I haven't posted here for a while but I came across a situation that I must share. Perhaps you can use this excuse sometime too. I don't remember when Kato brought out the U.P. heritage fleet SD70ACe, but I really wanted one of the Rio Grande units. Financial circumstances prevented me from buying one at the time. It didn't fit my era but it was cool. I missed out and couldn't seem to find one when I did have the extra money. Fast forward a couple of years. I have been building some Freemo modules for the group up here whose intention is running modern equipment. I like building modules and even though I don't have any modern equipment, I enjoy watching it roll. Anyway, my wife was trolling eBay this Christmas and found the ACe. Lo and behold, I got a great surprise on Christmas. So this week, I was in Portland and stopped at Hobbysmith for a few scenery items. I was drawn to some modern covered hoppers. After all, a modern SD wouldn't look right pulling some wood sheathed 40' boxcars. So I bought a few. So knowing the wife will be questioning my need for more rolling stock, I had to come up with a good reason. Then the lightbulb went off. I only "needed" these new cars because I didn't have anything else for the new locomotive my WIFE got me. Had she not given me that SD70, I wouldn't have purchased any new cars. So you see, it is HER fault i "had" to buy those cars and more cars (and probably a loco or two) in the future. Who's with me on this one? Eric
Well, I hope you survive the fallout. Myself, I'd be stocking up the secret hideout, so I could hold out until the guaranteed to be big storm blew on by.
Man up. It's not a matter of "fault". You did nothing wrong, but even if you did, YOU did it. It's really too bad that there's such a dearth of 21st century switchers in N scale, because it's just not right to run an ACe or GEVO without at least 15 cars. Which means you're going to have to get a few more.
@Bikerdad, your right. I need a bunch more cars to make a decent train. I'm thinking at least 15 covered hoppers, 15 hi cube boxes, some bulkhead flats, maybe a few well cars. Man, that means at least another couple locos will be needed. I'm going to have to get a second job to pay for it all. And yes, I know whose "fault" it really is. I just really enjoy making my wife's eyes roll with my crazy theories. As another plus though, I have found a renewed energy in doing prototype research. I hadn't really paid much attention to modern stuff until recently. Im finding modern stuff is also kind of cool.
I am lucky. Wife 2.0 is great with the trains. Of course, she doesn't think I should go to the local train show today....but then again, its her birthday, so I KIND OF understand..... Wife 1.0, not so much. Every so often she would walk in with an edict that I get rid of the trains for one reason or another, but I always suspected that if I enjoyed myself, she didn't like it. (She truly did have some unfortunate control issues) At the very least, many moms and working wives have trouble understanding hobbies and why men enjoy them. They seem to think there is always something to do. True enough, but then, there is always the need to get away from those things we have to do. And, I did have to sneak trains in the house and all the other things often discussed here. Now, they get mailed to my wife's office, where the front office staff gets to make fun of them and me, but she does pick them up and bring them home.
I too own that particular locomotive as my only piece of modern equipment. I was fortunate a couple years ago to be driving along the UP main in Western Nebraska and encounter that particular unit on the point of a stack train. Unfortunately it was going the other direction at track speed and there was no way I could get turned around in time to catch it and take photos.:crying: