So then, some of you have mates who don't appreciate your hobby? Seems odd to me. My wife has always appreciated my trains. She doesn't care to be hands-on involved with them, but she likes watching me bring old locomotives back to life, and she's always fascinated by seeing them run. And she always gets me some new piece of rolling stock for Christmas or my birthday.
I also collect WWII rifles, and she likes those, too.
I do envy those of you who have room for bigger layouts, though. I have a roughly 4x8 FasTrack oval in the basement (with two manual switches), and it's the biggest Lionel layout I've ever had. I can't even claim it as "carpet central," since there's no carpet underneath it. Any carpeting on any horizontal surface automatically becomes a cat bed the minute my back is turned.
Thanks Charlie as stated in another thread I'm now starting a round the ceiling standard gauge layout. This is all that needs to be done before the permanent layout begins as once its up its going to be impossible to do the ceiling work. Also need to decide what will be in the shelves in the pic as they will be come unaccessible once the layout is built unless I climb up on the layout.
Heres a pic of shelves and the start of ceiling layout With the standard gauge set on it already
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Nice Job RT!
Charlie a.k.a. MichiganRailRoad714 (Charter Member TTC)
"Female Resistance", yes I have that issue at home also. But, not too badly. I have a decent small layout, 8'6" x 13'10", which runs trains on three independant loops. I also have two old Ford Mustangs, although I will be giving my 29 year old son my 1977 Mustang Cobra II this Spring leaving me with only a 1988 LX 5.0 Convertible. I have a good amount of trains and I would probably have more if I was single. But, there are other trade offs when you have a wife.
Cobrabob.
Toy Trains, they are not just an adventure, they are a way of life !
Well heres the latest pics of carpet central RR I have switched engines out and added more buildings even the trailer park is now established by the train tracks
My wife likes them but also wants her spaces her way so I was blessed with the den it could of been worst and almost was where I got a room that would of gave me about 10' X 8' now I have up to 8' X 16' just have to figure if I get rid of my desk (it huge for here) where to move the computer and do my paperwork I need have one idea but will see it would involve building about 32" wide work bench with computer at one end of it. it would give me room to work on trains and room for computer on one end it would be about 12' long so that might work but have to get rid of some furniture in here which wife has agreed to anyway it will go into the one small bedroom.
But till then its called carpet central rail road here. sat I will be running my first TMCC Steam engine on it ( it arrives Friday)
Its new in box still sealed in plastic from 2004
i think I will have a carpet central railroad for a while and even after building may end up with one darning holidays anyway around the tree. Next year thou think it will be the G gauge set lol.
I guess I'm lucky in that my girlfriend loves trains. Her dad, his brother's and her grandfather were all train enthusiasts, so she grew up around them.
richhotrain If I were a bachelor, I would cover every square foot of that big basement sitting beneath me with a layout and adequate aisle space to operate it. LOL Rich
If I were a bachelor, I would cover every square foot of that big basement sitting beneath me with a layout and adequate aisle space to operate it. LOL
Rich
Amen to that!
Becky
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Penny Trains It's not a question of gender. It's about dissinterrested parties. Becky
It's not a question of gender. It's about dissinterrested parties.
Oh, I agree with you Becky, it's not about gender per se. But, let's face it, the majority of the people directly involved in this hobby are men, so that is why I use the term "female resistance" coming from their wives when it comes to layout expansion.
But, resistance can come from anyone who occupies a house with a model railroader if, indeed, there is resistance. I will say this. If I were a bachelor, I would cover every square foot of that big basement sitting beneath me with a layout and adequate aisle space to operate it. LOL
Alton Junction
John - Let me know what month that will happen, I'll document it!
Ray
Bayville, NJ
Life is what happens to youWhile you're busy making other plans - John Lennon
Here's a little story if you'll pardon my going off topic for a moment! Mom, really couldn't care less about trains, toy, real or otherwise. But I got her to tour a dusty old roundhouse last June. She only went because I don't drive and I really, really wanted to go. With her medical issues on top of mine, I had no idea whether she'd be grousing five minutes after we got there. But before long she was happily climbing on and off cabooses and pullman cars and really getting fascinated with the story of railroading in Cleveland! She was even asking questions after we left!
