to my friend "Look! A Class 317 with blue doors - it's from the old Great Northern franchise!" and then I proceed to talk about all the issues with the Govia Thameslink Franchise to baffled faces :lol:
 

tsr

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I was never remotely interested in trains or anything to do with railways until I was in my late teens or so. The exact circumstances of my taking an interest are quite obscure - but it's definitely not been a thing "since childhood". I'm not really sure what would have happened if I'd been a bit of an enthusiast or something like that whilst I was at school or college. To be fair, at school I was always the nerdy one (fortunately alongside many like-minded friends!), and I spent most of my A-Levels on projects involving highway design, so I really don't think an interest in rail transport would have been a huge surprise!

Most of my work colleagues have got the idea that I tend to read up on the railway system and take an interest in the job. I do work with some folks who are forum members, but I don't think we've ever revealed each other's RailUK identities to each other - probably just in case we get it wrong and introduce ourselves to some unsuspecting disciple of the "all social media is bad" school!

Occasionally I'm in a train cab and the cab-to-cab phone lights up... "Hello mate, did you see the charter on the flyover? Could you look the details up when you get a moment?" :lol:

Also the famous moment when I was in a control room not so long ago... a fleet engineer yells across a quiet night-shift operating floor... "Does [x] still bash 37s?" Half the staff look blank, the other half wake up suddenly...
 

GW43125

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There was one day I was waiting for my college train, when a 455 rolled in instead of the (then) usual 458. I said to my friends "I'm going in the motor coach, I'll see you when we get there".

Hah, you've reminded me of a trip to Blackpool. Two lads tried to moon the train, one of them tripped over his underpants and fell down the embankment. Still brings a tear to my eye now 20 years on :lol:

Not completely on topic, but I came across a video in which a plane has film crew on it, so the pilot of that plane says to the nearby plane on the radio "we're filming you!", after which an unidentified pilot comes over the radio "Moon him!"
 

curly42

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I've fortunately reached the age when i couldn't care less what people think of my main interest (yes,it is railways,although music runs a very close second).
 

trash80

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Are people really ashamed to admit they are rail enthusiasts? I thought that was a myth. I don't understand why anyone would be secretive about something they liked (unless its latex donkey love or something like that).
 

E_Reeves

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Are people really ashamed to admit they are rail enthusiasts? I thought that was a myth. I don't understand why anyone would be secretive about something they liked (unless its latex donkey love or something like that).
You've come up with the most odd example there! :lol:
 

bb21

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Everyone has an inner geek. Anyone denying it just hasn't discovered enough about themselves.
 

fowler9

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Everyone has an inner geek. Anyone denying it just hasn't discovered enough about themselves.
Indeed, the thing with railways is that many people instantly assume you are boring. Some people who are interested in railways are doubtless a bit on the dull side, as are many people who are unable to hold a conversation about anything other than football, soap operas, reality TV, celebs, shopping etc. Some of these subjects are of course more socially acceptable to be a complete bore about. God knows why.
 

Iskra

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I'm 'out' to family, mainly so they don't wonder where I disappear to for days at a time.

I don't take numbers etc, my interest in the hobby is often about the travelling, I'm 'out' about my interest in travelling... ...but I don't exactly talk-up about the railway side of things. I'd be pretty much wasting my time if I did anyway, I'm one of two blokes out of eleven staff at my site. My friends know I've always had an interest in railways, but again I don't really talk about it explicitly with them, I don't think they'd care.
 

LowLevel

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Family have always known.

Best mates have as well but I kept it quiet at school.

Since I've started work I've always been totally open about it. Most of my friends are cranks or rail workers or both so it makes no odds. My depot has a reasonable population of enthusiasts so it's nothing unusual - both old hands and newer folk.

I have a mixed drinking group of enthusiasts and not - the not guys will tolerate a bit of geekery and we all crack on well. Sometimes they come on crank trips for the social aspect. I don't do numbers or bashing etc but those that do will usually excuse themselves for a day and we meet up in the evening. My particular fix is covering lines (Though not to the Branch Line Society's standards).
 

Gathursty

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In the beginning I was very private about my interest but since having a media moment a couple of years ago, I'm more open about it and people I find are actually interested to some extent. People who are dismissive about it are very few and far between fortunately.
 

mikeg

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After a brief period of trying to hide it after acquiring the interest, I have generally considered myself 'out', even admitting to going on holidays to places such as Inverness with the intention of riding trains. My friends know I'm in to trains, often come to me for advice on trains (getting a good fare in particular) and I'm fine with that.

The only time I'm hesitant to mention it is among people I really don't think would understand but they are by far in the minority. Even mentioned it in the interview for the current job I have when asked the standard 'what are your interests outside of work?' - hey, I got the job so it wasn't all bad. I think the interviewer appreciated the honesty.

Though I do get bemused looks. A lot of people are like 'So do you go stand on platforms? Do you collect numbers, have a notebook?' I try to explain that the only time I collected numbers as such was when I had a railmiles account. Also 'are you a trainspotter then?'... Which is usually followed by me saying that I'm just a general rail enthusiast but if I had to pick an aspect of the hobby, bashing is the superior side. Which usually is met by a 'Bashing? Huh? Never heard of that...'
 

TT-ONR-NRN

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After a brief period of trying to hide it after acquiring the interest, I have generally considered myself 'out', even admitting to going on holidays to places such as Inverness with the intention of riding trains. My friends know I'm in to trains, often come to me for advice on trains (getting a good fare in particular) and I'm fine with that.

The only time I'm hesitant to mention it is among people I really don't think would understand but they are by far in the minority. Even mentioned it in the interview for the current job I have when asked the standard 'what are your interests outside of work?' - hey, I got the job so it wasn't all bad. I think the interviewer appreciated the honesty.

Though I do get bemused looks. A lot of people are like 'So do you go stand on platforms? Do you collect numbers, have a notebook?' I try to explain that the only time I collected numbers as such was when I had a railmiles account. Also 'are you a trainspotter then?'... Which is usually followed by me saying that I'm just a general rail enthusiast but if I had to pick an aspect of the hobby, bashing is the superior side. Which usually is met by a 'Bashing? Huh? Never heard of that...'
Haha my dad can’t stand the word bashing. Says it sounds dodgy when ever I say that I’m off to bash some 387s. So I say I’m off to score some 387s and apparently that sounds even dodgier!
 

185143

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Haha my dad can’t stand the word bashing. Says it sounds dodgy when ever I say that I’m off to bash some 387s. So I say I’m off to score some 387s and apparently that sounds even dodgier!
Next time, say you're off to bash some 37s...

That sounds much better!:D
 

GW43125

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Next time, say you're off to bash some 37s...

That sounds much better!:D

My name is Farmer Giles and I’m off to bash tractors (only works if said in a strong West Country accent)
 
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