Does the Rail hobby need a kick up the......

[starrymarkb]

The lack of women is in some way about what one mentioned of the sheep. We are all supposed to be into clothes, make up, celebs and heat magazine. And while they are fine, I just have other things to do.

A friend of mine was recently asked if the Sci-Fi magazine she was buying for herself was for her boyfriend... There does seem to be the attitude that women don't have interests...

I should also add that it seems that a distrust of non mainstream interests seems to be a British Thing, is there something in our culture?

 

[tbtc]

Very interesting discussion - I agree with many of the points made about lack of variety of rolling stock

"Variety" has been mentioned by a few posters reminiscing (I'm not singling Deltic out here - its something that others have discussed too).

My memory tells me that there was much more variety in my day (80s) compared to big classes of Pendolini/ 170s/ 377s (etc) nowadays.

But, really, the 80s had hundreds of 37s, hundreds of 47s, hundreds of 08s, hundreds of HSTs, hundreds of Mk2 coaches and Mk3 coaches - and most of them blue/ grey. Such little variety that we had to get excited about the fact that one blue loco had a small leaping salmon on it to denote its depot whilst another had a little stylised stag on it - that kind of thing.

A lot of the "variety" in my younger years was between marginally different versions of the same thing (like the 81/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85 and 86s or the 24/ 25/ 26/ 27s) - in the way that a 375/ 376/ 377 are basically the same thing to the uninitiated.

Then (mid to late '80s) we got huge classes of 150s, 156s and 158s which lead to even less variety.

Nowadays we have small classes like the 175s or the 180s, we have a lot more colour... maybe we have as much variety as we used to have?

 

[sarahj]

I'll give you a little story about sexisim in the hobby (though not this one)

A female friend of mine was in Germany with me and we were at a model store. She is into fixing things, and is very good at it. There was a father in with hs daughter buying a remote control car. The staff were friendly and nice. She decided she wanted one as well and purchased a one with a real IC engine. The sales person was fine, no issues, knew it was for her and asked questions to her. Sale done.

We came back to the Uk and she found she needed a few bits and bobs, including fuel, so we went to a shop in worthing that dealt with such things. Having two females in his shop seemed to blow the assistants mind. No matter what we said about it being her remote car, he kept replying, oh well he will need this, and you will need to ask him this, ie we were in buying for some male.
After this went on and on, i turned to him and said, 'how many times do we have have to point out that this is her car and the parts are for her.' We never went back

 

[Muzer]

I'll give you a little story about sexisim in the hobby (though not this one)

A female friend of mine was in Germany with me and we were at a model store. She is into fixing things, and is very good at it. There was a father in with hs daughter buying a remote control car. The staff were friendly and nice. She decided she wanted one as well and purchased a one with a real IC engine. The sales person was fine, no issues, knew it was for her and asked questions to her. Sale done.

We came back to the Uk and she found she needed a few bits and bobs, including fuel, so we went to a shop in worthing that dealt with such things. Having two females in his shop seemed to blow the assistants mind. No matter what we said about it being her remote car, he kept replying, oh well he will need this, and you will need to ask him this, ie we were in buying for some male.
After this went on and on, i turned to him and said, 'how many times do we have have to point out that this is her car and the parts are for her.' We never went back

That IS pretty shocking. I would like to be able to say that such sexism is absent from us young people in hobbies (in general), but I expect this probably is not the case in many, even if it's unintentional.

 

[Temple Meads]

This thread has been an interesting read, with plenty of excellent points made, the way I see it, the hobby of spotting (that is to say standing on platform ends just taking down numbers) is in decline, as that was a product of the time before the electronic age.

However, on sites such as this and on facebook, there are plenty of young enthusiasts, and I'd definitely say that cameras have replaced notebooks as the railway enthusiasts weapon of choice, I did spot until about two years ago, but as soon as I got a digital camera writing down numbers just didn't seem interesting anymore. As I've got older, and thus more independent (I'm 16) I've got into bashing too.

Don't forget that the older generation is the one with the most time on their hands, so they actually have the time to indulge their interest, whereas someone with a job, kids etc. will have trouble finding the time to go photting/spotting for an afternoon.