So you never know. Opposites attract but open minds are willing to share your interrests.
Anyhoo, back to the topic at hand. I just finished restoring a 3472 and installed the 3462P onto the board for my carpet central. Unfortunately it required me to cut and install 1 1/4" straights on the S gauge (Flyer track) oval so it would clear the milk man's platform, which is on the inner O31 RealTrax oval. That was an adventure too by the way, I had to cut the plastic roadbed away on the platform side, and cut a groove in the roadbed on the other to make the 3462P fit under the MTH RealTrax operating track section. But, it works and the base of the 3462P is wedged neatly into the roadbed.
This layout is intended to operate under a 5 foot bamboo tree decorated with paper lanterns and good luck ornaments. (One of these years I'll even get it up before Chinese New Year! Which is what it was intended for!) So I needed a sturdy tunnel structure so I can place the tree above the tracks. I made that out of heavy gauge galvanized flashing material and hot-glued thick styrene portals to each end. I'll mount the tree permanently on the top of the tunnel and build up around it with strofoam and mountain paper so it looks like the tree is growing right out of the top. Inside the O31 oval I built a lightweight "mountain" out of cardboard boxes, newspapers and styrofoam and covered it first with masking tape and then the Life Like brand mountain paper. I used Woodland Scenics Real Water to make a pond and decorated the landscape with pebbles, lychen, silk flowers and paper palm trees of my own design. It's very light and easy to store.
The overall look of the layout is "Thailand" but it's also "toy". I'll post pics when things really get going, but right now about all there is to see is stacks of boxes and a green board leaning against the wall.
I never encountered any "female resistance" since I have never been married. I haven't had the best luck in regards to relationships, but I don't think my trains would be enough to annoy a girlfriend or wife. It is my other toys that might do that: a car, a truck, two snowmobiles, woodworking tools, and three antique farm tractors( I don't even live on a farm).
Karl
This really brings back great memories. I enjoy setting up the trains around the tree at Christmas. Until we get the combo craft/scrapbooking/train room above the garage ready, Carpet Central will be the way to go.
AF53, Ray, yes she is finally ready to move on the room.
Female Resistance: I must be lucky. I never had much of that when it came to the trains, or the boats, cars,trucks,tractors,fishing,etc.
John
Here is a carpet layout I toyed with for a bit.
Penny Trains richhotrain: LOL Becky, I can only draw two conclusions from that: (1) your husband is more tolerant of your passion for trains than my wife is for mine or (2) you are not married in which case you are free to do what you want - - a right that I surrendered at the altar some time ago. Rich Not married, never been. It's just me and mom, and she does give me a bit of resistance, but she's mellowing! About 20 years ago when she enjoyed dinner parties and such she wouldn't have allowed me to take over half the living room for trains at Christmas time! Not to mention having a 4 by 6 layout in my bedroom and a 9 by 15 table in the basement! Oh, and did I mention I have shelving units full of trains, books and magazines in the basement, a spare bedroom and just about everywhere else! Now if I can just get her to let me redo the garden in concrete so I can have G scale outdoors......and maybe a 7 1/2 inch gauge line around the rest of the yard......and maybe a permanent Standard Gauge layout at the other end of the basement......then I could break out my HO and N.... Becky
richhotrain: LOL Becky, I can only draw two conclusions from that: (1) your husband is more tolerant of your passion for trains than my wife is for mine or (2) you are not married in which case you are free to do what you want - - a right that I surrendered at the altar some time ago. Rich
LOL
Becky, I can only draw two conclusions from that: (1) your husband is more tolerant of your passion for trains than my wife is for mine or (2) you are not married in which case you are free to do what you want - - a right that I surrendered at the altar some time ago.
Not married, never been. It's just me and mom, and she does give me a bit of resistance, but she's mellowing! About 20 years ago when she enjoyed dinner parties and such she wouldn't have allowed me to take over half the living room for trains at Christmas time! Not to mention having a 4 by 6 layout in my bedroom and a 9 by 15 table in the basement! Oh, and did I mention I have shelving units full of trains, books and magazines in the basement, a spare bedroom and just about everywhere else!
