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Are we ever to old to build a pike?

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Posted by Howard Zane on Monday, September 8, 2014 6:56 PM

It is good to know that  there are still many relics and artifacts still active in the hobby. I believe each scale has a different average age group with N having the youngest and O with the eldest by far. Actually after attending an O scale show, I became convinced the "O" came from "octogeniarian." I believe HO runs the gamet of age groups as does G and the many narrow gauge scales. Z, TT, and S ????

Update on my moving plans......not going to happen as of today. I am going to add three engine teminals, a new mine, and another staging yard with scenery. Another addition had been approved years back and is most likely still valid....so there is another option, but if I take this route, I most likely in future rants be asking advice about family law. Every spouse has limits and I can understand again ripping up our wooded back yard.......well it's a thought that will require much thought.

HZ

 

Howard Zane
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Posted by ONR FAN on Monday, September 8, 2014 9:21 AM

I would say your never to old. 

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Posted by B&O1952 on Monday, September 8, 2014 9:09 AM

A friend of mine who is in his 80's recently told me he wanted to build a new layout. He built a couple of layouts back in the 1950's and 60's after he returned from military service. He was stationed in Japan in the 50's, and bought a number of locos and kits directly from the Tenshodo factory. Some of these were never assembled. I told him I'd help if he ever starts the layout project. I hope he does!

-Stan

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Posted by Run Eight on Saturday, September 6, 2014 3:25 PM

Go for it man, your never too old!

You still are of sound mind, so don't let the numbers bother you.

I'm not very far off from the GERITAL crowd myself and still get a bang out of The Lawrence Welk Show and Watching reruns of The Rochester Van Jones Show.

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Posted by carl425 on Saturday, September 6, 2014 9:59 AM

Howard Zane
Are we ever to old to build a pike?

Yes. Age of expiration +1.

I have the right to remain silent.  By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.

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Posted by rogerhensley on Saturday, September 6, 2014 6:36 AM

I was going to say something about having my railroad mostly done and not wanting to build another, but then I realized that I have been building various model railroads for the past 7 years. O scale traction, On30 old time 4 x 6, S gauge 4 x 12, O gauge (Lionel) 8 x 8 layout and an HO 4 x 16 layout. the 3.5 x 18 N scale layout I'm leaving to another guy to build and he is doing a great job. I just revised his backdrops a little and painted one for him.

Ok, I had help on the 0 scale traction and S gauge, and Lionel, but the HO is all mine. :-)

I'm 75 and still going strong. My helpers are 79 and 65.

[This is in the basement of the Madison County (Indiana) Historical Society.]

Roger Hensley
= ECI Railroad - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/eci/eci_new.html =
= Railroads of Madison County - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/

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Posted by germanium on Friday, September 5, 2014 3:25 PM

At nearly 73, I'm building the March 2014 MR industrial short line, which I hope to super detail, In addition I'm also building from scratch and bar stock an 0-4-0  switcher.

So I ain't done yet.

Dennis

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Posted by Beach Bill on Friday, September 5, 2014 1:39 PM

I suggest that maintaining a balance of optimistic and realistic is appropriate.  I can see that another move may be in the offing, so I have started stockpiling some flextrack and other items that would be needed for the "next" layout.  I also recognize that the time may well come when an "assisted living" facility will be appropriate, so I sketched out a track plan for an HO micro-layout that could fit in such a room.  I have a box where I am stockpiling items for that potential micro-layout, where a sector plate and a transfer table will allow switching problems in an industrial setting.

My Mom was a seamstress, and a very good one.  It got to the point where she could not longer do any sewing and she allowed her very fine sewing machine to be passed down to my daughter-in-law.   It was a sad sad thing for me to carry that sewing machine away from her room, and I sat in the car and thought "some day, they'll come and take away my X-Acto knife...."       Till they take it away, however....

Bill

With reasonable men, I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments where they will certainly be lost. William Lloyd Garrison
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Posted by ACY Tom on Friday, September 5, 2014 9:17 AM

Bob Dylan wrote "He not busy being born is busy dying".     I think I would vote for rebirth. 

You mentioned that you've reduced the collection somewhat, and now have mostly items from your traditional favorite roads like Erie, PRR, and NYC.   How about choosing one specfic geographic area and concentrating your efforts there?  Maybe Buffalo, NY or some other area where your favorites converged.  Your past efforts have involved freelanced locations, and a prototype-based approach might give you a new, refreshing focus for your talents.  And most readers of this forum know those talents are very impressive.

Tom 

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Posted by mobilman44 on Friday, September 5, 2014 5:53 AM

Hi,

Really a good topic for those of us over 65 or so.  I myself tore down a layout and began a new one when I was 65 (I'm 70).  One of the reasons was that I was afraid if I waited much longer I would not be able to do the work, or worse, not want to do the work.

