A Slump Too Long!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

About 6 years ago, I got a great promotion at work that really secured my future in the business that I been in for some 34 years. The down side however, was that 3.5 years ago, I fell into a slump that I haven't been able to recover from, and to make matters worse, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. I even went to a National Convention thinking it help. Not a chance!!! I've been in the Hobby since 1953, and really don't want to leave the hobby for something else, but this slump is really getting serious. A lot of things have occured in my life the last 4 years, not all have been good. I'm really wondering if I've lost the interest completely or if this is just a very long temporary slump. HELP!!!

[Big_Boy_4005]

Relax Emerald, I've been through those kinds of things too. I am just coming off my second consecutive 5 year slump. In an 11 year stretch there was only 1 year that I actually did anything with my trains, and that ended when we moved. I had to repack and tear down everything I had just set up. I hadn't even made a train run.

I ended up building a house with a basement so large as to keep me occupied for the rest of my life. I have sworn that I will never move, and that they will carry me out of this house. That said, I finally started construction of the layout, and the whole upstairs of the house isn't even finished. I broke ground on this place 5 years ago August 15th.

If you have been in this hobby this long, you won't leave. If you tried to leave you would just feel lost until you returned. The trick is to not feel guilty if you don't feel interested at the moment. No pressure!!!

Do you have a layout that works? Do you still have memberships and subscriptions? Do you have time to set aside for modeling? Do you have friends who like trains?

Think back to when you were just starting out. What kind of dreams did you have? Sometimes it's difficult to find motivation. Perhaps you'll find some in the answers to those questions I asked. Talk to me, email if you want to keep it private.

Elliot

[Anonymous]

One of the nice things about this hobby is it's never finished. Slumps come and go. Just let your railroad hobby idle until you feel the urge. Summer is always a slow time for indoor hobbies. My hobby is a big reducer of stress. When I'm feeling under pressure I immerse myself deeply in trains. Give it time.

[nfmisso]

What I find works for me, and may or may not work for you is a long term plan. Have a narrow focus of interests, there is so much out there that it is overwhelming. Don't be afraid to change the focus as you learn what works for you. I would suggest going to a historical society convention or regional rather than the national.

I know what you mean about a new house, it will be 2006 at best before I get back to trains.

Have fun.

[jwmurrayjr]

I came out of a 20+ year "slump" about 2 years ago. Now I've got to get something done before the next slump hits (Hopefully it won't.)

[:)]

[dickiee]

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men!!!!!

I don't know if it helps you to know, but I was completely out of the hobby for about the last 20 yrs after being in it since about 1966. Then last summer my neighbor built a large two-story garage....the upstairs is completely empty and unfinished. Well, he was showing it off to me and I suggested that it would be a heck of a place to build a railroad. He, of course, didn't seem interested. It started me thinking...the next thing you know I'm in the middle of an enormous re-arrange of my pole barn/work shop/garage. I managed to carve out a 15x15 Railroad room at nearly the cost of my sanity and physical well being. That being said, I now have a layout drawn full-scale on the floor of the new room and have jumped back into the hobby with both feet. I feel like I am 20 yrs. younger now. The new products that have come on-line since I got out are mind-boggling. Fortunately, I am in a position financially to indulge myself. I wish I knew what triggered my re-interest in a hobby that I have loved since my Dad first bought a Lionel O guage train set for me and my brother when I wasn't old enough to even set it up. I'll never forget the first time he told us that we were big enough to carry the heavy box of trains down the stairs so he could set it up for us. I must have been about 5 or 6. By the time I was 8 my Dad was dead, but I never lost my love for trains. Thanks, Dad!!! I'm 66 yrs. old now and this will probably be my last layout, but I have more enthusiasm now that I ever had.

Once, a very long time ago, when I was going through a VERY bad patch in my life, a good friend of mine told me to "just hang in there, things will get better" and, you know, he was right. Things did get better! My advice to you is to relax, and don't worry about the hobby...it will be there for you when you need it again. From what I read in your post you have a lot of other things on your mind right now and you need to concentrate on working them out. You WILL come back to it when you are mentally ready. Meanwhile...HANG IN THERE!!!!!

