Nah, but I get to play with them from time to time. :^)

Well, perhaps not a full-size one

It's easier than you think. If you run a heavy hauling truck business, or a tanker truck business, rail ops become a natural concern once you start doing more than 4 trips/wk to the local refinery. It's also trivial to set up a cartage rail op because drayage drivers (the one-seater terminal trucks) don't need CDLs or piss tests. Such was how I bought my own hy-railer, which I occasionally use to do track geometry/utility spotting checks for local businesses. I also got a rail king, which I lease out to my former boss who runs a small terminal trucking business and needs a way to move things from UP's siding to his siding (about 500').

>>4627
I contend that full size trains are LESS fun to play with than model trains. There's far more bitching compared to the model ones.
>>4628
Also this. Buying a small spur is a lot easier than you think. Keeping it running is pretty easy too if you have some logistics/freight business that you can carry over from trucking. There's good money in storing cars too!

They're literally giving them away...if you can move them.

It used to be possible to buy the whole set, narrow gauge locomotives, wagons, wagon frames and rail from a scrap yard and start doing 1:1 scale model railroading.

Now, plenty of locomotives have been saved by individual foamers and some lumps of rust to donate an underframe may still be out there unclaimed. Wagon parts are easy enough to manufacture. The issue is where to get suitable rail stock in suitable amounts and prices (that is, price of the scrap metal). We are talking about 5-10 kg/m (for 2/4 tonne axle loads) in 6-8 m long pieces.

>>Ham549 in alternative timeline. 1 Lottery bought Railroad and F40PHs. Wait for everyone to finishup and go home. Get F40PH started. Engineer Douchebag McGee come to marching up to me and demands to know what I'm doing. Tell him I'm going for a joyride. Immediately tells me I am not authorized and if that locomotive move so much of the centimeter that they will be reporting my ass to the FRA. Tell him I certify myself. Tells me by Union agreement that I have to pass norac and physical characteristics before I can become a student conductor to even start on my path. Tell him I'll have a class tomorrow. Tells me that's not allowed because Union agreement says certification classes are scheduled in advance and the next one won't be until 6 months. Leave in defeat... get certified letter that I own douchebag McGee an hour of overtime pay for having to explain this to me after he clocked out.

>>4633
>> go to Alternative timeline 1Chan to complain. Tex who in this timeline has become the King of England somehow post video response with Sim in a steam locomotive laughing at me before having the camera do Mount and show him running The Flying Scotsman at 100mph. Wonder where do you get a drone that could fly that fast and that smoothly to get that shot. Realizes he's the king of England such a thing probably isn't that difficult.

>>4634
>>Finally get a chance to take test and pass. Put myself on crew for next day. Engineer douchebag McGee punches out and sees this. Stormed up to me and says I can't be on crew because of the agreement the state's only union members can do train operations. Tell him I'll join Union. This Mac McGee tells me management and owners aren't allowed to join Union due to conflict of interest and leaves. Get another certified letter saying I owe him an hour's pay for making him explain this after he punched out.

>>4633
>>4634
>>4635
Well its taken nearly 15 years, but Ham has somehow developed a sense of humor!

Top kek old man!

>>4633
>>4634
>>4635
>MFW I'm about to get on my royal train

>>4636
the tripcodes don't match so legally this is ghostwriting

>>4639
Nah, it's just shitposting.

>>4625
Wait? None of you do? I thought it was normal to own your own rail car?

Speeders count right?

If anyone wants to own a giant self-propelled vacuum cleaner, now's your chance.

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=93&acctid=17125

Protip: Moving it is going to be the expensive part.

>>4625
what if i become a train driver
i wont own a train but its the closest thing

>>5529
Some dudes on YouTube bought their own train

How about being friends with someone who owns one half of the definition of a train?

Don't let hopelessness hold you away from your dreams, bitch. You WILL own a TRAIN

>>5554
If quads everybody on this board will get a train INSTANTLY.

