Have you ever been mocked for being a train watcher?

Question

I know in Britain they make fun of them and even some of the gangs target them for hazing.....Is it the same in the US? My neighbor was very vocal about having a son who was getting interested in trains...but forbade him from it since she was worried that is would make him a misfit and a nerd...and enrolled him in baseball instead. Was she wise?

Answer 1

no but than if i did watch trains ( are there no females to look at)  but if i  did i would not be truth full

Answer 2

We called them Train-Nuts, Just stay in background.

Best of Luck

Answer 3

Railroaders call them "foamers" (they foam at the mouth).  I'm a foamer.  I also worked as a dispatcher and I still like watching trains.

Answer 4

I think someone has been not entirely honest with you regarding this information....

I live in England now and it's the first I've ever heard of gangs targeting train spotters here.....in fact I would suggest the English don't even use the term "hazing".

They might be thought of as slightly quaint, a bit like stamp collectors I guess but it's fairly common to see little groups of them here and people simply see it as normal behavior for the Brits.

At the end of the day it's the person who acts unpleasantly based on their thoughts who needs the help not the person who has a quaint hobby.

Answer 5

I live in Britain so I'm used to being mocked for almost everything I do including my interest in railways. I've also been mocked for reading a book on a train, tucking my trousers into the top of my socks when I'm hiking, wearing a sun hat and speaking English correctly. That's sad old England for you.

Answer 6

Why would you want to watch trains anyway?

I'd rather play basketball than do that and I hate basketball.

Answer 7

I have been a train fan all my life and I have had stick for it, but I consider it's the other person's problem, not mine.

I'm proud of my hobby and I'm happy to share it with other enthusiasts and anyone else who's interested. I work part-time at a local rail museum and show people round. We get visitors of all creeds, ages and backgrounds, from all other the world. Last year we had a visitor from Japan, we've also had people from the USA, Canada, Australia, mainland Europe as well as all over the UK.

Also near where I live there is a heritage line which has been going for nearly 40 years and gets inundated with visitors on operating days.

Anyone who thinks that being into trains is nerdy ought to visit a museum or a heritage line and see the enormous amount of work done (most of it by volunteers) to keep these outfits going. Also take a look at the multi-million pound industry in railway books, videos & DVDs, magazines, models, souvenirs, etc. If being into trains is so nerdy, why is it such big business?

As for your neighbour, I wonder what she is afraid of. If her youngster likes trains he will find space for his own hobby anyway, whatever she says. I must say, I showed interest in trains from a very early age and my parents never discouraged me.

:->

Answer 8

Yes but I pulled up the hood of my anorak and ignored them.

Answer 9

As long as they don't take their hobby too far, it's OK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_spott...

Answer 10

Same problem here (though not so severe that I would get into real trouble):

It's perfectly alright to know horsepowers, top-speeds, cylinder capacities, ... as long as you're talking about cars. But if you're interested in rail you must definitely be a weirdo.

Odd, isn't it?