 

[fsmr]

While we do get the odd steam enthusiasts that dont have any electronic means of communication, and phone up to check the two dates we run each year, we do have a lot we now connect with via social media.
Like most forward thinking railways, as well as a website Stapleford Railway are on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and even have our own QR codes as well
(ask a teenager what they are LOL)

Many visitors turn up with their grandchildren, having been themselves as children in the 60s. So long as the railways can cater for the Thomas the tank or Santa special type events to pay the bills and give something for enthusiast as well, then I think the fascination with rail will continue. That said, it must be pretty damn boring trainspotting these days compared to the fun we had at Leicester in the 60s and 70s

Nige
Press officer
Friends of The Stapleford Miniature Railway
The Old forge Yard
Stapleford near Melton
LE14 2SF

www.fsmr.org.uk

www.twitter.com/staplefordtrain

https://www.facebook.com/stapleford.railway

http://www.youtube.com/stapleford

2013 open dates are:

Stapleford Steam 8th 9th June
Open weekend Sat Sun and BH Mon 24th 25th 26th Aug

 

[ryan125hst]

On topic, I am a younger railway enthusiast, and I don't do the numbers thing. I have an appreciation of the technical workings of the railway and rolling stock, and while I do enjoy travelling on trains, particularly on stock/routes I have never ridden before, I mostly realise my hobby by reading rulebooks, manuals, and other information on the workings of railways. I would hazard a guess that many railway enthusiasts today share these characteristics

That's very much like me! I don't travel on trains that much, although I do enjoy it when I get the opportunity to do so. I'm not interested in the numbers thing either, but this is probably because I don't have time to sit next to the ECML ticking them off in a book, or riding around the country in search of trains I need, because I am doing A Levels. When I do have more time on my hands, this opinion will probably change.

I have a technical mind so I also have an appreciation of the technical side of things. I have spent time looking at how the signalling works, how air brakes work, air conditioning works ect. because I am interested in it. I am also interested in diagrams, rulebooks, manuals, timetables ect. I have built up a lot of knowledge of the railways, past and present, though the internet: Wikipedia to learn about trains classes for example, and I have learnt a lot from here. I also enjoy looking at photographs and videos of trains, so I know quite a bit about parts of the network I have never been anywhere near!

I'm glad it's not just me that likes this. I'm sure some people think I am sad for sitting on my computer all day looking at trains, but it is better than sitting on a street corner, or playing on an XBox all day like a lot of teenagers, don't you think?
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and in the process visit places I've always wanted to go to such as Cadbury's World

Did you enjoy it? My sister went there on a school trip a couple of weeks ago and loved it. She came home and told me and my Mum and Dad about it non stop for about half an hour after she got back- and that was even though the coach ride home took four hours when it should only have taken two!

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I would say it's evolving more than anything, but would accept there's an actual decline in numbers. I do think the hobby is becoming more varied, aided by the Internet and modern media. I for example could never in a million years have the patience or interest to stand on platform end and photogrph (unless I have a long connection, and even then it would only be a brief few snaps), but I do photograph other infrastructure - stations, signalling etc. I tend to be more interested in track and more customer-based developments, such as timetabling, service provision, station features etc.

Oh, and for all those saying kids now just stay in all day and play Xbox and what have you, they aren't mutually exclusive y'know. I manage to get a great amount of travelling done in my free time, however I also do my fair share of gaming. Everything in moderation!

Young men these days get married and/or begin making a family much earlier these days than in the heyday of people stood on the ends of station platforms looking out for locomotives passing by.

False (at least the first bit) - in the 1950s and early 1960s the average age of first marriage in this country was 23-24. It's now 28-30. I would imagine that the age of first becoming a parent has remained roughly the same, it may have lowered but I don't think a lot of them births would be to a couple.

 

[ryan125hst]

Oh, and for all those saying kids now just stay in all day and play Xbox and what have you, they aren't mutually exclusive y'know. I manage to get a great amount of travelling done in my free time, however I also do my fair share of gaming. Everything in moderation!

