Pine Branch Park Redux

 ...or, back on track, again.

It is that time when I reflect on the accomplishments of the current year and look to the goals of the next.  However this moment, this time around, feels oddly familiar.  It occurred to me that I've been here before, in a way.  Let me explain.

Back in 2018 when I started building my current railroad I wrote the blog post, "Pine Branch Park" (click the link to read the post).  In that post I discussed the name itself and showed a revised plan laying out the track, street and structures, but the bulk of the remainder was devoted to a sort-of inspiration I found in a series of articles in Model Railroader back in 1991, "Just for Beginners".  

In that seminal series the MR staff and contributors built the Cripple Creek Central.  I was inspired not only by the railroad itself, but more so by the progressive, sequential way in which they constructed it.  So often these project railroads begin with that glamour shot of the finished road and the declaration that you too can build this!  But not the Cripple Creek.  No, this was an evolving, changing project, altered by the whims of its creators and guided by the shape of the thing itself as it grew.  

I like planning, but I also like that evolutionary approach.  The dioramas I've built over the last two years are proof of that.  So too the Pine Branch Park model railroad.  The layout is bound to change as new ideas come along and new ideas come along as the layout changes.  New vistas open up for possibilities unseen before that moment.

In 2018 I speculated that I could complete this railroad in two years.  Five years later and it looks much as it did in 2019 - bare soundboard with mostly ballasted track, well edged for a clean presentation, and some cork strips in place where the paved roads will go.  But I still believe it can be completed in two years.  Not as some deadline hanging over my head but as a matter of consequence from continual effort (fun) spent bringing that world to life.

We all know what came along in 2019 (yes, public acknowledgement didn't really come along until 2020 but the virus was called COVID-19 for a reason).  And personally that was a challenging time - a challenge which I met and overcame thanks to the support of my family.  The death of my father in 2020 followed by helping my mother move in 2021 and then again in 2022 now feels like a rapid succession of events in hindsight.  

But while the work on the layout stagnated, model making did not.  In fact, the first NMRBO diorama I built included structures which will soon find their homes on the Pine Branch Park layout.  Building those dioramas in the midst of a major transition was instructive.  It reminded me just how much I love building highly detailed scenes that tell a story.  

So that's what I'm going to do, and that's what this blog will focus on.  Reviewing this blog itself reminded me of the importance of one aspect of "blogging", that is, keeping a web log as an archive.  So if for no other reason than that I will keep sharing my progress though perhaps not as frequently.  I've kicked around the idea of making videos but my hobby time - as generous as it is - is still somewhat limited, and editing takes up far more time than the model making itself.

But I'm not complaining.  I'm caught in the middle between caring for teens and a parent with some health concerns, but I'm surrounded by a wonderful family.  I've got a long list of honey-do home improvements but we live in a neat old house in a nice community.  I don't make much but I do get paid to make music two or three times a month instead of being stuck in a miserable job.  Each challenge comes with a blessing.  

So too my hobbies.  I've been able to make good connections with like-minded folks around the miniature war-gaming community and while I haven't found any folks in my town with an interest in trains, that's okay.  I'm genuinely happy in the quiet moments of the morning sitting at my workbench building a model, or stealing time during the day to run a train.  And of course sharing my progress with you, dear readers.  Thank you for your continued support of this blog, and best wishes for your own hobby endeavors in the coming year.

The afternoon winter sun, low in the southwest sky, shines on Ocali Creek box car 1603.

2022 Retrospective

Well, it's that time of year again, when I look back and assess the state of my hobby.  This year, perhaps more than the last two, has been a year of change punctuated with highs and lows.  It began with some scenic work on the Pine Branch Park railroad and continued work on the Milk & Mail passenger train, but quickly ebbed.  (See the labels in the sidebar for more on these and other topics).  In May my family and I learned that my Mom was coming to live with us; glad news yet filled with the promise of new opportunities.  By that time I was well into building the diorama I would enter into the Walthers National Model Railroad Build Off 2022.  I began blogging about that after I learned I didn't even place or make the top five.  That was a major disappointment, but despite that the work itself was four months of joyful creativity.  I may enter in 2023...we'll see.

 

Orange Avenue scene against a real Florida sky

While we did find a new home and have moved into it, we're still settling in, finding places for things, culling and reorganizing, etc.  Initially I had high hopes for turning the detached garage into a comfortable model train space.  I soon realized that wouldn't happen without significant investment of time and money.  With a son about to go off to college next year, that's not likely to happen anytime soon.  So, the focus shifted to how I might bring the existing railroad into the house.  Turns out there IS space if you're willing to accept the limitations and find a way to model within them.  This means no long trains sweeping around broad curves at high speed, however, I can focus on building smooth-running steam engines, a broad variety of rolling stock and highly detailed scenes.

This fire station is just begging to be modeled.

A few personal notes.  Somewhere during the move this summer I managed to develop an inguinal hernia.  I'm not taking the surgical route unless it becomes absolutely necessary.  This means 2023 is the year I get in shape, no excuses.  On the 29th we said goodbye to a dear family friend, our dog of 11 years, Maggie.  She will be missed.  While my Mom is nearly settled into her "apartment" in our house, there are still a few big items to deal with.  Half of this house was built in 1936 and half in 1992 and some maintenance was deferred longer than it should've been by previous owners.  Hopefully by this time next year I can report all is up to snuff and in good working order - both in my home and my body!

 

Our sweet girl in October, wondering why I'm taking her picture.

I still maintain that blogging is useful for archiving bigger ideas.  That is, Facebook and Instagram are great for sharing a quick idea with a short shelf life, but good luck finding that tidbit in a sea of chatter.  Someone recently commented to me that my blog is a "thinking model railroader's blog".  I hope it continues to be thoughtful and maybe even thought-provoking in a positive way. 

If you have been, thanks for reading, and I look forward to sharing more model railroading with you in the upcoming year.

Galen