Well folks here is one heck of a quagmire. For the last 2 years a club that I help to start has been running and showing a portable model railroad that I basically built. I had made it portable in case I was to move and then some friends thought it would be fun to take it to shows. Well for 2 years we had a lot of fun showing it off, but as we soon came to realize that we had to few members to set up this monster 24’ by 12’ railroad. It took us 3 hours with 4 people to set it up and that was getting a bit much. I will say that we where asked to go to more and more shows and we still get phone calls asking us to make an appearance. But before I get into all of this wonderful story, there is a bit of history you need to know : The HO layout I built has an interesting history. At one time I listed the HO layout on ebay and it sold for just $2,000 to some one who lived about 3 hours drive from here. So back then I packed it up and after working a 13 hour shift I and my son, daughter and wife delivered and setup the layout on a Sunday night. “ The writing was on the wall, I should have seen it then. “ The new buyer was really happy to see it when it got there, but he was no so interested in being there for the setup. How ever he did make arrangements with a friend of his to help us. His friend was an engineer for CXS. And he was very impressed with the layout. The layout was setup and running in no time at all. The new owner had gone shopping wile we set it up. HHmmmm whats wrong with this? All that the new owner had to do was some shimming and leveling of the boards. I thought he could handle that much as the locomotives were running just fine, all buildings and so forth were in place and I hade already worked 13 hours that day. So with check in hand we set out for the 3 hour drive home. Now 2 days later the guy shows up with a U HALL and says I want my money back. This is not what I wanted and he said had never been more disappointed in his life. I had sold the layout so I could start my dream G scale layout, and here the $2000 that was to start that was going POOF! On top of that I had no Idea what shape the layout was in. He could have burned up the electronics or gone to town on it with a sledge hammer for all I know. I had no intention of taking it back. After listening to him wine and whimper for two hours I said Ok, I’ll take it back but I want $800 cash to. It was the only way I’d risk it. After all I valued the layout at over $5,000 and the risk just wasn’t something I wanted to deal with. Finally after 2 more hours of his whimpering he gave me the $800 and I took back the layout. We did find some miner damage to the layout but nothing to bad. Then we found in with the engines I sold him 2 of his engines. They told the story of why he was so un happy with it all. There sat 2 AHM locomotives. They had the new plastic couplers but no fly wheels and ran like crud. The poor guy just did not know what he had there. Nothing like wining the lotto and then just throwing it away because you did not know any better. So At this point the HO scale layout was stored and I started my G scale layout. Complication # 1. The group voted that it would be best if we had a permanent home for the railroad and that we would enjoy it much more that way. Well we had to fined a home and I had a room that would fit the railroad, seems that it started in this room before, but we had been storing the portable railroad in the George, and I had started a G scale railroad. Something I had dreamed of for a long time. Complication # 2. Another model railroad club I belonged to in a town just 30 miles from here was in danger of losing its home. This club had been there for some 60 years and everybody was scared that because the children’s day care center that was in the same building was going out of business that the state might close our building. We where really scared that wed lose our big club layout. Complication # 3, So after talking with the portable club we decided that my G scale should come down and the HO should be set up in the 20’ x 13’ room. So down did go my G scale and up went the HO. The club was there and they all helped out to some degree but as usual I got the brunt of the work. But sense then the club has been running on every second sat. of the month. Some members have been donation items and money to keep things going. Complication # 4, a small portion of the old G scale remains. There is a turntable pit and 4 stalls of what would have been a round house setting in the front of the HO scale layout. Every time I pass this, well its like my hart brakes a bit. I guess the G scale is really in my blood. Complication # 5, The club is planning on a second level now. A lot of planning and thought has been going into the second level. Plans have been drawn up and many new and great ideas have been tossed a bought. But it seems that the club wants to tear up most of my hard work that I had put into the HO layout. Its not to say that they don’t have good ideas, many of them are and some are down right great! But it seems that they have forgotten that I had put so much work into what they want to wipe out. They tend to forget that I gave up quite a bit to help make them all happy as it was. Now hear is my problem. I want to model G scale. Its sad to see all the money I have in G scale sitting in boxes under the HO layout. Its just sitting there. My friends let me tell you how its calling out to me, it wants out of the box like really bad! I have tried to hint at my desires but the club always says : OOO G is so expensive, or they just pretend not to hear me. I’m trying not to lose any friends or hurt any one. So what I want to know is what would you do if you where in my place?
Well, you're the nice guy that doesn't like to say no....lol. You have two choices: 1) Be honest with them and get them to move the layout to another location 2) Start a garden railroad
Sean, there's a great book called "Boundaries" by Henry Cloud and John Sims Townsend. www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310247454/qid=1076606874/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3/103-2990250-0930209 It will tell you exactly how to deal with those guys in a healthy way. Sometimes being nice and accomodating is not in the best interests of anyone. You run the risk of becoming angry and bitter, and your friendships will disolve anyway. Better to be truthful up front and remain friends. Sell the layout. Or have your buddies each pay you $500 (now everyone owns it), then put the layout in storage until a suitable home can be found. It's YOUR house and YOUR layout so it's YOUR choice. It's obvious you want to model G scale. You only have one real option - model G-Scale in that room. Maybe the other guys will get their feelings hurt, but you know what? They're just feelings. It's not like you're breaking their legs.
