Melbourne man discovers extensive model train network underneath house

Reminds me of an estate sale I went to one time. Unassuming place, one of those tiny postwar homes about the same size as the one in this article - but with at least double or triple the density of this train layout in the basement. The owner must have been a very thin person, as the narrow winding paths around the basement in places measured no more than 8 inches, and the widest parts were only about 2 foot wide. In a 900 sq. foot basement, there was probably only about 50 sq foot of floor you could actually rest your feet on. The rest was all layout and boxes of trains and train accessories of all sorts - hundreds of tiny pots of specialty paint, miniature trees, "grass powder", special linkages and wheels, and more. Probably most of it got thrown away at the end of the sale.

People have hobbies, but I can't think of any circumstance in which I'd convert my basement into a deathtrap. There was less room than those hoarder houses you see on TV (but much more organized). It was genuinely concerning that they even decided to hold a sale there open to the public.

Truly one of the more bizarre things I've seen. Also, the upstairs? Mostly normal - you wouldn't even know the guy liked trains.

Sounds like he was neuro divergent and his wife made him keep his obsession in the basement.

Is there anything particularly "neuro divergent" about having a hobby?

Anyways, I doubt his wife's making him do anything. Totally normal domestic arrangement to have a space for one's thing(s), whatever it may be. Well-conducive to a happy marriage, IMHO.

I'm not fortunate enough to have a whole basement to play with, but my study's piled high with my books, electronics, painting gear, art and models. I'm thankful to have a space that's mine. My SO didn't tell me to keep my shit here, I was like "dibs" on moving in.

> Is there anything particularly "neuro divergent" about having a hobby?

No, but how obsessive the pursuit of that hobby is, that's the question.

There are some model train enthusiasts that, over their life time, spend several millions of EUR on their hobby, so they basically work to finance their hobby.

There are plenty of people that travel a lot. Some would say they work to be able to travel. Would you consider those people obsessive in the pursuit of traveling?

The reason why I'm asking is that my impression seems to be that there is a lot more acceptance for obsession when the obsession is considered extroverted and conforming to society's expectation.

> Would you consider those people obsessive in the pursuit of traveling?

Could be, depending on how much they give up for traveling.

> The reason why I'm asking is that my impression seems to be that there is a lot more acceptance for obsession when the obsession is considered extroverted and conforming to society's expectation.

Maybe it's also related to the accumulation of things related to the hobby.

If you see somebody's collection of model trains and their tracks, it's pretty visceral that they must have spent lots of time and money on this. Same for basically any other hobby that involves collecting this (that aren't tiny, like postage stamps).

If, on the other hand, you hear that somebody has traveled a lot, that doesn't hit home to the same degree..

Maybe another factor is that we tend to associate at least some forms of neurodivergence (autism and AD(H)D at least) with hyperfocus on a few topics, whereas travel exposes one basically automatically to many new experiences. Haven't really thought that through yet...