Clutter is something I swore to address but guilty for having a lot. Thanks everyone for encouraging me to clean the layout. The amount of trash I created after adding more feeders needs to get removed.
Clutter is also on the work bench. I have a set of drawers for different things (wires, scenery, etc.). The tools go away once I no longer need them. I won't put stuff away of I need to use them the next evening.
I am anal for marking on the layout where I last worked. It helps knowing to avoid wasting time looking around.
I think doing major cleaning after moving from different phase (e.g., building the benchwork, wiring, scenery, etc.) is helpful.
dknelsonI noticed that the Microscale decal ACI labels come in matched pairs, and when I botch one I leave its mate on the sheet and go on to the next matched pair. But eventually I'll use the leftovers. This is less because of my own anality (to coin a phrase) but because I have certain visitors and friends who would be just the sort of jerks to point things like that out to me -- or to other visitors.
Don't let them look at both sides of the car. Another reason not to have return loops.
Any body that visits my layout wouldn't have a clue. I could have just plain cars, no lettering. They would probably ask "Wow, where's the graffiti?"
That shows how few visitors I have, and their knowledge of railroads.
I truly am in my own world. The definition of a lone wolf.
Mike.
My You Tube
maxman Was just reading a post in an on-line magazine where I saw that there is a program that will generate ACI lables where the label lines actually translate to the road numbers on the model rolling stock. These labels are then printed to size and applied to the model. So, is this being meticulous or anal? Inquirying minds want to know.
Was just reading a post in an on-line magazine where I saw that there is a program that will generate ACI lables where the label lines actually translate to the road numbers on the model rolling stock. These labels are then printed to size and applied to the model.
So, is this being meticulous or anal?
Inquirying minds want to know.
Wow. Somewhere at MIT or CalTech is a young modeler working on a tiny scale sized ACI label reader hooked up to JMRI ....
I noticed that the Microscale decal ACI labels come in matched pairs, and when I botch one I leave its mate on the sheet and go on to the next matched pair. But eventually I'll use the leftovers. This is less because of my own anality (to coin a phrase) but because I have certain visitors and friends who would be just the sort of jerks to point things like that out to me -- or to other visitors.
Dave Nelson
gmpullmanYour workbench looks like mine after I've cleaned it
Ed!
Stop trying to justify my procrastination!
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
My layout room doubles as office, guest room, laundry room and even as living room. My work bench is my desk. My wife´s desk is right next to mine.
How much of a chance do you think I have to clutter it up or make a mess? Modeling under such hardship requires careful planning and always having a broom or a small vac handy!
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Dave.
Thanks for your honest "coming-out"! Your workbench looks like mine after I've cleaned it
Well, it HAS been cleaned off every now-and-then:
IMG_7297_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Most of the time it is more like "controled chaos" but I'm used to that and it works for me.
IMG_0359_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
I generally have more than a dozen projects, and maybe another two-dozen mini projects going on at any given time. Generally, it works out well for me. Sometimes I'll have an epiphany regarding a project that has stalled or sometimes a new product, method or idea will come along and a stalled project will take off in a new direction.
Generally, though, my clutter is kept at a reasonable level and I'll make an occasional purge, but as most of us will admit, we model railroaders do have a pack-rat tendency.
Regards, Ed
Brent, you are about to embarass me!
This is the current state of my workbench! YES, things are out of control!! Too, too, too many projects and no space to store them. I did have some clear space up until a few days ago but then a whole bunch of stuff that I had ordered arrived all at once so that space disappeared pretty quickly.
I have to get off my butt and buy some totes.
You are allowed to make all the nasty comments that you want! I'm swamped! I admit it!!
For someone who models a fictional mid 1950’s small Class 1 railroad which runs between Virginia and Michigan, is prepared to scratch build off a photo (s), and a firm believer in the “Looks About Right” philosophy, I find myself questioning my decisions, ability, and efforts far more than, I’m sure, is healthy in a hobby were “Having Fun” is a major prerequisite.