That's why I altered what I was going to put (I'm 18 by the way!). I was going to say "most teenagers" but thought it might cause offense, so wrote "a lot of teenagers" instead.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

That's why I altered what I was going to put (I'm 18 by the way!). I was going to say "most teenagers" but thought it might cause offense, so wrote "a lot of teenagers" instead.

Sorry, that wasn't aimed at you by the way, more those who say it in general (both on the Internet and elsewhere). Some take it to excess but there's nothing wrong with a few hours a week.

 

[387star]

I see as many teenage enthusiast about on the platforms nowadays as old boys. Maybe it's a regional thing. The number of young people on here is very high, you probably just haven't realised the age of many of the people who you talk to on here. This site, You Tube and the likes of Real Train Times are 21st Century resources for young enthusiasts. I also know a good number of young people who are enthusiasts that have got themselves jobs in the industry. I've never been a 'spotter' but I'm a life long enthusiast and have worked in the industry since I was 21. I've only been in for a couple of years.

The magazines often harp on about the lack of young enthusiasts, but I believe that's mainly because the young enthusiasts largely aren't buying their magazines and they fear they won't do in the future. Instead young enthusiasts seem to reply on sites like this and what else is available on the net.

Same as anywhere magazines become redundant unless they have that bit extra

I am 23 joined the railways when I was 22. Have the DMU and EMU pocket books but have never spotted trains as such

Working in the industry it changes you it is a job and there are more important things but it is a great place to work if you have some sort of interest.. which will probably mature like mine and focus more on the industry itself
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I could be wrong but the main purpose of this forum is to help people find a job on the railways...

and lots of people come here via search engines to look for help which is a good thing if they are then attracted to the interest as a whole

 

[yorksrob]

I could be wrong but the main purpose of this forum is to help people find a job on the railways...

and lots of people come here via search engines to look for help which is a good thing if they are then attracted to the interest as a whole

I would have thought that that was a rather narrow description of the purpose of this forum. I use it to discuss various aspects of the railway with other enthusiasts and also staff and normals who can give a different perspective on things.

 

[dysonsphere]

I don't think variety of rolling stock matters I'm in my 50's and was bought up in Portsmouth near Cosham station and just about the only trains I saw were DMU,s or if I walked to Port Creek junction EMU's . Even in the 60's freight was rare there and steam even more so, but I still developed a health interest which I still have today. not sure about sexism my local railway model shop is run by a husband and wife team in their 30's and the wife probably knows more than the husband.

 

[DarloRich]

I should have thought the lack of interest in spotting is a combination of factors ranging from the lack of variety in services and traction to the fact that being a spotter is a sad, pathetic past time in the eyes of the majority.

I feel sorry for the younger generation who think that travelling by Voyager is a good thing. They never had the chance to travel on real trains and therefore lack any subjective understanding of how the passenger environment has changed. In times past there used to be a chance that an off region loco could turn up on a service, that a fright loco might be pressed into passenger service or that a short notice extra may be run to relive congestion. Specials were more frequent, freight was more diverse and ran more often and locomotive fleets were bigger. Now everything is bulk services or units. With the advent of real time gen sites you know what is coming and can go out only for what you want.

Let’s also consider the opposite sex and the real world. When you are a young man ( and most spotters are men) most "normal" people want to gain knowledge of the opposite sex, as quickly as possible! That won’t happen if you are a spotter. You may object but it is the truth. You will be seen as sad and pathetic and not “cool” or “modern” or “trendy” or whichever word has currency! You also open yourself up to a whole world of unpleasantness in the form of bullying, which can be mental or physical.

There are also so many more outlets and facilities for peoples interest. Why waste all that time hanging about on a railway station platform being viewed as an individual slightly above a child molester on the social spectrum when you can roll along with the mainstream? Why bother with it all when you can just stay in and play on your console or go to the gym or the pub or the pictures?

That said an interest in railways in general seems to be increasing. Look at the success of lines like the NYMR or SVR. They are packed with families travelling on a steam train for a fun day out. Look at the success of premium dining steam services on the network. Look at the number of You Tube sites or picture sharing sites. I have one of those sites but would never consider myself a train spotter. I don’t have a pad or record numbers other than in the picture captions.

