Keeping a Progress Chronology

[SeeYou190]

York1

I will try to document any work on the layout, and I will especially document every purchase I make.

I have never done a good job at record keeping purchases. I might regret that at some point.

-Kevin

[York1]

I started my first layout after I retired four years ago.

I fumbled through just about everything.

Now that I have read through this thread, I really regret that I did not keep a record of what I did, why I did it, or where I got things from.

I remember some things, but not a lot.  Where did I buy those LED lights that I really like? etc.

 

This thread has convinced me that, starting today, I will try to document any work on the layout, and I will especially document every purchase I make.

Thanks, everyone.

[Pruitt]

I take tons of photos and make sure to date them in the file name (automatic organization, and that way I don't have to check the metadata to know when they were taken).

The last few years I've published monthly layout updates on my YouTube channel. That provides a great progress chronology! It also provides a good reference - sometimes I go back and watch one to see what I was thinking, when I leave off an area for an extended time. As a bonus it also provides great motivation to keep going!

[wjstix]

When I decided to switch from O to HO in the winter of 1987-88 I started keeping a notebook/journal about the layout, first with plans for the new layout but also with purchases, things I was working on, railfan trips, etc. Basically anything railroad related. But then, I've kept small notebooks with day to day stuff in them since 1977 so I guess that's just how my mind works.

[Southgate 2]

I like that Einstein bit. I wish I could recall where I have all my data or pictures sometimes. 

I was out of town for 5 days, so I took my laptop, and organized pix and my chronology notes. I did make separate structure files, locos. track, etc. But also took the suggestion to put the dates on all the pictures and did a separate chrono file with selected pictures for an easy progress log.

My old laptop hard drive died hard about 4 years ago, taking with it a great many pix that I thought I had backed up, but didnt. About 7 years of pictures lost. So I only had hundreds, not thousands to go through. Dan

[hardcoalcase]

I'm 20 pages into a logbook about my layout which had its ground-breaking on 1/1/14.  It includes both a monthly list and yearly summary of what got done.  There are several appendices documenting the construction ranging from the wiring color code, and diagrams of complex circuits, to the paint colors used on the wall/backdrop, fascia, scenery base, ballast color and weathering process, etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseam.

It reminds me of the story about the newspaper reporter who was interviewing Albert Einstein, at the conclusion, the reporter asked for his phone number in case he needed clarification.  Mr. Einstein went over to his desk, opened his notebook and read his phone number for the reporter.

The reporter then said, "Actually I do have one more question, you are regarded as one of the most intelligent individuals in history, yet you haven't memorized your own phone number?"  Mr. Einstein replied "I don't need to memorize it, I just need to know where to get it when I need it."

Jim

 

[nealknows]

I like to share my railroad layout and any new additions or changes on my blog. It's free from blogspot.com

Neal

[wickman]

Wow some of yous keep some serious documentation. 

[Southgate 2]

I think I'm going to do exactly that! (previous reply)

Again, the clipboard serves to just show myself progress is being made, cuz I can quickly forget what I've done if I can't see on the surface!  It also reminds me of HOW something was done, like what glue worked well for chips or gravel. 

Great replies! Dan

[SeeYou190]

Overmod

As a suggestion, put the year first in the format and all the pictures will automatically index by date.  Use a two-digit numerical month and they will further be in absolute order (not alphabetical by month).

I keep all my projects in seperate folders, so that is not needed.

Eventually, when the project is completed, I go back an edit the file names by adding an ordinal number as a prefix. The example given might become "016 Athearn Center Cab 07NOV2021a" when all is said and done.

-Kevin

[Overmod]

SeeYou190

An example file name might be: Athearn Center Cab 07NOV2021a

As a suggestion, put the year first in the format and all the pictures will automatically index by date.  Use a two-digit numerical month and they will further be in absolute order (not alphabetical by month).

A database program can be configured to prepare 'custom indexes' by positions in filenames, so you can get all the 'Athearn' or given date ranges without (much) tinkering.

I like the use of a-z to note multiple files on the same day but if you have more than 26 you either need foreign characters or dingbats to keep it from trouble... 

[SeeYou190]

My photographs are my log book.

All my photograph's file names include the date the picture was taken. An example file name might be:

Athearn Center Cab 07NOV2021a

That is all the record keeping I need.

-Kevin

 

[trainnut1250]

 

Keeping track of layout progress?

