Have you ever considered "I am so done with this layout"?

At that point now,  the more i learn the more i see my mistakes.

I have a pretty mature layout myself. Over the past 12 months, I obviously I haven't been giving the normal demonstrations to guests and local kids. It was knowing I'd have these demos that always got me motivated to run the trains and keep the layout in tiptop shape.  Through the years I've looked at opportunities to modernize the electronics or swap structures, add new "Arttista" people , cars, lighting, etc with new products or ideas--mostly from going to train shows or reading the magazines.  Just as art fanciers admire sculptures and paintings, I also feel darn good just going to the basement and looking at my own very large work of art and those metal and plastic things with wheels on my display shelves.

In terms of layout design and certain key accessories and structures, I agree with rrman (the OP), and am unlikely to make changes. My wife and I have no plans for relocating, and enjoy our current modest-sized home, which has a half basement. This limits available space for a layout, my current layout is about 25 years old, and I have already maximized it size.

However, I've recently decided to make other future improvements/changes to hold my interest.

First, I have a town on the far left side of the layout in which I plan to rotate the structures and periodically change the scenery. I recently decided to do this because I started to collect Plasticville. Since I have more Plasticville and other structures than can fit on the layout, I plan to rotate them every 2 to 4 months, with corresponding scenery changes in that section of the layout. When I make such changes, I plan to take numerous photos and videos showing trains running through the town, and posting them on the Forum.

Another future change is to have the layout evolve over time to add features so it is more like The Put.

If I become more ambitious. I could tackle the wiring, which is a major project. What I currently have is functional but unorthodox (my own creation) and not well organized, so I could rip it all out, re-do the wiring by the book using bus wires so there are much fewer wires, and also color code all the wires. I have model railroad booklets and train magazine articles on this subject, so I know how to re-do the wiring.

Another major project could be improving the roadbed and ballast for the track and replacing some sections of track. However, I have always liked Lionel tubular track and 022 switches, so I have no plans for changing that.

During the past 6 weeks, I added the DCS remote set to my layout. So far, I am very pleased with it. Arnold

I'm at the other end of the spectrum, I have track and can run trains, landscaping is just starting.  It'll be a long time before I get to that point.

Never. My NYC themed layout has been up in some form or another for 25 years and I keep adding or changing.  I enjoy the “urban renewal” part as much as running my trains.  Even better, now that my wife and I are empty nesters, I’ve inherited a room for another layout. This one is going to be military themed and rural. It’s never going to end and that’s just the way I like it.

Nope.

Warrenville has been changing, growing, evolving and improving since 1983.

Fun, fun, fun.

I don't have a layout to be 'done with' yet, but I would think if I finished one, Id start a yearly 'rotating of the people', and take periodic photos from the exact same position(s) each year.  If you do minor updates to the layout with the life cycle of a neighborhood/town/landscape in mind, it would almost be adding a time flow to things; albeit stuck in the same era?  Like one of those 'before and after' historical photo sets! 

It might be even neat to show aging of some of the citizens in your layout.  Like one year kids playing at a park (or watching trains), but then swap out the next year with maybe teenagers of roughly the same hair/clothes color scheme (for easy id by visitors), and then later years for adults, adults with families of their own, and then elderly.  With the changing scenery and trains to match different eras, that might actually make a nifty calendar...

I'm thinking about wedging a Wye into my layout so I can turn my N&W J that's too big for my TT, but I don't think I have the room so I can turn the whole 5-6 car train

Also, wish I had redone the drywall BEFORE I put the layout in.  I'm not in the mood to take it all down just to redo the drywall at this moment.

Bob

Last year I added a wye to my 40 year old layout.

rrman

To many of us building a layout is the major portion of the model railroading hobby.  To many others of us operating trains is the major portion of the hobby.  I am mostly in the building part of the hobby that includes much more than just the layout.  It includes building and modifying cars and engines, accessories and buildings, etc.

For thirty years of my layout it was portable and on the living family room floor for about one month in the Christmas holidays so operating was not a major part of the hobby.  This is one of the reasons the layout has lasted for so long, it did not constant use or attention.  This on one of the major ways to keep from getting hobby burnout.

For me the main part of my other main hobby, vintage audio, is not just listening to Lps, tapes, FM and CDs but in collecting and repairing and rearranging the gear.  Now that I have a dedicated room for trains and vintage audio gear, watching big screen TV and exercise, I now can see and use the trains and audio at will when and if I want to.

Hobbies can be enjoyed in different ways.  It sounds like you enjoyed building and improving your layout more than just operating.  Perhaps you can explore ways to modify, change some track, re function or re purpose some areas, improve some structures, make some cars or accessories etc.

Charlie

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I'm at the other end of the spectrum, I have track and can run trains, landscaping is just starting.  It'll be a long time before I get to that point.

I'm with you, John! I have a l-o-n-g way to go, and am in no particular hurry.

Allan, I'm guessing my heirs will be finishing the layout, or tearing it down.  I don't plan on doing another one at this juncture in life.

A few years ago I got all enthused about slot cars. I built a nice looking and running track and bought 32 cars all on eBay. The cars are fun to run but I have surprisingly lost all interest. now I kind of wish I had used the space for a HO layout, I have a lot of HO stuff that right now probably will never be used by me. Meanwhile progress is slow on my O layout.

I can't answer your question but I learned what Trompe L'Oeil means. Had to Google it lol .