The term “train enthusiast” is used to describe those who love real full-size trains. But just as real trains have inspired the creation of toy trains and model kits, many train enthusiasts are also scale modelers or collectors of toy trains. This hobby has been around for many decades and is now a multi-billion dollar industry with a multitude of niches, from photography and collecting to modeling and writing. Experienced model railroaders may talk about building models from scratch, which may be an unfamiliar concept for new collectors and enthusiasts.
This term refers to creating scale models of trains, landscapes and more “from scratch”. In the past, it was often necessary to build from scratch to achieve the desired level of realism that model train enthusiasts are looking for. In short, there's no wrong way to enjoy it; if trains are what you're interested in, you can rightly call yourself a train enthusiast or model train collector. Jools Holland, best known for his colourful variety show Jools' Annual Hootenanny, is also an enthusiast of model trains.
The company has published several books (such as Tourist Trains Guidebook, Build A Small Model Railroad, All-Star Electric Trains and Modeling The Transition Era) or released several DVDs and other videos in the digital era. As such, these people are wary of, and sometimes even hostile to, train enthusiasts who observe or photograph trains near the tracks. A toy train can be a relatively faithful reproduction of a real train, which almost elevates it to the category of model train. The TCA (Train Collectors Association) has adopted standards to help guide collectors of toys and model trains and encourage the use of common terminology when describing items such as categories and conditions.
Toy trains (including train models) come in different sizes, reflecting the different calibers of the rails, the distance between the main track rails and the scales. Creating scaled environments for toy trains and model kits is something that many collectors spend a lot of time on. Nowadays there are dozens of model train manufacturers, as well as many from the past that no longer work. Some cite the widespread use of polystyrene foam to create landscapes and landscapes in the construction of railway models as the origin of the term Foamite (which stands for Far Out Model Train Enthusiast and Mentally Incompetent Train Enthusiast), while others claim that it refers to the notion of insanity that foams out of your mouth.
The magazine Model Railroader began to publish, and the differentiation between toy trains and the more demanding construction and collection of scale model trains began to become more pronounced. If you've been a toy train enthusiast for some time, you probably know all the differences between toy trains and model trains.