Sites such as this one offer people with an interest in railways to discuss with fellow people and gain much more information than was ever available before. There is information out there in such a proliferation that you can find almost anything you like. Social media allows people to connect with each other and, perhaps importantly, with the railways in a way that was never possible before. Interaction with BR meant a letter to the regional HQ and a wait while they wrote a letter back. Now you twitter LM and they will come back to you straight away.

Real people are also more interested in the railways and the recent documentary on the BBC has really caught the imagination of the travelling public. People want to know more about the services they use everyday the system that supports that service and where their money goes and why fares seem to be going up.

I think an interest in railways is growing, I think an interest in spotting is declining.

 

[Tomnick]

Let’s also consider the opposite sex and the real world. When you are a young man ( and most spotters are men) most "normal" people want to gain knowledge of the opposite sex, as quickly as possible! That won’t happen if you are a spotter. You may object but it is the truth.

Rightly or wrongly, I can't disagree with that at all. I think it highlights the vast difference between platform-ending and volunteering at a heritage railway (or getting involved in the hobby in other productive ways). It worked for me . More seriously, it was noticeable how many of my friends and not-so-friends through school and university were interested to learn more about my voluntary work...a level of interest that number crunching just doesn't attract nowadays.

 

[ModernRailways]

I'm 17, and I know a lot of people who are of the younger generation, I don't tend to talk to them that much though. I know a few people who like trains but don't actually come out and say it. I would kid at my school, who knew what the Metro service number would be before it arrived into the station just by checking his watch, I asked him if he wanted to go up to Newcastle one day and his response was 'No, I'm not a trainspotter'. He never mentioned that I liked trains to anyone and he was the only person who actually knew I did.

I almost stopped going out to stations and getting photos/videos because the BTP came over to me and told me I had to leave the station because I wasn't allowed to be there. Since then I know always carry the guidelines on the BTP and Network Rail websites.

Now, I tend to try and just bash places, I've clocked some good mileage this year thanks to ridiculously cheap Advance fares.

I too would love for some things to go up in the world, and it seems to be starting now. Most heritage railways have now got great websites. The Wensleydale Railway has allowed people to book tickets online for their upcoming diesel gala which I think is a great step forward!

An app, would be great. However, what would be on it? Train movements (ECS etc.), integration with 'Real Time Trains', train numbers, integration with a Rail Forum, railtour dates (with possibility to book through the app), and a train ticket booking facility? If people get back to me on what they would want in an app, I would be more than happy to try and put one together (I have part-created an app previously so have a little experience). What devices would people want it on, some people have iPhone (iOS), some have Android, others (like me) have Windows Phone. I have all app stores available as I own devices that operate iOS, and Android and my mobile is a Windows Phone. Would it be better for a separate thread to be opened for this kind of thing? Also, things like cost, I would say a cost of something like £0.69 initial fee then have train movements and train numbers as a possible extra fee, so £1.79 for both, but it would be a yearly subscription. How many would actually want one too though? Especially when such information is available online for free - although WNXX has recently went subscription based - what would need to be so good that people would download it?

We certainly need some sort of innovation to bring it up to speed with the 'real world', but I wouldn't say it will die in 30 years or so. I hardly ever see middle aged men on platforms, but then they are at work so don't have time, once they retire they will have more time to do so.

 

[PFX]

Some interesting thoughts and opinions on this thread and I'd like to add mine.

I've been interested in railways since I was a young child, though until recently, this was merely as a general spectator/passenger, rather than any in-depth knowledge based interest. The level of interest was probably slightly more than that of the usual passenger but certainly not at which I'd consider myself as a bona fide enthusiast, not actively looking for trains but just admiring them as I used them for travel.

I was lucky enough to have been born in the early 70s and got the opportunity to see a great variety of stock, locos and the dirt, smell and noise that was associated with the same. It was all very varied and interesting and continued to be so into the 90s. I continue to find modern stock equally interesting in a different way and fail to see why some can't accept an interest in modern stock being as credible as 'the good old days' (on another forum I'm a member of, there is a constant argument regarding US locos being better than European ones). It's purely a matter of taste.

