That is why there must be a tunnel on even the smallest layout. Every time the train comes out of that portal it's like seeing it for the first time. 
Besides the best part of any platform is the daydreams generated of possible future enhancements.
gg1man posted:That is why there must be a tunnel on even the smallest layout. Every time the train comes out of that portal it's like seeing it for the first time.
Interesting concept, I'd never thought of that before.
I really tried to have a tunnel on my layout, but the concept (and the area where the layout takes place) simply wouldn't make any sense to have a tunnel.
mwb posted:Hard to imagine losing intere.......... Oh, look! A squirrel.
As I fall off my chair laughing here with my wife in the background thinking I've lost my mind....
I've spent 30 plus years enjoying the tinplate without any kind of a permanent layout whatsoever, and haven't got bored with it yet...I can't wait for the mind numbing part of just enjoying myself and watching trains go round and round on a layout that'll actually be a permanent fixture and almost eye level some day!
Lost interest after she filed a restraining order.
Oops, wrong forum. 
AMC Dave,
Loved the Mustang and the Javelin.
Ron
p51 posted:gg1man posted:That is why there must be a tunnel on even the smallest layout. Every time the train comes out of that portal it's like seeing it for the first time.
Interesting concept, I'd never thought of that before.
I really tried to have a tunnel on my layout, but the concept (and the area where the layout takes place) simply wouldn't make any sense to have a tunnel.
The tunnel concept is not limited to a hole passing through a pile of earth. You can run through a large engine shed, or under a large building spanning the tracks, or even a cool train station. The tunnel concept can work with any ploy that removes the subject train from the minds eye and "SNAP" your imagination will recreate the image as brand new to you.
You see, in my opinion the psyche really pays no attention to time. That is a concept created by the mechanical workings of our minds ability to deduce what is logical, or expected thermodynamic-ally. So, I believe this is the source of our wonderful ability to suspend disbelief and deal with the proportion deficit our hobby presents to us. 
In short, there's always room for a tunnel! 
I have lost interest over the years when I thought I was in this hobby alone.. Since I joined the forum and get ideas and knowledge from an entire universe of people, I haven't lost interest.
AMC Dave Nice Javelin.. saw a Matador at a car show recently made me smile for my Gremlin in days past and my Vega(not so much!)
Bill
I have never really totally lost interest, although a separation period arrived with cars and girls, Vietnam, marriage and kids, which was about a 10 year period. But then I got back into building layouts again until 1988 when I sold everything after a messy divorce. Again in 1996 interest came back with the discovery of MTH and I have been building layouts since. I have short periods where I do nothing or very little other than attend shows, York etc. But the interest stays with me and most likely will take it to the grave.
I'm 74, and I lost interest, for the most part, when the scenics on my 5x8 layout were done (a 2 year, enjoyable job), my Grandson lost interest in model trains (about age 7), and my modular group disbanded. However, I still attend York and Allentown, and look forward to my 2 Christmas layouts.
In the meanwhile, I'm reading 2-3 books a week, spending time at my gun range, shooting arrows in the back yard, traveling with my wife (2 weeks/8 countries on the Baltic Sea starting on Saturday), and spending time at our beach cottage in Lewes, DE.
After having our permanent layout up for a few years, I lost interest. Instead of seeing a great, small layout, I kept seeing all of the things that I would have done differently but couldn't really afford to redo at the time.
That led to dismantling the layout and moving to fastrack floor running. That allows us to create a fresh layout that doesn't have to be confined to benchwork. When we're tired of it, it gets changed or simply packed away. The summer months usually see more distance from the trains as it helps to develop an excitement for the fall and planning of a Christmas layout.
Kind of lost interest when I lost my job last year. Didn't have any finances or ambition to do anything, plus the prospect of maybe having to chop up the layout and pack up everything to relocate to find new employment. I went to York, Oct 2015 still unemployed just to walk around and help the depression. New job came before Christmas and I tried to make some repairs to some prewar pieces which didn't work out too well. A former coworker drug me to a January Greenberg show and I picked up a rare aquarium car that was on my "probably will never find" list. Attended TCA open house this past April, but not York. Nothing on the layout has turned a wheel in over a year. Commute to work has gone from 20 minutes to the old job to over 1hr to the new job, so prospect of relocating is still out there. I took on a one-time vintage audio restoration project, which has left little spare time for trains. Of course I still check in here, and plan to go to York in October. Is the interest dead? No. Maybe just taking an extended break to collect my thoughts and objectives for the hobby.
Some very thoughtful posts... I feel that losing interest in any hobby is normal as your interests and other things in life change. Personally, I find I spend less time in the basement during the few months it is nice outside in Chicagoland. I also am aware I enjoy different parts of this hobby at different times - building or rebuilding a track plan, changing scenics, or 'operating' it.
I have been in this hobby since 6 and I've never lost interest. Being a high school geek helped. When everyone else was building cars and chasing girls, I was building a 16'x24' HO layout with my dad in the attic of the house I grew up in on the Jersey shore. There were a few years in college where my studies kept me from enjoying my hobby as much as I wanted and now that I consult about 1/4 time for 3rd Rail I don't get to enjoy my hobby like I used to. However, I see the consulting as just another expression of the hobby. I get to learn about all the railroads I don't normally model and my library of reference material is growing by leaps and bounds.
Outside of getting completely burned out one day, I don't see myself leaving the hobby. It is just so much fun in so many ways all at once.
