For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to do something with trains in my life. It was not until I was about six to seven years old that I got my first Z-Scale model train for my birthday. It was a crisp die-cast Amtrak California model with a locomotive and four cars. It looked just like the real thing, and it was my first ever model train. From that point forward, I gradually moved up in scales, going as big as O-Scale trains. For context, production model trains are only in four scales. Those four from smallest to largest being Z, N, HO/OO, and O scales. I have collected all four throughout my young life, with my favorite being HO/OO-Scale.
HO-Scale, as I will simply refer to it as since that is the American standard for the tracks used in that scale, has been the scale I have collected for years. I had taken pauses from model trains sometimes, but I always found my way back there. It started when my mom bought me a CSX freight train set, which I still have to this day. Over time, I got freight trains, passenger trains, steam, diesel, even electric trains. I was and still am obsessed with trains, something that will not go away. I have been to all kinds of train shows, stores, and even clubs, all of which have selected HO as their prime scale to cater to. HO-Scale is the most popular model train scale on the market, being produced by many companies such as Athearn, Lionel, Bachmann, and several others. HO and N scales even have their own organization that helped standardize things like coupler heights, truck designs, and weight limits. The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) sets these standards so that model trains from different companies can still be compatible with each other. They host competitions, shows, and even run a few clubs nationwide for hobbyists like me.
When I got to college and finally got myself a campus job, I realized that I could very well start my collection all over again. So that is exactly what I did, and boy did I forget how expensive the hobby was. A locomotive would run me up to $350, and cars up to $120. Locomotives are run electrically on Direct Current (DC) power using a brushless motor and electrical wheel pickups to run, and some passenger cars have electrical wheel pickups for lights inside the car to light the interiors. Now these prices are not particularly uncommon, especially if you run with a Digital Command Control (DCC) system which allows for locomotives, including some modern railcars too nowadays, to have sound, light functions, and Multiple Unit (MU) control. These features are not anything new to me, as I began to adopt DCC locomotives into my collection by 2018.
So, when I got my first job on campus, I knew I was not going to collect anything big super quick. I started by collecting tracks, setting up my DCC system, and saving up for new locomotives and cars. I always thought to myself, “here I am again, back on my…” you know the rest. It was hobby that I could not just easily dispatch from my life. In fact, at the writing of this article, I have a layout set up in my apartment with a few trains sitting idle, waiting for me to run them in their NASCAR-like track set up. Add a bit of imagination and a yard, and you have yourself anything from a freight terminal to movie scenes involving James Bond and a villain on a moving train. Model railroading is absolutely one of the best hobbies to have, despite its tendency to kill your wallet. I know, it sounds childish to have model trains still in your life as an adult, but I would also look back in history and remember that even politicians like President Ford in office had model trains set up right there in the private suite of the White House.
So, if you have ever thought of starting a new hobby and you do not know what to do, check out model trains. Online stores like Train-world, Lombard Hobbies (which has a physical location in Lombard, IL, 40 minutes from campus), or Spring Creek Model Trains offer amazing deals for models and have sales every month for old stock. If you are an international student who wants to see trains from your country, there are even stores that will offer to import like Train-world that will offer to import models from Europe, India, and Australia. Believe me when I say it is a hobby worth a lifelong love.