Possible Correlation Between Railway Interest and Introversion?

[Up_Tilt_390]

So a while ago in the General Discussion tabs I posted this thread which asked members as a whole whether they were extroverted or introverted. I would've expected a more varied response, despite the fact that only 68 people responded in the poll. In total, 59 of them knew what they were, and to my surprise the result was leaning greatly towards being introverts, with 17 votes (25%) saying that they were introvert-leaning ambiverts, and 32 votes (47.1%) saying that they were full-on introverts as a whole. So out of 59 people who knew what they were, 49 leaned more towards introversion. It's kind of given me a thought for a while though that I have only just gotten around to posting here.

Considering that this is a railway forum and the majority of people in the poll leaned towards being introverted in some way, I wondered if there was any correlation between having a general interest in railways and being introverted. To elaborate a little bit, some hobbies such as trainspotting or going out on trains are often niche and sometimes solitary hobbies, and even some railway jobs such as that of a train driver or signaller would require some people spending extended periods of time on their own, which isn't usually something extroverts like the idea of, though of course this does not exclude them from either of the specified hobbies or careers, nor does it suggest any incapability.

The idea of there being a possible correlation between taking interest in the railway and being an introverted person would be worth a bit of a discussion given both some of the hobbies I listed, and more importantly the poll above from actual people who take an interest in railways. If you missed that thread somehow, then I have provided a poll above to further see whether there may be some sort of correlation between railway interests and introversion.

Now just for some final notes. If you don't know what an extrovert or introvert is, then Google is your friend, for I will not be explaining it here on this thread because of how it would be a waste of time to do so in my eyes. So with that said, discuss the idea of this possible correlation away...

 

[cuccir]

Theory: there is a correlation between using internet message boards and introversion.

 

[farleigh]

I would love to take the quiz but I am a but shy

 

[RichJF]

A lot of introverted people enjoy their own company and will take time to research and investigate something that makes them tick. This requires time to dedicate to books/videos/photographs/enjoying the real thing. Introverted people often dedicate time to get to the bottom of something and to find out how thing work on a deeper level. This could account for a lot of forum members' knowledge despite many of them not being railway employees!

I'm introverted & nearly all my family/friends are extroverted or outgoing & are amazed at the time & dedication I put in to hobbies and passions that they would otherwise get bored of quickly. This could be because they are not constantly active or don't have the constant social contact with other people that many extroverts crave.

 

[Steamysandy]

I am definitely an introvert but it's probably because of the treatment dished out to me when I was younger.Having said that I believe I've had as interesting a life as anyone and also as a result I'm extremely learned
My life has been enriched by studying railways and the backgrounds to them ,why they were built,what were they used for and why were they closed.Living close to one of the principal British mainlines played a big part in that

 

[backontrack]

Apparently, I'm an introvert-leaning ambivert, which is strangely comforting I suppose.

 

[Wivenswold]

I was a very introverted child. My mum frequently tells the story of my 5th birthday party when I was found alone drawing something with crayons on my bed and greeted mum with the words "Have they gone yet?"
Railways and model railways were my main hobby until I started to come-out of my skin a bit in my teens, I started going to football matches, gigs, festivals and until recently had a pretty fun time getting involved in running music festivals, community projects, refereeing football matches and hosting a local radio show for 6 years. I kept a mild interest on the railways, occasionally buying rail magazine or looking up on the internet for rolling stock changes that I'd noticed on my commute but that was it.

2 years ago, after a number of health issues (possibly linked to my excesses during "The Party Years") I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. It's a disease (rather than old person arthritis), it's incurable and progressive, it messes up bones, muscles and internal organs and leaves you in pain and feeling drained most of the time. I quickly retreated back into my younger introverted self as I now had to take a lot of care. These days it's possible to keep the friends I've amassed on Facebook but the loss of all my interests and social life did not upset me it just seemed like a natural progression into the next phase. Around the same time the Greater Anglia franchise was announced and my Dad called out of the blue to say he still had my old model railway boxes in his loft. It all sparked an interest in what was happening on the railways.

Accepting that building a new model railway will not be physically possible, I noticed that I'd bought Railworks on a whim back in 2009 and hadn't played it. I quickly got hooked. Next up, I started buying all the railway (and bus) books I had as a child. I knew them inside out but their presence is reassuring.

So here I am, alone (but not lonely), on all kinds of medication, working from home, looking forward to driving a Class 442 on TS2018 tonight and relatively happy that I've made the best of my new life. I look back on some crazy years with a lot of pride but not sadness or regrets that it's over. And I'm reloading the Armstrong Powerhouse website hourly in anticipation of the release of his Class 315 pack. I've changed!

 

[backontrack]

I was a very introverted child. My mum frequently tells the story of my 5th birthday party when I was found alone drawing something with crayons on my bed and greeted mum with the words "Have they gone yet?"
Railways and model railways were my main hobby until I started to come-out of my skin a bit in my teens, I started going to football matches, gigs, festivals and until recently had a pretty fun time getting involved in running music festivals, community projects, refereeing football matches and hosting a local radio show for 6 years. I kept a mild interest on the railways, occasionally buying rail magazine or looking up on the internet for rolling stock changes that I'd noticed on my commute but that was it.

2 years ago, after a number of health issues (possibly linked to my excesses during "The Party Years") I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. It's a disease (rather than old person arthritis), it's incurable and progressive, it messes up bones, muscles and internal organs and leaves you in pain and feeling drained most of the time. I quickly retreated back into my younger introverted self as I now had to take a lot of care. These days it's possible to keep the friends I've amassed on Facebook but the loss of all my interests and social life did not upset me it just seemed like a natural progression into the next phase. Around the same time the Greater Anglia franchise was announced and my Dad called out of the blue to say he still had my old model railway boxes in his loft. It all sparked an interest in what was happening on the railways.

