Just a few days ago I had a clear workbench. So a snowball effect has bit me. Or the best layed plans. What's the worst that can happen? All of these could have been the subject.
It started with a P2K PA diesel wanting a sound decoder. So I ordered it. I figured while I waited for the mail person to deliver it, I would get a good head start. Wired LED, and chassis and mounted the speaker. Turns out the decoder is backordered. So that chassis is on the shelf.
Then I turned my attention to the Brass K5s pacific. I thought that the flex coupling was just slipping on the motor. Think again. Not cracked but in fact broken in half idler gear in the gearbox. Another locomotive on the back shelf.
I should have turned out the lights and gone somewhere else. But no. I'll take a look at the P2K 0-6-0 that has been acting up. That turned out to be worse than anything else. The tender plug slash draw bar had a broken motor wire. Simple fix I thought. Until trying to loosen the screw the whole plastic post broke off!!! That tiny little screw must have been torqued up with a one inch impact wrench.
So that's not all. This morning I went into the little shop in the unfinished and unheated basement and switched on the space heater. Went back upstairs and had a cup of coffee. Watched the weather man spread more lies and head down. Burrr. My heater is blowing cold. Shut off everything and crawled back in bed.
I think I'll buy a lottery ticket or a rope.
Pete.
Mama said there'd be days like this,
There'd be days like this, my Mama said...
Go run some trains.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Irons in the fire —
I guess it's all about adopting the method that works best for you. I'm very much the same way. I frequently have at least a dozen "active" projects and probably twice that on the "short list" of waiting in the wings.
Sometimes procrastination can pay off as in the Sylvan Models Great Lakes ore boat I began some ten years ago. In the meantime I put together four Hulett ore unloaders and, wouldn't you know, the buckets were too wide to fit into the hatches of the boat.
So I rigged up a template and proceeded to widen the hatches which entailed removing the coamings. There the project pretty much sat until I came up with a plan to fabricate new coamings.
Here we are, January 2022 and wouldn't you know, what luck, Circus City Decals has produced 3D hatches, coamings, railings, pilot house and other details for said boat!
Ore-boat-view by Edmund, on Flickr
Ore-boat by Edmund, on Flickr
Well, that just kicked my project up a few notches on the "to-do" list. An added plus is the 3D printed coamings have all the detail of the Kestner hatch clamps which the originals did not. This saved me lots of fussy detail work.
In another example, just last night I was looking at my shoebox full of Miller neon signs. Something prompted me to dig out the GE one and get busy installing it (I'll bet I've had it at least 12 years or so) Now I'm wondering what took me so long?
GE_neon_Miller-sign by Edmund, on Flickr
While I had the building removed from the layout it also gave me the opportunity to upgrade the other lights to LED and add a few flood lights to the front of the building
Some modelers would cringe at the thought of such a random, seemingly disorganized method of doing things but all I can report is that it works for me and, as in the case of the neon sign, I never know what little project might strike my fancy for the modeling "session".
Mainly, I have FUN!
Cheers, Ed
Ed.
That looks great. You going to name the boat? Love the Hullets. My dad would take us boys out to the island and watch them work. It just struck me how smooth those large machines moved. They were poetry in motion. My dad always had his camera but I never found the pictures after he passed. I think my mom tossed them after he got sick. Your one fantastic modeler.
Mr. B.
I would love to run some trains. Alas. My modules are in this unheated basement. I can only take an hour or two until I fix or replace my heater.
Thanks for the compliments on the Huletts, Pete
I spent some time on Whiskey Island and remember watching the Huletts at work. What a fascinating sound they made, too. Like moaning dinosaurs.
Hulett_fix2 by Edmund, on Flickr
Hulett_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
PRR_Ore-dock by Edmund, on Flickr
I've got an album of Hulett photos on Flickr you might enjoy:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gmpullman/albums/72157719747074078
I know the guy that took the photos and did the measurements for Walthers to produce the models. The results are superb!
[edit]
wrench567That looks great. You going to name the boat?