The Shadow

[fiatfan]

I had about a 10 year slump. Part of it was due to family and job pressures. There are only so many hours in a day and family is more important than this or any other hobby. I'm back now with renewed interest and having a ball.

The only thing I regret from the slump was letting my MR subscription lapse. Even if you throw them in the closet for now, they are a valuable resource and I can only speculate what I might have missed in one of those magazines.

As Elliot said, you won't leave. Sometimes the fire will burn brightly and other times it will be just embers. But it will always be there, as will all of your friends here.

Tom

[Fergmiester]

Drop me a line so we can commiserate

Been there, seen there, the T-shirt is ripped and I'm on the mend.

Sometimes it's time to move on to newer ventures.

Seriously, though drop me a line!

Regards

Fergie

[Anonymous]

Emerald the hobby is there for you to leave and come back as you wish. If now you want to do something else then store your stuff for a while. Stop visiting the forum and take a well earned vacation from your hobby. 51 years is quite long time in this hobby.

OR you could remind yourself of why you got in the hobby perhaps looking at treasured photos or engines will break you out of this slump. If that doesn't work go back to basics and build a blue box kit. [:D]

DT

[BNSFNUT]

You might think about changing scale, era or railroad modeled.
I changed the era and railroad that I had modeled for about 30yrs and it revived my intrest in the hobby.
Having to researce a new railroad and era is a challange that got me going agin.

[Eriediamond]

Emerald, not knowing you personally or the reasons for the slump in your modeling interests, I can't, nor will I trie to give you advice, but I will give an opinion here. This is a hobby and it should provide relaxation and enjoyment. If that is gone, which I assume it is, then the time has come to step away from it and put the trains in storage so they won't be damaged so when the time comes that you have a renewed interest again they will be there for you. I think all of us older modelers have been through this at one time or another and for all kinds of reasons. I'm in kind of a slump myself because of financial reasons from a couple of major surgeries this past year. I put the hobby aside back in the early seventies because it got to the point I wasn't satisfied with my modeling abilities. It got to the point where everything had to be perfect and it got to the point where I found the hobby to be more work than being enjoyable. I gave it up for about ten years and got back to it back in the eighties. Now I don't care if the head light on my "Pacific" was high mounted or center mounted and I'm a lot happier. I do'nt know your reasons for you slump, but I'll bet you'll be back into model railroading sometime in the future and you'll be glad you took care in saving your trains. I wish you the best, Ken

[lupo]

Hi Emeraldisle !
I think my english is not good enough to put any helpfull advice to words, but I hope you will find a way out of this slump and keep involved in this hobby ,because , as I read, it has been a part of your life for some 50 years!

I allways enjoy your input and ideas to this forum, so please keep them coming this way! [:)] maybe sharing your knowledge and experience with others canhelp you out of this slump a bit!

[Fergmiester]

I was an avid ship modeller for several years than suddenly stopped ten years ago. I'm starting to regain the interest once again. I was an avid photographer, something I seldom do now. But when I do "Keep out of my way please and thanks" We all go through peaks and lulls. Last year I went through an intense period in my career, which happy to say resulted in positive results, but not without sacrifice. I spent several months in a slump. I was unable to focus I had little motivation and was accused of being a grouch on numerous occassions. I'm now motivated and happier than I've been in a long time. If this slump is strickly with the hobby then you may need a change of venue. If it goes beyond the hobby then talk to someone about it. We all get spread out a bit too thin from time to time and forget to regroup.

Regards
Fergie

[Anonymous]

emeraldisle:

I was out of the hobby about 15 years while we raised two kids. I still kept my subscription to MR and didn't read it for maybee as long as 6 months. I bought some locos and cars along the way but nothing to call home about. When the last kid left I got a 13'X15' room and started planning and building. Now it's got me with a vengence and I'm really enjoying the hobby.

Dickiee:

Where ar you? We're going on vacation and we're going to be in your part of the country. Would you e-mail me at [e-mail] thanks.