>>5555
SICK

>Tfw closest thing to owning a train is a train turned into a statue near my house

>>4625
nooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Trains is hard work

>>4625
Sometimes one has to accept the smaller pleasures in life.

>>5597
People forget this so often.

>>5597
You'll appreciate this... (1/2)

>>5597
2/2 (John Leeming photo)

>>5710
Indeed. :^)

All of us will own a train.
Nationalize it again Uncle Joe!
Conrail for the people

Apparently Mr.Beast just bought two locomotives and by the way they're painted I'm guessing he's going to try to stop the GTA v train in real life.

>>5730
I went back. (and to Kokanee)

>>5754
Nice. I wanted to be there for the CPHA meet.

YOU WILL NEVER OWN A REAL TRAIN

>>5761

You wouldn't download a train

>>5763
No but I do download a decent number of .rail files.

that's the entire beauty of this hobby

would you prefer if things were like how they are with cars?

>>4986
That train SUCKS!

>>5544
That makes two caboose's there.

>>5544
>definition of a train

Isn't that merely a sanctuary for the high priest who guards the holy scriptures that define the train?

>>4625
guy just get someone to donate a train, dont you like trains, and then on the train we can discuss trains, or even look at trains, but if you want to join us, we all have to take care of the train

>>6154
If we all pay up we will have a train

>>4625
Maybe not but hey at least I can still ride em

>>6170
Holy shit, you're alive! Good to hear from ya.

test

maybe the real trains were the friends we made along the way

>>6171
Yup. But I'm a lot more settled down now, I've only ridden a handful of trains this year. Portland OR to Bakersfield - CA, Los Angeles to Kansas City, Kansas City to Chicago, Chicago to New Castle PA and then back to KC. With a few short rides from KC up to Ft Madison just to go swimming and then heading back home. That New Castle one was right after the thing in East Palestine had happened, I was headed to Pittsburgh and could of just taken NS straight there from KC but opted to go a little ways around it via CSX and then take a bus to Pittsburgh from New Castle. I've been living in KC which has been nice since there's so many trains here.

>>6170
To ride a train in America you have to effectively be a hobo - accustomed in train riding culture to not get killed (or robbed!) while doing so. Just throw your bag in an throw yourself in and of you go, you are riding the train in the American way. This is what happens when you don't have a functioning state, only cops & military.

>>6199
Trains stop. You can just get on, throwing your self onto a moving train is how you get killed. We haven't had a train related casualty in the train riding community in years. I think the last time it happened was when Stobe died (2017 in Baltimore), he died getting off a moving train. Also most train riders in America aren't "hobos", hobos are seasonal workers. The majority of riders are just trying to get somewhere to meet up with friends. Train riders in America have only gotten younger too, or maybe I've just gotten older lol. On average the age of the people I encounter on the rails now is 15-22. I'm in my mid 30's now and feel like a grandpa around the zoomers. It's nowhere near as dangerous as it was when I first started doing it. We learned from the mistakes of others and stopped gatekeeping this knowledge.

>>6201
Thank you for your service, now join the IWW.

>>4625

This is why they made model railroads!

Never lose hope frens!

Maybe you'll have a train one day who knows.

yea

Hey please tell me what is this site . I chose you random between this comment to ask what's this fucking site please tell. Isaw some meme and stickers from this site but what are they talking about? I see train pictures every where in this sit im gonna be crazy please tell whats going on

>>6226
Like ponychan, but instead of an animesque cartoon for little girls, we obsess on all sorts of vehicles that move on rails. Maglevs also pass.

Small 'alt chans' dedicated for a single topic were and are a thing, it's not all raids and thousands of variants of ancient krautchan memes. Shouldn't be that hard to grasp, are you just just being intentionally obtuse or 12? Anyway, check out lainchan for example. They have /lain/ yes, but otherwise it's quite tech and cyberpunk oriented.