Re: Railway Pics Quote:
Originally Posted by shifu I have an off topic query. It’s about my son who is 6 years old. He is absolutely crazy about trains. Since he was 2 years old, he has been watching videos on YouTube about trains. When children of his age were watching cartoons, this guy used to see videos of trains (and sometimes car reviews). I have spent countless hours standing at a railway crossing close to my house to wait for that one train he wants to see. Sometimes it’s the “blue passenger express” and sometimes it’s the “red express”. I thought it is an infatuation that will fade away with time, but he is 6 and still going strong. His fav toy (no marks for guessing) is Thomas and Friends. He has about 52 pieces of these engines, and he keeps making stories of these engines. |
Hey shifu,
After reading this para I could vividly recollect my younger days. The hours I patiently waited for a glimpse of my favourite train that whizzed past me gave me some of the biggest thrills of my life. Even today when I visit my grand parents place in Vizag, a stones throw away from Simhachalam railway station, I cannot resist the urge to go to the station and spend a couple of hours watching numerous passengers and freights. The tracks are visible from the house's terrace too but I was not content with that after I got a bit older to venture out alone.
All the railfanning started at the age of 7. I remain a huge railfan. I am only an occasional trainspotter these days though due to time and work constraints.
I can totally relate to your kid. There are many railfans out there like me. So he is not alone and of course not "mad". When you have the chance why don't you catch a Falaknuma-Lingampalli MMTS and take your son with you. You can show him Hussain Sagar triangle(intersection point of Hyderabad line, Secunderabad line and Begumpet line), Sanatnagar goods yard(lots of freights and locos) and Lingampalli station. See if he is interested. You can also take him to the nearest suburban station in the evenings and watch several express departures. A lot of this stuff is for recreational reasons. Quote:
Originally Posted by shifu At first I was a bit worried about this madness. But he is otherwise ok, and looking at the passion you folks have on this thread, I am not really worried. However, I would really like to help him pursue this passion. I have started reading about the various locomotives there are in the Indian Railways, and try to explain him. But he is only interested in the colour of the train/type of train etc as of now. |
Like I said railfanning is a recreational activity at this age.
After Bachelors, I had thoughts of pursuing a serious career in railways but that was not to be. Railway jobs are not yet that high fetching as say IT industry. Thankfully over the last few years there have been a lot of changes, for the better, in the organisation. The employment conditions have improved a lot. I talked to several staff including loco pilots, guards, station masters etc., they said the situation is becoming better. The pay has increased, work hours are being streamlined and provided better facilities. But there is a lot more to do to make it an efficient organisation.
Your son still has a couple of decades to make that decision. By then, who knows, railway jobs can become sought after. Quote:
Originally Posted by sandeepmohan https://www.irfca.org/
This train craze was with me from the day I could recognize a train. Years went by under the feeling, am I the only crazy chap out there who likes trains? Then I stumbled upon Irfca back in 2002-2003. I also discovered that my child hood pal, who is also on tbhp, FM tharian, is another train crack. This was discovered way back and when we were just 8 or 10 years old. A gold mine of information related to the operations of Indian Railways is available on Irfca. The group used to have an active Photo sharing library. I believe this has stopped. However; the collection in there is huge. The Irfca forums is another useful place together information. A few passionate folks are also IR employees. The group has yearly meets too which is very well organized. I have attended one of them a decade ago.
Do allow your son to follow his passion and interest. I did not, could not and regret it in a lot of ways. |
Irfca forum is a great place just like TBHP to discuss and know anything about railways. The forum has photos, videos, discussion threads, updates etc. that focus on railways. As a longtime member, I am part of SC, SBC and VSKP railfan gang. We also meet sometimes at railway stations.
Last edited by strawhat : 15th May 2018 at 10:25.
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