Has Anyone Reached This Realization Too?

[cwclark]

everything we do in life can be out done by others...but then again..a person is his own best (or should i say worst) critic...I think you have aspired to levels in this hobby that you don't even know you posess but are hard on yourself because you aren't a Lynn Westcott or a John Allen...I do know what you mean...i look at my work sometimes and say that i'll never do any better...but the main thing is that i'm happy with what i do and it brings me enjoyment...then i see people around me look at my work and they are awe struck...so what happened?...I was trying too hard to be hard on myself and didn't stop to think that the layout is an acceptable accomplishment to others and then it brings me more joy to see that they are impressed with my work....don't be so hard on yourself..if you are happy with what you do then let it go...I too went all out one time with the railfanning, clubs, and operating sessions, but it wasn't fun to me...the club, for one, was so worried about who was going to be president, or treasurer, or head pin counter that they lost sight of what the whole thing was about...I got away from the club scene as fast as i could...the hobby?..just do it!..do it to the best of your ability and be happy with it...so what some guy knows how to build a real working steel mill in HO scale...big deal!...as long as you are happy at what you do, nothing else matters...and don't worry about what the others say, think, or do...Chuck[:D]

[Fergmiester]

You mentioned a key word, that being Obsession. Most of us are Hobbiests, however some of us have become Obsessive. You may have brought me to my realization by posting this thread as I too have become obsessive over this past year and this hobby of our has become more of an obsession for me. Is this a bad thing? Potentially yes as I may loose sight of the other things that matter around me. I will just have to watch myself and pay attention when spoken to. What may keep me in check is the fact I have my fingers in far too many pots and I'm not willing to give those up.

Variety is the spice of life, speaking of which, I gotta go as I have to get supper ready!

[twhite]

MAbruce--the only way to enjoy this hobby is to ENJOY it. Don't think that because you feel your efforts don't reach up to the guys that get their stuff featured in MR or RMC, that you're out of the loop. I certainly don't aspire to that kind of glory, simply because I'm having too much fun with what I'm doing. If I suddenly turn up with something--a bit of scenery, a particular paint job-- that looks wonderful and gets me a lot of compliments, well okay. If I don't--well, okay, too. I remember one particularly sloppy paint job I did on a steam loco, once, and a friend asked me "How'd THAT happen," and I shrugged and told him it that it was a rush job by local volunteers down at the roundhouse to get the loco back in service because of a power shortage up the line. He just scratched his head and I just chuckled, and the loco was never mentioned again. In other words, take this hobby up for the enjoyment of it. Don't start comparing your efforts to the other guys, compare it to where you ARE, currently. Doing a project to the best of your ability means that the next project will probably just naturally get better, without your having to resort to kicking yourself. You say you're just back into the hobby--don't know how long you were out, but so many things and products have improved the hobby in just the past ten years, that it fairly boggles the mind. Maybe that perfect scene you envy isn't the result of scratch-building at all, but just good usage of today's super-detailed market products. It could be that what you thought might have taken hours of the most painstaking work actually went together in about an hour from a couple of commercially available ready-to-go products. So ease up on yourself and enjoy. Remember, it's YOUR model railroad, not the other guy's. And by the way, welcome back to the hobby. The guys on this forum are all here to help each other. Remember that.
Tom

[ndbprr]

Ah yes! that is the great dilemma. To aspire to be a virtuouso pianist or CEO of a major company or professional baseball or football player takes time and committment. Most don't make it deciding at some point that the effort required isn't what they really want to do. On the other hand do we wi***o say that we will not grow any more and we choose not to learn anything else? couple that with the fact that most of us are dysfunctional to the point we prefer the soltitude of a basement or room with inanimate objects to people in the first place and you have a real problem. Lucky is the person who finds that one thing in life that stes them free and time is no object or skill or funding or family or faith. At the same time they are cursed by missing out on all the other things life has to offer and the true purpose of life as presented by the faith of choice. Jealous? - not at all. have it in perspective? - I think so. I do what I can and enjoy what I have done. Have I made the same mistakes on the five I have built? - not at all. DO I aspire to be world recognized for my effort? - somewhat. Will I be? Only if my railroad is the one that survives for archeologists to muse over in 10,000 years. Do I aspire to bigger and more trains? - Of course but it doesn't rule my life and a one dimensional person is a bore most of the time unless it is a topic I wi***o discuss.