That said, I believe it is an individual question, as we are all aging differently.  Building a layout is a long term project, often taking years, and I believe your question needs to be thoroughly considered before any "senior" takes it on.

That being said,

ENJOY !!!!

ENJOY  !

 

Mobilman44

 

Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central 

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Posted by NP2626 on Friday, September 5, 2014 5:40 AM

"Are we ever to old to build a pike"? 

No!  I say Howard, at 76 you should have at'r!

NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"

Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association:  http://www.nprha.org/

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Posted by tomikawaTT on Friday, September 5, 2014 12:35 AM

MisterBeasley

I'm 67 and looking forward to retirement so I'll have more time to build.

I would ask, though, if we are ever young enough to have a serious expectation of being able to finish a layout?

 
I'm 77, fully retired, have some mobility problems and am still plugging along on my double garage filler.  Wheels started rolling (on a temporory E_Z Track construction tramway) within a week of taking possession of the first (1/2 garage) space, and have been rolling almost daily since.
 
No model railroad bigger than a coffee table has ever been 'finished,' as in, 'Absolutely perfect, complete in every possible detail down to bird-doo on the phone wires.'  Even the work of professionals usually has lots of room for changes and hyperdetailing.  For me, even visually pleasing is still a long walk down the road, and I don't walk very fast any more.
 
What, me worry?
 
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
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Posted by csxns on Thursday, September 4, 2014 3:33 PM

Howard Zane
down in Columbia

Is this in South Carolina.

Russell

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Posted by BRAKIE on Thursday, September 4, 2014 3:05 PM

cmrproducts
I guess I just needed a wake up call! BOB H

I'm just glad your wakey wake up call wasn't as bad as mine since it changed a lot of my life's views.

I forgot to mention I had to relearn how to model using my left hand since my right hand had very little use at that time..Talk about huh,mm,backwards..Thankfully I regain around 70% use of my right hand still limited and far better then the once 20%.

------------------------------------------------------

SB,Glad our stories help you.I will say this hobby help me more then anything during my recovery..To be sure it was hard re leaning the hobby by doing things one handed but,I overcame the awkwardness of using my left hand after years of being right handed..

 

Larry

Conductor.

Summerset Ry.


"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt  Safety First!"

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Posted by cmrproducts on Thursday, September 4, 2014 11:34 AM

blabride

Larry and Bob,

I want to thank you for your awesome contribution to this thread. It has had a revelatory effect on me. I myself have had a totally surprising heart issue myself two years ago that has caused a lot of frustration and confusion over my hobbies. I'm a very fit 54 year old teacher of normal weight who has never smoked, has always had normal blood pressure, still do, strive to eat well etc. But two years ago I felt an odd feeling halfway through my 50 minute workout. I did finally go in to find out my right arteriol artery was 90% blocked. After putting two stents in things seemed great. This summer though I developed a blood clot in one of the stints. So now I will be on blood thinner the rest of my life. The positive is my heart function is above average for a normal 54 year old and because of my fitness neither incident caused any damage. 

The major mental issues I've had with this is a complete reevaluation of my future hobby plans. I have even considered selling off one or more of my other two. But your stories have shown me my condition is not so bad. Maybe I can finish the layout and continue to build the WWII scale models I love.

thanks again

SB

 

SB

Glad our stories helped!

When my situation happened - I was really making a revaluation of my situation and thought I best take care of myself a bit better - now that I was given a second chance.

I put serious effort in the Cardio Rehab and have never felt better!

I guess we are never to old to reconsider our lives!

Anyway I have fun working on my layout and any others I can - been getting back into the swing of things at our Club as I had been loafing along for a number of years there too!

I guess I just needed a wake up call!

BOB H - Clarion, PA

 

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Posted by blabride on Thursday, September 4, 2014 11:26 AM

Larry and Bob,

I want to thank you for your awesome contribution to this thread. It has had a revelatory effect on me. I myself have had a totally surprising heart issue myself two years ago that has caused a lot of frustration and confusion over my hobbies. I'm a very fit 54 year old teacher of normal weight who has never smoked, has always had normal blood pressure, still do, strive to eat well etc. But two years ago I felt an odd feeling halfway through my 50 minute workout. I did finally go in to find out my right arteriol artery was 90% blocked. After putting two stents in things seemed great. This summer though I developed a blood clot in one of the stints. So now I will be on blood thinner the rest of my life. The positive is my heart function is above average for a normal 54 year old and because of my fitness neither incident caused any damage. 

