why do young people hate trains

jibjub · Post by **jibjub** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 3:27 pm

i remember seeing two teens (same age as me) riding theyre bikes along the tracks. one of them nearly fell onto the third rail. with all those volts runing through he wouldve been fried in a second. Makes me think how lucky the majority of us are to have a brain...

rodw1997 · Post by **rodw1997** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:17 pm

That last post gives me very mixed feelings.

As a father I instinctively feel protective toward the kids.

As a responsible adult I feel great sympathy for the driver who would have had to live with hitting them.

As a slightly less responsible adult I wish that, instead of the kids getting hit, it could be the parents of those kids who have allowed them to grow up with so little respect and discipline.

And finally, as a total reactionary, I'd secretly think to myself, just for a fleeting moment, "two down, only ten thousand to go".

Then the values from my own upbringing kick back in, and I go back to my original reaction.

Rod

3406767 · Post by **3406767** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 5:28 pm

3406767 wrote:15 and steam all the way

weee im 16 and steam all the way now

also just to prove that , ive worked on the MHR for just under a year now and am on my way to getting test papers for becoming a pass cleaner - well i need to get on the footplate and learn it all as if i was a baby learning to walk but still

getting there

alexnick · Post by **alexnick** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 5:31 pm

I don't know. Whilst I should be protective of children, I really do think that it's there own fault if they do things which are that stupid.

I'm less concerned with the criminal side of trespassing on a railway than the "it's reall dangerous and stupid" side. Obviously, in cases of vandalism, I worry about the criminal aspects, but in these latter cases, I just wonder why these kids do things which are so stupid.

I'm not saying that these kids deserve to be hit by a train, I'm just complaining that they seem so ignorant. But the same goes with incidents not involving railways - you see kids doing equally stupid and dangerous things around town; so my complaint is that teenagers have no common sense whatsoever these days!

Rant over now...

Nick (18 fyi)

MuzTrem · Post by **MuzTrem** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 5:37 pm

I'm 15 years old, the only railway enthusiast in my school of 1200, and in the four years I've been there I think I've worked out the reason that young people don't like railways: because it is seen as an old man's hobby.
It's certainly true that the fact that chavs can't find anything to do with their lives is part of the problem, but not all young people are chavs. Most of them do find constructive things to do in their free time. The problem is that they seem to think that for something to be interesting, it has to be fast-paced and exciting, e.g. sport or computer games. Anything involving books is instantly dismissed as boring. (You won't find many young people interested in history today for the same reason.) The tabloid "anorak" sterotypes do not help either.

3406767 · Post by **3406767** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 5:44 pm

hmm so out of about 2100 kids in yours and my school the thing goes like this

3 "trainspotters" or as we shuould be know as train entusiats
and 2997 chavs

hmmm , try being on a steam engines footplate at 60 mph that would change there minds knowing there sitting ontop of a 200+psi bom with the potental to kill them in the blink of an eye of ( god forbid it ever happens and tounch wood and fingers cross ) if it ever happened.

faedundee2 · Post by **faedundee2** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 5:52 pm

did you hear about the cathedral exprees which got stoned ages ago i thought it was diabolical as these people should be brought to justice for it.

ross

arabiandisco · Post by **arabiandisco** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:15 pm

3406767 wrote:hmm so out of about 2100 kids in yours and my school the thing goes like this

3 "trainspotters" or as we shuould be know as train entusiats
and 2997 chavs

hmmm , try being on a steam engines footplate at 60 mph that would change there minds knowing there sitting ontop of a 200+psi bom with the potental to kill them in the blink of an eye of ( god forbid it ever happens and tounch wood and fingers cross ) if it ever happened.

Without questioning the teaching at your school's maths department (2997+3=3000, by the way)...

1. There is no point trying to make others understand why you like doing what you do- i'll never understand why people put bodykits on ford fiascos, or what possesses people to watch football.

2. 'Trainspotter' is only a dirty word if you want it to be. I'm quite happy to accept the label, though collecting numbers is about as far removed from my idea of a good time as putting a bodykit on a ford fiasco is. I spent ages hiding my interest until I realised that anyone who would judge me on it wasn't worth knowing, and could be safely completely ignored. I also discovered that I had much more success with the ladies once I'd stopped trying to conform. So if they want to call you a "trainspotter", let them, what does if matter what anyone thinks of what you do (provided it's legal!)

