Model Railroading to Get Through the Pandemic

Story and photo by Jacob Durbin

Looking back on my time in quarantine due to the coronavirus, my life has been a rollercoaster. Maintaining my identity as a college student while mentally feeling like I’m in high school again has been a challenge. Despite this, I feel that I have made the best possible use of my time and have paid more attention to my mental health, stayed close with my friends and even become more politically informed, all while on this journey to keep my identity on track. My main hobby, railroading - and more specifically model railroading - have been a key part of this journey. What I stand for. Since I was a toddler, I have had a fascination with any and all things related to trains. I started how most people my age did; with Thomas the Tank Engine. Around age five my dad gave me my first real “model” train set, and I’ve been off and running ever since. When I played with my trains as a child, it was simply playing; I didn’t see any deeper meaning other than it was something I loved doing. [My dad] was killed when I was nine, and I have transitioned away from the trains he got for me, but the memory still lives on. Model railroading is something we shared, and I like to think that maintaining an interest in the hobby will serve as a way to keep my memories of him alive and “real.” To me, it represented childhood innocence and it still does today; it serves as an escape from the real world and keeps my mental health intact.

Model railroading is all about creating and immersing oneself in a miniature world, an escape from the real world. In 2020, having a means to get away from the seemingly constant depressing news has been essential in keeping my mental health up. Many times during quarantine I have discussed the coronavirus, a political issue or school issue, and it got to the point where I was getting uncomfortable and needed something to distract myself from all the negativity that would make my head spin. All those times, model railroading has been there. When I started college, my time to work on models was cut short, much more than I anticipated. I began to think that I would not have the time I wanted to commit to my layout; the model train setup I have at my house to run trains on. With the start of the pandemic, I realized that I would finally have the time I have wanted for so long to work on the layout. For at least 15 minutes every day, I try to immerse myself in a modeling project — of which I have many to work on — research about the hobby or just watch trains run on my home layout. Those 15 minutes have sometimes made the difference between having a shit day or an alright day, especially after catching up with the latest, often upsetting, political news. While model railroading and real railroading, to an extent, have played a key part in my life, politics have not historically. Tourist railroading is the subset of railroading that involves mostly non-profit – with some for-profit -- railroads that focus on presenting railroad history for the entertainment and education of the public. In my experience, along with stories from friends in the industry, tourist railroading has long been a hotbed of organizational politics. In the past I have stayed away from discussing and involving myself in politics, making my decisions either on a whim or on limited information. I think my main reason for paying more attention to politics is the fact that I’m simply growing up. I’m at the age now where I should be doing more adult things and having some political knowledge and it's part of that. Also, I am finally old enough to vote in a presidential election, and I want to make sure my vote will be worthwhile. During quarantine I have spent more time “doing my homework” on political information, and I feel that I am now better able to make political decisions for myself, and better respect people’s differing opinions in general. I have been improving my political identity, and now have a better idea of what I stand for.

I cannot understate how many lifelong friends I have made through real and model railroading, and having those friends to talk to, virtual or in person, has been essential for maintaining my identity during quarantine. My longtime best friend, who I have known since first grade and I have shared a love of trains with, and has had a strong influence on my identity. At this point I’m considered a family friend of his and there aren’t many railroad things that we don't share with each other. Most of the people I have met through my model railroad club, the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway and the Ohio Railway Museum have become a second family of sorts over the years. We have been there for each other and are able to talk about almost anything and respect each other’s differences, even if we couldn’t do it in person. The people that I share the hobby with have been essential to maintaining my identity through quarantine, and that can be tied back to my passion for model railroading.