The major mental issues I've had with this is a complete reevaluation of my future hobby plans. I have even considered selling off one or more of my other two. But your stories have shown me my condition is not so bad. Maybe I can finish the layout and continue to build the WWII scale models I love.

thanks again

SB

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Posted by rrebell on Thursday, September 4, 2014 10:55 AM

There is one other thing of note, it is much easier to build a large layout than it once was. Wiring can be quite simple (two buss lines with drops) or even no wiring now. Foam construction makes building landforms faster, cheaper eisier. You can caulk your layout together (caulk has been out a long time, wondered why it wasn't promoted 30 years ago ?). Oh and by the way I just built a 30x15 foot layout in less than two years but I could have built it in a month if I worked on it more.

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Posted by Howard Zane on Thursday, September 4, 2014 12:13 AM

KemacPrr

Howard sounds like you are bored with what you have now. All the major work is done and just some minor things need to be finished. I'm 66 and have a similar sized rr now 22 years old. Fully operational, multi decks, working ctc,it  requires a crew of 30 for op sessions , I model two eras to help get rid of boredom BUT my interest in the rr has been slowly going away. I too like to build and once that part is done I get antsy !!! One major problem is at 3120 sq ft dismantling it and building another may be more than my energy level now will allow. Most of the friends that helped me back then have moved on so the help is not there . I have been thinking of downsizing the rr regarding op sessions crew requirements. this would require some major changes to the existing rr but would allow op sessions to become less of a major production they are now.  I believe I remember you saying in another post that your rr group has been fading away so that could be the reason for your current thinking.

 If you want to build another rr go for it !!! if it gets finished you can enjoy that. If not you will have fun building it to that point. When we are gone they will all end up in dumpsters no matter how complete or finished they are at the end  !!!! ----------  Ken McCorry

 

Ken,

I have never visited your layout, but I have the Keller video in addition to the varoius articles about it. I'd consider your pike among the all time greats. I did not become bored, nor do I think you are....possibly a change of something would help.

Many things in my life are changing.....all quite good, but still change just the same! As mentioned, we are considering a move from yuppiedom to breathing and driving space. Then there was my brief love affiar with narrow gauge after visiting Durango and Silverton, and now I have gone full circle and I've converted my pike to what I knew and loved during my early years.....Erie, NYC, and PRR steam era. I really enjoyed Appalachian modeling, but my major lament was never having seen prototypes for what I was playing with other than in print or in video. When I got into the hobby in 1962, I began with SP/T&NO as I had briefly worked on that railroad...then Erie, but during that period, not much was available...only an LMB Tri-plex and a K-5 Pacific from Max Gray....and a completely wrong caboose kit from Silver Streak. So I gravitated to PRR as I had an uncle who ran a K-4 (yup, I rode with him in addition to an adopted uncle who ran a K1 and K2 on the Erie commuter lines to Jersey City....and I rode with Uncle Ike many times). PRR was and is great, but during the 60's almost every modeler I met in NJ was a PRR nut. I needed something a bit different.

Now that I have a sizeable roster of Erie, NYC, and PRR equipment (financed by selling my Western Maryland, C&O , etc. toys) .... I'm again really enjoying getting again into the layout. I have also sold all of my plastic rolling stock, and have rebuilt almost the entire frieght and passenger roster with wood or flat resin kits. Actually there is now no plastic...locos or rolling stock except for a few upgrade hoppers. This really captivated my interests, and as I cannot build a kit to look anywhere as good as an RTR Kadee, Intermountain, or Spring Mills Depot offering, I take tremendous pride in knowing that I built these.

Boredom??? Nah! Change??? You Bet!!!

If you are ever down in Columbia, do stop in and we can play with the electric trains....also anyone else on this discussion group. Art ain't got no meaning unless it is shared. Also it is quite refreshing to know that there are other relics besides me in this hobby. Note: My wife has upgraded me to a "collectible".

HZ

Howard Zane
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Posted by jwar41 on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 11:53 PM
Just got back into HO again at 73, actually this is my first post in years
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Posted by ACRR46 on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 8:36 PM

As long as your physically able it's never late to build a layout.  I'm 67 and work on my 50' x 20' single level layout every day from early fall to late spring. I put in approximately 6 -8 hours a day working on a variety of projects.  It keeps me sane over the course of very long winters.

Frank

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Posted by cmrproducts on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 8:03 PM

Larry

I too had a brush with my maker and HE slapped me up side the head to straighten out my ways.

I got it in time and had NO Heart damage!

SO I have had a different view on life - 

Nothing is too much anymore as tomorrow may be my last - SO - I am having as much fun as I can!

I go with the I-80 Operations Group to anyones layout to run on.

If I am going out - I hope it is with a Throttle in my hand! ;-)

OR!

Building a layout - or my sons Garage - rebuilding my Bucket Loader Cub Cadet - anything that strikes my fancy !

