loss of interest...

I haven't posted here in awhile but recently have gotten back online and reading posts and etc. I started a layout over a year ago and got to the point where I could start scenery then..well I lost interest..

I think one problem is for my first layout I just made it too BIG. I got a tom of track and maybe I"m thinking of tearing it all down and build a smaller more managable layout.

I still have some interest and I got so much invested I hate to not have something up and running..

You can see some pics of my layout here at my rail images gallery.

Bill's layout

Check it out and please, offer some comments, ideas, encouragment etc..

Thanks a lot !

 

Paul,

Thanks for your reply and I'm listening to what you are saying. My interest is better than it was but I'm thinking maybe I should scrap this layout I got going and maybe do a smaller simpler one?

As you can tell I"m using Kato uni-trak and boy have I got a ton of that stuff !! I don't want to think about the $$$$ invested so far !

Thanks again

 

Bill-

What you have done so far is picture perfect. Your track has been laid with precision. You have used Kato track which means no running problems. The layout seems quite workable.

Now, the issue is motivation. This is a hobby that can as much or as little time as you wish. The fact that you are now thinking of resuming your work on the layout indicates that you still have desire. Don't resume for the reason of pleasing someone else, be it spouse, friends or other family members. Resume if your heart tells you it is what you wish to do with whatever time and effort you want to invest. The money?? A large chunk of the money has already been spent. You have your benchwork and your track. It looks like about $800+ sitting there in the pictures. Divide the cost by the number of hours spent, from thinking, planning, building and laying and you will see the cost per hour. It is astoundingly cheap. If it is time you have not enjoyed at all, then stop. If you feel you would like to continue, then, by all means do so, you will get all of the advice, support and encouragement that you will ever need here on these boards. If you want to stop, mail me with a bulk price for the track.

 

Bill,

You are so set, I am so jealous.
Wire those turnouts and have some fun.

My trackwork (Atlas Code55) blows.
I can't even run the loop in reverse.

Do some scenery in sections.

If you want to practice do a diorama first.

Just dive in, anything can be fixed.
( Just don't harm that nice track )

Loco1999

 

Wow !

You guys are great. You are right about me being the only one I have to please.

If you think this is alot of track look at the rail image gallery. The "yard: runs through the middle of the layout and is about oh 12 feet or so long. I lost count how many kato turnouts I have down so far. And several double cross overs as well.

Man you got me stoked to get working again.

Thanks !

 

Hey Bill,

I've been there. It looks like you've got a very well thought out and constructed layout there.

So, have you identified a task (or a stage, or a problem) that's bothering you? Is it really the size, or just that you believe the size is daunting? When it comes to scenery, I've found that I can do broad expanses almost as quickly as small sections--though not at a super-detailed level.

Are the trains running? If not, wiring can be a daunting task. I noticed the switches aren't wired yet, but that shouldn't take too long once you get at it.

Wiring--or another big task--has stalled me in the past. I've found that just setting my mind to completing the task that was bothering me really helped me get past it, and usually much quicker than I had anticipated. Swap out 600 axles to low profile? OK, I'll do 30 a night, then go on to something I want to do. Wire 800 feet of track without making a mistake? Impossible, but I took it step-by-step, so I found mistakes early (except for the steel T-pin across the tracks that caused me fits--new rule: no metal left on layout!)

Sometimes with me, it's just the effort of getting the tools and supplies together that's disheartening. Few of us have enough space to organize everything (OK, the truth is I'm hopelessly disorganized!) So perhaps spending a little time planning and getting organized might help?

There's great promise in what I'm seeing from your gallery.

 

Bill:

The JJJ&E uses all Kato Unitrack. While it isn't as large as yours, the JJJ&E is on multiple levels.

Right at this point the scenery is 60% completed, but has been stalled for the past nine months.

I'm presently adding a 48"x30" turntable module to the layout and now I plan to finish the scenery.

My suggestion to you is to scenick small areas of your layout.

Don't think of the whole picture, because it can be overwhelming.

You first must remember that you won't have any track maintenance issues because you're using the Unitrack.

I would ballast and finish the yard area first and then work towards the edge of your layout.

Once you see the bare foam disappear, that will give the incentive to do more scenery.

I wish I had the space available that you have.


Take care and have fun. remember model railroading is a hobby.

Stay cool and run steam......

 

You guys have given me so much encouragment tonight that I am ready to go back out in the garage and get going once again.

I still have a ton of work ahead but I'm sure if I get stuck or have a problem all I have to do is ask and you guys will be there with answers and help.

thanks once again..

 

Wow, nice layout. I'm envious of your space. But I can also see how the work ahead could seem a bit much. I'm of the same mind as most of the other guys who have already posted. Before doing something drastic and starting over, see if you can't kindle a spark with some scenery and operations. You can always start over later, but I think taking a drastic step like that when you're just not sure where you're going would be a mistake.