The 'old stuff' and modern stock ar, to me, interesting in very different ways and I think the much improved standards of cleanliness remove some of the character some enthusiasts associate with earlier years. Especially during the 70s, railways and stations were pretty filthy and not the most pleasant of environments.

It is only in the last 3 years I have become an active enthusiast, mainly through a birthday treat to myself to fulfil a longtime ambition to drive a train. In doing this, I have become a regular volunteer at a preserved line and while I still have more than just a passing interest in the railways, I get more than an adequate fix from actually working on the line. As an earlier poster has mentioned, I also use the Trainz simulator and indulge my hobby that way.

While many cite the poor image of rail enthusiasts for a perceived decline in the hobby, I've decided that I'm too long in the tooth to care and have no qualms in telling people I'm a 'train geek' as I like to call it. Quite surprisingly, most people are actually interested by that fact. That said, I've met a great number of enthusiasts and it is like any other hobby where there are some eccentrics (super enthusiasts?) some of whom fit the wider stereotype that is often assumed about all.

 

[Eagle]

Let’s also consider the opposite sex and the real world. When you are a young man ( and most spotters are men) most "normal" people want to gain knowledge of the opposite sex, as quickly as possible! That won’t happen if you are a spotter.

So gay people aren't normal?

And I'll point out what most regulars on this forum already know, that I found my boyfriend because of my interest in the railways.

 

[Muzer]

Also, things like cost, I would say a cost of something like £0.69 initial fee then have train movements and train numbers as a possible extra fee, so £1.79 for both, but it would be a yearly subscription. How many would actually want one too though? Especially when such information is available online for free - although WNXX has recently went subscription based - what would need to be so good that people would download it?

Make it ad-funded. Making it cost money annoys people (especially much younger people who might not have a source of income). I've never bought a paid-for Android app. Ad-funding has worked well enough for Tom Cairns with Real Time Trains.



At my uni, we have a society called SUWS (Southampton University Wireless Society), which involves an amateur radio club and people trying to build an open wifi network. The majority of us also have at the very least a passing interest in trains; so much so that we've had to ban the word "train" in pub visits after our meetings, else the conversation quickly turns into train conversation and the few people who don't like trains just sit there looking bored .

 

[Condor7]

Make it ad-funded. Making it cost money annoys people (especially much younger people who might not have a source of income). I've never bought a paid-for Android app. Ad-funding has worked well enough for Tom Cairns with Real Time Trains.

Surely anyone with or without an income can afford 69p, or £1.79P?

It also means the person/organisation making it can make a decent profit and continue to improve and reinvest. Ad funded sites actually get very little income.

 

[Starmill]

So gay people aren't normal?

And I'll point out what most regulars on this forum already know, that I found my boyfriend because of my interest in the railways.

And by extension... What about people who are not bothered at all? Some do have other priorities.

I'm afraid this:

most "normal" people want to gain knowledge of the opposite sex, as quickly as possible!

is certainly not true.

 

[Muzer]

Surely anyone with or without an income can afford 69p, or £1.79P?

It also means the person/organisation making it can make a decent profit and continue to improve and reinvest. Ad funded sites actually get very little income.

I'm talking secondary school age, people who don't necessarily have debit cards and don't know if they're really interested in trains, so don't want to pester their parents to buy something that they don't know if they'll actually use. That would have been me when I was younger.


If they get "very little income", how do all the millions of ad-funded sites and apps in the world (including, I believe, the very one on which we're talking now) not go bankrupt? You get very little income if you have very few users. If you do it right, a rail enthusiast app could be very popular, as this website is.

 

[MK Tom]

I must say I can see both sides of this issue. I'm 23 and I've been a rail enthusiast almost my entire life. However I also have huge interests in science and music. These require my time too. I also have my friends from uni and from before, most of whom aren't enthusiasts. So naturally I will be spending time with them, and on the interests I share with them.

