Retirees, Those Soon To Be and the Hobby

Gentlemen,

   Here is an up beat retirement train story.

Fortunately I fall into the retirement group that could afford to purchase a new home, thanks to being a military veteran I took another VA loan and we are quite happy with our new home.  Especially me, having wanted my own Train Room for many many years, I now have a very nice one.  

I have lived long enough to see the Tin Plate Trains I loved as a kid, reproduced with remote controls, nothing could be more fantastic for me.  I know the younger generations take all this for granted, me not so much.  

I love being in good enough health to build my layouts and I have great fun running them.  I hope all the men who helped grant my freedom are watching from heaven, as I enjoy what they and my Father and Grandfather risk their very lives to provide.

Retirement in my particular case has been wonderful, I am grateful to God that I am still around to enjoy it, especially my O Gauge Trains.

PCRR/Dave

Nearing the 1/2 way mark on my Retirement Train Room/Man Cave.

Or is retirement really that depressing  as some people say ???

I must have missed the posts that are depressing.
It's true that some of the posts, including several of mine, have wandered away from discussing toy trains. The posts do discuss issues that are important to people who are about to retire. I would not suggest that anybody make their decisions based on what they read here. Hopefully the posts do make people aware of things that they may wish to consider. Forewarned is forearmed.

Dave nice train room. I will be retiring from the FAA in 23 months and just last year we moved into our retirement home, about 20 minutes from a very good hospital and all of our doctors are part of the Penn State Milton S Hershey medical system/hospital. Before I retire the train room will be finished and the layout table roughed in the room is 32 x 50 with the layout occupying about half the room and the other half will be a man/train cave. It will include lots of shelving and pictures all trains and a few die cast  cars and helicopters I have acquired over the years. A lot of PA State Police helicopters.

Just wondering if anyone put any thought into retiring near any active train lines, former lines/current rail trails, railroad museums, historical societies, hobby shops or even libraries? 

If I had my way, this is where I would be living. Basement space may be non-existent and my wife and Norfolk Southern may object, too!  

Tom 

One mile from the Nevada State Railroad Museum,  5 miles from the start of the 

operating Virginia and Truckee RR in Virginia City, three miles from the eastern depot

of the V&T near Moundhouse, Nv

Just wondering if anyone put any thought into retiring near any active train lines, former lines/current rail trails, railroad museums, historical societies, hobby shops or even libraries? 

I live near our town library, only 1/2 mile walk.
The Selkirk yards are near by, maybe a five or ten minute drive.
Depending on the weather, I can hear the horns, and even the rumble of the locomotives.

There are a number of hobby shops within a 30-45 minute drive. Unfortunately, about the only item I purchase at a hobby shop is glue. Still, it's fun to look around.

Regarding trains: There used to be a lightly used spur that crossed over the main drag through town (bridge). The engineers would always wave to any kids that were around as they passed over. Right at the intersection between the road and rails there was a shop that sold coffee and various other light things to eat. The train would often stop so the crew could get something to eat / drink. 
The spur fell into disuse a number of years ago, and was finally converted into a rail trail. It's fairly popular.

I can hardly believe, it retired 10 yrs, more trains now than I would have ever thought I'd have. Great wife, little debt and a fair sized S gauge layout that is being remodeled to suit my fancy. Good friends who are MRR club members, and a LORD who has granted me all this and more.

Ray

MNCW posted:

Just wondering if anyone put any thought into retiring near any active train lines, former lines/current rail trails, railroad museums, historical societies, hobby shops or even libraries? 

 

I had such a miserable experience buying/selling this last go round (bought a house in June, didn't offload our original house until February of the following year) that I told my wife I'm going to die in our current house and it'll be my sons problem on how to offload it.

With that said, we're exactly a mile from the country club, so I could walk to my rounds of golf (that I will hopefully get to play again when my boys get older), and about a mile and a half from the town square (and the library is about a quarter mile further). The hospital (which is where my wife works) is eight miles away, and a CSX railyard is just behind it so we get to see trains a lot.

The Florence downtown area (also eight miles away) is growing, with lots of restaurants, performing arts center, theater, and a museum ... so honestly, not much need for us to retire anywhere else. Taxes are low, our neighborhood is nice and quiet, and my job is good. Perhaps we'll buy a condo in a decade or so closer to the beach to avoid all the traffic during the summer months, but I'd rather go over to the Outer Banks than the SC or FL coasts.

