My journey within model railroading began when I was a boy of 7. My older brother and I got a railroad set for Christmas. My Dad spent many hours in the basement drinking beer and building the set. He finished it in time, and it was really well built (as I recall). It didn't take but a week for my brother to destroy it. He would run the train too fast and send it flying off the table onto the hard concrete floor, much to his delight. Even at that age, I took a bigger interest in the construction and scenery. It was nothing more than a 2 loop continuous run through 2 tunnels that passed over top of one another. About a week after my brother breaking the loco, my Dad pitched the whole thing, even with me begging him not to.
I have built a few more layouts since then, but because I moved around alot, I had to scrap them. I hit my early 20's and lost interest, it was party time. Every little bit of equipment I had was slowly lost.
About 2 years ago, my second child started expressing interest in trains. She was quite taken with Thomas (as most kids are), but her interest became obsession. We lived in the western suburbs of Chicago, and had tracks that ran fairly close to the house. Every time she heard a train, she wanted to go to the tracks to see the "Enuns" (that is not a typo, she called them that. It was pronounced Enn-unns). I was into scale aviation, model planes, helicopters, gliders., etc. I decided that I would ditch them and start building a model railroad, so my daughter and I could spend more time together. Since then, many things have conspired to keep that layout from being built. We have had to move, because the construction preperation uncovered a huge amount of mold in the old house. The birth of my 3rd child changed my focus for a bit as well. He is just about to hit the 1 year old mark. He has not expressed any interest in trains, yet.
With the new house came a much larger space for the layout. As soon as the moving was done, and the home projects slowed down, I, with alot of help, set about the task of planning the new layout. Then, I got hurt at work. With my injuries I am not able to draw for more than a few minutes at a time, as my hands go numb. I am not able to begin constructing any benchwork. I have a decent rolling stock selection built up, a large supply of track, a bunch of building kits, a decent airbrush, and air compressor.
The work injury has kept me out of work since October of '07. I had no idea that the money I was getting from work comp was not enough. I don't have my hand in the finances as much as I should. I am now faced with having to sell off a bunch of things to help the cause. I have already sold my motorcycle.
As the layout plan has evolved, I have sold various items to get some other piece. Now I am faced with selling off railroad items for the money.
I will not be able to change my income picture for over a year, as I need to have surgery (which hasn't even been scheduled yet) on both wrists, then rehab. There is a strong possibility that I might not ever be able to return to my job, as it requires me to drop all 210#'s of me onto a draw bar around 40 times a day.
My faith is strong that all of this will be resolved in time. I might have to let go of a large part of model railroading for a while, but I can still read. I still have a pad of paper and a pencil. I can still plan. I can still dream. I can return.
Am I intending to whine? No. I will simply call this a wordy catharsis, that has taken a long time to type. Lesson learned: Don't forget that this all encompassing hobby has an under-discussed factor... Money. Everyone wants a dream layout, and they can be had by everyone. Just be sure that you are spending money that is there for the spending.
Matt
I have built a few more layouts since then, but because I moved around alot, I had to scrap them. I hit my early 20's and lost interest, it was party time. Every little bit of equipment I had was slowly lost.
About 2 years ago, my second child started expressing interest in trains. She was quite taken with Thomas (as most kids are), but her interest became obsession. We lived in the western suburbs of Chicago, and had tracks that ran fairly close to the house. Every time she heard a train, she wanted to go to the tracks to see the "Enuns" (that is not a typo, she called them that. It was pronounced Enn-unns). I was into scale aviation, model planes, helicopters, gliders., etc. I decided that I would ditch them and start building a model railroad, so my daughter and I could spend more time together. Since then, many things have conspired to keep that layout from being built. We have had to move, because the construction preperation uncovered a huge amount of mold in the old house. The birth of my 3rd child changed my focus for a bit as well. He is just about to hit the 1 year old mark. He has not expressed any interest in trains, yet.
With the new house came a much larger space for the layout. As soon as the moving was done, and the home projects slowed down, I, with alot of help, set about the task of planning the new layout. Then, I got hurt at work. With my injuries I am not able to draw for more than a few minutes at a time, as my hands go numb. I am not able to begin constructing any benchwork. I have a decent rolling stock selection built up, a large supply of track, a bunch of building kits, a decent airbrush, and air compressor.
The work injury has kept me out of work since October of '07. I had no idea that the money I was getting from work comp was not enough. I don't have my hand in the finances as much as I should. I am now faced with having to sell off a bunch of things to help the cause. I have already sold my motorcycle.
As the layout plan has evolved, I have sold various items to get some other piece. Now I am faced with selling off railroad items for the money.
I will not be able to change my income picture for over a year, as I need to have surgery (which hasn't even been scheduled yet) on both wrists, then rehab. There is a strong possibility that I might not ever be able to return to my job, as it requires me to drop all 210#'s of me onto a draw bar around 40 times a day.
My faith is strong that all of this will be resolved in time. I might have to let go of a large part of model railroading for a while, but I can still read. I still have a pad of paper and a pencil. I can still plan. I can still dream. I can return.
Am I intending to whine? No. I will simply call this a wordy catharsis, that has taken a long time to type. Lesson learned: Don't forget that this all encompassing hobby has an under-discussed factor... Money. Everyone wants a dream layout, and they can be had by everyone. Just be sure that you are spending money that is there for the spending.
Matt