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Supporting my fav seniors #19 Railway enthusiasts and productivity Part 2: Love of Trains and Railways Driving Productivity

 “What can be helpful for senior male railfans to fully enjoy and share what they love?” That was the question I asked at the end of the last blog. I found a possible solution, or a clue, the other day at a railway festival organized by a railway club of the university I work for. In this two-day event, these train-loving college students from the club unleashed their passion at a gathering place in an apartment complex, where a growing number of residents were older adults and/or living alone.

This event actually had a hidden agenda: to take middle-aged and older men out of their houses to engage with their community. A student in my seminar class, the leader of this club, was the key organizer of the event, which was also a social experiment to create an opportunity to bring railfans together. For example, a café space was set up for visitors to enjoy coffee together while admiring model trains.

Over 200 people participated in the two-day event, mainly families with small kids. Since children make up only 3% of the apartment residents, I guess those living there invited their friends, or people in the neighborhood heard about it and came over.


Among all these young families, we also found senior male railfans!

Most of them came alone, a bit hesitantly, looking at the entrance from distance for a while and then entering the room, silently begging to be left alone.

When I asked one of them what had brought him here, he mumbled that he liked trains and saw the flier. He lived in this apartment but knew no one. For him, it must have taken a lot of courage to come to this event.

 I looked around the room, anxious about whether the senior railfans were enjoying the event. But when I saw them, it was clear that there’s nothing to worry about. Some were admiring the model trains displayed all over the room, with sparkling eyes, while others were having passionate conversations with students from the club and other visitors. They looked full of joy, talking about the train cars they knew and the trains they had ridden, reminding me of the energy created by the love of and passion toward something.

Denkichi-san, a 75-year-old YouTuber who runs a YouTube channel dedicated to model trains.
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6057062323248459997/494743517799792868#

But one remarkable senior railfan went a step further: a gentleman in his 80s who had been researching discontinued local railways and making a model train by himself. He saw the flier and contacted us, saying that he would like to display his model train and help the event. So we decided that he would be in charge of one of the booths.

Compared with the fancy-looking express trains, his handmade model train looked rather plain. But he had made its blueprint from scratch based on photos and spent two years to create it. In addition to the model train, he even prepared paper crafts as gifts for visitors.




 “What if no one stop by his booth?” Despite my worries, he had visitors of all generations, from kids to seniors appreciating the train with sparkling eyes. But whose eyes were sparkling the most? The octogenarian at the booth introducing the model!

 According to this gentleman, he had lost all motivation to do anything for a month or so, had shingles, and spent every day with sighs. But the love of trains and railways ignited his spirit and got him to take a step forward; this event was the opportunity to bring out and nurture the passion.

An 80-something train enthusiast who builds models of trains from discontinued lines.

 Having something to love (or like, or enjoy) makes you strong. Having somewhere and someone to share your love and passion makes you even stronger. You don’t have to be with someone all the time. If you have someone or somewhere, you can share the love and passion whenever you like. That should be enough.

This is the message, a wonderful reminder, I found through the railway festival.

The nerdiness of railfans, more so than soccer fans and car enthusiasts, may also help bring people together to share this unique world?!


Shino Sawaoka

Associate Professor,

Dept. of Health Management,

Tokai University 

jzt1864@tokai.ac.jp

https://www.tokai-kenko.ac/

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