Model Citizens

- It wasn't so long ago

that trains were part of everyday life

in America and the developed world.

- Here, there's something for every taste.

From Dad's favorite, the electric trains,

to the latest design in space rockets.

Still, even the comparatively old-fashioned train sets

have innovations that keep them abreast of the times.

For example, two trains on the same track,

yet individually controlled.

- And then things changed.

We thought we had to say goodbye to childish things.

But no one knows why.

Of course, no one would call this a childish thing.

Maybe a little explaining is in order.

- I don't think the public understands the distinction

between model railroading and toy trains.

But I think they would enjoy both of them

if they did understand that distinction.

And I think the people who

use one or the other as a hobby

would also appreciate everybody

understanding the distinction.

It would actually make their hobby more fun.

- This is scale-model railroading.

It's pretty serious business.

This is scale-model railroading.

And so is this.

This too.

This is not.

Neither is this.

Nor this.

Scale.

Not scale.

- The advantage of three railers,

particularly with younger children,

is that they're virtually indestructible toys.

And I say that knowing that

I have several locomotives that have survived

a four-foot drop off the table and still run.

Notice the construction here.

Very solid metal.

That's not plastic.

So that's the way they used to build them.

I remember my Lionel set.

These,

you see a lot of sparks and stuff.

They had electrical pick up for that middle rail.

And,

my brother and I, we both had Lionel trains.

What we used to do is,

I'm ashamed to admit this,

but we used to run the trains into each other.

Stage these elaborate train wrecks.

- Model railroading isn't a toy, per se.

It's cute, I admit that it's cute, can be cute.

It's more that it is

somebody's interpretation of life.

In miniature.

Sometimes a good interpretation, sometimes not so good,

sometimes abstract art.

But it's somebody's interpretation.

And it moves and it runs.

And if it's done right, it can be a thing of beauty.

There is a lot of misperception about

model railroading out there.

And bless their hearts, as they say in the south.

Usually they say that when they're

about to say something bad about somebody,

but bless their hearts.

That misperception is based upon a

misunderstanding of what model railroading is.

We look at model railroading,

and the NMRA is primarily what we call a scale

model railroading operation, which is what,

scale means the relationship between

the real thing and a model.

So if you have a 40-foot boxcar,

and you have a scale of one inch to the foot,

well that boxcar's gonna be so big.

That's scale-model railroading.

Toy trains, or tin plate,

which most the public thinks model railroading is, Lionel.

Normally not scaled.

In other words, that 40-foot boxcar may be

actually shorter or long, actually shorter.

Because it's a toy and they're trying to fit it

within a packaging unit.

Or they're trying to make it a certain way.

And they don't really care that

it's not absolutely to scale.

Okay.

But there's room for everyone in this hobby.

Thank you.

- Describing model railroading

and the people who do it can be contentious.

It's not hard to offend in a community

with such loyalties and passions.

But there is one thing all model railroaders can agree on,

model railroading is good for you.

I lose myself in this hobby.

No matter what's going on in my life,

it's very relaxing just to sit out there

and work at the work bench.

For a lot of people, it's a,

stress relief.

To some people, it would drive 'em nuts,

but to a certain group of people,

working with that train, working with your hands,

it's something that kinda calms you down.

- There are two things that are very important to me,

one is the ability to calm down,

chill out and soothe my head,

by watching a train go around.

I don't know why, some psychologist can explain that to me,

but all I know is if I do,

if I have a train on the track that I like

and it's running well, and it goes around and around

and around, I get calmer and calmer with each lap.

- A long time ago I had a psychiatrist come in here

and he explained to me how he himself

had built a model railroad, in part for his own use,

but it was a way him getting away from his day-to-day life.

I think model railroading,

I think a lot of people could hide.

Here in the northeast, it's in the basement.

And I know a lot of...

Wives that probably wish their husbands

didn't spend quite so much time in their basement.

So I don't know if they're hiding from their lives or

hiding from the pressures of life.

They just go downstairs and play with their trains.

When I first roll into my train room and look around...

It's a feeling of calm,

until I notice a spider web

or a piece of dust.

And then I notice another one and then another one.

And then I realize how much work I have ahead of me.

And I tape a little paintbrush on my hand

and I start dusting.

It, I never thought dusting could be so relaxing,

but,

I would say that...

It could be a substitute for an anti-depression medication.

- The concentration that comes in working on

a model, doing the research,

adding small details parts to something,

is a little like yoga in its concentration.

I mean you cannot

worry about the world outside when

you're working with small tools and a magnifier,

trying to get something just right.

And with every small detail,

again, you're evoking something from that period.

It is, in some ways, I think, a protest

against the world as it is because you say

I'm going to be God for a while,

I'm gonna create a happy ending.

I'm gonna create characters.

It's a protest against the world as it is.

I don't accept the world as it is.

In some ways, with a model railroader,

you're creating a world.

For a little bit of time, there's power.

The whole concept of

having a small empire that you're

in complete control of, I think, appeals to some.

- Just drives you crazy

trying to keep the world in shape.

Come on up there, that's better.

- What isn't compelling about the idea

of creating a world the way you wanna see it?

The way that you wish the world was,

or the way it was at a time where

you thought it was just particularly great.

- To me, the act of creation that way is just,

is just great.

And model railroading is the venue,

it gives you something to aim for,

rather than just, I'm gonna build a dollhouse,

I'm gonna build a bicycle.

Now I'm gonna build a train, I'm gonna build a town,

I'm gonna build a city, I'm gonna build a layout.

The creation part of it is what's so cool about it.

- John Allen, who was a prolific modeler back in the

early days of model railroading.

He always had these little whims built into his scenes.

A stegosaurus pulling a boxcar?

Come on, who does that?

What other hobby do you know could do that and kind of say,

it's my world, so what?

- I might go to, let's say I go to somebody's house,

and I look at their model railroad and

let's say it has a lot of toilet humor.

It might have, say,

a scene where there's a prostitute,

or things like that.

And you wonder what made him put that there

because this person that has

a prostitute and a John modeled on his layout...