BATMANDo you hate clutter? ...Do you have a place for everything and everything in its place?
If making a mess was a university degree, then I’d, with negligable study, be a “Doctor of Mess”, but I while I don’t tolerate mess in my day job, I am easier on myself regarding my hobby work bench. (probably not a good thing.)
Thanks for a Philosophy Friday topic, Batman.
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
BATMAN RR_Mel I hate waiting on anything, I’m very impatient! Don’t like waiting for paint or glue to dry I don't mind waiting for glue or paint to dry. I just pick up these while I am waiting. They are in the trainroom.
RR_Mel I hate waiting on anything, I’m very impatient! Don’t like waiting for paint or glue to dry
I don't mind waiting for glue or paint to dry. I just pick up these while I am waiting. They are in the trainroom.
I will see your guitars and raise you my friend Erv's
He only brings a small part of his guitar collection to the garage for a day and plays them well.
TF
I did mean that well Brent.
My train room is the children's play room, and the one boy's trumpet practice room. There is an electric keyboard on my small work area, which was the desk from my childhood furniture set...it is somewhat beat. The layout is basically an along the walls folded dogbone, so the play area is available for other things.
I need to be careful where I walk, due to kids' clutter, and I have to not fumble the engine or car I'm carrying when I do walk. Gotta be the good hands team.
I once dropped an Atlas Reading C424, in box, and it was totalled. Otherwise, I'm very careful not to drop anything.
John
RR_MelI hate waiting on anything, I’m very impatient! Don’t like waiting for paint or glue to dry
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
No comment..................
I'm guilty of this, ..... my dad was a Marine Sergeant
For the most part, I try not to be too meticulous about anything. I must admit, most of time I am.
I do not let anal retentiveness get in the way of my hobby and having fun though.
RR_Mel I hate waiting on anything, I’m very impatient! Don’t like waiting for paint or glue to dry and waiting on parts orders is the worst.
This is also me to a T. Which is a reason I like brick and mortar hobby shops.
RR_Mel To make things even worse I’m super clumsy and when I’m at my best the explicatives really fly.
To make things even worse I’m super clumsy and when I’m at my best the explicatives really fly.
Lone Wolf and Santa FeBATMANDoes your yard have all the boxcars on one track, tank cars on another, flat cars on yet another? Yes, I have seen this.
No because that is not realistic. The track that a car is on is determined by it's destination.
If the reason that all the cars of one type are on one track is because you are "anal", then its not realistic.
On the other hand, it is very possible to end up with all one type of car on many tracks. I worked at a yard where it was common to have tracks of all one type of car. We had a SIT yard that stored plastic, an auto ramp just south of the yard, a line that went into central Texas where they loaded aggregate and a line that went to the Gulf coast where there were a gazillion chemical plants. It was quite common to have a track of covvered hoppers for the SIT switcher, a track of auto racks for the auto ramp job, a track of empty gons for the train toward Austin and track of tank cars for a train going to the chemical coast.
At Pine Bluff we had solid tracks of 50 ft IPD boxcars for paper loading.
It is possible to have several tracks of one car type.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
BATMAN However, when I am playing with my trains and my Bachmann 4-4-0 grinds to a halt or all of a sudden a track problem raises its ugly head or a coupler fails, THAT"S IT! All playing stops until such problem is identified and rectified unless parts need to be ordered. Being my only company in the trainroom, I don't tick anyone else off by halting operations to tackle the problem.
However, when I am playing with my trains and my Bachmann 4-4-0 grinds to a halt or all of a sudden a track problem raises its ugly head or a coupler fails, THAT"S IT! All playing stops until such problem is identified and rectified unless parts need to be ordered. Being my only company in the trainroom, I don't tick anyone else off by halting operations to tackle the problem.
That is me to a T. Case in point, I totally disassembled my Rivarossi Big Boy several days ago, and spent about two days tuning up the drive train after I discovered a bind in the drive wheels. A problem like that is something that drives me crazy until I find the source of the problem and can fix it. So, you are not alone.
