Trainspotting: The Calm Hobby

 

While many people love to remodel old cars or old bikes, other enjoy watching every sporting event on Television, a lot of other people enjoy doing something not everyone has ever heard of Train Spotting. Have you heard of it? Don't worry, you are not alone.

Train Spotter hobbyists are called "Train Spotters", this is a famous hobby that revolves around the sighting of different Trains, the whole Hobby is about writing down Engine Numbers, the names of the trains and whatever other information the Train Spotter will find useful.

It is said that Train Spotting began in 1942 thanks to a man called Ian Allan who worked in the Public Relations Office in Waterloo, London. His office has stacked with letters from railway enthusiasts wanting to know everything about the locomotives.

 

So, what did he do? Set up a club named "Loco-Spotters" and by the 1950's the Hobby was a major hit, selling over one million locomotive guides. Trainspotting grew so big it expanded to America were it grew even more.

Another way to refer to Trains Spotter is Railfans. And the hobby consists of writing down information regarding the Trains that pass through the Station.

 

The Trainspotter collects everything from train tickets, brands and any other item related to training, they make notations about different rail companies, their timing and everything else related to it.

This hobby is perfect for a peaceful patient soul since a lot of sitting around on Train Stations is involved. They are notorious connoisseurs of the Trains they have an interest in, even arrivals and departures.

 

They even have their own jargon when exchanging information (as if they were CIA operatives conveying information about terrorist attacks).

 

And talking about the war on terror, these threats to the World's security have increased so much that has made Trainspotting a very difficult hobby to pursue. But, It's not all about just writing down miscellaneous information, a lot of these railfans have interest in the Steam Engines, Diesel Engines, or Electric Engines on how they work and power up those massive achievements of engineering.

 

This hobby is so vast and varied, that Trainspotters are bound to pick one area of study and stick to it over time.

Some of these areas are:

• Railroad Locomotives.

• Used and abandoned Railroad lines, bridges, stations, and tunnels.

• Railway photography.

• History.

• Collection of timetables.

• Art and Architecture.

• Preservation.

• Restoration.

• Operations.

Train Spotting is a hobby where you are not only going to be gathering notes, you'll be gathering history, collecting pieces of historical trains and railways, preserving them through history, and probably passing them down as family Heirlooms.

Don't feel ashamed if you like this hobby or want to practice it, stand your ground, don't let anyone tell you is a "geeky" hobby not worth your time. If this is something you like, then you don't have to justify your intentions to anyone, Hobbies are made to be enjoyed. So, let's get those anoraks out, our notepads, and search the World (Or city) for your favorite Locomotive. 


 

Related hobbies: Bus spotting

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