I think we make the time, space and money for our hobbies, whatever they are. I like to have a home layout, but I do not obsess over it. I have the luxury of a fifth bedroom I will be using to house my layout, which is scheduled to begin construction this summer. I usually stick with simple track plans which provide for continuous running and some switching operations. My layout will pose some scenic construction challenges, but it will not be an overwhelming task. It will also not require a lot of cars or locomotives to make it work. I work at it when I can find time and have motivation. We all eventually find ourselves pulled back into some sort of nice layout project....good luck.
Hoss, Just to let you know that even though you are taking a break for a while, I'm still gonna take you up on that offer to run a coal drag sometime in the future! But seriously, your decision has, in a wierd way, pushed me forward. I was second guessing my attic project as it had stalled and another fellow modeler was building a layout in a Texas garage and I was starting to think that the small space I will have might leave me wanting more. But I think having it indoors and air-conditioned will far outweigh the limits of the smaller area. And seeing your frustration with the garage layout really drives that point home. So this past weekend I was able to make significant progress on the room, and I'm now close to finishing the drywall. My point is not to "rub it in", (heck, I've still a ways to go before I even START my layout and you've started three in that time I think) but simply to illustrate that we can learn something from each other. Oh, and if I haven't already, you are certainly invited to come over and run trains once I get my layout going whenever you want so you might want to hang on to a locomotive or two and some cars! Anyway, good luck in your endeavours whatever they may be.
Doug A., It sounds to me you have started your layout by preparing the room. Keep Hoss interested. He has some interesting ideas and adds a lot to this board.
Hey Doug, thanks for the offer to come over and run trains. I may just take you up on that. I envy you and your air conditioned space, so I'm glad that you're pushing forward with that. That's a luxury that I hope to have in my next house. The ideal thing would be a big basement, but how many of those do you see in Texas?? Shortround, you don't have to worry about me losing interest. Model trains or not, I still get all giddy inside every time I see a set of railroad tracks....even if it's abandoned. I've been fascinated by trains ever since I was a kid. I don't see that changing any time in the future.
Hoss I feel your pain as I too am in the garage now. What seemed like a good idea for space is not much fun. I plan to make improvements, but money is tight so the window unit AC is a yr at least off. The heat, the humidity, the dirt, the anole lizards (dinosaurs) knocking over cars & pooping on my track (good thing I have plows on those Geeps!!), & the worst thing is having to load up on "OFF" to keep the darn mosquitos, sand fleas, from biting the $#^%!@ out of me. I have ants, flies, moths all flying around and crossing the layout some get smashed & cause derailments. They are attracted to the lights at night. I have found a powerful blast fan helps keep the bugs at bay for they can't fly against the strong breeze. Regards, Mike St. Petersburg Florida
Your garage is enclosed, right?? My garage isn't quite THAT bad. The biggest problem besides dust is the temperature. Garages in Texas get VERY hot in the summer time and uncomfortably cold in the winter time. In fall and spring it's not too bad....but that's also the same time you want to be outside doing things. I'll just bide my time until I can have a nice sized layout indoors.
You guys sound like you are going through the anguish I was a few years ago. Never enough time, money, or room to have a layout I could "really" enjoy. I had to use my imagination a lot, and couldn't even run my big engines at all, but I kept on buying them to have when the "big" layout came about. Well, I was finally able to have a house built new! It was pier and beam foundation which gave me the whole under-floor area for a big layout, with real dirt for mountains! Over the next few years, I built an around the walls (Foundation) layout 28 x 38 feet with double track mainline, and a huge 20 foot 8 track yards. There was plenty of room under there and temperature was perfect year round. We often pulled trains with over a hundred cars. One of the mainlines climbed a 2% grade up to top out at 27" above the starting and ending grade zero. There was no problem keeping the rails clean, because we had four track cleaning cars we ran around the whole set of tracks once every couple of days. It got to be a problem when we did have some derailment, or stoppage. Crawling on hands and knees can get old even in soft dirt. Now that I am older, and have mellowed out after retiring, I find the huge size layout isn't as much fun as I thought. You really can't see or photograph a train that is over thirty feet away! Even coupling in a yard twenty feet away is a terror! Now I have refined my "Dream" layout down to just four mainlines winding through mountains with a roundhouse big enough to hold most of my favorite engines, and a small yard for some switching action. The room built for it is only 12 x 20 feet with part of that taken up with a stair case, leaving layout space of 12 x 16 feet. I have almost finished the 33 stall roundhouse, and all the bench modules are done. The only problem now is, my health is fading more rapidly than I had expected, so this layout just might not get finished to the running stage after all. My point is this: Do not WAIT until you are 74 years old to move to another house, or build a train room, or to build your layout. DO IT NOW! Do it while you are still physically able, still have good eyesight, and before you die.
Good point indeed, but keep in mind I'm only 27 years old. Even if I waited 30 years (which I won't do), I'd still only be 57....which would give me 43 years of model railroading (I plan to live until I'm 100).
Hoss: I live in Florida, and using the garage is the only choice for me. Fortunately I air conditioned the third garage and that holds my N scale "empire". The air conditioning is necessary in South Florida as the heat and humidity would make working in the "Garage" trainroom unbearable. Using the garage as space for your RR empire is the best choice in Florida as we have no basements. The garage also has heating through the a/c ducts and moisture and dust isn't a problem.