Have a blessed day and remember SANTA FE ALL THE WAY

Bob

[krump]

Emeraldisle,

Don't sell the trains!
I've actually been trying to find your posts over the past month (missing the laughs and hilarious comments), so it's good to reconnect.
Send me an email (or at least your email address), and I'll join you and Fergie with the commiserating, and a few laughs.
I want to get going on the construction of my new layout design, and DCC, but it looks like it'll be a Winter sport (let's see, get snow off driveway OR work on trains ??? I pick trains - and since the snow will still be on the driveway, I'll be stuck at home, in the basement, working on the railroad...). However, being Summer - it's quite busy out here at present - kids have just returned home from a visit with my sister, pool set-up, yardwork, interior painting, and then there's work.
Right now the only model rr that I'm involved in is with the club. Good enuf for now, and a bit cheaper on the pocket book too. We are getting some interest from several youths lately 12-14 year olds. If time permits, I may consider winging one of 'em.
cheers,

[BRAKIE]

I am kinda in a slump myself..I am at a point where I no longer want to build kits of any kind including the simple BB kits.So,now I have fun operating my HO industrial switching layout while I build the N scale industrial switching layout. as the urge hits me..This is uncommon for me because once I start a layout I will not stop till its finish as far as I want to take it...
Now I did suffer burn out once in the 53 years I been in the hobby.So I sold my stuff and took a 2 month hiatus from the hobby except for reading MR and MRC plus a little railfaning on the side...Then MR started the Clinchfield project layout in N scale..So,I started buying N scale and built a N scale layout on a 36" 'x 72" hollow core door.It still remains my favorite all time layouts and I dare say it was one of my better design layouts to date and gave me many years of operational enjoyment and I also displayed this layout as several local train shows...So for me to get out of that slump I change scales....[:D][tup]

[Anonymous]

BRAKIE:

Would you give me your e-mail address so I can correspond with you?
My e-mail is [e-mail] thanks

In regards to emeraldisle:

I'd go buy a kit and just piddle with it when I'm in the mood. I put a card table in the den and that way I could build with out being out of the socializing. I can't build an FSM kit like that, but I can build plastic that way.

I was in the hobby shop the other day and saw a good cheer sign " I once gave up model railroading - It was the worst weekend of my life!"

Have a blessed day and remember SANTA FE ALL THE WAY

Bob

[Anonymous]

Man, emeraldisle, I"m no physocologist by a long shot, but from the sound of your post, it would seem to me that other factors in your life, are demanding your attention right now, and that you may be putting your modeling out of the picture, either consicously, or sub-consicously, I have been through similar situations during a long time at model railroading, and I wish I could tell you what is the best thing for you to do about your delima, unfortunately I can"t. It may be helpful for you to go to your LHS, and buy yourself a new kit to build, or possibly one of the new locomotives that you have been thinking about, take the new purchase home, and try to loose yourself in it , at least for a while, this may, or may not work for you, it has helped me in the past, when I found it hard to keep my interest piqued in the hobby, I wish you the best of luck, and hang in there, sooner or later, I believe you will get your priorties focused, as I have at times, and get re-interested in your hobby, heres hoping, take care.

Mac

[Anonymous]

Hi gang; Been out of touch for a few days with other responsibilities but I'm grateful for the support you've all shown. It's great to know there are others out there who have been or are going thru the same thing and know what it feels like to have the world running your life instead you. I guess in time all will return to normal but until then I've got rough road to go and I'll be e-mailing some of you if thats ok. Thanks again.

[Fergmiester]

As I said before don't hesitate to drop me a line. Life is full of up's, downs and lots of going arounds. It always seems to be 2 steps forward, 1 step back and hen some.

Regards
Fergie

[krump]

I just used leftover interior latex paint on some spare boxcars - they now share the colour of my daughters bedroom, however this is either an indication of creativity, or ... a slump? (help) ... actually the boxcars look ok, weird colours though...

how ya doing Emeraldisle?

cheers