Things I hate about Model Railroading

[scubaterry]

Laying that first critical piece of track.
Itty bitty detail work drives me bananas as I can't see worth a crap anymore.
Waiting for RR stuff I ordered particularly thru UPS.
Terry

[skiloff]

Trying to justify purchases to my wife. "I don't know, dear. Is getting a new engine more important than getting new towels?"

But still, some great ideas in this thread. Especially the one regarding using a thread for coupler springs. I have bad memories of coupler springs...

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by skiloff

Trying to justify purchases to my wife. "I don't know, dear. Is getting a new engine more important than getting new towels?"

How much are the towels she's buying, I think you have a case to be buying brass engines, all things being relative [:p]

[cspmo]

No working diaphragm.
Diaphragm that don't touch.
Oh yes MTH

[Anonymous]

No more Mantua.

No Jersey Central "push-pull" heavyweight cab cars. Not enough Jersey Central stuff in general.

Bad quality knuckle couplers. (I'd rather use horn hooks than some of the stuff that comes standard.)

How the air hoses on RTR cars and locomotives hang too low and get caught on crossings, causing derailments.

[Anonymous]

The absolute worst thing about this hobby is waiting for a tool I need to move ahead on a project.

I am really a patient man. I can wait for DCC. I can wait for better rolling stock and locomotives. But if I need a drill bit or a tap or a clamp or some little tool it drives me to distraction.

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JohnT14808
OMRS went DCC in January and all my locos are still DC, and so are a BUNCH of other members' locos. So we are all fighting over who gets to run using 00, and how long they can run. This makes for interesting operation nights.

When we switched from Railcommand to Lenz the club contacted a DCC vendor and we purchased decoders in bulk. We got a great price and all the members have access to the 'cheap' source. This made our conversion much quicker. I don't think we had 00 in use only once since installing the system. The fight is usually over 03.

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bukwrm

The absolute worst thing about this hobby is waiting for a tool I need to move ahead on a project.

Or a part. Since I don't want to wait, I start another project. By the time I go to the LHS I've forgotten what I want or remember 2-3 projects back. It seems the part or tool never finds its way to the project, and I've got piles of 1/2 - 3/4 finished projects sitting all over the place, and bags of unassociated parts/tool sitting all over other places.

[DrummingTrainfan]

I have quite a list...

1: the lack of $$.

2: not being able to run trains when my dad is "detailing"

3: The rising price of everything.

4: the fact that most of the cool items (such as Olympic locos and the UP heritage locos) are made by Overland and Tower55 and cost hundresds of dollars.

5: lack of space.

[dragenrider]

I'm kind of like Darth Santa Fe. I want more than I have room for and that drives me bonkers. I want this fancy engine, I want that new car, I sure could use that structure. But where will I put them? I hate my lack of an adequate room for the layout. The garage is getting old!

[countershot]

lak of money
lak of space
lak of support from family (oh there thrilled at my new hobby)
and all the little parts

[cefinkjr]

QUOTE: Originally posted by georgev

About the coupler springs...
Take a 24" piece of fine sewing thread and put the spring over it ....

With the thread in the spring, if the spring tries to fly away, it can't go far...

Great idea!!! I only lose about 30% of the knuckle springs I try to install but this would reduce that to zero. Now how do I keep the spring from flying while I'm trying to thread it? Maybe a small needle? But then how do I thread a needle I can barely see? [sigh] But seriously, I think I'll try this the next time a knuckle loses a spring.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Earl Sporktong

Super Gluing myself to myself....

Been there; done that too many times. Very embarrassing! But there is hope: Jet De-Solv works like a charm. Wonder why it comes in a larger bottle than any of Jet's other CA products? [}:)]

The things I hate most are probably the most common: lack of space and money.

Chuck

[AggroJones]

Lack of space. I realize there are some layouts smaller than mine, but I stil wish I had a few more feet ot traveling distance. Running a 50 freight without the locomotive chasing the caboose would be quite sweet.
And I hate when the dudes with '2 car grage' sized layouts *** about it being 'modest in size'. Echhhhhh. Anything larger enough to string 100 steam era freight cars around the entire mainline is LARGE.

Steeply rising cost. I know model trains aren't a 'poor man's hobby', but the prices are getting way the hell out there. As as man in the 'extremely low middle class/ high end poor' group, I only manage to own the stuff I do by spending almost all my money on them. Heres hoping the PCM AC-12 is under $500.
I hope theres some kind of dealer fluke in which to aquire one for even less.

The best things are toxic. Polly S and other acrylics are fine, but don't adhere as well. Even with a super clean surface, it is still more likely to come off than Floquil. Also toxic paints like Scalecoat and Floquil thin/ flow better than acrylics. Thinners too. Dangerous Scalecoat paint remover strips much better than the safe 91% rubbing alcohol.

Girls don't dig it. Like I don't have hard enough time trying to get a mate, I was born with a passion for trains! [banghead]. You guys with these supportive wives, WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM!!!!! I haven't met a girl in my age bracket that has been impressed with my BLI AC-5!

Complex structual kits. I have the hardest time building these things. If it ain't Plasticville I gonna have a hard time! [(-D] I spent weeks carefully building the 15" Walthers bridge that you may have seen in my pictures. AND IT STILL CAME OUT WITH IMPEREFECTIONS!!! Kits with too many peices always come out screwed up for me.

My [2c]

[AggroJones]

BTW, Like like ballasting!

[grandeman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AggroJones

[red]You guys with these supportive wives, WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM!!!!! I haven't met a girl in my age bracket that has been impressed with my BLI AC-5!