Now if I can just get her to let me redo the garden in concrete so I can have G scale outdoors......and maybe a 7 1/2 inch gauge line around the rest of the yard......and maybe a permanent Standard Gauge layout at the other end of the basement......then I could break out my HO and N....
Aha, Becky, there you have it. Female resistance once again, in this case your mother.
Women always get in the way of our having fun. LOL
richhotrain LOL Becky, I can only draw two conclusions from that: (1) your husband is more tolerant of your passion for trains than my wife is for mine or (2) you are not married in which case you are free to do what you want - - a right that I surrendered at the altar some time ago. Rich
Patrick how about some photo's
would also love to see some standard and s gauge floor layouts. found more items to add to my layout thought I had some rubber road to add but can't find it ( figures lol) but will take more pics tomorrow.
Hello AllI post very seldom, but I thought this thread is a lot of fun. We used to do the Carpet Central route, as we live in a two bedroom apartment in Hawaii. Ours is large by Hawaiian standards, but not that large by mainland standards. We just finished laying the final piece of track (for now) on our 4' X 8' Lionel pre war and post war layout. There is even an attached section that makes use of a large shelf on the free standing shelves next to the layout. The extension is where the passenger terminal is being built.The layout location and a lot of the design came from my wife. She also is the one that designs and builds most of the buildings, paints all the people and does the other fine scenic details.The layout location, our living room! By the way you get a lot of storage space under a layout that size. Something that does not come with an apartment in Hawaii. So I guess my wife has the rare double R chromosome and double R type blood. Very lucky me!
PS: The reason I said "for now" on laying track, my wife has an extension planed for, once we can find a Hellgate bridge. The 042 turnout is already in place with one piece of track at the edge of the layout.
Patrick
Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono
richhotrain Penny Trains: richhotrain: the issue of female resistance - - my mother back then, my wife today. Rich I'd just like to chime in and mention that not all of us are like that! Some of us, with the rare double R chromosome and double R type blood, have trains running all over the house! Becky LOL Becky, I can only draw two conclusions from that: (1) your husband is more tolerant of your passion for trains than my wife is for mine or (2) you are not married in which case you are free to do what you want - - a right that I surrendered at the altar some time ago. Rich
Penny Trains: richhotrain: the issue of female resistance - - my mother back then, my wife today. Rich I'd just like to chime in and mention that not all of us are like that! Some of us, with the rare double R chromosome and double R type blood, have trains running all over the house! Becky
richhotrain: the issue of female resistance - - my mother back then, my wife today. Rich
the issue of female resistance - - my mother back then, my wife today.
I'd just like to chime in and mention that not all of us are like that! Some of us, with the rare double R chromosome and double R type blood, have trains running all over the house!
Rich theres one more and thats hes just as much into them but doesn't post on the forum. Weather he actually does work on them or not also may be he just enjoys seeing them and her crafty art work in setting them up.
Penny Trains richhotrain: the issue of female resistance - - my mother back then, my wife today. Rich I'd just like to chime in and mention that not all of us are like that! Some of us, with the rare double R chromosome and double R type blood, have trains running all over the house! Becky
(LIKE)
Very nice, RT!
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
I have had a carpet central since I started with trains back in 99. oh god how I hate it I used to have an O36 fastrack loop which was pretty big... but now that ive been into mroe scale oriented stuff, the O72 track dosent really fir and I have had to find other sneaky methods of putting trains up in rooms wehre trains should not be
"No childhood should be without a train!"
Marsene6,
That is a wonderful story my friend. I run my layout for some special needs kids once a year. They are a very appreciative audience.
George
Okay figured out how to post movies lol. now you have to click on the pic's to get to the movie part. Please excuss the quality as all i have is an old kodac 3.1 meg camera. But still gives you a fair view of the layout. the second one is a little dark should of had more light.
It does show it some at least.
Becky - When I read that I was wondering when you would respond!!
richhotrain the issue of female resistance - - my mother back then, my wife today. Rich
Quite a layout and train collection, and quite a story..and very well told. Thanks.
runtime
Mersenne6 - Thanks for your story, it made my day!
runtime - it's a #254.