(if it matters, I'm 25, and you might see me down the mad pants if you're there on saturdays...)

rich20166 · Post by **rich20166** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:20 pm

i think the variety has gone. unless your just a spotter, which means all these new GMs are heaven to chase around, the GM revolution has taken the buzz out of the hobby as far as modern traction goes. Thats why i prefer to watch dvd/videos of what id ragard as the golden period of BR such as the 70's, 80's & most of the 90's. Class 40s, 50s Deltics etc gave you an undying love for Britains railways and took me to places in my own country i didnt know existed! Im 23 and i can just about remember the golden era but didnt apriciate it as much as i should have done.

Ghostcav · Post by **Ghostcav** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 11:38 pm

rich20166 wrote:i think the variety has gone. unless your just a spotter, which means all these new GMs are heaven to chase around, the GM revolution has taken the buzz out of the hobby as far as modern traction goes. Thats why i prefer to watch dvd/videos of what id ragard as the golden period of BR such as the 70's, 80's & most of the 90's. Class 40s, 50s Deltics etc gave you an undying love for Britains railways and took me to places in my own country i didnt know existed! Im 23 and i can just about remember the golden era but didnt apriciate it as much as i should have done.

Have to agree with you all the way there. I regard the early 80's when I was a child as the last glimpse of what the railways were. I'm 34 now & already look back in fondness to when I started working for British Rail in 1989 as a box lad & shortly after as a shunter (before going into signalling,mobile operations manager {AMI} & then on to my current role as a driver). I've just signed the Shrewsbury-Aberystwyth line & thought I would check out pictures from 1984/85 of the route,the stuff we have lost in such a short length of time is unbelieveable & really makes you want to cry. Now I drive a 158 unit (x2) on a very rationalised route that just a short time ago was full of sidings,yards,proper stations,proper signalling & a variety of classes including 25's,31's,37's,47's & all manners of what we now call heritage DMU's.

MuzTrem · Post by **MuzTrem** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 6:49 pm

arabiandisco wrote: There is no point trying to make others understand why you like doing what you do- i'll never understand why people put bodykits on ford fiascos, or what possesses people to watch football.

Very true. Sometimes people at school ask me "why do you like trains?", and a few pestered me so much that I tried to give them an explanation just to shut them up. I could hear them sniggering as I walked off...it's these intolerant, narrow-minded little brats that will kill off our harmless hobby forever.

220389 · Post by **220389** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 10:38 pm

Sometimes people at school ask me "why do you like trains?", and a few pestered me so much that I tried to give them an explanation just to shut them up. I could hear them sniggering as I walked off

That's Happened to be loads off time's both When i Went to a secondary School in somerset my year was small so it went round quickly, but i didn't care less as it's something im intrested in to,

But the problem with other young people (many of my friends respect my intrest in railway's) is that they 1: don't bother to read books, 2: schools in History don't teach anything about the history of the Railway's and How important they are, 3: a lot of them have no respect, and baslicy think that railway's are another Grafti or play ground,

Also im 17 and love Steam engines just happen to be slightly for GWR, if we want people to not be idiot's on Railway's their should be More Advert's e.g. showing what happens if you do for example piss around nr a 3rd rail, and Schools should have Talks from the BTP

jibjub · Post by **jibjub** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 6:36 am

exactly. theyre always showing adverts about crossing the road safley and driving safely so why can't they show some about the railways!

rich20166 · Post by **rich20166** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 2:20 pm

to you lads who get stick from kids at school for liking trains, so did i, but just remember this, they might get on your back abit now but as you and they get older they realise they wont be able to change you so they give up. I also like Rock music so when i was in last year at high school (year 11) i had a folder with pictures of rock bands stuck on one side & on the other side was pictures of class 20s 31s 37s etc. People used to call me all sorts but at least i didnt hide it, and they respect you in the end for not giving a . about what they say! Always be proud of your hobby. Its better than hanging around outside Asda with your mates chocking on cigarettes.

alexnick · Post by **alexnick** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 2:46 pm

People here are talking about road safety a lot.

Has nobody noticed that these teenagers never look when crossing roads, and drive dangerously, causing the bulk of traffic accidents - they are just irresponsable throughout life. I think that somehow we've got to the stage where people have no common sense - it doesn't even classify as thrill seeking; even the teenagers I see trespassing on the railways look plain bored.

There will always be people, especially at school who make fun of people with any 'interesting' hobbies. Ask them what they do; they just hang around supermarkets molesting people. Even at university, there are a few people who make fun of others, but they now become the minority and everyone thinks the're being immature.

More surprisingly, I don't get made fun of for liking trains - I think quoting something literary at people shut them up on this one! I do, however, get made fun of for being Welsh, and for liking the theatre. Again, the people who've been making fun, however, don't have anything interesting in their lives.

Nick