Layout change of heart

That's the beauty of this hobby. Lots of aspects to explore and find your niche. I visited a 25' x 50' basement layout once that was nothing but plywood benchwork and ballasted track. The owner had many scratch built brass locomotives. For over 30 years He enjoyed building in brass and running them. 

One of my friends always does a Christmas layout around the tree Nov. To Feb. The rest of the year it's all packed away. He loves Dept 56 and puts out over 30 buildings seperate from the carpet layout on shelves. 

I've always had a carpet central, ran some G scale in the yard. Mostly enjoyed the hunt for what would eventually be a full layout build. Hard times came, sold off everything, then started "aquiring" again.  Back to basics now, no fancy grades or switching. A BIG circle. Some choice buildings, hands on the throttle transformer, engines by both companys. A little G scale. We started out running in a circle and in the end it's the least complicated way to go. Life is too short.

Before you know it it's time to downsize....so...enjoy the ride.

When I was a kid, I enjoyed running O, HO and N gauge. Finally I was told by my mother that I was too old to play with trains (could you imagine that). I managed to at lease save and hide away my N scale items. Fast forward to 1988 and I started to get back into N scale with an under the bed slide out layout which I still have. Around 1998 I got back into O gauge with my first MTH steam starter set which was a Santa Fe 0-6-0 freight set followed shortly thereafter with an MTH f3 Santa Fe Super Chief passenger set. I then slowly started adding in all my childhood favorite Lionel post war trains and accessories. As time went on I branched out into MTH subways and that is when I started wanting some more realistic scale items. I soon realized that I could not give up the toy like Lionel items, so I have a mix of both scale and traditional Lionel items with a floor  type setup. I am very happy with my mix of scale and non scale and will continue with that direction for now. 

I had a similar experience to RRMAN. I got back into the hobby in the 90s and first built a 6x8 layout using Lionel tubular track, a few old accessories, and a couple of conventional locomotives. I enjoyed building the layout, but both my young boys and I quickly lost interest in operating the layout. When we moved a few years later I packed away everything in case I wanted to build another layout. I found this forum in 2002 when I started planning my next layout, and I quickly got rid of my old stuff and switched to Atlas track and command control locomotives. I'm glad I made the switch, but every once in a while I think about building another small layout using the old stuff.

Atlas track was great! nickel silver rail IMO beats everything else.

But, for CHEAP,..(not cheaply made, less expensive)........Menards tubular is now my track of choice for quick carpet layouts. A plastic cable tie at each connection ensures electrical connectivity...and .....did I mention?

It's CHEAP.

About 15 years ago or so, I sold a PW/MPC/LTI collection of trains in my favorite road names and focused on those roadnames in scale.  The reason I did so was so that I could limit growth:  I simply didn't have enough room to continue growing the traditional collection.

About 5 years ago, I succumbed to the digital/CC craze and installed TMCC.  I have regretted it ever since and am starting to revert to traditional control.  Doing so will eventually involved stripping some of the big engines of their electronic guts, a move I look forward to completing as time allows.

RRMAN, I did it in three stages. My first layout as an "adult" was a 4X8 with mostly post war Lionel, including my 1948 2026 steam engine and a few light towers by Marx. 027 switches and a small Lionel transformer. Plasticville buildings and telephone poles. It's home was in are second bedroom in the small apartment. (second stage) Bought our first home with a larger room downstairs. Switched back to Gargraves track from my youth but kept Lionel switches and accessories. Started buying the new MPC locomotives and cars. Started pulling the accessories and buying kit buildings.  Slowly started a more scale look with the best used Lionel I could buy including a 1950 773 Hudson, 2343 Santa Fe A-B-A with passenger cars and more. Changed to Gargraves switches and two ZW transformers. (third stage) Bought our second house. A few Williams engines were added and no Lionel accessories. Lots of mountains and hand made timber trestles. Then it happened. MTH! Bought my first RailKing 0-8-0. Then a Santa Fe big steamer. My wife bought her first engine for me, a premier MTH Milwaukee Road FM switcher that I still have. Thought this was the perfect layout. Had a little trouble with the switches and slowly replaced them with Ross. Did my first overhead electric line using Williams "Little Joes". Slowly sold off my RailKing locos and started buy MTH and K-line scale engines.

