Online dating agencies for people with alternative hobbies such as trains.

[BS56]

Is there out there a dating agency for railway enthusiast I know a lot of couples met whilst working on a preserved railway but if you do not work on one where would you look.? Perhaps somebody else has asked this question before way back .

 

[Butts]

Is there out there a dating agency for railway enthusiast I know a lot of couples met whilst working on a preserved railway but if you do not work on one where would you look.? Perhaps somebody else has asked this question before way back .

Perhaps an opportunity here for Railforums, although I fear Male Membership of the Forum vastly exceeds that of Females.

However I believe this is par for the course on such undertakings.

Instead of "Dear Deirdrie"........

Dear Ainsworth, Yorkie et al .....

 

[baffobear]

Is there out there a dating agency for railway enthusiast I know a lot of couples met whilst working on a preserved railway but if you do not work on one where would you look.? Perhaps somebody else has asked this question before way back .

I run an agency and work with other matchmakers and dating agencies in various niches. I've not come across a specific agency that runs with that railway niche. I'll ask around

 

[D365]

Dear Ainsworth, Yorkie et al .....

That won’t make the next forum meet… awkward, will it?

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

You could try joining a forum that has mostly female membership, sewing or cooking... Most forums have lots of discussion about 'other' subjects.

 

[DarloRich]

or you could just go out and interact with actual women ( or men/others if that's what you are after)

 

[Dr Hoo]

Is there out there a dating agency for railway enthusiast I know a lot of couples met whilst working on a preserved railway but if you do not work on one where would you look.? Perhaps somebody else has asked this question before way back .

I have no desire to intrude on personal relationships but why not just join a mainstream agency?

Does a relationship have to revolve around a particular shared interest or hobby?

Plenty of couples seem to get along fine with 'I'll play golf on Saturday while you're at the football' (or whatever) and then share things like enjoying dining out, walks, cinema, charity work, etc. on other days/evenings.

(Especially if you are both an age where starting a family or care of children is not an issue.)

 

[DarloRich]

Plenty of couples seem to get along fine with 'I'll play golf on Saturday while you're at the football' (or whatever) and then share things like enjoying dining out, walks, cinema, charity work, etc. on other days/evenings.

Absolutely! However, the important thing is compromise. It cant be this is what I do, fit your life around that.

 

[BluePenguin]

Perhaps an opportunity here, although I fear Male Membership of the Forum vastly exceeds that of Females.

However I believe this is par for the course on such undertakings.

Instead of "Dear Deirdrie"........

Dear Ainsworth, Yorkie et al .....

There is definitely a gap in the market for this. Perhaps come along to a forum meet to see if there’s anyone who takes your fancy, for whom you could buy a drink and go from there?

This forum is overwhelmed with men, but if you are only interested in women there are a few working at Heritage Railways.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

There is definitely a gap in the market for this. Perhaps come along to a forum meet to see if there’s anyone who takes your fancy, for whom you could buy a drink and go from there?

This forum is overwhelmed with men, but if you are only interested in women there are a few working at Heritage Railways.

Not wishing to discourage either volunteering at a heritage railway, or broadening one's romantic horizons... but I do wonder if using one as a means to the other is maybe not the best idea?

 

[Busaholic]

Not wishing to discourage either volunteering at a heritage railway, or broadening one's romantic horizons... but I do wonder if using one as a means to the other is maybe not the best idea?

Personally, I'd regard that as the understatement of the year!

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Not wishing to discourage either volunteering at a heritage railway, or broadening one's romantic horizons... but I do wonder if using one as a means to the other is maybe not the best idea?

I don't think there's anything wrong with taking up an activity in order to with meet other people, provided you do actually enjoy the activity in question. And for potential partners, shared activities is arguably one of the best ways to meet people, since it means you have at least one guaranteed shared interest.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I don't think there's anything wrong with taking up an activity in order to with meet other people, provided you do actually enjoy the activity in question. And for potential partners, shared activities is arguably one of the best ways to meet people, since it means you have at least one guaranteed shared interest.

I didn't say there was anything wrong with it. My point was more that if you go into something like volunteering for a heritage line with "meeting a partner for horizontal jogging" at the top of your agenda, then you're quite likely to end up disappointed at the very least. Not only is getting into a relationship not a foregone conclusion no matter how charming you are, but if that's your main aim you're likely to miss some of the other benefits you might otherwise get from the activity... as well as potentially alienate fellow volunteers who may have other priorities.

Better to volunteer in order to improve your social confidence and do something you enjoy, that way if it (as is likely) doesn't directly lead to meeting a partner then it will have given you the skills to do better in that regard in general. Entering an activity with the intention of meeting a romantic partner seems a bit desperate, and in my experience the ladies can often smell desperation as well as generally* not being too impressed with guys with one-track minds.

Do things you enjoy in order to boost your confidence and improve social skills (such as active listening- something which as someone with ASD I needed to work on) and then use that confidence and experience to form genuine bonds with people you meet organically.

*= yes, there are exceptions of course.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

I enjoyed myself doing Scotch Country Dancing, (just before This Covid Madness), that attracts more females than males.