I’ve said the same thing after moving on several occasions!!  After 34 years of marriage, we are coming up on 7 years in this house which would tie the longest we have been anywhere.  So far I have had to eat my words several times!  LOL

We retired to Florida last year, only draw back is no local train shops for repairs, have to go to Tampa, Largo or Clearwater, other than that, we love the area

Deuce posted:

The Florence downtown area (also eight miles away) is growing, with lots of restaurants, performing arts center, theater, and a museum ... so honestly, not much need for us to retire anywhere else.

We just returned from a trip to St. Augustine, and stayed both ways at the Hotel Florence in downtown. One of the nicest hotels we have ever stayed in.

Hello friends and current or potential retirees,

Great to see PCRR/Dave is moving right along with his Train Cave.  My retirement plans also included a place for my trains.  I always envisioned something like this:

20 years before I retired, we moved from an inadequate house with the perfect basement to a great house with only a then unfinished extra bedroom which we dubbed "The Train Room." I've now been fortunate to have enjoyed 11 good years of retirement in this home with my wife of nearly 50 years.  It has continued to be the right home in the right location for us to enjoy the activities and benefits of our hard earned retirement.  And it is paid for!

While I have continued to enjoy many of the elements of our wonderful Toy Train Hobby, my home layout and The Train Room still are a work in process at best:

Hmmmm...we haven't been traveling quite as much recently.  Maybe if I move a few things around and store some more stuff in the garage, I wonder if I just might...

Cheers!

Alan

Alan,

  Very nice. I like everything in your picture from the workbench that looks like mine..., well, I have just a little less piled there only because I have my oval of track (as my layout)...other than that, it would look exactly like yours. I like your layout and travel posters, too.

  Tom 

Anyone recently retire who wants to share their story such as will you be moving or did you move already, are you finding more or less time to spend on your trains or train-related things and is there anything that has surprised you? 

Tom 

Tom, Not recently retired, but I do have an update on my status. 

I wrote earlier that I took a voluntary severance package 2 years ago, then started working as a contract engineer for the same company 2 weeks later.  I am still there, but have only been working 3 days a week since September.  Actually that has been fine, since I have to do a lot of tasks for my parents and aunt, who are in personal care homes.  Also we have the family homestead vacant and have to go through literally four generations of stuff, plus do maintenance and mowing.  We think our older daughter and her husband will be moving in eventually.  We also have my widowed mother-in-law across the road, who we have to drive everywhere.

My wife has numerous health problems, and my arthritis has gotten bad enough that I have to wear a brace on one knee.  Doc says I will have to wait until I'm 65 to get a replacement.  By that time, I'll possibly need both done.    Since I will be 62 this fall I have been looking into whether to start taking Social Security then or wait. (The pros and cons of that have been exhausted, so I don't want to belabor that point)  

I got our projected SSA numbers recently, and we just met with our financial adviser last evening.   We have enough invested to be able to make a go of it virtually indefinitely.    I will have to see how much I can earn contracting before taking a hit on the Social Security, to pick up some train money.   

So, long story short, I may be fully retired by the end of the year.  For the foreseeable future, we will stay put since we have several elderly relatives and both our daughters and sons-in-law are still living here in Butler County.  

Mark, 

  Glad you were able to pass me by on the retirement track. I remember, early on in this post you thought you would be getting out around when I will, around 2021-2022-ish. 

  Sorry about your wife's health problems (my wife has her share too) and your knee issues. I actually stopped playing tennis to keep my knees from wearing out. 

  Sounds like you have a plan and a positive outlook! Thanks for the updates. 

Tom 

Mark,  I waited til age 65 to take both SS and a pension from ATT even tho

I was basically homeless for two or three years before i took either.  The difference in both was significant. I can no

longer work because of my arthritis, but by waiting I am able to live comfortably. 

And buy a few trains. If you can I would strongly suggest waiting.

Best, John

Thank you Tom and John!  

Oh yes trying to play tennis would be bad.  

Yes 65 would be late ‘21 for me.  I sure may wait until then.  We will see.

MNCW posted:

Anyone recently retire who wants to share their story...

Sure,

I retired 1/31/18. When I retired, there was a lot of wiring still to be done on my layout. Now, three months later I'm running trains. All of the DZ1000s on my Ross switches are wired. This week, I've been cleaning up, putting tools away, and unboxing buildings. 

Every day, I make sure to accomplish at least one thing. Today I rebuilt a burner on the commercial range at our church. In addition, my wife now has a new hose reel mounted on a treated lumber post in front of the house. Tomorrow, our train club has a meeting and we will be working on our new small layout.