Of course there would be dozens of names to choose, The William Mather is a museum boat right here in Cleveland. I knew a fellow that worked on the La Salle, that might be a possibility. Chances are good, though, I'll name it after my dad, John J. Tobin. I think he'd like that
Regards, Ed
My problem is I have ADD. Always have and at age 70, I don't see that changing. I'll start a day with good intentions. I'll have two or three things I want to accomplish in a given day and I'll get started on them. I'll have parts and the tools I need on the workbench or the layout and get halfway through the task at hand when something will catch my eye and for some reason I feel compelled to deal with that right away. I abandon the parts and tools I was working with and start working the new problem. That gets more parts and tools out and before I can complete that, I'll spot something else that shifts my focus. Not only do I end up with a lot of uncompleted projects but my work area and layout are a mess. I'll have tools laying all over the place and won't be able to find the tool I need. It's very frustrating and there's no doubt it is a major drag on the progress of my layout. I really envy the guys who can prioritize their tasks and then stick to a plan.
Naming it after your dad is really nice. I was thinking a tribute to the big Fitz would be cool to. But I do like your idea of your dad's name. We have a bridge in Boston named Tobin. My mom worked at the Euclid lamp plant for GE for forty years. She took early retirement because they moved her division to China. My dad worked at Cleveland twist drill until they closed up and finished his career at Milan tool. They did a lot for NASA. I haven't been back there except for short visits and funerals in thirty years.
John.
I don't think I have ADD. But I also get side tracked easily. Right now I have an incurable disease called Workshop Induced Financial Exhaustion. Also known as W.I.F.E. For some reason my wallet is always empty and the list of things to do grows exponential to the amount of light. I took apart my heater and found a burnt out element. Nothing lasts forever except taxes. Now I have to save up for a new heater.
wrench567 I was thinking a tribute to the big Fitz would be cool to.
Before I bought the Sylvan kit I had ordered an Edmund Fitzgerald from a guy DBA Resin Unlimited. He took my $600 and never delivered. Besides, the Big Fitz would be about 9½ feet in HO.
wrench567My mom worked at the Euclid lamp plant for GE for forty years.
I worked at Tungsten in Euclid but have visited the Euclid Lamp Plant several times. Nice old building. This is my representation of it on my layout:
GE_lit-up-overall by Edmund, on Flickr
GE_lit-up-close by Edmund, on Flickr
We had family friends that worked at Cleveland Twist Drill. They would invite us to the company picknicks at Euclid Beach. My aunt and a couple uncles plus my first wife's dad and grandfather all worked for White Motors on E. 79th St. My dad worked at Towmotor and mom and sister at NELA Park.
My dad is a Massachusetts Tobin. No relation to Governor Maurice J. but he met him when he got out of the Army in '46. My dad was from Barre Plains, over toward Worcester.
In my experience model railroaders seem to occupy two extremes, which oddly enough seems to put them in exactly the same position.
Either they have ADD - attention deficit disorder, or ASD - attention surplus disorder.
The 1930s humorist Robert Benchley had a theorum: anybody can do any amount of work, provided it is not the work they are supposed to be doing at that moment.
Dave Nelson
We share a history. My granddad worked at CTD with my dad. When he died they actually closed the plant so all the employees could attend his funeral. There was more than 1500 names in the guest book. Cleveland Twist Drill was good to our family. We might have spent some playtime together at the picnics. Although I would have been a toddler and don't remember much of those.
I spent many hours in the parking lot of the Euclid lamp plant waiting for my mom's shift to end. Right across the street from the May company warehouse. There were the big broken glass shutes on the side of the building. My mom didn't want to go to Nela Park. She worked in that same building from the age of 21 to 62. My cousin was a mechanic there and GE sent her to China to set up the machines that ultimately took their jobs. She eventually got into Nela Park until she retired.
I got a quick look at a couple albums on Flicker. I see you got some pictures of the Olmsted Falls station with the PRR cabin. My brothers and myself graduated from that highschool. I spent a lot of my juvenile delinquent years hanging out around there.
wrench567 John. I don't think I have ADD. But I also get side tracked easily. Right now I have an incurable disease called Workshop Induced Financial Exhaustion. Also known as W.I.F.E. For some reason my wallet is always empty and the list of things to do grows exponential to the amount of light. I took apart my heater and found a burnt out element. Nothing lasts forever except taxes. Now I have to save up for a new heater. Pete.
I had planned no major purchases this winter and the closest I came to deviating from that plan was buying a used Athearn Genesis F7 A/B set, DC version for under $150. By the time I get a sound decoder for the A unit and a non-sound decoder for the B unit, I'll have close to $300 invested in it. Right now it's on the shelf. I've been amazed at how quickly the minor purchases are adding up, even though many are ebay finds. These aren't impulse buys. These are things I actually needed. A few turnouts here, a new pack of couplers, wheelsets, paints, glues, etc. None of these by themselves is going break the bank but they add up over time. I'd been pretty good at controling my spending on everything but the last two months have seen me spending more than I am taking in between Social Security and my pension. I can't blame inflation for all of that.
