A Sad Day Here

C

Cannonball

More Trains Than Brains
Dec 4, 2006
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0
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St. Joseph, MO
Long time no post.

Sold all my N scale stuff. Getting too busy and too broke to keep up with all my hobbies. I never even got the Scenic Ridge layout finished. It has been sitting half done for over a year. My whole collection along with the layout has all been sold to a coworker and he will be picking them up on Tuesday evening. :(

Here's a short video of the "official" last run.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgNdS6JqeXk
 
Kinda like a prototype railroad. The last run before abandonment.
Hope things get better. keep your chin up. You maybe able to start all over again sometime down the line.
 
truly a sad day!

I too hope things get better soon. Since it's a co worker and a new comer hopefuly you can at least be able to assist on the completion of the layout.

Good Luck in the near and distant future!
 
With all the work you did on that layout - I have no doubt you'll one day start another layout when time and money permits. You did a great job! So look at this time as a brief period of "down time" not an end. It took me about 20 years to restart in this hobby...so don't worry...when you're ready again - the trains will still be here waiting.
 
Sorry to hear that. Maybe sometime in the future you'll be able to start again, and just think you'll be able to get a fresh start and you'll be able to build a layout that will be without all the "learning experiences" that you may have had :-)
 
steve.i456 said:
truly a sad day!

I too hope things get better soon. Since it's a co worker and a new comer hopefuly you can at least be able to assist on the completion of the layout.

Good Luck in the near and distant future!
Click to expand...
:agree1:My guess is the new owner of Scenic Ridge Railway will need much assistance in the transition of ownership. Hopefully, you will get to still work on the completion with them. Or maybe you can join a club nearby and participate in building their layout. I very well understand the $$$$ thing, but it doesn't necessarily mean you can't work on a layout.....
 
I encourage you to stan involved in some capacity. That may mean just arm-chair modeling, planning, making buildings or models out of cardboard, or building small dioramas out of scrap foam from the constrution site and rolling stock from the swap meat junk table.

I say this because this hobby has helped me get through tough times when i would have otherwise just sat around dwelling on how crappy life is.

Kevin
 
Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I'm not getting away from trains completely though. I still have my O guage stuff to set up and run on occasion and my daughter has a small HO set that we play with. (I've been thinking of getting her the HO Thomas set as well.)

When time and money permit, I'm actually thinking of going smaller and getting into Z scale. The only downside to that is they are kind of limited and REALLY expensive. There is a woman who does some amazing scratch built Z scale buildings on eBay. I can't believe the detail she gets into with those tiny things.

One question I have- Is there a difference between TT and Z scale or are those just two different names for the same scale?
 
TT is 1:120 while Z is 1:220

I feel for you as I had to close the door on any large layout aspiration I had. Sold it all down to a smaller, more manageable pile a year and a half ago and never looked back. My hobby (I also dropped all others except trains) is now more relaxing and much easier on the budget. Good luck.
 
shaygetz said:
TT is 1:120 while Z is 1:220
Click to expand...
I wonder why I haven't been able to find much about TT online.
It must still be very obscure.

shaygetz said:
I feel for you as I had to close the door on any large layout aspiration I had. Sold it all down to a smaller, more manageable pile a year and a half ago and never looked back. My hobby (I also dropped all others except trains) is now more relaxing and much easier on the budget. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Wow.... Sorry to hear that. You've always been a good source of info and help on a variety of subjects. It's a shame your layout had to go. :(

Got any pics of the new one?
 
TT was kinda replaced by N scale in the US. Prior to N scale, TT was the smallest. Once N scale became available, TT lost its niche. I think there was only one manufacturer of american TT trains, but I believe there is still TT scale european equipment being prodced.

For those interested in something about the size of TT, consider HOn3. It is HO scale, but on narrow gauge track. The accessories (buildings, etc) are all standard HO, but the trains are smaller. You can fit about 1.5 times the track in the same space as a standard-gauge HO layout because of tighter curves and shorter train lengths.

Kevin
 
Cannonball said:
Wow.... Sorry to hear that. You've always been a good source of info and help on a variety of subjects. It's a shame your layout had to go. :(

Got any pics of the new one?
Click to expand...

Oh, I haven't lost anything really...just had to pare it down some. I have a nice N scale layout for ops, a really good test bed for HO and Marlin three rail, a portable loop of N for train shows and, if that isn't enough, a loop of G for when I'm feelin' it for the big stuff.:thumb:

Here's where I keep the HO and N...

case6.jpg


case7.jpg


...I built it last year out of red oak and poplar, mounting the N layout on full extension slide to keep it dust free between ops. It also gives me some added storage and bookshelf space for my beloved's cookbooks and my modeling magazine and book library.

cased.jpg


casee.jpg


Add to that my shunting puzzle/photo diorama and I by no means am hurting. I just had to take a good hard look at where I was taking the hobby. When I saw I simply didn't have the time to build my empire and pastor a small Bible study group, I knew one had to go. I'm still plenty busy, I just am not as prolific as I used to be.

hustler3.jpg


smokey2.jpg


bigboyc.jpg
 
Very cool.
I love that storage cabinet.
And that Smokey & The Bandit scene just kills me. :D

The layout on that first pullout shelf is kind of what I'd like to do in Z except with a double track for two trains, mountains and tunnels.

If I could figure out a way to get the N scale Scenic Ridge layout shrunk down to about 2x3 in z scale, I'd try that as well.

This is the closest I've gotten with RTS
It's in N scale but shrunk down to Z, it would be 2x3
 

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  • Z Scale Layout01.jpg
    Z Scale Layout01.jpg
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TT was kinda replaced by N scale in the US. Prior to N scale, TT was the smallest. Once N scale became available, TT lost its niche. I think there was only one manufacturer of american TT trains, but I believe there is still TT scale european equipment being prodced.
Click to expand...
Even in Europe, TT was largely limited to East Germany. I'm not sure how much is still available.
 
Cannonball said:
Very cool.
I love that storage cabinet.
And that Smokey & The Bandit scene just kills me. :D

The layout on that first pullout shelf is kind of what I'd like to do in Z except with a double track for two trains, mountains and tunnels.
Click to expand...

Like that, I have way too much fun in this hobby...:mrgreen:

My only regret is that the cabinet is pretty big...4wx5lx4h makes for a monster but my beloved suggested it and we're both content with how it looks. We hope to move to a larger house and set it up in a rec room type setting. Your Z idea would be much more manageable.
 
Don,t give up

Back in 1990 I had to sell all my N train stuff, because we moved to the country and the basement was not suitable for anything. When I retired in
2006 I joined a NTrak club. You get to build a 2x4ft module, go to train shows, meet new people. I am 67 now and have built a logging module,
and some kits.Back into railroading YEA.

PS: You can see some of my kits in logging and mining under willy4.

Bill
 
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