In addition to model trains, I have my grand daughters, Church, Chancel and Bell Choirs, Golf, Hunting, Boat, and my hot rods. At any given time there is always something to do, somewhere. My job and especially my last boss really got in the way of doing the things that truly bring joy to life.

I would urge anyone who can afford to retire to do it. The older I got, the more friends and co-workers experienced life changing events that I would never want to repeat. Yesterday is a memory and tomorrow is but a dream. There's no guarantees in life. 

Tom, congratulations!!  You certainly do stay busy!  That is great!  

No matter how healthy we are, we never know how long that will last.  

Yes, I retired 1 month ago....Now I am in Seoul, So. Korea.....Vacation tour. So, vacation is Fun....

Congratulations, Larry!! Have a great vacation!

leapinlarry posted:

Yes, I retired 1 month ago....Now I am in Seoul, So. Korea.....Vacation tour. So, vacation is Fun....

Wait! What am I going to do if I need to buy a caboose from you?  Just kidding, enjoy your vacation, Larry. Any train sights in So. Korea? 

Tom 

I am 66 and live with my wife in a modest sized split level home. We are empty nesters. I am semi retired in the sense I handle matters in my law practice that I find less stressful (mediation and collaborative divorces) and am very selective about taking cases I find stressful (divorce litigation). My plan is to soon eliminate the litigation and continue the mediation work indefinitely.

Regarding space, if you do not have room for an enormous layout, consider one that is long and narrow that uses a backdrop on your walls as part of the scenery. Long and narrow enables your trains to go places, and 3 or 4 feet of width is sufficient to have some nice accessories, structures and scenery.

Arnold

In my mid 50's so still a ways to go for me. Finances are shaping up nicely so I hope to retire sooner than later. My youngest is 13 so once college is done we'll see.

Besides trains, golf and fishing are high on my list. I enjoy working on the house and keeping the gardens just so in the summer. We will think hard about moving out of NY/ LI for sure.

Larry and Tom- congrats on the recent retirements!

Mark- I'm sure you and the family will make the right decision when the time is right.

Arnold- you are fortunate to be able to set your own schedule and do what you want. Our former accountant retired from the IRS many years ago but kept his CPA license and was very happy doing taxes for his clients.

Bob

Wife still works full time but I took early retirement 10 years ago and don't regret it.  Still go to the local train shows (4x/yr) work on the layout but crawling beneath the table isn't as easy as it once was. .  Trains are my winter hobby, classic cars and a few other things are the summer hobbies. Just did a V8 engine install on a hobby car, completed an upstairs bath renovation,  do all my own yard work and feel blessed that pushing 70, I can still get it all done. Never run out of things to do.

Thank you fellas for the nice words as I love this communication OGR Forum as it Reaches Out All over the world. Our love for trains is Universal. Now, anyone know of train stores in Seoul Korea? The Seoul Station is Huge, really Bigg, it has everything, 8 levels, Subways, KO-Rail, 100 foot tall Escalators, It’s an obstacle course, and really confusing. Luckily, my wife is Korean, right at home. See Trump Tower....

RSJB18 posted:

In my mid 50's so still a ways to go for me. Finances are shaping up nicely so I hope to retire sooner than later. My youngest is 13 so once college is done we'll see.

Besides trains, golf and fishing are high on my list. I enjoy working on the house and keeping the gardens just so in the summer. We will think hard about moving out of NY/ LI for sure.

Larry and Tom- congrats on the recent retirements!

Mark- I'm sure you and the family will make the right decision when the time is right.

Arnold- you are fortunate to be able to set your own schedule and do what you want. Our former accountant retired from the IRS many years ago but kept his CPA license and was very happy doing taxes for his clients.

Bob

Trains, golf and fishing. Very nice balance in your life, Bob. And it sounds like your wife is married to 3 different men; mine is married to 5 different men. LOL

This is a great topic. Thanks to all for your very interesting contributions.

I've been retired 5 years, and model railroader all my life (Dad got me a Lionel set in 1953). I started N-scale modeling, moved to HO, and now am starting over in O-scale. Switching scales corresponds to eye sight: O is just easier to see. Altogether I spend about 2-3 hours per day on trains; right now benchwork and roadbed. I have taken over the dining room table for a loop, siding, and spur. My wife/boss says I can have it until Thanksgiving, but she needs it back by then. Hope to have everything in the train room long before then. I'm using Fastrack, so the track laying phase should go quickly.

As a side note, my HO layout used Kato track, and one thing I found is that what looked good on paper sometimes needed fiddling once it was on the layout. Kato track and Fastrack give you the chance to make minor adjustments  easily.