Two quick suggestions to add to what the others have already said.
1. Consider choosing an earth color latex paint and giving most of your exposed foam a quick coat. Even if you don't put any ground cover on right now, the painting will help block out the pink and blue and generally make things start to look farther along. It's quick and cheap. You can always build scenery on top of the painted foam later.
2. Consider making some quick and dirty mock-ups of industry buildings out of cardboard, foam, or even empty boxes or cardboard rolls. Then when you try some operating, you at least have something along the siding that you can imagine as an industry. This also helps in deciding how big, and what form, you want your permanent industry buildings to be.

Good luck

 

Bill:

Picking up on Ed's point; Get some paint and cover the foam with a base color similar to the color of the earth in the area that you're modeling.

Once you get rid of the pink foam color, you'll start the scenery quickly.

I used an earth tone color; burnt umber; because of the area I was modeling.


Stay cool and run steam....

 

That base coat of earth color paint will make a TON of difference! Even just the cheap stuff! I was so happy to see the light blue go away!

 

I agree with everyone. You have got an excellent start that should give you years of running pleasure.

I think you need to give some thought to what prototype you are modeling. Many hours can be spent away from the layout reading prototype info. The great thing about trains is there is so much variety in what needs to be done. Maybe you like computers and signalling, how about some scenery, maybe some painting of locomotives. If you are tired of what you have done, then do something different, but don't start over. You will just get to the same place you are now. You may think you can not do scenery so you are shrinking away. DON"T stop now, Jump the hurdle you are now facing and run headlong to the next one.

 

When I went off to collage my layout ended up getting torned down and put into several boxes by my parents that decided to us the space for other things. Years (20+) have gone by and they still sit in boxes as I have yet to get to a point in my life to start construction again. Seeing yours not in boxes is HUGE as you at least have something which is more than I can say I have.

Looks like a GREAT Layout just waiting for the next step to happen.

 

So, I guess I am not going to pick up the Kato track and turnouts at a discounted price.



HOWEVER, I am quite glad you are coming back into the fold.
As to scenery-
1. DO paint the foam. It will not be a negative when you turn on the lights with that oh **** feeling.
2. DO take it one area at a time. Say an 8" to 1' foot area for scenery. You will improve greatly each time you do a section. Read the magazines and ASK HERE. You will get all the tips you need. I can tell you what NOT to do and Nolan and Bob can tell you what TO do.
You need not go overboard with spending dough on seven different rock molds from Woodland Scenics. Probably two would have sufficed with judicious bush and shrub placement to repeat repetitious formations. You may want to try the Bob tin foil method and make your own castings. It goes on and on. I look at my first 8"x1' area and it is laughable now that I see the improvement in my skills after doing just a few more areas.
You may enjoy certain aspects of the hobby more than others, but a complete picture will make you feel better about each component. I originally thought operations would be what I would enjoy the most. I now know that it is the scenery aspect. You may find weathering rolling stock is what you enjoy the most. Whatever it is, you will be more motivated to complete all the jobs so that YOU can appreciate your handiwork in all just a bit more.
Wow- I am so darned inspirational. It makes me want to have my own TV show.

 

"Wow- I am so darned inspirational. It makes me want to have my own TV show."


You must be great at closing arguments!

Actually you write so well, so clearly, so understandably, that I was beginning to doubt that you were really a lawyer!

 

Ed-

I can go the other way, as well. I am a master of obfuscation. The trick is to say something that the listener believes is understood and then acts upon it, but what is heard is not what has really been stated.

 

Bill

I had to think long and hard before posting my reply to your thread. I took a good look at your layout and determined that... IF I had done the same thing... I too would have stopped and lost interest.

By no means is your layout too big... the problem is that you have violated one of the cardinal rules of layout design. You have areas that are going to be extremely difficult to reach to scenic... and the thought of how you're going to do it is sapping your energy.

Your design was well thought out as far as running trains... but... the part of scenicking this project was apparently not considered when you began laying track. The major saving grace is that you used Unitrack and it should be very easy to reconfigure your benchwork and track to make it more accessible and thus easier to scenic. You must reconfigure the layout to remove that 6' x 10' rectangle... the center of that area is just too far to reach comfortably.

The maximum comfortable "reach-over" span is about 24" to 30" from the edge, therefore, that 6' x 10' area is at least 1' to wide to comfortably get into the center area. Perhaps you could "indent" about 2' into that area to make it easier to work on... and add that "removed" area to another part of the layout.

As far as making a smaller layout... DON'T DO IT! Take it from a person that has built a few layouts that were too small to keep my interest.... BIGGER IS BETTER! The key is, build a big layout that is manageable to complete. I prefer to have a layout with a maximum depth from 18" to 24" that "snakes" around a room similar to N-Trak modules... creating smaller manageable scenes.

This is just one mans opinion, however, I'd like to know if you had considered HOW you were going to reach into the center of that layout while scenicking it?