What kind of an enthusiast are you?

[Sad Sprinter]

Rail enthusiasm takes many forms I think. There's modellers, loco bashers, route-building fantasists and industry experts. Of course they're not mutually exclusive, but I find it interesting how some types of rail enthusiasts approach the interest so differently. Which one are you? I'm a fantasist and somewhat of a modeller. Being born post-privatisation and 'South of the River' I never rode on any locomotive traction, so never was one to get behind as many locos as possible and sit in the coach nearest the engine, but always loved sitting in a motor coach of a Wessex Electric or a GEC Networker

 

[DarloRich]

What kind?

The best one possible. Close thread

(Btw: I am none of the caragories listed above. )

 

[Sad Sprinter]

What kind?

The best one possible. Close thread

(Btw: I am none of the caragories listed above. )

What kind is that?

 

[DarloRich]

What kind is that?

We are all the best kind: ourselves.

 

[Merseysider]

Which one are you?

I love sitting back and watching the world go by onboard a train. When they turn up. Don't care for unit numbers or for mileage etc but I've always had a fondness for the railway as long as I can remember, and in particular sleeper trains. My first Pendolino when I was about 15 was an "adventure"

 

[Basil Jet]

I'm a fixed infrastructure enthusiast.

I love stations but I don't love trains
I love airports but I don't love planes
I love ferries so long as they're on chains

 

[Iskra]

I'm a casual one- mainly interested in travelling, staring out of the window, history and travelling behind locomotives.

 

[Runningaround]

What kind?

The best one possible. Close thread

(Btw: I am none of the caragories listed above. )

Doesn't photographing hundreds of trains count you as enthusiastic about trains? Like going to football and taking loads of photos and having no interest in the game.
My interest is in the trains and stations I need to use and a bit of history.
Most people just use the train for its purpose and head off the station asap, I can stand about 30 minutes at a station before getting bored stiff, a return trip on a heritage line every 10 years is about my limit.

 

[John Luxton]

Never been a spotter.

Standing taking numbers bored me as a youngster.

Enjoy photographing trains and railway infrastructure but have to move around for variety.

Would rather be on a train riding.

Though spent a long time away from long distance rail travel approx 1982 to autumn 2021 focusing on heritage lines and the odd West Country branch thus my recent return to longer distance travel has been interesting.

Will get a lot more milage in once all the various disputes are resolved.

Have always enjoyed reading railway history with a strong Wales and West Country bias as a consequence have acquired far too many books over the years.

Used to dabble in modelling but been out of that for around 20 years. My current house does not really have any indoor space for a layout though have some large scale narrow gauge items for a garden railway - one day - but can't tame the garden enough to progress it!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

1970s mainly spotter (cleared BR 3 times), photographer - tried to get one of all - 243 short in the end - then loco haulage
1980s loco haulage and photography and rail tours for line bashing as well as rare haulage
1990s Reading about it only'
2000s American Railroads
2010s Infrastructure, photographing civils and electrification - forum contributions such as this one
2020s Infrastructure, photographing civils and electrification, forum contributions such as this one and WIKIPEDIA articles

 

[MiNi]

Never been a spotter or bothered writing numbers of locos or stock down. Strictly bashing only with mileages recorded for all types of diesel or electric locomotives. But not units at all.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Love the scenery, landscapes and views from the train created by the railway.

Particularly love a long journey with a window seat and a podcast and a view. Watching the world go by on a platform is also a good past time.

Not interested in numbers or haulage etc.

Volunteer on a heritage railway but not interested in any sorting of driving, rather be out there with a shovel.

Agree with DarloRich

 

[htafc]

I would say everyone is different really.

Personally I'm a proper 'spotter', recording sightings, haulage etc. but I don't care for mileage. Love riding the trains. I'm also a 'photter'...

Really interested in reading books, magazines, this forum, etc.

The structure of the railways and how this has changed over time also interests me.