There are a lot of rail enthusiasts out there who have to balance it with other passions, as well as with work and study commitments. It may be a sad change, but the 1960s model where the only way to have fun and pursue interests was to go outside simply doesn't apply any more.

 

[Chapeltom]

I wouldn't say I'm an intentional enthausiast, because I'm not. I'm 20 and started travelling around by train at 16ish, before then I'd been on a train about 5 times and that was it. I started travelling around to persue my other hobby - as a ground-hopper, I travel around to different football grounds whether its top level or parks level stuff, I love it. I needed to therefore be able to travel around on the cheap and when I was 16/17 I needed to save every penny I could (I still like to anyway) so learnt about splitting tickets etc as it was useful to know.

With that and commuting 50 miles by train, to Uni, I've started to take an interest in other bits like ECS movements, why trains are delayed and where other trains I see out the window are going. Then there's the track bashing side, which I like to when I have the cash, I started doing bits of lines and thinking "Hang on, I've not travelled from "x" to "y" yet, that would be fun!"

I don't spot or anything like that but my interest has come through necessity. Funnily enough, I'm on my way to Preston for a Summer League football game, my last game for a whole month!

 

[DarloRich]

So gay people aren't normal?

And I'll point out what most regulars on this forum already know, that I found my boyfriend because of my interest in the railways.

wind your neck in son! it inst an attack on homosexuals. I meant normal as in none enthusiasts.

I do feel insulted that a simple comment is construed as being homophobic. I know nothing of your personal life as you now nothing of mine. I treat people as a find and as people rather than as "badges" or groups.

 

[MCW]

So gay people aren't normal?

And I'll point out what most regulars on this forum already know, that I found my boyfriend because of my interest in the railways.

I don't think Rich meant that in the slightest mate. you've got the wrong end of the stick mate.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I must say I can see both sides of this issue. I'm 23 and I've been a rail enthusiast almost my entire life. However I also have huge interests in science and music. These require my time too. I also have my friends from uni and from before, most of whom aren't enthusiasts. So naturally I will be spending time with them, and on the interests I share with them.

There are a lot of rail enthusiasts out there who have to balance it with other passions, as well as with work and study commitments. It may be a sad change, but the 1960s model where the only way to have fun and pursue interests was to go outside simply doesn't apply any more.

this i agree with. the social scene these days for us young uns has a lot more variety from before. I am a photter and a gamer as well as being an enthusiast. so yeah i have to juggle photting with work and my mates and besties but i still find time to do it... I suppose Tom, it could be said this links in wth the earlier comments in this thread regarding technology... I think about youtube, lots of people video trains and upload it to the world in just hours, I think the technological aspect makes it exciting for me too, as i can share by good shots and prized videos with people if I want to in a small amount of time, hot off the press, per se.

 

[RichmondCommu]

My memory tells me that there was much more variety in my day (80s) compared to big classes of Pendolini/ 170s/ 377s (etc) nowadays.

But, really, the 80s had hundreds of 37s, hundreds of 47s, hundreds of 08s, hundreds of HSTs, hundreds of Mk2 coaches and Mk3 coaches - and most of them blue/ grey. Such little variety that we had to get excited about the fact that one blue loco had a small leaping salmon on it to denote its depot whilst another had a little stylised stag on it - that kind of thing.

A lot of the "variety" in my younger years was between marginally different versions of the same thing (like the 81/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85 and 86s or the 24/ 25/ 26/ 27s) - in the way that a 375/ 376/ 377 are basically the same thing to the uninitiated.

Then (mid to late '80s) we got huge classes of 150s, 156s and 158s which lead to even less variety.

Nowadays we have small classes like the 175s or the 180s, we have a lot more colour... maybe we have as much variety as we used to have?