Atlas cars soon followed. There was no going back. I was hooked on scale. Oh, I've taken shoots and all kinds of meds to stop this terrible affliction, but there's no way out. It's either keep with scale or change to wooden pull toys. Don

I had two layouts for years. One postwar style 4x8, and a scale layout. Do both if you can. If you have the space, have 3/4 of the layout "scale", and 1/4 postwar style. My imagination sees a scale sceniced layout transitioning to a toy train layout, seeing the static grass and rock molds slowly transitioning into green paper mat and paper machie mountains or other scenery.

I have second thoughts no matter what I build. Typically I think about how my projects could have been better designed or better built.

You present an interesting premise, RRMAN.

My experience at having a layout has been exactly that - change; change; change. Why? I don't know, other than to conclude that I discovered , as I  progressed, I liked being creative and playing with those wonderful trains of ours.

The first layout was the cliché "spaghetti-bowl" of track and myriad, numerous switches, with trains zipping and derailing every where, with switches being thrown everywhere (ten 0-27 and ten 0-72 !) derailing everything possible that passed through them. Lots of toy models acting as "scenery" were positioned throughout, such as here....

….which was changed ultimately to this...

….and here....

…which was changed to this...

My wife suggested the layout was something I might want to share with our friends and relatives. The first time I did so, they were in the basement trainroom for approx. 20 min, and I suspect a lot of that time was out of simple courtesy for my enthusiasm, not theirs.

So, I decided to continue giving them something more to see in addition to the trains. No part of the layout would be considered unavailable to change.

I stripped the entire layout down to the plywood, like here for this later project......and removed all but two switches, allowed for a main line - on ONE of the three mainlines, only. One particular "valley" changed entirely, inch by inch, several times, as seen here..

My wish was for the trains to simply GO, uninterrupted, with places to be, places to go to, and places from which to return.

Every weekend, I attended train shows available to me in the Northeast area, and I poured over many model train magazines, finding much inspiration and many ideas via the increasingly available new modeling products, such as those from  Valley Model Trains  site and Scenic Express catalogues, stimulating my imagination to no end, right up to this minute. I especially enjoyed and benefitted from Jim Elster, of Scenic Express, who, when I told him I was going to have hills and "mountains," advised me, "Have fun, but don't make it look like the moon," sage advice , indeed. I guess he suspected I might get carried-away, in my enthusiasm. The many products available changed constantly in my creative adventure, resulting in layout areas like this "suburban" neighborhood evolving from porcelain houses....

to craftwork edifices...I found myself changing in my interests from a toy-like appearance for the layout to one that I was hoping would look more "realistic."

When the entire layout was all re-accomplished, guests stayed in the trainroom, asking myriad enthusiastic questions, pointing personal "discoveries" out to me, and had to be encouraged to go upstairs for a buffet, after what became often 1 1/2 hr. of model train cheering.

FrankM, Moon Township, USA. layout

I didn't have any childhood trains packed away, but it was command control, the modern trains, accessories and the incredible selection of products available that got me back in the hobby in 2011.

I went out shopping for my grandson's 6th birthday, wanted to get him a train set. I was overwhelmed by what I found in the way of trains (all scales) at my LHS!  That set the hook and I'm still discovering and learning new things all the time. Amazing changes from when I was a kid!!

After having to downsize a few times due to moving, I recently got rid of all my scale stuff & went back to postwar. Too many issues w/ modern stuff. Got burned too many times w/ board failures.  The postwar works great in a smaller space. I'm currently concentrating on early postwar - 45-52 & trying to build a layout in that theme.  There's something magical about those postwar trains, especially early postwar, that the modern stuff can't match. 

Loved our story DKDKRD....  I've been down many of those roads myself.  In my case 'I've been down about 65 non-stop years of those roads, and finally settled on what must be my umpteenth layout built around the walls, with walk-in access points and absolutely no "duck-under"s.  Its mostly scale, but suitable for nice, small engines and lots of vanishing points for trains to leave the room, go somewhere else, turn around, and come back into the exhibit room. 

Been through it all and still looking for that wonderful "nirvana" that you have found!  Good for you!