The Main Thing

No retrospective this year, nor a hopeful look forward with grand dreams and visions of what might be.  Sorry, I'm just not in that state of mind this time around.  Maybe its the pandemic, or maybe our impending extinction weighs heavily on my soul.  Who knows.  The important thing is to keep the main thing the main thing, even with our hobbies.

"Some folks build a railroad systematically; some folks don't.  The main thing is, enjoy it."

- Malcolm Furlow.

I'm sure glad I have my health, my family, a roof over our heads and loving, furry companions.  But I'm also glad I have a terrific hobby and this platform from which I can share it.  More to the point of Malcolm's quote, I have noticed a shift in how I enjoy this hobby.  In years past, both at work and at leisure, I've been happy to have deadlines, goals and challenges.  But recently I've decided I'd rather not, at least not grand, far-reaching goals.  At the moment I'm happier with vague ideas of what I might want to do, perhaps.

500 pieces of enjoyment, a.k.a. FUN!

Oh, there are still deadlines in my life, and daily tasks that need doing, and I derive great satisfaction from a cleaned kitchen, folded laundry and vacuumed carpet.  But with the challenges we all face in the world today and the restrictions in place to try and keep us safe, I don't see the need for any additional burden.  

Will I continue to build my railroad systematically?  Not for the time being.  A few short years ago I had great hopes of following a schedule and making rapid progress, yada yada yada.  That fell by the wayside, but it was still helpful to have the goals and targets and stick to the sequence I had laid out in the schedule.  That just isn't fun anymore.  

So if there's one resolution for 2022 it's this: enjoy building the railroad.  That's the main thing.

2020 Retrospective

It is time again to look back at the accomplishments of this year and peer into the murky future with hope.  One of the perks of keeping a blog is the ability to scan through the year's doings, at least those recorded on these pages, and recount them.  My first inclination is to say "well, I didn't get much done...ho hum...better luck next time around..." but that's not true.  It is only the pallor cast by the misery of the previous nine months that makes me feel that way.  There's plenty of light amidst the dark days.

In the last twelve months, despite the difficulties of current circumstances, I:

• restored the "Rimrock Pine and Western" diesel, hopper and caboose for my Christmas Tree Train
• gathered parts for a trio of Purina ventilated refrigerator cars
• continued work on the pair of cabeese for my Ocali Creek Railway
• tuned the trackwork for trouble-free operation on the railroad
• simulated mainline operations on my branchline pike
• made castings with Oyumaru and Miliput
• scratchbuilt a Fruit Juice stand from a historic photograph
• painted figures and a slew of details
• added and painted a fascia frame around the benchwork
• built a static grass applicator
• built the "Power Plank" for the railroad's throttles
• finished the Ocala Springs station using Sequoia Models' Fallberg Station kit
• built a Woodland Scenics Diamond T Flatbed kit
• painted more people and parts
• painted color tabs for all my craft paint bottles
• and puttered about on a smattering of odd tasks and small projects
  

In the last month I set for myself a challenge to finish the final details on my 2-6-0, finish the OCRy cabeese and rebuild a pair of Comet freezers.  I'll follow up on that challenge in its own post, but suffice it to say they're coming along well.

I also wrote a few philosophical posts.  This has been a difficult year, especially as an introvert with a family at home all the time.  However, since writing that post back in June I'm happy to say we've developed some strategies for giving me uninterrupted down time to recharge (which is not always modeling time).

In last year's revisions I resolved to avoid spending my hard earned hobby dollars on needless purchases.  That was far from successful.  We are fortunate to have income streams that support our family's needs - food, shelter, clothing, savings, etc. - and a little leftover for hobbies.  I found a few things this year I never knew I needed, but I also invested time organizing what I already have.  I still resolve to better target my spending and overall spend less on my hobby.

Looking ahead to 2021, there are a few specific goals I wish to meet.  While my garage is surprisingly less dusty that I'd thought it would be, the railroad still needs a cover.  After my failed attempt this year I came up with an overly ambitious plan to cover the railroad with a lid.  That's still the plan, but I've simplified the lid concept greatly (no more winch and integrated lighting) and stacked its functions to double as a gaming table.

That last point brings me to another goal.  One of my unexpected purchases this year was actually prompted by my loving spouse.  She gave me a gift token to our local gaming store.  They sell all kinds of board games, Magic cards and tabletop wargaming miniatures.  I brought home the Star Wars Legion core set.  Yep.  Vader, Skywalker, Rebels and Stormtroopers.  This is one reason - a big reason - why I have been upping my painting game this year.  Of course the pandemic has made such in-person gaming with non-family folks impossible for now, but when we're all able to get down to the Sword N Board again for paint nights I'll be there.  

And, covering the railroad is also a prerequisite step for scenery work.  This year I mentioned making little scenic cameos as a means to test various techniques and materials and I will be doing just that.  The Ocala Springs station (and matching outhouse) is complete and ready to install once the foundations can be laid.  Hopefully by the end of 2021 not only will the station be in place, but also a few streets and additional structures.

