Of all the things men collect–expensive bottles of liquor, scars, firearms–one of the most innocuous has to be toy trains. So it shouldn’t ruffle too many feathers when members of the locomotive set bring their Lionels into the office as part of the fifth annual Take a Model Train to Work Day on Nov. 4. (Besides, Take a Shotgun to Work Days have been failures.)
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“Take a Model Train to Work Day has evolved into a high point of the model railroading calendar. It’s a terrific opportunity for modelers to show off their handiwork and share their enthusiasm for this classic American pastime,” Model Railroader magazine editor Terry Thompson said of the 500,000 American adults who tinker with tiny trains.
It’s a safe bet that the vast majority of these amateur engineers are male, like father-and-son enthusiasts George and Wally Werderich. Dad George has a 14-by-22-foot landscape complete with working rail system in his Bartlett basement. Son Wally has a locomotive chugging across a track suspended from the ceiling of his Yorkville living room. And both of their wives are still with them.
“What do I do with my trains? I play with them,” said George, 62, a retired Northwest Airlines pilot. Wally, 32, is keeping a close eye on his work calendar. Attorneys probably shouldn’t bring choo-choo trains to court.
See www.greatesthobby.com.