Overall I have a wide range of interests both in modern and historical railways in the UK and abroad.

 

[The_Train]

Obviously this thread is in it's early days, but it's always interesting to see the first responders to be those quick to distance themselves from "spotting" or "being a spotter" (I say this tongue in cheek, no need to come and bite my head off)

I'm a spotter of old, that is literally all I did as a child. I did little bits of photography as I got a bit older as a kid but it was always the thrill of chasing the numbers, and filling up my platform 5 books. Despite having many years out of the hobby, my return 5 or so years back hadn't taken that out of me and it is still a big part of the hobby for me and seeing locos/units remains my first aim. That being said, having taken the advice of numerous members of this forum when I re-joined the hobby, I log sightings, photo's and haulage these days with my desire for haulage having grown post covid (mainly because I got back into work and can now afford to travel more).

I always say it but one of the many beauties of this hobby is that you can literally enjoy it in so many different ways and I love hearing how different people do it differently.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Rail enthusiasm takes many forms I think. There's modellers, loco bashers, route-building fantasists and industry experts. Of course they're not mutually exclusive, but I find it interesting how some types of rail enthusiasts approach the interest so differently. Which one are you? I'm a fantasist and somewhat of a modeller. Being born post-privatisation and 'South of the River' I never rode on any locomotive traction, so never was one to get behind as many locos as possible and sit in the coach nearest the engine, but always loved sitting in a motor coach of a Wessex Electric or a GEC Networker

I'm definitely a spotter, quite young to have seen any locomotives so it's quite an exotic thing to see but I tick them off just like any EMU or DMU.
I've built my whole own spreadsheet for ticking the trains off when seen
I get videos when I have downtime (e.g. if I'm waiting for a train) or if something notable will go by.
I tick off stations as I use them, I've started keeping track of mileage because for me it's not much work to just copy and paste my commute.
I keep track of the trains I get as well in terms of schedule, rolling stock, delay and ticket.
I'm often by the best door for getting on/off the train (which may be not the closest to the exit if I know I have a lot of time for trainspotting)

I don't make many intentional journeys to tick off or see things but if I'm in the area or going by I'll tick it off (e.g. me and my family were in Blackpool coming back at a very good time for me to tick off Salwick the other day)
When my family are going somewhere we're usually in 2 groups, them in the car and me on the train, and that includes journeys like Avanti or TPE where people are giving up on them.

 

[M&NEJ]

Photographer, one-time sound recorder, speaker, campaigner, simulator, steam and diesel, but most of all a fan of railways in the mountains.

 

[pint]

Curious onlooker about things that are different and have a novelty factor.
Rail travel for me is impractial as to get to the nearest train station i would have to drive, pay to park and then the trains dont go anywhere where i would regularly travel to

 

[cygnus44]

Used to just go for the ride take phots and enjoy new places. Unfortunately not able to do that now two bigger risk of not getting back home again given the horrible way the railways are run now.

 

[LowLevel]

I enjoy the working side of the railway and generally getting about and travelling.

 

[Freightmaster]

Obviously this thread is in it's early days, but it's always interesting to see the first responders to be those quick to distance themselves from "spotting" or "being a spotter"

It's exactly the same every time a thread like this is posted, yet the two "TOPS requests"
threads elsewhere on the forum have 35 thousand posts between them, so there must
be rather more hardcore spotters on here than first meets the eye...



MARK

 

[mikeg]

I'd describe myself as a 'freestyle' railway enthusiast. There's things that don't interest me such as collecting numbers but also bashing, both traction and 'track' bashing - though I don't take it too seriously. I'm also interested in rail policy, particularly around things such as fares and industry structure. The whole subject is for the most part fascinating

 

[Kneedown]

In my teens I was a basher. 45s, 50s, 81s and 85s were my target, but other types were worth a trip too.
These days i'm a Driver who maintains a passion for, and interest in the industry. In a footplate career at three depots i've been fortunate enough to drive many different locos and units, and there'll be one more to learn (810) before I decide to hang my key up. I very much enjoyed doing a small bit of restoration on 85006 with the ACLG, but Instructing duties have prevented the committment I would like to give, and haven't done anything there for a few years now.
When I do retire the plan is to move to Anglesey, and I hope to volunteer on the Anglesey Central Railway, and finally build a model railway for when I get too old to go fishing.