To close this post I wish you all, dear readers, a happy and healthy New Year!  Thank you for reading, commenting, and joining me on this hobby journey.  I appreciate your interest and hope to share much more with you in the coming days.

Revisions Revisited

It is that time of year again, when folks make resolutions.  Last year I made revisions instead, and stated some goals for the railroad.  And how did I do?  Ugh....pretty terrible.  BUT - I'm not upset with the lack of progress.  I thoroughly enjoyed the little modeling I did this last year and hope to do more this year.

So what happened?  A few things seemingly conspired to get in the way of modeling, all of them good.  First, I went back to school.  In the late winter/spring I began Ag classes at Mendocino College.  Pruning, Landscape Maintenance, California Native Plants and Spring Plant ID, almost a full-time load.  This led to the second distraction from the miniature world, a landscape job helping a client rehabilitate his property.  The work is mostly pruning, and entirely what the doctor ordered.

Speaking of the doctor, I dropped my weight below 200 lbs for the first time in at least 20 years.  This is part of a greater effort to lower my blood pressure and improve my overall health.  Great success in this area.  Going back to school in the Fall I took another semester of Plant ID and the Introduction to Horticulture class.  Fewer classes but less stress overall.  In fact, I love the learning and working with plants.  They don't behave like people...

Even so, I still work with people.  I preach and lead worship twice a month in a neighboring town, and that has been a blessing in terms of maintaining a skill set I had laid aside for a time and financially.  From my income preaching and pruning I have been able to put 10% in the plate, 80% in savings and 10% in my spending cash.

On that last point I cringe a little.  Yes, a steady supply of disposable income is great.  But I had set a personal goal last year of spending less and building more, reducing the inventory in my 'Home Hobby Shop'.  Instead, I found all kinds of wonderful things on eBay I never knew I needed.  Truly, I did unearth some treasures, some of which will hopefully make it to this blog as topics this year, but honestly I bought more than I needed and should have walked away sooner.
 
If that last image sounds like a gambling reference, you're spot on, dear reader.  There is an addictive quality to scouring the virtual train show that is eBay for 'deals'.  As Andrew Mellen says, "Its not a deal if you don't need it".  He's right.  To that end, I am resolving to stay away from the 'bay for a year.  If there's a genuine need to purchase something in order to finish a project, perhaps I'll break that resolution, but really, I could build all sorts of models and take the railroad further without having to purchase anything online.  I can think of one thing from Amazon...but that's another post later in the year.

Last year I managed to crank out posts for the first 7 months.  This year I'm going to try for at least a post a month, preferably more.  I have Instagram now, though how much I'll use it remains to be seen.  Despite the fracas surrounding YouTube and COPPA, I hope to also make a few videos, but don't hold your breath (unless you're under water).

Thanks to the few of you who read this blog for sticking with me.  Here's to a thrifty and productive 2020!

2015 Resolutions, and the Home Hobby Shop

This year I resolve to:

1. Finish more projects than I start.
2. Lose 20 lbs by my 40th birthday (May 22)
3. Spend no money on my trains.

The first and the third go together - it is time to build strictly and solely from my HHS, my Home Hobby Shop.  I took a look in my closet of kits and determined I would do what I already suspected I could, that is, build, to completion, many kits without having to purchase a single thing.

Yes, that includes paint and glue.  Couplers and wheel sets.  Detail parts, supplies and tools.  None should be needed to complete many kits 'in stock', and I have these things handy already.  Pictured below is the closet in my train room.  Below the shelf are two white 'Helmer' drawers, full of tools and supplies.  On the shelf is my portable workbench, on which sets the Red Mountain Mine mentioned in a previous post.  Nope, still haven't put on the remaining rafter tails. 

Above the shelf are miscellaneous non-railroad things in need of fixing; a statue that needs gluing back together, etc.  Above that are more drawers of parts and supplies, including some of my son's N-scale in need of repair (mostly couplers).  And above that are the boxes of engines, rolling stock and structures.  And trees.  Two boxes of super trees material. 

Down below next to one of the Helmers is a plastic box containing everything necessary to build a static grass applicator.  Not pictured are all the scenic materials for the layout, and track and turnouts and turnout controls.  Before the end of last year I bought some gold-n-rod rod & tube so I could install more turnout machines, along with the chicken-head knobs for the controls.

Yep, I should be set for this year...and truthfully the next two or three.  But I am only resolving to spend nothing THIS year.  I may or may not write another article for MRH...partly because I STILL haven't heard back about the last one, even though I've contacted them THREE times, but also because I would rather just build without the pressure of having to take super-great photos each step of the way.  The money is not an issue.

There is one exception to this resolution...my eldest son's N scale layout.  I may need to buy some terminal strips and wire....but that's another post!

Happy New Year, and Happy Model Building!