I've never lost interest but because of lack of space, lack of money, and other things ( kinda hard to have trains on a Navy ship) but the interest has always been with me and I'm now 61 ( started about 5 or 6 maybe earlier ) So there were times trains were not in my life but never times they were not an interest if it's just sitting at a crossing and counting the cars on a train as it goes by. Right now no layout but I do have them on a wall looking good ( well what will fit lol)
As with many others, I've been watching trains go around in circles since our first Christmas layout in 1965 when I was 3.
There's been many stretches of no trains, but to this day, my layouts are always a few loops and many fun (to me) accessories.
At what point do I lose interest in watching the same train go round the layout? About 15 - 20 minutes. Lose interest in buying current production trains; 1990. Lose interest in seeing other peoples layouts; I don't see losing interest in that. Lose interest in hearing the problems with certain engines, cars, accessories or other things to avoid; never, not at all. Lose interest in seeing 18 photographs of one item with a manufacturers description as a topic/thread; just as soon as I see the posters name. Lose interest in seeing 18 photographs of something that has been created/modeled/kitbashed; not at all, gets me hooked every time. Lose interest in hearing the same 47 people complain about York; loses me twice a year. Lose interest in going to huge, monstrous train shows with 40,000 people in attendance and seeing endless variations of HO, N, and Z; lost me about 20 years ago. Lose interest in going to a York train show; as soon as the attendance drops below 10,000. I mean nobody goes to York much anymore, cause it's so crowded and takes too long to see all of the tables of O and S merchandise. Lose interest in seeing other peoples childhood pictures of their trains and layouts from way back; nope. Lose interest in reading tips and hints where other forum members are helping someone solve a problem, give advice, or educate them on a subject; not even close, that's what America is all about.
I lose interest when someone incorrectly spells "lose" as "loose." 
For me, the joy is making and remaking... I have a "smallish" 8' x 8' platform with Lego buildings and O gauge trains. If I haven't played with them in awhile, I clean them up, put them away and when the bug hits, drag them out, rearrange the building or the trains or the tracks depending on the mood. I've made several custom Lego projects, a church, a school, a playground, a modern art fountain, a memorial garden and plan to make others as the inspiration hits. My wife and I have season trains and Legos that we put out for Halloween and Christmas. Below is the current configuration, in the process of being packed away for awhile with links to YouTube videos of other variations over the past few years.
EddieZ
Austin, TX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdFpCJsCAF0
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Above:
"Life is too short to drive a boring car but, why drive a Porsche when you can drive something fast like mine. I'm sorry but, I just couldn't resist the jab."
Well, I had a Porsche once, but never a Chevy, and I guess that I'd rather drive mine (below), anyway. There's a clutch pedal involved, too. Yours?
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EddieZ posted:
I see someone has invested in the Ghost Busters fire station.....and a few others!!!
I just got the new bank....yet to open it....
Cool!
I never have lost interest but have fallen asleep watching trains go around. That's okay on a chair with a back but downright dangerous on a stool.
D500 posted:Above:
"Life is too short to drive a boring car but, why drive a Porsche when you can drive something fast like mine. I'm sorry but, I just couldn't resist the jab."
Well, I had a Porsche once, but never a Chevy, and I guess that I'd rather drive mine (below), anyway. There's a clutch pedal involved, too. Yours?
The jab doesn't bother me, I "deal" with fast Vettes every time I'm on the toll road. And... I do it with two less cylinders... The funny thing is, when I drove my Vettes, I got the occasional "lets run" moves on the highway from a variety of cars/bikes, but with the 911, Everyone wants a piece of it. I take that as a form of flattery, as I feel the 911 is a "standard" by which many performance cars are judged. It clearly gets the respect. I can't tell you how many "thumbs up", waves, and positive comments I've gotten tooling around in this car. I'ts definitely not a car to own if you want to be left alone. I joined the PCA when I got it, and run around with the local members, and they are a super bunch of people. There a few "pretentious" people there, but you'll find them anywhere, like in the train hobby. I tend to do that with hobbies, no matter which, I join up with the "club" because you can meet like-minded people and learn so much, and they provide constant inspiration for anything you do.
And yep, it's got a 6-speed manual. Love it.
So, I do this if the trains get a little "boring" but they never really do. I think it's super healthy to have multiple interests, and with The Greatest Hobby there are multiple sub-hobbies in it, all with different activities. There's always something else to do. These things last a long time if you take a bit of care, and you can step away when needed, and they'll be right there when you're ready again. It's awesome.
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This subject has been addressed before, so this is redundant, but there are so many facets to model railroading and prototype railroad history, that I wouldn't get bored, even if I didn't have way too many other hobbies and interests. I am getting bored at York, for nothing interesting found, and nothing interesting from the manufacturers, who are not into new and different prototypes, as least, from the steam era (boy, are they REDUNDANT!) Interesting to me, and I've noted that on here before, too, that there are so many other people into trains, who are also into automobiles. I have been a big fan of American made "orphan" cars, (from small, now defunct manufacturers) 1925-1935, from Allen to Windsor (and there were a LOT of them...ah, the good ole daze). I used to own and be interested in "super stocks" from the 1960's, but now, I like my cars to go far (on a tank of gas, and trouble-free durability) rather than so fast. Except for a couple of stupid mistakes, nothing since 1960 has not been 3, 4, 5, or 6 speed manual, with the last five cars being six speed (as soon as I could get them). I like my cars, like my trains, to work. No Mickey Mouse gadgets wanted on either.