 

[Broken70]

To answer the original question without reading any of this....a human one. Thank you. Now I'll get my coat.

As you were

 

[SussexSeagull]

I love the infrastructure and discussions round future railways. Also closed railways are fascinating to me.

 

[Ken H]

Big powerful locos.87s and 55 especially

Signalling and electrification.

Riding trains. Like getting new track but i have done most of the lines close by. Love going fast. Far better than 60 in a DMU

London Underground. Its so alien to a northerner. Its just totally different.

If i go abroad i like the odd train ride.

Timetables. Love looking at old ones. Bus and train.

Wish i understood the engineering - historic and current - but I am not an engineer.

I am 66 so i dont really remember much before about 1963. I do remember steam trains at Leeds City station.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I collect haulages, photos and track coverage - the latter to route level, not Quail level.

With more space I would like to set up a model railway, but at present that is unfortunately totally impractical.

 

[Hassocks5489]

My overriding interest is in tickets, ticket machines and fare collection methods, with occasional forays into associated things like ticket clippers (of which I have a surprisingly large collection!).

On top of that: timetables, "routes" broadly considered, closures/openings (especially of the post-Beeching era), all aspects of Network SouthEast, and, randomly, level crossings, which I've always been unaccountably fascinated by.

I've taken a few train photos over the years, but I would rather photograph station buildings. I've never spotted.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Obviously this thread is in it's early days, but it's always interesting to see the first responders to be those quick to distance themselves from "spotting" or "being a spotter" (I say this tongue in cheek, no need to come and bite my head off)

But of course. Almost no-one wants to admit to something that's seen in much of society as uncool, even if it's a completely legitimate interest to have. btw did I mention that I'm definitely not a spotter. Me? No way!

More seriously, I think my interest in trains partly stems from my political/environmental belief that we should be encouraging much more public transport use, partly because I find them the most comfortable (and therefore my preferred) way to travel if I need to go anywhere, partly from some fascination with the technology and a sense of wonder at the trains themselves - impressive huge machines (In that regard, I feel much the same about aeroplanes, even though I regard air travel as to be discouraged for obvious environmental reasons), and also a fascination with timetables and the mathematical problem of putting optimal timetables together. (And actually, I seriously don't have any particular interest in spotting, other than that if I see something unusual, I'm likely to be intrigued. I do however love studying maps and timetables (of rail and bus services) and trying to figure out the logic of them, and I find it great fun planning out routes to places I need to go to - which is probably about as geeky! )

 

[the sniper]

But of course. Almost no-one wants to admit to something that's seen in much of society as uncool, even if it's a completely legitimate interest to have. btw did I mention that I'm definitely not a spotter. Me? No way!

But nobody has anything to lose by admitting that here though, whereas in general I'd agree. I think it highlights a kind of phenomenon, that train spotters and 'rail enthusiasts' are almost two distinctly separate things. Some of the former are kind of more interested in just taking numbers than the railway itself. People like this might not even see a thread like this, as they wouldn't be looking in this section for general discussion on railway matters, while they may be obsessed with with the 'TOPS requests' threads.

 

[Lukeo2311]

I enjoy photographing trains at different locations, I enjoy the journey of getting to a location and photographing a station and any trains going through (if it is worth photographing). I also like crossing stations/lines off in order to say I have "done" them. I also have a large collection of timetables and other railway ephema, when traveling to a location I always try and pick up timetables and the like if it is possible (I am hoping to do this while I am in Berlin, Vienna, Bratislava & Amsterdam in a couple of weeks!)