My entire layout is a major procrastination. If I worked on the layout 1/10th as much as I talk about it I'd be tearing it down to build v3.0.
On a layout this small you just trace a mainline and see what fits without being too cluttered. I have about 23 c55 switches. I am only going to use 5-6 if that. Radius on oval, yes it's an oval, is 9". My old 2x4 had 9" flexcurves and it worked fine. Biggest thing with those c55 switches is how much straight they have. I am going to start chopping them down a bit. I'm hoping I can get track down later tonight or tomorrow and be rolling trains by the weekend.
I'm a layout procrastinator. I've been in the hobby for 13 years. I started off in N scale switched to HO and am now collecting the CB&Q in N scale. I have had one circle of track laid and never got beyond that point, we moved soon after. My life is busy with work, a lovely wife and three kids. During the last 7 years I have had several areas "approved" for me to build a layout and then I start track planning. Unfortunately when I start getting close to coming up with a decent track plan the space gets re-designated and I'm again without a layout. The last 2 years I have found myself in new job a new house and having already had several spots I could have built a layout and then loose the area I'm going to build in the garage. I hate the idea of building in the garage but it is heated and I have not seen a lot of dust accumulation so with proper precautions I should be just fine. Well thats my rant. I now need to decide on the size and a track plan. Hopefully I can start building sometime this fall. Lucas
I've just about got my layout built, 12' x 4', in the garage. I'm waiting for some bits so I can make more progress on new wheelsets and couplings. While I'm waiting, I'm trying to decide whther to tidy the office, or do something else. "Something else" wins every time! I've seen a layout in RAILWAY MODELLER a few years ago, on a couple of interior doors. The scenic bit is one one board and the "hidden fiddle yard" is alongside, on the other door. Say 13' x 3' at most. Regards, Pete
Me, a procrastinator? :tb-cool: It's only taken me a 4 days to post in this thread. Started in HO around 1975. Bought engines, Athearn BB kits up the wazoo, a #6 dbl crossover and a slip switch. I was going to hand lay all the rest of the track. That stuff sat in boxes in the closet for years until I got tired of looking at it and sold it all. In 1998 I started working for the AAR and my interest returned. I was living in my current home and decided to grab one of the spare bedrooms. Read everything I could, came up a killer layout, started it, never finished it, then I decided I wanted to switch to N scale (remember the Clinchfield layout that MR built? I wanted 60 car trains with 4 units on the front. Sold all the stuff to the local HO club except for 2 Stewart F units, and started my N scale layout. I even had custom decals done up for my Baltimore Central system. Then I realized that there wasn't a lot of operational potential so I packed everything up again. That was about 8 years ago. Now that I've hit 60 and know that we are in our current house to stay I decided to try it again, in HO :tb-shocked::tb-shocked: (you N scale guys keep an eye out on the for sale boards.) I finally realized what I want is dbl track mainline around the the 12x13 room so when the mode strikes I can watch 2 trains run. Each wall section would be a mini-scene of something I always wanted in a layout, an industrial park, engine and car shop area, things like that. I'm not any good at bench work, so I'm using the Woodland Scenics modules, so far so good. Now if I'll just stop looking at all the track plans and photos on the web. Every time I see a track plan I find something that I just gotta have in my layout, then I go and look at the photos here and just like before think "How the hell do I compete with that! My layout will never be that good." mad: But this time there will be an HO scale layout built as I'm in no rush like I was before. And it will as good as I can make. Stay tuned. Bruce
Maybe we should start a "Procrastinators Special Interest Group". Well maybe next week. I need to go check on some stuff.
Well, at least this thread got me to clean off the books from my layout. I'll get to the other stuff someday...
Planning for, what, 13 years now? Yes, I'm in college at the moment, and don't really have the money or particularly time to work on a layout. But I don't think I'll even be able to get started in a couple years when I'm done. That many years of planning have given me a good idea of my goals. At least, I think so. And there's the problem. I'm a heavily operation-oriented modeller. I also have very strong limits on selective compression. Many small layouts look nice - as works of abstract art. I love those sectional-track layouts from Märklin plan books and advertisements. They're the purest examples of this style of non-realistic layout. I'm only interested in representational layouts. Even a freelance layout has to reflect reality in some ways. My standards on what I can accept as a representation are very difficult to achieve. Anything less than a 35-car train (and I'm not talking 40-footers) doesn't pass as a heavy mainline freight. My interests lie primarily in modelling high-traffic mainline operation. Even if I had unlimited space, I'd still have a problem. Some of the things I want to do, I'm not sure how interesting they'd be to actually do. And many of them can't even be tested on a smaller layout. And most clubs aren't operation-oriented, from what I've heard. I suppose I should start another whole thread on this. Don't want to hijack this one.
Hi. My name's Phil and I'm a procrastinataholic. What's worse, I have no excuse. I'm retired, have less than 500 posts on TB, am not going to school or retraining for a better job. Since the fall of 2007 I have obtained a hollow core door, glued the foam to it, bought a small bunch of locos and rolling stock, bought enough track for my plan, and ... Oh well, maybe tomorrow.
Every one of you are a disgrace to this hobby and the Trainboard. You should all follow my.... Sorry gotta run I finish my thought next week!
I hope nobody took that last post seriously. I love the TB and all the great contributors. :tb-biggrin:
Does soldering some feeders to the track on my layout's branch line count? I was going along nicely until I ran out of wire this afternoon! Even so, it always feels good to make progress, however minor. - Jeff
Step 1: benchwork. CHECK Step 2: trackwork. CHECK Step 3: Scenery...... Scenery? Scenery? Yep, that is where I get stuck. Never seem to start the scenery (let alone finish). Sometimes, I go so long between running trains that I spend an hour or so cleaning off dust and track and then about 5 minutes running trains. I do have a lot of distractions at this time in my life but, mostly, I am a procrastinator.
I'm forging right ahead. I took the layout outside and sprayed brown paint where the track will be o help cover that pink foam look before ballasting. Baby steps lead to great progress. Up next is to lay the mainline and run some lokis. Jeff, soldering leads is model railroading for sure. Rush, Scenery is easy if you tackle it one square foot at a time. CrClass I am definitely a TB disgrace. Grey, does that answer your question? The dream layout is a SBB swiss layout. I have discovered yet another prototype that grabs my eye. Swiss Era V. Modern Swiss trains are beautiful. check this out>>>> or In the meantime it's US proto. Should be fun to build and then convert to european scenery and catenary.
Yep, Geeky, that does indeed answer it. Hmm, very nice pain(t) scheme. It's "pain(t)ful" because I really really want one. Hmm, I have some undecs, wonder if I could, well, maybe next week.
ME ME ME.:tb-biggrin: Went to Home Depot, got my plywood and pink insulation. I've put together 4 of the WS kits so right now I have an L that's 9x6. Glued it all together with Liquid Nail 4 Projects. After it setup I used adhesive caulk to secure the WS form roadbed. Then came the some track. Used 70% alcohol to clean up a little spill and put down some track. I jury rigged the wiring for now, but I got my 2-8-0 pulling 3 cars along 8 feet of rail. Now if I can just not settle into the Barcalounger for another month I'll be on my way. :tb-cool: Bruce
I understand what you mean, Geeky. I never used to be interested in foreign trains at all. Now for the last few months, they've caught my eye, especially Japan's JR. Good news, my 19 year old son has come to stay at my place for a few weeks. He's already seen the layout and said, "Oh, cool!" I imagine I'll start getting, "Are you gonna work on it?" here pretty soon. Having someone here bugging me to do something on it will get me motivated (kinda like a wife or girlfriend!)
