Fascination with trains

[DesiPower]

Why are trains so fascinating? We are ppl so nostalgic with old railroads and steam engines? Specially guys... or maybe only guys... I am a big train fan too...
I see so many train picture and toys, there are so many old locomotives still running that just for site seeing/tourism. Children even today are fascinated with Trains, Thomas is still one of the hit toys, go to ToysrUS and you will see all kinds of train engines and track sets...

So what is it about them that fascinates you most?

 

[Tristicus]

My dad loved trains.

It's the same as people loving cars, or computers, or pickles.

 

[DesiPower]

ya but trains, specially steam engines are almost a thing of the past... cars computers and pickles are not..

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Older trains are very external machines. You look at them and you can see their mechanisms, you can hear the "music" of the engines. Compared to say, an iPhone with is just a brick that has no moving parts and everything is hidden from view.

 

[HydroSqueegee]

dunno. just a certain mystique about them.

 

[gorcorps]

They're powerful and symbol of how this country got started

 

[JulesMaximus]

Well, trains really were the first cross country transportation for people and goods in the United States, after covered wagons of course, and development of the railroads marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in this country.

I also have a fascination with trains, maybe in part because I used to have an HO scale model railroad when I was a kid. The attention to detail can be amazing on some of those model railroads.

Also, traveling by rail is fun. Sometimes I'll take my wife and son to downtown San Diego on the Coaster, our local commuter train, and when we were in Spain we traveled between Madrid and Sevilla by their high speed electric rail system. Now that's the way to travel! Quiet, comfortable, fast, and they have a dining car with ample room to move around.

 

[lxskllr]

Trains are cool, especially the old steam engines. I'm not into them the way some people are, but I love the rare chances I get to ride in one.

 

[Bill Brasky]

I freaking loved trains when I was younger. My dad and I would watch 'em go by at a RR x-ing and then drive across town to watch it go by again. Good times.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I freaking loved trains when I was younger. My dad and I would watch 'em go by at a RR x-ing and then drive across town to watch it go by again. Good times.

That's a slow assed train.

Sometimes we'll go to downtown Carlsbad, which is very close to where we live, and we'll see the Amtrak will blast through there at 70mph. It is pretty cool to go to the station and watch that train go by at that speed, Amtrak doesn't stop in Carlsbad but the Coaster does which is why there is a station there. The Coaster is slower at around 40-45mph but you aren't going to catch it either.

 

[PaperclipGod]

Because they're fucking awesome. Short of Cape Canaveral, where else are you going to get to see a machine capable of that much raw power? And not only that, but you get to touch/ride the damn thing!

Doubly impressive when you think of the relatively crude construction methods available to the engineers who built these things 130+ years ago.

 

[zinfamous]

Really? You don't know? It's the whole train-through-the-tunnel thing.

 

[PingSpike]

Its hard to say, I was never really really into them. If you've been to some one's house who is into them, boy are they into them! My uncle is and his whole basement is taken up with a massive model railroad.

That said, I understand it. But I can't point to one thing. I like the idea of something on a track that just travels along. And I like one machine moving seemingly impossible amounts of cargo/people/cars. And tunnels are cool.

I remember designing a "dream house" when I was a kid and high up there on the list of required features was a train that traveled through all rooms of the house...sort of like that one in Mr. Rogers.

 

[coldmeat]

I hate trains. They're noisy and the tracks ruin the roads. To get anywhere in town I have to drive over tracks 3 or 4 times.

 

[zinfamous]

I hate trains. They're noisy and the tracks ruin the roads. To get anywhere in town I have to drive over tracks 3 or 4 times.

Ah, so you live on the other side of the tracks, eh? :hmm:

 

[tokie]

I'm not a fan of the old type of trains.

New trains however can be very sexy and offer a good look at transportation systems which don't rely on fossil fuels like aircraft or cars. The engineering barrier is also constantly being pushed, while cars/passenger planes have pretty much plateaued in speed.

 

[disappoint]

Really? You don't know? It's the whole train-through-the-tunnel thing.

Even Freud said sometimes a train is just a train.

 

[lsv]

Trains are lame. In fact almost everything people are fascinated with in their day to day lives are completely useless. Think about it, your car, house, daily obsessions. Overclocking your rig. Most of it completely useless in the grand scheme.

Except GI Joe. Kthx.

 

[dawp]

there is just something about steam that is powerful:

That is an photo by O. Winston Link.

 

[mmntech]

I used to be completely fascinated with trains when I was little. I got my first electric train set when I was four. I had to collect all the Thomas die-cast toys too. Played with both non-stop. At one point, I even had a half completed H0 layout complete with mountains, buildings, and a lake... but my dad was always too busy to help me finish it. I eventually moved on to RC aircraft and building computers as a hobby. I converted the old train room to a workshop and tore down the layout. I still have all the parts for it though. One of the steam locomotives I had for it sits on my coffee table.

My interest has been perked up in them again after I started taking the train to work. It's a vary smooth and quiet way to travel. I hate flying now because of the cost, how unreliable it is, and the unreasonable security. I've been thinking of taking a train trip up to Ottawa this summer.