I was given another chance!

BOB H - Clarion, PA

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Posted by IRONROOSTER on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 7:42 PM

Well, I'm 67 and I have a layout under construction in the basement.  All the benchwork for the first section (12x31) is done and I am currently laying roadbed. Once this section is done, there's another 1000 sq ft in the basement for future building.  My layout is a point to point shortline and I'm building from one point to the other.  I don't know how much I'll build, but f I reach the point where it's enough for operations then I'll stop and work on buildings, cars, etc.

At some point, when he's old enough, I hope to build a layout with my grandson.  He's 3 and thrilled with the Thomas the Tank layout I have for him.

Enjoy

Paul

If you're having fun, you're doing it the right way.
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Posted by cowman on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 7:30 PM

Getting old doesn't seem to be particularly fun, so I ignore the signs and keep going.  Going up and down stairs is good exercise, so that part is good for you.  Thinking about what's next and problem solving keeps the brain active.  I'm a little behind you, but in the planning stages of my first real layout larger than a 4x8.  There's fun, frustration and fellowship (if you want it).  If you give up doing things you like doing, what fun is left?

Have fun,

Richard

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Posted by Dusty Solo on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 5:39 PM

Goodness me, I sure hope not too old for managing to navjgate my way around & still enjoy this hobby.

I  don't go fulll tilt at it any more & flank speed is something for the more youthfull among us. I just tend to potter about - that suits me fine at this point in my life.

Sometimes, because of health issues I become aware of my own mortality. The corollary of thaf is a re-evaluation of how much more I need to buy when these and previously made purchases as well as the many models I have built will probably just end up in an auction house with all the other stuff nobody else sees any value in or want to look after once I'm gone. But this malaise is usually only temporary, or at leasr short lived. I'll stay with what I do & what I've enjoyed doing for decades now & that will keep me ticking over until its time to get out the rocking chair & the whittling knife & with the hot sun at my back create a pile of wood shavings for some one else to sweep away.

Dusty - still at it at 67.

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Posted by HaroldA on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 4:20 PM

My short answer would be 'no'.  My current layout has been under construction for 15 years.  During that time it was moved from one house to another (not something i would recommend) and almost every section has undergone a major rebuild.  As I think about this I probably have one more major layout left in me but I think I would incorporate as much of the current one as possible.  For the record, I am 67.

There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....

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Posted by csxns on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 4:12 PM

Howard when you finish that one you can come over and finish mine.

Russell

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Posted by KemacPrr on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 3:27 PM

Howard sounds like you are bored with what you have now. All the major work is done and just some minor things need to be finished. I'm 66 and have a similar sized rr now 22 years old. Fully operational, multi decks, working ctc,it  requires a crew of 30 for op sessions , I model two eras to help get rid of boredom BUT my interest in the rr has been slowly going away. I too like to build and once that part is done I get antsy !!! One major problem is at 3120 sq ft dismantling it and building another may be more than my energy level now will allow. Most of the friends that helped me back then have moved on so the help is not there . I have been thinking of downsizing the rr regarding op sessions crew requirements. this would require some major changes to the existing rr but would allow op sessions to become less of a major production they are now.  I believe I remember you saying in another post that your rr group has been fading away so that could be the reason for your current thinking.

 If you want to build another rr go for it !!! if it gets finished you can enjoy that. If not you will have fun building it to that point. When we are gone they will all end up in dumpsters no matter how complete or finished they are at the end  !!!! ----------  Ken McCorry

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Posted by BRAKIE on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 2:59 PM

cmrproducts
This notion of not working on a layout - even starting a new one (which I hope to be able to help my Youngest Son when he begain his dream layout) - is sort of one way of looking at dying!

Maybe having a close encounter with death open my eyes to the vanity of trifles in our lives.I no longer look at life in the same manner as I did before March 27th,2005 and since then I'm a dead man walking..Even my heart specialist is surprise I'm still around with the amount of damage my heart has.I laid near death for 3 1/2 weeks kept alive by tubes,machines,dedication by several doctors, ICU nurses and the will of God.

Again,While I'm not foolish enough to start a Godzilla basement filling layout I would start a smaller one that would be easier for me to build.

I keep busy railfaning,modeling and working on my 1' x 10' ISL which should have been finish months ago.

Larry

Conductor.

Summerset Ry.


"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt  Safety First!"

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Posted by superbe on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 2:30 PM

I started my layout 7 years ago (hard to believe) when I was 78. Due to physical limitations that have occured since I wouldn't want to start again due to the work involved under the layout.

With that said I am still working on it when the spirit moves me. I get a lot of enjoyment from the work, thinking about what I want to do next, and just walking by looking. It will never be finished and imo that is a good thing. 

Go for it !!

Bob

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