My problem is I have ADD.
Meds don't help?
John-NYBW I had planned no major purchases this winter and the closest I came to deviating from that plan was buying a used Athearn Genesis F7 A/B set, DC version for under $150. By the time I get a sound decoder for the A unit and a non-sound decoder for the B unit, I'll have close to $300 invested in it.
I had planned no major purchases this winter and the closest I came to deviating from that plan was buying a used Athearn Genesis F7 A/B set, DC version for under $150. By the time I get a sound decoder for the A unit and a non-sound decoder for the B unit, I'll have close to $300 invested in it.
That's pretty cheap by todays prices. A new Genesis F7 A/B set with sound/dcc will cost you about $450 or so, so that's $150 cheaper by getting a DC set at prices from 15 years ago. I paid $130 and $150 each for two Genesis AB sets over 15 years ago which was a very good deal even back then. (max $75 each!)
Right now it's on the shelf. I've been amazed at how quickly the minor purchases are adding up, even though many are ebay finds. These aren't impulse buys. These are things I actually needed. A few turnouts here, a new pack of couplers, wheelsets, paints, glues, etc. None of these by themselves is going break the bank but they add up over time. I'd been pretty good at controling my spending on everything but the last two months have seen me spending more than I am taking in between Social Security and my pension. I can't blame inflation for all of that.
Yeah, it's not a cheap hobby, especially for those on fixed income retired. I'm making hay while the sun shines but it won't be that many years until I'm in that boat.
wrench wrench567 But I also get side tracked easily. Right now I have an incurable disease called Workshop Induced Financial Exhaustion. Also known as W.I.F.E. For some reason my wallet is always empty and the list of things to do grows exponential to the amount of light. Pete.
But I also get side tracked easily. Right now I have an incurable disease called Workshop Induced Financial Exhaustion. Also known as W.I.F.E. For some reason my wallet is always empty and the list of things to do grows exponential to the amount of light.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
John-NYBW I'd been pretty good at controling my spending on everything but the last two months have seen me spending more than I am taking in between Social Security and my pension.
I'd been pretty good at controling my spending on everything but the last two months have seen me spending more than I am taking in between Social Security and my pension.
Rich
Alton Junction
John-NYBW My problem is I have ADD. Always have and at age 70, I don't see that changing. I'll start a day with good intentions. I'll have two or three things I want to accomplish in a given day and I'll get started on them. I'll have parts and the tools I need on the workbench or the layout and get halfway through the task at hand when something will catch my eye and for some reason I feel compelled to deal with that right away. I abandon the parts and tools I was working with and start working the new problem. That gets more parts and tools out and before I can complete that, I'll spot something else that shifts my focus. Not only do I end up with a lot of uncompleted projects but my work area and layout are a mess. I'll have tools laying all over the place and won't be able to find the tool I need. It's very frustrating and there's no doubt it is a major drag on the progress of my layout. I really envy the guys who can prioritize their tasks and then stick to a plan.
I fully understand that. I am ADHD myself.
At one point this winter on the mantle in my house, I had 9 freight cars projects on it. (Four 40' boxes, four composite hoppers and a tank car.) Five of those got moved out to the layout Monday. (The boxes and the tank car.) The boxes need me to take photgraphs to post on a few of my relevant FB groups.
However, I have added 3 new freight car projects to the pile (a rail carrier car, a tie car and slightly reworking the lettering on a caboose.) There is also a new engine to be kitbashed. (Reworking a Mantua/Tyco GP20 shell onto an Athearn BB GP35 drive. Done it before but it's a bit time consuming.)
That's not even including installing street lights in my town (Spring when it warms up) and painting a pedestrian bridge that I scratchbuilt (need some paint and it's too cold to order at the moment).
wrench567 I think I'll buy a lottery ticket or a rope.
There is nothing at the end of a rope. been there seen that, 20+ years in EMS, you know.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Re Hulett unloaders:
For those unfamiliar with these bygone behemoths, there are several fascinating YouTube videos of the machines in action. What is remarkable (to me) is that the operator's cab is in the unloader arm, just above the clamshell jaws. Here's a link (I hope): https://youtu.be/1RJfnk2S330.
JimW