BATMANDo you need to resolve layout issues right away to the point of stopping all traffic/play on the layout?
If there is a problem with the track then just like the real thing I fix it right away.
BATMANDo you hate clutter?
Indeed. I can't stand it. I like everything neat and tidy. Whether you are rich or poor a tidy home will impress visitors.
BATMANDoes the layout bench need to be free of tools or any object that doesn't belong in the scene, even if it only a sea of pink?
Yes that is one of my main rules: Nothing on the layout except for the models, ever!
BATMANDo you have a place for everything and everything in its place?
Indeed, organization is the key to success. I have no time to search for something that didn't get put away and I don't really enjoy buying something that I already have just because I misplaced it.
BATMANDoes your yard have all the boxcars on one track, tank cars on another, flat cars on yet another? Yes, I have seen this.
BATMANI am mostly a one project at a time kind of guy but always seem to have more than one thing on the go.
in college i learned that it was good to have multiple projects so that when one becomes frustrating or bogged down because you don't know how to proceed, you can be productive on a different project.
as i've gotten older, i've learned to take care of things immediately, before I forget and that no one else is likely to take care of it.
i'm a Felix Unger believing that if you keep things neat you have more room and can find things quickly (and need to do less vacuuming).
BATMANDoes your yard have all the boxcars on one track, tank cars on another, flat cars on yet another?
isn't each yard track for a different destination?
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
It's kind of hard admitting your mental health flaws...
I know that I can get a bit manic and have to finish a build, which makes sleeping unnecessary...
I can't build anything to a good enough standard, but always have to surpass my earlier efforts.
Sure, RTR track looks very nice, but I hand lay mine... Why make it easier? j
Swedish Custom painter and model maker. My Website:
My Railroad
My Youtube:
Graff´s channel
Track is the one thing I strive to make perfect. I hate derailments.
I only allow clutter where I'm actively working on the layout, like where there is visible pink foam.
I take cars or engines off the layout if they need repair, but I might not get to them for a while.
Wiring I fix immediately.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Regarding the ugliness of the real world...
My layout includes the branch line from Frannie to Cody Wyoming. Along this branch was a temporary station that existed during WWII - right in my modeled era. It was called Vocation. It was razed in 1946/47.
Vocation was the stop for the Heart Mountain Japanese Internment Camp.
Generally the dark side of life does not intrude on my modeling, but for some reason I can't explain, I feel compelled to include Vocation on my layout.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Only two rules on my RR;Nothing built after Jan. 1 1960, and it has to be believeable.
If ''it'' does what it's intended to do.[bench work, wireing, ect] there is no reason to go further. Over thinkers over builders tend to annoy me. But I try hard to not say anything
As to clutter; even brain surgery will leave a mess.
SeeYou190 ATLANTIC CENTRAL My layout world is a somewhat happier place than real life. I have little to no interest in modeling tragety, crime, poverty, extreme decay, etc. . Thumbs up to that. I did a lot of research into 1954, and I found out it was a very ugly time. My layout will reflect what my uncles have told me about 1954 looking back through their rose colored glasses. . My layout will be quite a happy place, if not the least bit historically accurate to the period. . -Kevin .
ATLANTIC CENTRAL My layout world is a somewhat happier place than real life. I have little to no interest in modeling tragety, crime, poverty, extreme decay, etc.
.
Thumbs up to that. I did a lot of research into 1954, and I found out it was a very ugly time. My layout will reflect what my uncles have told me about 1954 looking back through their rose colored glasses.
My layout will be quite a happy place, if not the least bit historically accurate to the period.
-Kevin
Kevin,
Agreed.
As a student of history, I have come to realize that every point in history has its beauty and its ugly.
Some people look at the world and only see what is wrong, others only see what is right, and still others have some sense of balance.
But for the purposes of model railroading, we really need not focus too much on the ugly.