Besides being easier to see, the Legacy sound on O-scale is so much better than the best sound in HO. Diesels rumble, steam chuffs, and whistles sound very convincingly.  Now that I've typed this, I think I'll go run trains.

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

RSJB18 posted:

In my mid 50's so still a ways to go for me. Finances are shaping up nicely so I hope to retire sooner than later. My youngest is 13 so once college is done we'll see.

Besides trains, golf and fishing are high on my list. I enjoy working on the house and keeping the gardens just so in the summer. We will think hard about moving out of NY/ LI for sure.

Larry and Tom- congrats on the recent retirements!

Mark- I'm sure you and the family will make the right decision when the time is right.

Arnold- you are fortunate to be able to set your own schedule and do what you want. Our former accountant retired from the IRS many years ago but kept his CPA license and was very happy doing taxes for his clients.

Bob

Trains, golf and fishing. Very nice balance in your life, Bob. And it sounds like your wife is married to 3 different men; mine is married to 5 different men. LOL

Nope- just one crazy guy - and she knew what she was getting into when she said yes!

Gentlemen,

I turn 55 this year and plan to work til I am 65. I am taking steps to prepare for the day, as I see it coming fast. The wealth of knowledge being shared in this thread is incredible, thank you all for sharing.

If you do not mind, I would like your input on my plan, if you see any opportunities to improve it, please let me know.

1. In 2015 I had my 10th and final back surgery, I am very blessed as my back is good now. I guess it should be with 4 feet of titanium rods and 26 screws. The wife is in good health, we should be ok here.
2. I will be selling my house next spring and buying a single story townhouse out of high taxland Milwaukee county. I live in Franklin, WI. We are looking for a fixer upper and possibly renting to one of my kids. We want the rental income to cover the utilities and taxes, even with reduced rent to the kids we should cover it ok. 
3. No later than 65 the house will be paid off. I changed careers in my mid 30`s from driving semis to IT, it took 6 years to get my pay back to what I made driving. We used equity in the house to live.
4. As many major purchases as possible will be done by the time I retire (appliances, roof, furnace, cars, etc).

At 65 I will have 22 years at the company, I am in the pension plan and the 401k. As long as the economy doesn`t crash due to all of the debt we carry and the company keeps me, I will have a decent amount coming in from these. I still have my cdl and drive part time every few years, I plan to drive 3 days a week after I retire from the full time gig. Besides trains I play guitar at church and enjoy the shooting sports. We already budget a few bucks for hobbies and plan on continuing to do so.

The unkown is the biggest fear, yet if we are doing everything right I know I should just chill out and trust God has my back.

How do you deal with the fear of the unknown? It sure was easier when I was 25.

Mike

Was going to wait until I turned 65 but work has been death by 1000 paper cuts.  I stop this June 30th.  We invested well, have no debt, both sons are through college, employed, with no debt.  Starting to look for a spot to move but lots of places less expensive than N.J. have less of what we like.  Trains may not make the move, a decision that has become clearer now the Lionel has shut down ERR.  The next few years will be spent exploring locations, maybe working part time, maybe.  Excess trains are in the too be sold room awaiting pictures and listings.  At least my cycling miles will increase.

Guitarmike posted:

Gentlemen,

I turn 55 this year and plan to work til I am 65. I am taking steps to prepare for the day, as I see it coming fast. The wealth of knowledge being shared in this thread is incredible, thank you all for sharing.

If you do not mind, I would like your input on my plan, if you see any opportunities to improve it, please let me know.

1. In 2015 I had my 10th and final back surgery, I am very blessed as my back is good now. I guess it should be with 4 feet of titanium rods and 26 screws. The wife is in good health, we should be ok here.
2. I will be selling my house next spring and buying a single story townhouse out of high taxland Milwaukee county. I live in Franklin, WI. We are looking for a fixer upper and possibly renting to one of my kids. We want the rental income to cover the utilities and taxes, even with reduced rent to the kids we should cover it ok. 
3. No later than 65 the house will be paid off. I changed careers in my mid 30`s from driving semis to IT, it took 6 years to get my pay back to what I made driving. We used equity in the house to live.
4. As many major purchases as possible will be done by the time I retire (appliances, roof, furnace, cars, etc).

 

At 65 I will have 22 years at the company, I am in the pension plan and the 401k. As long as the economy doesn`t crash due to all of the debt we carry and the company keeps me, I will have a decent amount coming in from these. I still have my cdl and drive part time every few years, I plan to drive 3 days a week after I retire from the full time gig. Besides trains I play guitar at church and enjoy the shooting sports. We already budget a few bucks for hobbies and plan on continuing to do so.

