Okay, so I'm supposed to be all fired up about a model train show in Louisville, KY? The National Model Railroad Association's Mid Central Region threw a party for themselves at the Holy Family Parish Saffin Center. Dozens of dealers and vendors showed off their tiny trains. And train enthusiasts were "in their element."
Give me a break.
"In their element"? What element is that, exactly? Nostalgia-ville? The land of perpetual childhood? Look, I get it. We all have our hobbies. But there's something deeply unsettling about grown adults obsessing over miniature locomotives. It's like they're trying to recapture some idealized past that never really existed.
Show organizer Mike Berry says a lot of folks get hooked on trains as kids, thanks to a Christmas train set. Fine. But shouldn't we, I don't know, grow out of it? Move on to, like, actual real-world problems? Or are we just going to keep circling the tracks of our youth, forever chasing that fleeting feeling of Christmas morning?
I mean, I'm not saying these guys are hurting anyone. But there's a certain... arrested development vibe to the whole thing. And let's be real, model trains ain't exactly a cheap hobby. Do these guys have, like, trust funds or something? Who's funding this tiny, tiny empire of miniature steel?
And another thing: "largest in Kentucky," huh? That's not exactly saying much, is it? I mean, Kentucky's great and all, but it's not exactly a global hub of… well, anything, really, aside from bourbon and horse racing. So, being the "largest" anything in Kentucky is like being the tallest building in… Rhode Island. It's a distinction, sure, but it's hardly something to write home about. Offcourse, I don't know the true size of the show, but it just sounds so small. According to Largest train show in Kentucky draws model railroad enthusiasts to Louisville - WDRB, the show is considered the largest in the state.
"Operating layouts and displays," the press release gushes. Okay, but operating what? Are we talking meticulously recreated historical routes? Or just some random loops and curves set up to showcase the latest engine? Are we talking about some miniature version of the underground railroad? Because that'd be somethin'.
I'm picturing these guys, hunched over their tiny landscapes, carefully adjusting the speed of their little locomotives. Is this their escape from the soul-crushing reality of modern life? Is it their way of exerting control in a world that feels increasingly chaotic? Maybe. Maybe I'm being too harsh. Then again, maybe I'm just jealous that I don't have the time or the patience to build my own miniature world.
Planning for the show starts months in advance. Months! Think about all the things those people could be doing. They could be volunteering at a homeless shelter. They could be protesting corporate greed. They could be learning a new language. But no, they're spending their time arranging tiny plastic trees around a miniature train track.
It's all about control, isn't it? In a world where everything feels out of our hands – the economy, the environment, politics – these guys can at least control the speed and direction of their miniature trains. They can create their own little worlds, where everything is predictable and orderly. And maybe that's the appeal. Maybe that's why they're "in their element." But let's be real, it's still kinda sad.
The real hobby isn't trains; it's escapism. It's retreating into a fantasy world where everything is small, manageable, and ultimately meaningless. And honestly, in this day and age, it's hard to blame them. But let's not pretend it's anything more than that.