Fact - railroading has always been a dangerous, dirty business, but the 1950's was a time of fresh paint, new equipment, fresh ideas (diesels, piggyback, mechanical reefers, etc), reconstruction, and renewed optimism for the railroads, even if it all did not pan out as hoped.
But in 1954 we did not know the future, so we did not know what would, and would not, happen in the 60's......
And as I think you know, I model 1954 as well.
Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRALMy layout world is a somewhat happier place than real life. I have little to no interest in modeling tragety, crime, poverty, extreme decay, etc.
Living the dream.
When it comes to the final product, final result, I can be called a "neurotic perfectionist from hell", but in how I get there, not so much - work benches, and work sites often cluttered, but cleaned up every so often.
In the end I like things well organized, but have come to realize that too much obsession with that along the way can paralize progess.
I am seldom in any kind of "rush", so I seldom break things by accident.
I was taught early to have respect for what myself or others had worked hard to build or purchase - so I can be fussy about how things are cared for.
My modeling style was once very much rivet counter style, but no longer.
Now I'm more about the overall "impression", and close enough is "close enough".
But you won't find too many anachronisms, unless you are really a history/technology nerd of the highest order..............
And, somewhat like Kevin, I freely write my own "plausable" history, that many people never notice as not being fact.......
My layout world is a somewhat happier place than real life. I have little to no interest in modeling tragety, crime, poverty, extreme decay, etc.
Does all this make me eccentric enough?
I like the word "meticulous", but perhaps "through" describes my approach to the hobby. My rolling stock models have complete brake rigging as a standard where possible following prototype info. I also use photos to make certain that all models have the correct paint and lettering, details, etc. If a prototype shows a detail lacking from a kit or RTR car, I'll add it. I purchase only cars with separate grabs and ladders and upgrade those details if not correct for the model, too. A bit anal to some, but I set a high bar for myself when it comes to this part of the hobby.
Russ
Modeling the early '50s Erie in Paterson, NJ. Here's the link to my railroad postcard collection: https://railroadpostcards.blogspot.com/
Anal? No. Retentive? Oh yeah.
I used to have a firm rule - one darn project at a time. And I held to it, in a mildly anal way. If I was building a kit but noticed a loose gutter or downspout on a structure, the kit would come first, the gutter could and did wait. I had laser focus on the task at hand. Now it seems I am as easily distracted as a child or a kitten.
I was building a difficult kit this January at the workbench, but noticed a structure kit and a similar built up kit placed on the layout where I intended the eventual complete structure (house) kitbashed from kit and built up to go. But there was no urgency -- it was a "someday I gotta get to this" project. So of course I opened the kit, started measuring for the kitbash, and even took the zona saw to the built up. But then I noticed a subroadbed issue I had been putting off on the other side of the room. Distraction. Then I remembered a clinic on junctions I intend to give and started to rummage through boxes of "props" and began writing notes. Then my new Dremel tool arrived. Then I had a sudden urge to organize all the 35mm slides I ever took at Joliet IL.
All sense of priority ... gone. Everything is equally pressing and what is worse, it all seems urgent even though it isn't.
As far as clutter goes, projects from the workbench migrate to the layout because I like the working height better. Clutter was totally keeping me from attending to some track laying needs so in a sudden burst of energy I cleaned up the worst of it. BUT -- that in turn spawned still other distracting projects. Like who makes the after market parts for the old Ulrich tractor trailers that I found while looking for something else?
Yes I finally did finish that difficult kit on the workbench. But not before other projects started to muscle their way onto the same workbench ... suddenly and out of nowhere it became intolerable to me to have ore jennies that had the wrong wheelbase trucks, knowing that a bag full of the correct 5' wheelbase trucks from Walthers was on a shelf. I guess you could call that anal except that the reason the ore jennies were unpacked is because I noticed they all had the same number and needed to be renumbered. So I was distracted from my anal tendencies by still other such tendencies.
And a few years ago I could not have cared less about duplicate numbers.