So just what is YOUR main interest in Railways?

[ACE1888]

Simply put, what is your main attraction to the 'Railway' scene?
Mine is photgraphy of all British railways, be it infrastructure/rolling stock/disused lines

 

[Pen Mill]

Just photography , rail travel , spotting , modelling , history , development , quite a narrow field really !

EDIT , having seen the poll , I haven't voted as I have as much interest in all aspects of railways all of the time !

 

[90019]

Photography mainly, but really my interest is fairly limited nowadays.

 

[rail-britain]

Mine has evolved over the years
Started off as recording all numbers
Then moved on to operations, technical information, and taking photos (as it was pretty much the same rolling stock and had already seen it)
Then worked on the railway for a few years
Completely lost interest after that, with a 5 year gap

Now I just observe and take photographs at media events

 

[transportphoto]

Ticketing, followed by normal travelling, followed photographing. What I'm not generally found doing is standing on a platform end!

TP

 

[fordylad]

Well it started, with watching trains at the end of the garden when I was a lad, then on to riding as far as a day rover would take me, lost a bit interest when girls arrived ! But now I'm driving trains for a living. I also have a little boy who likes trains , so maybe full circle !

 

[Anon Mouse]

My interest is quite broad and mainly involves taking point and shoot photos, traveling about and in recent years after growing bored with the UK scene and leaving the hobby a couple of times I have started to have a much more avid interest in foreign stuff mainly European and Asian railways. Travelling abroad over the last 6 or so years I have appreciated the scene in Germany, France, Hungary, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, China & Thailand as my Flickr site probably reflects!

 

[trentside]

My main interest is really travelling around by train - I won't say 'bashing' or 'mileage' in a sense, because neither are hugely important to me when I'm out an about. What I really enjoy is seeing and exploring new places, and the railway allows me to do that. I do also enjoy the occasional bit of photography, but don't claim to be any good at it!

 

[DiscoStu]

I used to bash until about fifteen years ago, but have no real interest in railways now - I only come on here to reminisce, to see how the railways are developing, or to obtain advice.

Trains (in the UK anyway) are now completely soul-less. There's no character there any more, and I can't see the fascination. I think trains are better than they've ever been, but for an enthusiast, they've never been worse (in my opinion anyway).
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My interest is quite broad and mainly involves taking point and shoot photos, traveling about and in recent years after growing bored with the UK scene and leaving the hobby a couple of times I have started to have a much more avid interest in foreign stuff mainly European and Asian railways. Travelling abroad over the last 6 or so years I have appreciated the scene in Germany, France, Hungary, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, China & Thailand as my Flickr site probably reflects!

I'd really recommend India mate. Insanely cheap (3 week pass for £132!), great diesels, long distance trains, amazing scenery, friendly people

 

[Yew]

I've put bashing, however I would say that its more 'rail based trips' as that means I can take a friend along, and go down to london or wherever. My favorite things are good rolling stock, I want to try a some more stock, and more runs on the sleeper.

Obviously as part of this, railway ticketing becomes an interest (thinking about it, i really need to go to a fares workshop)

 

[Anon Mouse]

I'd really recommend India mate. Insanely cheap (3 week pass for £132!), great diesels, long distance trains, amazing scenery, friendly people

I fancy India, but I think it might be a while before I can do it due to being married to a foreign national and being tied to trips to her Country or to day trips to Belgium, France or Holland at the moment!

I also fancy Pakistan and Bangladesh too and also Myanmar. India and Pakistan may be off the card at the moment but maybe I could manage a wee side trip to Myanmar the next time I go to China!

 

[TGVDUDE]

I enjoy photographing the railways as a majority, with the main interest being BR Locomotives, which I also like 'Bashing' behind, at Pres Lines and some Railtours, lost some interest in the Modern Loco Hauled scene since the FGW ones stopped, however the WAG is somewhat local to me.

 

[Lrd]

I put bashing down as my main aim is to travel over each line in the UK, not every little bit of track in both directions but just each line and each curve. I also aim to travel on all classes of stock on every operator but just one unit is enough, not every single one! E.G. A SWT 158, FGW 158, EMT 158, NT 158 etc.

I never take pictures or write down any numbers, although I do observe train numbers while waiting for my train but only sat on the platform, not standing at the end.

Also have an interest in the way it all works, like signalling, infrastructure etc and a small interest in ticketing (not just rail on that one).

 

[LE Greys]

Photography and railway history mainly, but I have done the odd bit of track bashing, and went a bit mad to catch the last Valenta-engined HSTs. While I agree with Disco Stu that a lot of character has gone out of it, there's still enough to keep going. For instance, I went to Lakenheath today, with its request stop and level crossing. It had barriers, but they were not in use despite the fact that the lights worked. Got a few pictures of the gates in use before they went. Still, maybe the aesthetic loss is balanced by the fact that the signalman won't have to go out in all weathers to open and close the gates.

I also enjoy making speculative posts about railways on internet forums!

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Simple:
None of the above.

My main interest in the Railways is that it transports me tens of thousands of miles a year at speed and in comfort and allows me to work and to eat at the same time.
My second interest is that it transports freight over many miles per annum which might otherwise travel by road.

I have no interest in:
Photography
Mileage
Trainspotting
Preservation
Bashing
Collecting
Modelling
Foreign Railways
Publications

But there's plenty interest for me on this forum to keep me coming back, despite having several jobs and other responsibilities to keep me occupied!

 

[Temple Meads]

I dabble in plenty of the options, but photography is the main part of the hobby for me now, it was spotting, but once I'd seen everything local it lost it's appeal and I gave up for a few years, but last year the purchase of a digital camera and an impulsive visit to Westbury bought my interest back instantly.

I do take the numbers of the trains I travel on, and keep a record, as well as keeping a record of lines covered, so I suppose I could be described as a basher too.

Foreign railways have never held that much interest for me, I can't really explain why, but there must be a reason.

I wouldn't say that railways have lost all interest, you can always find an interesting workings, and even Sprinters and Pacers are mechanically impressive (but maybe that's just my age, I never experienced much locomotive haulage and thus can't miss it).

Anyway, a good idea for a thread Andrew, this could be an interesting discussion.

 

[ainsworth74]

I've voted other simply because I don't think I fit neatly into any of those boxes. I struggle to come up with what I'd clasify as being my main interest as many things interest me. I enjoy being able to travel long distances at speed, in relative comfort and occasionally enjoying a good meal onboard, I enjoy seeing new parts of the country from the train window (I'd never been to the West Country until the railway took me there and now I can't wait to go back), I enjoy reading about the history of the railway, I enjoy learning about how the railway operates today, I enjoy talking about rolling stock from it's procurement to why it's terrible (or not) and I enjoy talking about infrastructure from the stuff we already have to the stuff we will have and how exactly all that stuff works to deliver the services we have. So, which box do you propose that I tick instead of other?

 

[Eastcoast43208]

My Main Interest in Railways is About the Class 43 HST and everything about them

Always have been, I photograph them, Do allot bashing on them, Collecting models of HSTs.
Always noting what Powercars ive had for haulage and over which lines and of course the Photographs of them.

I do like other things about the railways but, In my eyes I dont see anything as Exciting and Brilliant as the HST