Model Railroading > Amish Like Trains?

 
We were discussing the popularity of model railroading in Europe on another thread, and that made me think of this. It seems that many Amish have this natural interest in trains! Has anyone else noticed this? Many are into mechanical things too. Perhaps these two things are related. I have lived around them in Indiana and this always amazed me in that it seems to contradict their lifestyle.
 
I also worked with a tool & die/machine maintenance manager at a large machine shop who was Amish. He was wonderful guy and very good at what he did. I recently met one that bought a caboose and had it moved to his property!  Here in Indiana I have video footage of a van load watching the 765 in action. They hired someone to make a special trip to see the locomotive in action. How do they tolerate the operation at the Strasburg in Pennsylvania?

A late friend of mine who was a "jerked over"  Amish (had become a Mennonite) worked at the Topeka, Indiana Historical Society's Depot Museum. Ezra was a regular train nut. He grew up along the Wabash in Indiana and had fond memories of the railroad. When I did a book signing in the area, many Amish bought my book. I have also sold my book to Amish outside of the area too.



Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com
 



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/20 13:50 by wabash2800.

I recall one story told by an Amish man that was a little funny. He said he saw the N&W train stop next to his cornfield and a guy jump out of the caboose and run into the cornfield to cut off a handful of ears of corn. But he said he wasn't mad and related that all the guy would have had to do was ask and he would given him some.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

I have seen Amish or Mennonites on the Horseshoe Curve cam watching the trains.  I have also seen them on the LaPlate camera taking the Amtrak trains.
Where I didn't expect to see them was at the Great Model Train Show in Timonium MD.  I don't know if they bought anything..
Just shows you the wide range of people who are interested in trains.  That's good.

I have heard that Amtrak stops in Elkhart, IN, because there is regular patronage by the Amish in northeast Indiana. I am not sure if that is true--perhaps there is another explanation.

When I was traveling from Emeryville on the Zephyr several years ago, there were 4 young Amish women in the same sleeper, headed back to Pennsylvania. They seemed to be enjoying the trip very much. 

Although we sometimes think of the Amish as sort of living in complete isolation and in the past, they enjoy many of the same things we do, including going on vacation. I believe that there is a community in Florida that welcomes them and accommodates to their needs. 

It's also good to remember that there is a great deal of diversity among the Amish, perhaps not in their fundamental beliefs, but in the practical rules that they live by. 

Definitely huge amounts of Amish get off and on at La Plata from watching that cam.  Seems interesting where they draw the line

The food they bring to picnic at HSC is phenomenal. huge piles of chicken and salads. Kids running around. Wives mostly talking or sewing of some kind but they occasionally step over to watch a train. PA Dutch, so you mostly can't understand what they are saying.

Colehour, thanks for your input. Based on a documentary a friend read, he says that some years ago the medical profession prompted them to diversify their gene pool as there was some intermarrying because of the liimited population in their areas and sharing the same ancestors that migrated to the US. Therefore, since then, some Amish have traveled back and forth btw Indiana and Pennsylvania to court potential spouses. And perhaps some of the travel by Amtrak btw the two locations is because of the resulting relatives in both locations.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/20 14:55 by wabash2800.

I posted this a few years back:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3050384,3050384#msg-3050384

Posted from iPhone

That corn of theirs is the best I've ever eaten!

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

The corn they grow is mainly field corn, toi feed their cows!

There are quite a few Amish who commute by bus from Lancaster County to Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.

Jim Maurer

Reminds me of an old Harrison Ford movie called "Witness" from 1985.

There are several Amish communities in the Mohawk valley of upstate NY.  If you like really good fruit pies while railfanning, there will be a buggy selling them along Route 5 most summer mornings (not Sunday, obviously).  They (the pies) are worth dying for. Bring a big spoon, buy two pies, and then lie to your spouse about what happened to the other one.

If you need a barn built, they're really good at that, also.  Neither the pie nor the barn will be cheap. But they will definitely be worth paying for.  Good and decent people, throughout.

And yes, you will see them as passengers on Amtrak frequently, also.  Surprising how many you will see on obvious vacation trips to Essex, MT (Izaak Walton Inn), a scene I wouldn't have predicted.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/20 18:28 by march_hare.

Thanks for the link. I could almost smell what the "honey wagon" left in the field. <G>

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

dschlegel Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I posted this a few years back:
>
> https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,
> 3050384,3050384#msg-3050384
>
> Posted from iPhone

My brother knows an Amish couple that own a bait shop not too far from him. But there is another bait shop down the road also owned by Amish. They compete with each other. He says that you would think it was Vanderbilt and Gould, the rate wars and bad mouthing all over again.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

Correct. They also grow it for human consumption and to sell at road stand and truck lots.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

seaboardc30-7 Wrote:
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> The corn they grow is mainly field corn, toi feed
> their cows!

seaboardc30-7 Wrote:
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> The corn they grow is mainly field corn, toi feed
> their cows

I grow field corn every year in my garden because it tastes like CORN and not the hybrid, sweet sugary corn you get nowadays! The trick is to water it alot and pick it a week or so earlier, if possible. (Hmmmm....Field corn with salt, pepper and real butter!)

colehour Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>I believe that there
> is a community in Florida that welcomes them and
> accommodates to their needs. 

There's an Amish enclave in Sarasota, FL. Two great Amish restaraunts that are "must visit" when down there - and it's one of the reasons my wife and I like to vacation there. Yoders and Der Dutchman. More info on the Amish communinty in Sarasota here: https://www.visitsarasota.com/article/pinecraft-amish-snowbird-community-sarasota

Stay healthy!

Arved Grass
Fleming Island, FL

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the link. I could almost smell what the
> "honey wagon" left in the field.
>
> Victor A. Baird
> http://www.erstwhilepublications.com
>
> dschlegel Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I posted this a few years back:
> >
> >
> https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,
>
> > 3050384,3050384#msg-3050384
> >
> > Posted from iPhone

Some folks might find the aroma off-putting, but to those of us living in the area it is a sure sign of spring!!!

I have been through Chicago on Amtrak several times and every time there were numbers of Amish passengers waiting for trains at Union Station.
The Mennonite break-off group is well known in Kansas for always being present to help with the most difficult tasks at a disaster site......like a tornado hitting a town.  They always seemed to be the "first responders."  And they did not want any publicity about their work either.  Wonderful people.