I was the worst dancer, I kept turning the wrong way, the teacher had to keep correcting me. Being bad at something could be good, you might attract someone determined to teach how to dance properly. In a group of 10-20 one gets to partner with all the others.
..
Railway societies could target ladies, they can do many jobs better than the gents. Catering, gardening, education, even dealing with drunks on RATs real-ale trains.

 

[PeterC]

I enjoyed myself doing Scotch Country Dancing, (just before This Covid Madness), that attracts more females than males.

I was the worst dancer, I kept turning the wrong way, the teacher had to keep correcting me. Being bad at something could be good, you might attract someone determined to teach how to dance properly. In a group of 10-20 one gets to partner with all the others.
..
Railway societies could target ladies, they can do many jobs better than the gents. Catering, gardening, education, even dealing with drunks on RATs real-ale trains.

Get good at folk dancing and you will, figuratively speaking, be beating them off with a stick.

With any activity. If you go in with the intention of pulling you will fail. Enjoy yourself in mixed company and there is a good chance you will make some good friendships, some romantic and some not.

After divorce I volunteered as a steward at a music festival. NO immediate result but I kept running into one of the other stewards at other gigs. 30 years later we are are still an item.

..
Railway societies could target ladies, they can do many jobs better than the gents. Catering, gardening, education, even dealing with drunks on RATs real-ale trains.

From experience both stewarding and running security at gigs I would always put the women in front to talk down difficult customers. Not alone, the men stand unthreateningly but obviously in the background.

 

[Trackman]

I'm not sure how these online dating sites work, but if you put in hobbies and interests say 'Railway' would it match you with someone similar after the basics have been filtered?

 

[Butts]

I'm not sure how these online dating sites work, but if you put in hobbies and interests say 'Railway' would it match you with someone similar after the basics have been filtered?

More likely to be rejected and filed in the bin ?

Seriously judging by the number of women on here it is definitely a minority pastime for the fairer sex.

 

[BluePenguin]

More likely to be rejected and filed in the bin ?

Seriously judging by the number of women on here it is definitely a minority pastime for the fairer sex.

Perhaps, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. A lot of ladies enjoy the travel aspect of railways rather than locomotives a numbers

 

[Busaholic]

A lot of ladies enjoy the travel aspect of railways rather than locomotives a numbers

This male too.

 

[BluePenguin]

This male too.

This one too

 

[alex397]

or you could just go out and interact with actual women ( or men/others if that's what you are after)

That is much easier said than done. Living in the south east of England, one of the most densely populated areas of Europe, it’s quite difficult to meet other people who are not family or work colleagues or people you already know. Sure, I could go gto a nightclub, but that is my idea of absolute hell.
I regularly go to pubs, pub quizzes, go on group walks, visit museums and so on. But the demographic always seems to be in the older category. Nothing wrong with that, and I enjoy meeting people of all ages, but it isn’t suitable if you are looking for a potential date.

 

[BluePenguin]

I also live in the South East of England and find it relatively easy to meet new people. Seeing if you can be introduced to friends of friends is a good start. A good friend of mine I met at a bus stop in Hertfordshire. Another friend I met on Twitter happened to be a train driver living in Medway.

Granted, the friendly Northern charm is lacking here but if you look beyond the affluent stuffy types you will find fun life loving people keen to create memories with you.

If you’re interested in meeting people on the younger side, you may have to venture online. Not many of us go to coffee mornings or hobby groups. Facebook groups, Reddit it threads and the like maybe worth looking at. Dating apps even are not as bad as they may seem

 

[alex397]

I also live in the South East of England and find it relatively easy to meet new people. Seeing if you can be introduced to friends of friends is a good start. A good friend of mine I met at a bus stop in Hertfordshire. Another friend I met on Twitter happened to be a train driver living in Medway.

Granted, the friendly Northern charm is lacking here but if you look beyond the affluent stuffy types you will find fun life loving people keen to create memories with you.

If you’re interested in meeting people on the younger side, you may have to venture online. Not many of us go to coffee mornings or hobby groups. Facebook groups, Reddit it threads and the like maybe worth looking at. Dating apps even are not as bad as they may seem

I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you, as I may have just been unlucky. To be honest it may be due to personality issues I might have. I’m glad you have found it relatively easy. It’s good to hear.
I’m lucky to have friends, but they are not particularly sociable so I don’t really get to meet any ‘friends of friends’.

I am a member of Meetup which enabled me to meet a few other people of a similar age. It was great, but it was in decline before Covid, and it seems to have died since then.

I have been trying online dating for years with no luck at all. It feels like a very false way to meet people. I was given the impression that it was easy to meet people on online dating, but that has not been the case for me at all

I’ve noticed I have found it easier to strike up conversation in areas well away from the South East, and in completely different countries where English isn’t even the first language. The last time I had a proper conversation with a stranger which wasn’t just small talk was with an elderly Serbian man in Belgrade a couple of years ago.

Sometimes it feels like more trouble than it’s worth, and it’s much less hassle just to do things on my own.

 

[AlterEgo]

It's much easier, and in fact preferable (at least to my sensitivities) to meet someone who may well be accepting and encouraging of your hobby without wishing to indulge in it all the time.

If you want someone who will just accompany you spotting or on days out you are are looking for a friend.