I have three methods for this:

One - Photos – I have way too many pictures of the layout (probably half a terabyte over nearly 20 years). The dates on these photos give me a pretty good idea of what happened when.

Two: Layout updates: I send out PDF layout updates to my friends about every year and a half or so. I find curating the progress for these updates gives me a good sense of what has been accomplished since the last update.

Three: Layout construction clinic: I present a clinic entitled, Fast Forward - 17 years of Layout Progress in an Hour at conventions in my area every year or two. Adding to the clinic and keeping track of items to put in the slide stack keeps me current on the progress.

I also have notes, emails, etc. that can help reconstruct a timeline should I need it.


Guy

 

[selector]

On a slightly different slant to this topic, and no I don't keep a progress log, I tend to create a to-do list that keeps me from doing things that paint me into a corner.  I sometimes do what I feel like doing when I am building a layout, but if one is too impulsive one can find himself having done some time-consuming, materials-consuming, and craftsmanship-creating work, very nicely done, only to find you've forgotten to do a necessary (or previously intended) step.  A simple one might be to start building modules and then find you've forgotten to set up a backdrop.  Now you have to step through all that carefully measured and mounted milled lumber, or reach over it, and try to craft a decent backdrop that fits and works.

So, no, no progress logs, but I do draft a list of things that need to be done before other things.  Those lists have saved me from a bit of vexation over the years.

[York1]

RR_Mel

Now if I could just figure out how to find what I need when I need it I’d be a happy camper.   

 

So I'm not the only one who buys something when I know I have the same thing somewhere but can't find it?

The trouble is, I always seem to find the missing item after I've bought the new one.

[BATMAN]

RR_Mel

Now if I could just figure out how to find what I need when I need it I’d be a happy camper.   

Make like the Government and sign your tools in and out in a log. Heaven help you if Mel catches you not doing your paperwork.

[RR_Mel]

I found that my blog helps me track my hobby doings, that goes back to January 1, 2009.  I’ve been into CAD drawing since it became available in the early 1980s and I have continued to add to my original layout drawings (1988) the changes over the years.  That wasn’t planned it just happened.

When I got a digital camera that helped a lot too.

I also like the ability to reference back to see what I’ve accomplished, helps the downers from old age.

Now if I could just figure out how to find what I need when I need it I’d be a happy camper.   

 

Mel


 
My Model Railroad   
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
 
Bakersfield, California
 
Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.

[BATMAN]

I have 100s of photos of the layout in iPhoto and they have a date stamp. That is a good enough reference for me. When I look at the earliest photo of the RH with the lights on, I know that is the day I wired it. I am glad I have the photo reference as it shows I have made more progress than I think I have.

I use to keep all my receipts in a big drawer and then thought what a waste of a good drawer. I worked for the Government for 38 years and saw a ridiculous amount of money spent on useless administration and was not about to have that taking up valuable train time.

I use to drive a plethora of vehicles, sometimes many different ones on the same day. I use to have to log every km I drove so some bean counter could keep track of it all. One day I got a call from the boss that I had hit two million miles and had never had an accident. I was awarded all sorts of awards and letters from agencies and associations from around the world. I would rather have never known I had hit two million miles of accident-free driving if it meant not having to fill out endless logbooks. I don't even get free auto insurance which I think I should after not costing them a dime after 49 years. 

No paperwork in this man's trainroom.

[Southgate 2]

I used to just take pictures and allow the digital camera's dates help keep a cronology of projects and events, but in early 2018, I started jotting down any layout progress, whether it was purchases, work on kits, locos, anything gathered for the layout, anything related. I use a clipboard, and my sloppy handwriting. Then I transcribe it over to the doccuments in my computer. 

I'm also in the process of going through pictures and adding their dated progress to the list. It amazes me in some cases how recently some things were done, and how long ago others were done.

Now when I look at the layout and think I'm just not getting much done, I look at that list, and it helps me see that a great deal of progress has and is being made. My eyes get used to seeing it all blend in, and it's easy to forget the work that went into, say, one structure that took a long time but really adds to the scene. Then, In one or 2 days, I can blow in a whole forest of trees and see a huge diff. But then the more obscured, is the work done to the infrastructure: bench work improvements, track work, wiring, control hookup, REPAIRS, things even I don't visibly see that makes it all work.

This helps greatly to keep me motivated. I look at pictures and READ the list of  the scenery progress made since I made myself put the locomotive projects away, it's huge, from when and where I started.

Dan