Accepting that building a new model railway will not be physically possible, I noticed that I'd bought Railworks on a whim back in 2009 and hadn't played it. I quickly got hooked. Next up, I started buying all the railway (and bus) books I had as a child. I knew them inside out but their presence is reassuring.

So here I am, alone (but not lonely), on all kinds of medication, working from home, looking forward to driving a Class 442 on TS2018 tonight and relatively happy that I've made the best of my new life. I look back on some crazy years with a lot of pride but not sadness or regrets that it's over. And I'm reloading the Armstrong Powerhouse website hourly in anticipation of the release of his Class 315 pack. I've changed!

That's a lovely and rather inspiring story.

 

[shredder1]

Extrovert, but live alone by choice, and enjoy my own company at times.

 

[mpthomson]

So a while ago in the General Discussion tabs I posted this thread which asked members as a whole whether they were extroverted or introverted. I would've expected a more varied response, despite the fact that only 68 people responded in the poll. In total, 59 of them knew what they were, and to my surprise the result was leaning greatly towards being introverts, with 17 votes (25%) saying that they were introvert-leaning ambiverts, and 32 votes (47.1%) saying that they were full-on introverts as a whole. So out of 59 people who knew what they were, 49 leaned more towards introversion. It's kind of given me a thought for a while though that I have only just gotten around to posting here.

Considering that this is a railway forum and the majority of people in the poll leaned towards being introverted in some way, I wondered if there was any correlation between having a general interest in railways and being introverted. To elaborate a little bit, some hobbies such as trainspotting or going out on trains are often niche and sometimes solitary hobbies, and even some railway jobs such as that of a train driver or signaller would require some people spending extended periods of time on their own, which isn't usually something extroverts like the idea of, though of course this does not exclude them from either of the specified hobbies or careers, nor does it suggest any incapability.

The idea of there being a possible correlation between taking interest in the railway and being an introverted person would be worth a bit of a discussion given both some of the hobbies I listed, and more importantly the poll above from actual people who take an interest in railways. If you missed that thread somehow, then I have provided a poll above to further see whether there may be some sort of correlation between railway interests and introversion.

Now just for some final notes. If you don't know what an extrovert or introvert is, then Google is your friend, for I will not be explaining it here on this thread because of how it would be a waste of time to do so in my eyes. So with that said, discuss the idea of this possible correlation away...

Said as someone who has run a medium secure hospital for people with ASDs. There is certainly a stronger likelihood of a very keen train spotter/bus spotter/ plane spotter (insert any kind of obsessive spotter, actually) being further along the Aspergers/ autistic spectrum than people who participate in other more social hobbies. Part of that is because people with ASD tend to be less likely to mix well in social groups and therefore tolerate more solitary activities, in addition to the slightly obsessive nature of these hobbies in terms of completion, lists, very detailed specific interests.

Clearly that's a generalisation and everyone is different but the correlation is there.

 

[Steamysandy]

Following on from the previous post, my son was diagnosed with Asperger's 30 years ago when he was 4 .So in my case there possibly is a connection

 

[shredder1]

Surely you could conduct similar correlations in other hobbies like specialist angling, a muscian or fell walker, hobbies that require you to spend time alone, and most of the railway groups I belong to have outgoing social sites, especially on the rail tours, does that mean those hobbists, obsessives are also further along the Aspergers/ autistic spectrum, obsessive behaviour is part of human nature and the more sucessful people in sport or hobbies/interests/music tend to be dedicated to the point of obsessive

 

[Wivenswold]

That's a lovely and rather inspiring story.

Thank you Backontrack. Really appreciated.

 

[backontrack]

Thank you Backontrack. Really appreciated.

It is true - it is inspiring. I wish you the best of luck for the future.

 

[Lucan]

I don't think that an interest in railways is special in this. There are many hobbies and interests that would correlate with introversion, such as building plastic kit models*, stamp collecting, reading, identifying toadstools etc. I think however that train spotting (actually standing on platform ends) attracts more public attention because it is very public, while stamp collecting is not, so train spotting becomes an familiar example to many people of what they consider a type of obsession (and to many outsiders an interest in railways can only mean train spotting). For some reason angling, about the biggest time consuming hobby per result obtained that I can think of, and one of the most obsessive, seems to get away without much stigma despite being publically visible. What is common to these is the ability to concentrate on something without much or any external encouragement, an ability that introverts tend to have more frequently than extroverts.

However there are areas with worse reputations for obsession than an interest in railways. Technical computing enthusiasts for example (I am a bit of one) have a public image of being neck-bearded overweight unwashed pimply 30-somethings who never emerge from their "mom's basement" (to use the American expression) and have never had a girlfriend. Even within computing circles themselves, different groups tend to slate each other with this image, with insults like "You should get out of your mom's basement sometimes!" - and worse.

I am also on a camera forum where there is an interesting polarisation of types. There are apparent introverts who post and discuss pictures of toadstools, landscapes and still life, and apparent extroverts who post and discuss portraits, glamour, the street scene, night life and pictures at gigs.

* I've just read Anthony Horowitz's novel "The Word is Murder". The hero detective is very reluctant to allow his assistant into his home, which turns out to be because it is full of plastic kit model aircraft and tanks.

 

[PeterY]

I enjoy my own company, most of the time.