I'm sorry but I really can't buy into this. I was a trainspotter from around 1976 until 1984 when at the age of 18 I headed off to University. During those eight years my train loving pals and I couldn't care less about the colour of the trains because there were so many locos to see and the railways were operationally far more interesting. If we were bored with the local scene in Derbyshire we could head off to Crewe which truly was a Mecca in those days or head off to Manchester looking for Class 76's. Not to mention York, Birmingham, Bristol and of course London. Nobody north of the river Thames really had much of an interest in units as there were so many loco classes to try and clear. In my opinion different coloured DMU's / EMU's are a poor substitute for Class 40's, 20's, 25's, 76's, 81's etc. What people would give to see hundreds of active class 08's on today’s network ad:

In terms of the current appeal of our national railway network, although interest amongst young people appears to be on the wain there are plenty of young volunteers on preserved railways (including of course our own Yorkshire Bear!) My 19 year old son is studying Mechanical Engineering at Nottingham University and is a volunteer on a preserved railway down here in the SE. He has a love of all things mechanical and steam engines but has absolutely no interest in the modern day railway as in his eyes its boring. And given that most of the trains look the same, especially down here in the SE who can blame him?

I also think the fact that in the 1980's comedians considering trainspotters to be fair game hardly helped the hobby's image. I have two framed pictures of steam engines in my office which always draw interest from those who see them for the first time. However, if there were two pictures of Class 47's I doubt that they would attract anything like the amount of interest. In fact there would probably be a fair amount of mick taking (if they dared!). Not only that but my collection of steam era railway memorabilia at home attract interest from friends and my family and yet they consider people with an interest in the modern railway scene to be geeks. Is this fair? No its not but its hard to see how the publics perception will ever change.

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I should have thought the lack of interest in spotting is a combination of factors ranging from the lack of variety in services and traction to the fact that being a spotter is a sad, pathetic past time in the eyes of the majority.


Let’s also consider the opposite sex and the real world. When you are a young man ( and most spotters are men) most "normal" people want to gain knowledge of the opposite sex, as quickly as possible! That won’t happen if you are a spotter. You may object but it is the truth. You will be seen as sad and pathetic and not “cool” or “modern” or “trendy” or whichever word has currency! You also open yourself up to a whole world of unpleasantness in the form of bullying, which can be mental or physical.

I'm afraid that this is very true. My daughters aged 17 and 19 are broad minded girls who have had a good up bringing but who regard trainspotters as being geeks and would certainly not entertain having one as a boy friend. My wife and I think this attitude is rather shallow but nothing is likely to change their perception of young men on platforms waiting for trains to spot / photograph. And yet they will stop and stare at a steam engine and sometimes even wave!

 

[ModernRailways]

And yet they will stop and stare at a steam engine and sometimes even wave!

This is something that gets me too, when I was waiting for Steam on the Met a group of people came down on the platforms, and said 'Look at all these weirdos looking at the trains'. Everyone ignored them, but then as soon as Met 1 came through they had their iPhones out taking a video (or photo's). I was in disbelief that they were slagging everyone else off for taking pictures yet they were too. The only good thing that came from it was one of them used flash and a member of staff had a right good go at them!

 

[bb21]

I'm afraid that this is very true. My daughters aged 17 and 19 are broad minded girls who have had a good up bringing but who regard trainspotters as being geeks and would certainly not entertain having one as a boy friend. My wife and I think this attitude is rather shallow but nothing is likely to change their perception of young men on platforms waiting for trains to spot / photograph. And yet they will stop and stare at a steam engine and sometimes even wave!

The reason is quite simple. How many people standing on the platform taking numbers (the visible side of the enthusiasts community) are young, well-dressed, trendy, and fashionable?

Can't really blame your girls.

This is not yet taking into account the negative press and stereotyping enthusiasts tend to get.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

The hobby of standing on the end of platforms spotting? That's quite specific and if so, yes I agree completely.
There will always be people interested in railways, but in mostly different ways.
Many people have met through this forum, but they don't arrange to meet and stand on the end of a platform. Times change!

Exactly -I did this when younger. Now, I would get a full dining train to Scotland with my wife - or similar. I would come on forums like this. I would take an interesting photograph. When I was into haulage in the late 70s and 80s I did weird stuff then that I would not dream of doing today - besides there are very few loco hauled trains these days!

Last time I got a Virgin Pendolino to Milton Keynes from Preston, I paid for 1st class too! Times change.