The Broadloom Conspiracy (Carpet Central) part III Time December 1981
By this time word of my annual showings, which began in earnest in 1977, had been passed around the water cooler at work. As a result people would start dropping by my desk in the early part of November, first to ask if I was planning to run trains and then, when I answered in the affirmative, to ask if they could be added to the list of possible visitors.
Close to the end of the third week in December Paul, one of my co-workers, dropped by and asked if it might be possible to bring his son over to see them. His boy was about 6 years old and had been deaf since birth. He mentioned that, at the moment, they were having a very difficult time with him at home with respect to behavior but he assured me he thought he could keep his son under control. Since Paul was built like a tank I figured he could make good on his assurance so we agreed to get together the following evening.
I went home that evening and surveyed the railroad. Just in case there was a problem, I removed some items and I moved several easy to replace items, including an MPC gateman, up towards the front near the control panel. Since his son was deaf I made sure the postwar/MPC engines I did put on the layout were either very colorful or, in the case of steam, up to the job of generating a lot of smoke.
My "show" ,such as it was, followed the edicts of Frank Ellison. I had read his articles on model railroading and had taken his advice about presenting your railroad much as you would a play. It was for this reason that I wired everything on the railroad for separate control. The script for my "play" usually went something like this:
Welcome guests, get everyone seated, briefly mention my interest in trains and, just so Mom and Dad would have ammunition for the inevitable why-can't-you-get-me-a-train-set-like-this question from the kids, point to various items on the layout and tell the kids about how old I was when I got such-and-such an item. Once the introduction was over I would start a single train on its looping journey, after a couple of turns I would start the second and, depending on the track plan follow these with the gradual start up of the third. Once all were rolling I would start turning on things - first the lights in the houses, then the block signals, then the crossing gates, then the gateman, etc. With everything going full throttle I would then bring down the lights and let the trains roll in the dark. After running for awhile in the dark I would bring up the lights, bring some of the trains to a halt on one branch of a passing siding, and let the other trains journey around the layout for awhile. After letting all of the "through" trains run I would bring most or all of them to a halt, and turn #1615 loose and let her shuffle operating cars around to the places where they could operate. Once in position I would load/unload or do whatever it was that the cars and accessories did, make up a small train with the switcher, switch some cars into the sidings, and then start all of the trains rolling again. The whole process took anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half.
Paul came over that evening and, after putting their coats in the hall closet, the three of us walked into the living room. Paul gave a sharp intake of breath and quickly reached down and clamped his huge arms around his son, effectively immobilizing his arms and legs. I sat down, looked his son in the eye, and pointed to the train on the outermost loop and started it rolling. Paul picked his son up and cradled him so that his head was down close to the train so his son could get the sensation of having it rush by. Before I started up the second one I again pointed to it and then started it rolling. Paul mentioned that, for the first time ever, his son wasn't squirming. I told him that, if he thought everything was ok, we could try just letting his son sit next to me. Paul set his son next to me and positioned himself so that he could grab him if need be - his son didn't move a muscle.
When I reached the point in the "show" where I turned on the gateman (it was just out of the picture on the lower left side) , I pointed to the house just before the train brought him out. Paul's son was completely entranced at the sight of the man popping out of the shack. I think it is safe to say that never before or since has that accessory had a more appreciative audience. Every time the train would approach he would lean over just a little and watch intently and every time the gateman popped out, he would give it a little smile.
We ran trains for a little more than an hour. I finished the "show' and invited Paul and his son into the kitchen for some Christmas cookies and some punch. I was just reaching for the cookies when Paul's son reached up and took me by the hand and gently led me back to the living room. He stood for a second and then made a sweeping gesture with his free hand and looked me in the eye. I nodded and sat down in front of the transformers. Paul's son immediately sat down next to me and gestured once again to the layout. I started everything up and we ran trains. At the end of 3 hours Paul signed to his son that it was time to go. He got up, put on his coat, and, just before he left, he walked back to the living room and gave the Carpet Central a long last look. We never did get to those cookies and punch.
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