The unkown is the biggest fear, yet if we are doing everything right I know I should just chill out and trust God has my back.

How do you deal with the fear of the unknown? It sure was easier when I was 25.

Mike

Mike, it sounds like you have taken the steps to have a secure and happy future. Only problem, which we all have, is what my hero said during my rebellious teenage years: No one gets out of here alive!

LOL, Arnold

Guitarmike posted:

The unkown is the biggest fear, yet if we are doing everything right I know I should just chill out and trust God has my back.

How do you deal with the fear of the unknown? It sure was easier when I was 25.

Mike

Hi Mike,

   When I started this topic however long ago it was (I think 2 years now), that was really one of my biggest concerns...the unknown.  After reading all the responses, and I do recommend you or anyone else to read them, I feel better about the "unknown" factor. The other thing that helped me was a book I think I mentioned at some point, How to Retire Happy, Wild & Free, by Ernie Zelinski. I think it helped be to go from a 9 to 5 structured life to getting ready to retire in another 4-ish years. I like to re-read it every so often, too. Good luck! 

Tom 

I’m 52 and retiring the end of 2020.  My wife’s 11 years older and has been retired for 3 years.  One daughter will be leaving college and the youngest entering college.  We both have pensions, live modestly, and save.  I’m putting away so much now that I’ll actually bring home more retired.  I just want a few years with my bride before our health goes to total pot.  I’ll probably work part time but my goal is to be south in the winter

I've been retired 13 years now and will be turning 70 in a few months.   Didn't start building a layout until 6 years or so.

Here are a few things I learned along the way for those building a new or 1st layout.

- Build it at a height such that you avoid not only bending down to work on it but have enough headroom underneath that you can use a creeper type device to move around underneath doing wiring.   While no one can say what their health will be 5, 10 and 15 years down the road it is safe to say that physical things become just a little harder to do year by year.   Get as much shelving and other construction done early on.

- insure you have really good lighting making it easier to see small objects on the layout.

- if building on a concrete floor consider softening the floor with carpet or foam cushion panels.  Your feet and back will appreciate it as will any errant rolling stock that takes a dive off the layout.

- consider some form of automatic dust collection.

And under no circumstances believe that you can't wait to retire so you have lots of free time to do things.  That is a terrible myth.  Once retired you will find you have no free time and there are not enough hours in the day to do what you want to.   If you are lucky your time will be filled with only fun things.

Lastly, do not underestimate the power of an afternoon nap if for no other reason than you can, now that you are retired !

Ed

MNCW posted:

Guitarmike posted:

The unkown is the biggest fear, yet if we are doing everything right I know I should just chill out and trust God has my back.

How do you deal with the fear of the unknown? It sure was easier when I was 25.

Mike

Hi Mike,

   When I started this topic however long ago it was (I think 2 years now), that was really one of my biggest concerns...the unknown.  After reading all the responses, and I do recommend you or anyone else to read them, I feel better about the "unknown" factor. The other thing that helped me was a book I think I mentioned at some point, How to Retire Happy, Wild & Free, by Ernie Zelinski. I think it helped be to go from a 9 to 5 structured life to getting ready to retire in another 4-ish years. I like to re-read it every so often, too. Good luck! 

Tom 

Mike, you have a good plan.  You are right, as well as we plan, things won’t work out just as planned.  In my 42 years working in electronics, mostly power and telecom industries, I have been laid off from 4 companies, quit one 3 weeks before they closed, and was given a ‘voluntary’ severance package only to come back as a contractor as I said above.  The point is, no matter what happened, there was life after.  Yes, as you said, God has my back!  I don’t know if I will be healthy or even live until I retire, or if I will live to be 95.  Past experience tells me, God has my back.

retired about 10 years from the Utility business. I currently have two layouts working one in the northeast and a second in a southern location Unfortunately and against my better judgement, both layouts have duck unders because of the track plans that I have chosen. The older layout has a 36 in clearance and the newer layout is better at 48 inches. So lessons would be  avoid duck unders and if you cant make sure they are high enough so you can get under easier. 10 years from now, it will be harder. For both locations , I have purchased from TARGET , A Secretary's CHAIR in their low cost room essentials line which can be lowered to 16 inches above the floor for the seat. Its on wheels so rolling under is possible . These are in their room essentials line and are about $25 and well

I am handicapped with macular degeneration and vision has been declining over time. I am at the point were track laying and small screws are difficult to cope with because of distorted images . So word to the wise, get the hard part done early in your retirement so that train running is the bulk of the layout work.