There are ever so many useful bits of knowlege our fathers did the best to teach us. They were transferable to to many aspects of our lives including model railroading. Here are a few from my father. Top Three: There ain't no easy answers There ain't no free lunches There ain't no guarantees Others: Just because they say it can't be done does not mean they are right but you better find out what they mean and why before you ignore the advice. I've built 6 percent grades, MUed non-DCC locos, and used methods of construction that were ill advised. All of them worked - because I knew why they shouldn't. "If you can't explain it to an eight year old you probably don't understand it". Well, it needn't be an 8yo but I have found trying to explain parts of a design to a non-model railroader has revealed mistakes and oversights or sent me back to research the issue. "Never try to catch a falling knife". Trust me, let that blade break on the floor. "If you ain't making mistakes, you ain't tryin hard enough". Works for me. "Measure twice. Cut once." Wish I had paid more attention to that one. There are many others. Feel free to contribute yours.
There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it over. (which often involved unscheduled trips to the local hobby store lol)
Pappy's words of wisdom on layout plans and modeling. 1.Any rework is a waste of time,money and material..Take your time and do it right the first time around. 2.Think before acting..Ask is this the best way,plan etc that I can do this? 3.Just because you can isn't a sign you should.Think it through.
No matter how you do it, when you do it, how fast or slow you do it, just have fun doing it or it's just a chore. I used to have fun playing with my trains on my small layout back in the 70s. My dad was having fun painting and detailing stuff while I was off at school, either making my next birthday or Christmas present. Now I know what kind of fun he had, and the pleasure of seeing me appreciate what he did. Thanks, Dad.:thumbs_up:
Advice " If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Usually this means that it's working, and you try to improve it, it WILL quit on you. Advice learned yet also still unused from time to time. Dang it!!! :tb-err:
What The Old Man Taught Me Ain't no such thing as a free lunch. You are going to pay for it one way or another. Hard work never killed anybody, it may have wounded a few, but it didn't kill them! Usually followed by the phrase: GET GOING!! Get the job done right the first time, you can take a break later. One of my favorites: If you don't work, you don't eat.................This alone should be applied to a whole bunch of people! My Dad taught High School for over 30+ years. Loves kids, dislikes/distrusts government/administration, and takes no crap off of any of them. On last thing that I learned early on: There is the LINE, why aren't you toeing it buster? YESSIR!!!!
Gray one said: " What My Father Taught Me and How I Applied it to Model Railroading -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are ever so many useful bits of knowlege our fathers did the best to teach us. They were transferable to to many aspects of our lives including model railroading. Here are a few from my father. Top Three: There ain't no easy answers There ain't no free lunches There ain't no guarantees " But you left out one vary inportant one! and it is: " Ain't ain't a word, even thow it is in the dictsionary.... " I was raised by my Grandparents, Grandpa always told me: " You ain't gopt the time to do right the first time, but always got time to do it a-gin! Son you should work for the state! " I wish I had listened to him more often........... and now I work in a plastic factory making plastic bottles that have a shelf life of six months and then go to a landfill and live there for a few thousand years...... Funny how they at work don't have the time to do things write.....
Kind of a funny one my dad told me (usually after we broke something): If it doesn't fit, force it. If it breaks, then it needed to be replaced anyway. Eric
"The Best works of Fiction have some truth in them. The trick is to make it hard to figure out which is which"
My Dad could do basic carpentry, but he knew nothing about electricity. From the time I was 7 or 8, I had to learn how to wire my layout myself. In the process, I developed the problem-solving skills and self-confidence that have carried me through my life and career. So, sometimes, your Dad can teach you things even when he has nothing to teach you.
My late father, while never into trains per se, did teach me by example of how not to do things, especially when it came to repairs around the house, be it a minor repair, electrical wiring (having almost all of one's bedroom outlets on the same circuit as the adjacent bathroom is definitely not a good idea), plumbing, or even carpentry. Scary thing is, if you know where to look and what to look for, you can still see his, um, "handiwork" here and there in the house now occupied by my mother. Still, he was a good man, despite his faults. Rest in peace, Dad. Dieter Zakas
Expensive equipment in a cheap environment makes for a cheap experience. My dad was an Electrical Engineer focused largely on Audio. He liked good music on good systems, but he thought idiots that bought expensive hardware and put it in a typical livingroom were dumb dumb dumb. He also believed in knowing exactly what was good enough and rejecting the rest. In the model railroad world it might be BLI engines and Accurail cars on bad track or maybe a poorly thought out layout.
