Sadly no. Gout in my left big toe. Arthritis in both knees, shoulders, wrists and fingers. Yes I'm becoming a walking barometer as well.
My hands are messed up from 24 years in aircraft assembly because of vibration from drill motors and rivet guns. They don't hurt like it used to.
I used to be able to assemble a M-T couple with one had blindfolded...now, I’m lucky if I can pick up the parts wit tweezers in strong light. Recently had a plastic case of M-T and Kato coupler parts fall off my desk and it was a big deal to sort the parts. Man, those parts are small! Whose brilliant idea was it to get into N Scale??? Charlie Vlk
Several years ago, I began buying a few HO scale items as a hedge against the day that N scale becomes unmanageable. If that doesn't suffice, I still have my Lionel trains from childhood. Worst case, the LGB Christmas train can be left set up all year-round.
While it has been good to have a sympathetic ear listen to my "age-related" complaints, I am still enjoying the hobby. Figuring out new ways to accomplish tasks I used to take for granted is as satisfying as the project itself. I only go back to the late 80's, but the quality and variety of N on the market has never been better than now. I took a 15-year leave and returned to find 3D printing, laser cutting, sound and other tech had enhanced the hobby beyond anything I imagined. My first, and only before 2015, DCC install was a Digitrax decoder in the tender of a Kato Mike. I remember thinking that it could not get any better than turning that headlight on and off at will. So, yea, age sucks, getting older beats the alternative and I am looking forward to the new stuff still to be learned while playing with trains. Stay safe,
Hi Mark, I received my first N Scale Train Set in 1971, but for me it was still a novelty. My main modeling scale was HO. Fast forward to my early 20's, I was a member of a local model railroad club and the club began experimenting with the idea of carrier control for the club layout. The system we purchased was the Mann Made CTC-16 system and like you mentioned, the ability to independently control locomotives on the same section of track was a real game changer. Again Fast forward to 1988, I was engaged and looking for a place to live and soon discovered I no longer had room for the HO scale trains. While walking through a local hobby shop a Kato GP38-2 caught my eye and the switch was made to N scale. A second one was added to the roster the follow year. It was sometime in the mid 1990's MRC released their Command Control 2000 DCC system and since I had such a positive experience with the CTC-16, I decided to purchase the system for my small N scale home layout. I've since switched to a Digitrax Empire Builder system and the real game changer has been the Plug-n-Play decoders for N scale locomotive that now even include sound. I agree with you, at times getting older sucks. And I also agree I'm not ready to throw in the towel. I too am looking forward to what the future holds. It's just good to know we are not alone with our problems, that we have not been singled out and others understand. So far this hobby journey has been a very enjoyable ride and I can't wait to see what the future holds.
It is better then the alternative, as far to many of my friends and brothers in arms never had the chance to age. We get the joy of running trains!
Yes, I don't want anybody to get the idea, in spite of my whining about aging, that I will ever give up N scale/model railroading. I started in 1962 with Treble-O-Lectric and won't quit until I go to the big roundhouse in the sky, even if it means just looking at trains on a layout if I am unable to run them anymore. And, it still fascinates me that I still have all those trains from almost 60 years ago, they still run, and I still get to watch them. Doug
I took this picture to show a technique, but it's just the latest picture I can find that shows my shaky hands. Nearly all my model pictures taken with camera on tripod, but that's still not steady enough- I have to set timed release and take my hands away. Use tricks to hold things. Frequently (freakingly?) need to use optivisors. Still modeling at age 76.
Developing new ways to do old things to compensate for increasing disability is all part of it, I guess. I still try to do things the same old way, however, because the new way inevitably is more complex and takes longer. Of course, then I see trying to still do it the same old way takes even longer. Doug
Got that remark at the grocery store today. I put my wallet in my pocket and then removed it an put it in the bag - purse. Sitting on it on a bicycle is worse than sitting on it in the car.
Whine all you want. You won't feel better after wards but you've vocalized it. My likes here aren't because I LIKE getting old. I don't. It's happening all to quickly. Maybe with Trains I can have a second child hood???? Perhaps not. That would mean the mind is going. Oh Well. It is what it is!
I've always been a bit of a perfectionist (or should I say a frustrated perfectionist ), so it's been hard for me to accept a lessening of results in both quality and quantity as I've aged. The decline has been with my vision mostly; I fight impatience and anger when things don't go right. Blessedly, one element that I'm much better at in my '60s is safety. After retiring from a career in heavy manufacturing, safety awareness is always on my mind, whether scoring plastic with an X-Acto knife, ripping lumber on a table saw or climbing a step stool. Take time to think things through and account for events that could cause injury.
Nothing to do with modeling, but I realized since this is 2021, it marks 30 years since I became a steam (real) nut, in December 1991 when my late wife and I traveled on the maiden voyage of ATSF 3751 after its extensive restoration to operation. I was already 50 years old. I realize I'm six months early for that actual anniversary, but here's a photo take in Barstow on that trip, from an overpass. Been hooked on steam ever since.
That steamer seems to be getting older as well. Just like this old fart it needs assistance. I sometimes need a cane and other times a walker. It needs an electric diesel. Of course it gets some more attention. .