I am having the best time of my life, O gauge Railroading has been great for me and I look forward to more good times. We have things today that when I started in the 60's I could or did not dream of staring at the 1966 Lionel catalog as a 10 year old boy. And now the Bellevue and Schenectady RR is a dream come true.I have nil or no issues with new items. And yes there is maintenance in all of this and its okay. Happy railroading!!
Originally Posted by servoguy:
rtr12,
I tend to keep my train budget low. I rarely buy something new. I really enjoy buying stuff that needs repair or restoration, and bring it up to good standards. For example, I recently bought 105 sections of 072 track. Most of it was somewhat corroded, and in particular, the pins and insides of the rails were corroded. I developed methods of measuring the resistance of the installed pins and cleaning the corrosion out of the ends of the rails.
I have bought many engines and cars that needed a little work, and I really enjoy making something work again. Do I like this hobby? You bet I do.
Again, my comment wasn't about how much or how little anyone spends on the hobby or anything else for that matter. So much for my attempt at humor...
I'm not one normally to think music lyrics contain any wisdom, but I try to live by this:
It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got
-from 'Soak up the sun' by Chreyl Crow
Each time I walk into the room with my small, "in progress" layout, I stop and think of how much I badly wanted something like this when i was a teen with no money, skills or room to build anything.
God knows it drives me nuts from time to time and I have been known to cuss more than once when something new comes my way, or I complete a project and to my horror, realize that leads to ten more things I never realized needed to be done... But in the end, I've gotten much further in 7 months from a pile of lumber and stockpiled hobby supplies and rolling stock than many people get in 10 years.
But the bottom line is, if I don't like what I have, then what's the point? You can always want something new or different here or there, but there has to come a point where you stop and smile and think, "yes, this is it." If you never feel that, no matter how far along things are or what cool toys you have, I strongly suggest taking up something cheaper and requiring less work and money. I've gotten to that point with other things I've done with my spare time, and I've dropped each as soon as I realized it. And in no such case have I ever regretted doing so!
The issue isn't how much you spend, what you have, how you run it, or anything along those lines.
I've seen people running stuff out of the box that could only be described as the Indy 500 with flanged wheels, on bare plywood (or the floor). And they're as happy as new puppy with a chew toy while their human pal scratching them behind the ears.
I've also seen layouts that have been in the big magazines, and some of their owners are as happy as a hot tub salesman in a recession.
You gotta want what you got, or you'll NEVER be happy.
Amen, PA , Amen to that!!
Happy! Happy! Happy!
Went to replace the O27 track with O31 Fastrack on Theodore's Treat Train display in the living Room last night. Unexpectedly discovered if you elevate the O27 track you can fit it inside the O31. So now Ma has a two tier display she can operate by herself. I'll try and post a video later.
I also setup my multi-train/manufacturer remote today so I can operate the LionChief and RailKing trains with a single remote. Was going to use the Red Green design technique but the Velcro was easier to reach than the duct tape.
Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!
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