[cacole]

Yes, I realized several years ago that most of the layouts featured in MR are by people with far more disposable income than I would ever have. I don't own any brass engines, and probably never will. I don't have fleets of custom decorated locomotives and rolling stock, nor do I spend an inordinate amount of time custom decorating an already over-priced boxcar by adding rivets, grabs, all of the brake detail, etc. And I don't own a Unimat lathe and make my own parts. If visitors to the club's open houses don't like what I am running, that's just too bad. We've been unfortunate to have a couple of "rivet counting nit-pickers" in the club over the years, and they have been asked by the membership to remove themselves. We're there to have fun, not criticize each other.

[MAbruce]

It’s been three years now since I came back into the hobby after a long absence. The last time I “dabbled” in model railroading was way back in my late teens to early 20’s. My current layout is by far the furthest I’ve ever taken a something to completion. It certainly doesn’t measure up to the high standards that I’ve seen, but I have far outdone anything I have ever attempted before.

Since I got back into the hobby, I’ve joined a club, subscribed to MR, attended several MRR shows, and have participated in some operating sessions on some fairly serious (and extravagant) layouts. In short, I have immersed myself pretty deeply in the world of model railroading.

I’ve enjoyed seeing some superb and breathtaking works of art. I’ve been inspired by intricate layouts. The people I’ve run across are often nice and accommodating. While I have enjoyed most aspects of model railroading, an uneasy feeling about it all kept nagging at me. It’s something I found difficult to define.

It took me a while, but I figured it out.

I reached a point where I found it difficult to relate to ‘expert’ modelers. These are the people that seem to live, breathe, sleep, and eat railroading. They have spent many years and likely thousands of dollars on this hobby, often plan “railfan” trips, have railroad “sanctuaries” in their homes (complete with a library of Railroad history books), spend significant time with on-line MRR forums, and either host or regularly attend operating sessions. They are often very nice, accommodating, and knowledgeable people that are true experts at their craft. I very much admire their work, and am yet I am troubled by it at the same time. I’m troubled over the incredibly high level of commitment it requires in order to achieve the level of skill they have. I personally find it difficult to justify this level of immersion into something that is considered a ‘hobby’ – something that’s supposed to done with one’s ‘spare’ time. I’ve seen that some have vastly different interpretations of what ‘spare’ time is.

I now wonder if all those wonderful layouts featured in publications like MR (that we aspire to) may actually be doing more harm than good. Have they raised the bar so unreasonably high that unless you commit your life to the pursuit of this hobby you will have little hope of emulating that level of work? This may sound ridiculous, but maybe those pictures should come with warning labels that read: “Caution: in order to reach this level of modeling, you must first be prepared to spend countless hours and lots of money.” It all reminds me of when I run across magazine ads that feature people that have had plastic surgery and/or their picture airbrushed. It may be pleasing to look at, but they set a standard that is unreasonable and/or impossible for a vast majority to achieve.

As for me, I’ve given up any aspirations of achieving ‘expert’ modeler status. I just can’t justify spending the time, effort, and cost it would take get there. I think it involves a level of obsession with trains that I personally consider unhealthy. I like trains, but I don’t want or need to know how many grab irons to place on a particular locomotive (and what year it was re-numbered, re-painted, and in what scheme using what shade of a particular color). Each person sets their own set of priorities in life. I’ve come to the realization that while I could easily get caught up in this hobby, my priorities are elsewhere.