well just to update: burnout over with for now. braved the thawing ice conditions and went to discount trains. problem cured. just could not take it anymore.
So, it seems that burnouts and other mental problems can be cured with a visit to the hobby shop. Great! :tb-biggrin:
when i was bored to continue work on my old layout i started custom painting. so far : - 80 tankcars (procor) in n scale - 45 passenger cars, re-decaled for via rail - roughly 75 locos in n scale - 4 locos in g scale
Golf used to be my "escape" from railroading. And I thought nothing of driving several hundred miles when courses around here were frozen to find one that wasn't. Sometimes the "escape" lasted for years but I always came back to the railroading. Whatever escape you choose, chances are you'll be back eventually. rolleyes: Ben
There are always moments that I get bored. But sometimes, a layout is getting boring, even unfinished ones. Then, it is time to start a new one.
I don't have a layout so I can't get bored with that, but what happens with me is kind of strange, I guess. I get disinterested starting around this time of year. I almost completely forget about model railroading till around November, then I get bit by the bug again and start reading more and collecting tools and rolling stock for the layout I will build one day. I also start reading and posting on here again. I can't really explain why this happens but it always does. I do know that in the fall football takes up all of my thoughts, energy, and time. I don't know what happens in the summer. But when it starts getting cooler and close to Christmas, I start reading more and more and then I'm back in it full swing. Go figure?????
I've had that problem lot this last year. I usually go back to building 1/25 scale truck models. I'll usually get the bug again, but it's nice to get into another hobby every now and then.
Well I think we all suffer from burnout every once in while. I'm in the same boat after preping the layout for the Plano show (and during the layout party to boot). I haven't run a train since the tour. I went to Discount last week looking for track materials for the branchline. No ballest, no spikes, no ties and no code 83 rail (I handlay). So I'm in a deeper funk now. God do I miss Bobby Halls. However, yesterday I was off because of the ice and finally started painting an eight foot section of backdrop on the layout. Maybe that will get things jump started. Just remember this is a hobby and not a job. If you decide to take time off your pay won't be docked.
I tend to try little projects if I am burnt out. That is the reason I always have little unfinished projects piled up all over the place!!! I need to finish what I start.
Nice truck collection! beautiful work! But--- They need a nice shelf in the train room or livingroon!!
Nice trucks! Sometimes one just has to spin away the boredom.... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWaa0WSNzKQ"]YouTube - Rhino on Ice 4 ~ The Spin Video!!![/ame] .
I was avoiding this topic, but I got sucked in anyway. I was burned out last year, mainly because I was disappointed in how my code 80 turnouts looked after all the work I put into the scenery on my little layout. I couldn’t even run trains because they would have to go through those switches. I finally just covered it up with a tarp and started some other non-train projects. I think it was 5-6 months before I decided to design a new layout and then it happened, I got the train fever again. I still haven’t taken the tarp of the old layout, but I think maybe I will this weekend. I’m dying to run all my new trains that I just bought.
Burn out I'm burnout, too. I think this happens in the colder times of the year because theres nothing else to do. I build German military models and I switch back and forth but it seems to run together and become tedious. I have many things to occupy my time when it's warm but not much in the winter. I'll be forced to ignore the trains in a month or two but it's always a joy to come back to them when the leaves start falling.
One thing that I don't know if it's been mentioned much so far: => Call up a good model railroad friend and do something train-related together Can be anything ( *except* go to the local LHS and shop! - buying stuff doesn't necessarily inspire). Have one or multiple friends over to visit your layout, or go visit his / their layout. Go to a good local club, talk trains and observe what needs to be done, what could be done. Gets one inspired. Better yet, if there is a good local meet, go on a layout tour. That gets the juices flowing by seeing what others have done. You can also do some of this virtually by actively participating on Trainboard and being a good, friendly Trainboard citizen. I recognize the social angle of model railroading is certainly not everyone's cup of tea - don't have me force anything on you that you don't want to do. I also know many of you may not have any fellow modelers living nearby. That having been said, interacting with model railroading friends, on an ongoing basis, is IMHO one of the best ways to be inspired. For me, my model railroad friends push me to do far more than I'd ever do by myself. I'm a far better modeler because of what they did, showed me, gently prodded me that I could do. Yes, it does take time and effort to find them, cultivate them, be in contact, and sometimes as human relationships always do, it will have its difficulties. But I think it's so very well worth it in the end, in total. Just my 2 cents worth.
