After the running trains, for about 3 weeks I hate parts of my layout so I'm starting over! It's funny, the plan looked great on paper, in my mind, in my dreams, but in reality it stinks. So, I'm restarting today. Shouldn't have the problems I had before thanks to everyone's input on my "chemical reaction" problem. John
I feel like a dork responding to my own message, but there's an update! I couldn't rip everything and start over! I went for one of those long, long walks and did some thinking before I ripped up the tracks. This layout was reborn, although slightly different, from almost twenty years in a box! I've only modified the mainline a little, by removing some sidings. Us modelers tend to want to squeeze way too much into a tiny space. I wanted space to put something in besides track. John
John, I think most of us at some stage experience changes in our wants and needs for our layout. The best thing you could have done was go for a walk and have a re-think. Sometimes I just leave the layouty for a few days then come back to it. We are all guilty of wanting to place too much track in a given area. keep us informed on your progress.
If I had a dollar for every time I rethought my layout or tore the whole thing down and started over, I could have hired a pro to build me a custom layout. Second thoughts are only natural and are part of the hobby. Why did Tony Koester tear down his Alleghny Midland? Enjoy all aspects of this great hobby, even starting over again or making changes. No layout is ever fully complete.
After ripping out a few sidings and part of the main, (sorry for not responding earlier, 'puter was dead) I've left things alone and let the brain juices flow a little. Ideas are flowing again! I'll probably work feverishly this weekend to get things back in order. John
Don't worry about ripping things out and rebuilding - after years of being amongst model railway builders, my wife swears that we never complete any layout without rebuilding it several times I think she is right!