The trick is not to tell them you're a train nut until they're under contract.[:D]

[Anonymous]

Things that I hate about Model Railroading

1. Always ordering something from Walthers that is "Out of stock" that will always require 2 months + to get shipped from the warehouse.

2. Kato self applied detail parts (Poor coordination on my part?)

3. Woodland Scenics trees with Hob-e-Tack.

4. Warped pieces from a new kit.

5. The smell of Dullcoat.

6. Kato N-Scale structures (I would give my front teeth for one of those stations in HO)

They must accommodate us have it all HO scalers.

The call of the HO Revolution- All your kits are belong to us!!

[Anonymous]

Well, sometimes I think the costs are a little high, but high costs sometimes help because it makes me appreciatte things more and I have learned how to manage my money better. Of everything that I've done on Model Railroading the one thing that scares me the most is BALLASTING!!! On the first board that I made ( small 4x8) and experimented with, I decided to add ballast along with green grass paper. By the time I was done with that board, I had patched that paper about 100 times, had about 10,000 staples in it, had about 5 pounds of old scrap rail from track that had gone bad because of bad ballasting, and the 2 4x4 boards had about 100 holes in them from all the hammering and tearing out. I had no idea what I was doing so I tried applying coarse ballast using my own version of scenic cement with bottles of glue mixed with alcohol and water, all I did was end up making a mess, I had glue and water everywhere!!! all over the floor and then I used WAY TOO MUCH GLUE to make it stick really good, and the rails starting popping up!! I'd say that I probably used about 30 bottles of glue and 20 gallons of water and 3 big bottles of alcohol!!! lol Then, I tried to patch it back and used fine ballast, well, the fine ballast looked better, but I applied it on top of the green grass paper, and the green coloring came up and turned my nice sandy looking ballast GREEN!!!! Then, to try and fix that I sprayed the ballast with bleach, which turned it back to a whitish color, but then the green grass paper turned white!! So, to make a wild story short, I am very nervous about ballasting. I am in the process of building a new 4x16 board, and I plan on ballasting, but I am going to go very very slow on doing it, and I am going to practice it on a separate board several times and I probably will get several books about it to learn how to properly apply it. Plus, I'm not mixing glue/water/alcohol together anymore, I'm going to buy Scenic Cement and the proper tools to apply it properly.

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AggroJones


I haven't met a girl in my age bracket that has been impressed with my BLI AC-5!

Maybe you should try the small, "cute" engines, like an 0-4-0 Dockside...or you could try a 2-6-6-6 Allegheny. Your choice.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Earl Sporktong

Super Gluing myself to myself....

Even worse...opening a fresh bottle of super glue and having it come out of the top and using your fingers to keep it from getting on anything and then having tough fingertips all day that can't feel anything.[}:)] That happened to me a few weeks ago.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by grande man

QUOTE: Originally posted by AggroJones

[red]You guys with these supportive wives, WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM!!!!! I haven't met a girl in my age bracket that has been impressed with my BLI AC-5!

The trick is not to tell them you're a train nut until they're under contract.[:D]

Or become a train nut after they are signed on and convince them maybe they are train nust too [;)]

[Vampire]

My picks:

"Limited Run" models - yea, I really wanna order that locomotive 9-12 months in advance, sight unseen, and at full MSRP... [V]

Your track doesn't quite fit your track plan - guess I stayed up too late that night... [:O]

Your LHS closes up... [:(] [:(]

How coupler height can vary from model to model AND end to end on the same model - and they call this RTR??? [banghead]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AggroJones

Girls don't dig it. Like I don't have hard enough time trying to get a mate, I was born with a passion for trains! [banghead]. You guys with these supportive wives, WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM!!!!! I haven't met a girl in my age bracket that has been impressed with my BLI AC-5!
[

Once you're married wife soon learns that compared to all the other possible hobbies out there model railroading is the one of the easiest to deal with. They tolerate it a whole lot more. Here are some of the reasons.

1: Compared with other hobbies model railroaders are home more often. In fact, it keeps you home so often your wife may encourage you to join a club to get you out of the house once a week.

2: If you have sons the hobby is something that can be done with Dad.

3: The skills learned in model railroading come in handy when fixing things around the house.

4: Comparatively cheaper than golf. A train club membership is cheaper than a country club membership. Plus, there are no greens fees for running a layout for four hours.

5: If you are in HO or N scale it is real easy to sneak new locomotives into the house.

6: After about ten years of marriage your wife doesn't really care that you have a hobby she can't share with you and has no interest in. Truth be told, the time you spend working on a layout gives her valuable time to pursue her own hobbies. She likes model railroading because it gets you out of her hair while, at the same time, she knows where you are and what you're doing.

[Anonymous]

1. Wiring
2. Trackplanning
3. Benchwork
4. Scenicing

I just like running trains!

[oleirish]

QUOTE: Originally posted by georgev

About the coupler springs...
Take a 24" piece of fine sewing thread and put the spring over it so it wraps around the spring wire about in the middle of the spring. Now take the #11 xacto knife, stick it in the middle of the spring to lift it into position. Put the spring over one nub in the knuckle, and use the blade to pu***he other end over the other nub. Now pull gently on one end of the thread to remove it.

With the thread in the spring, if the spring tries to fly away, it can't go far...

George V.

P.S. Ballasting is my least favorite task also.

HUMMMMMMMMM never throught of that,but then getting the thred through the spring[:(]
JIM

[Anonymous]

Yeah man, you've got to keep your MRR'ing under wraps until you've snagged the girl.

All my wife knew when we were dating was that I was "sort of into trains". I didn't have a layout when we were dating.

Now when we talk about our retirement home (in 30 years) with a huge room for trains, she wonders what she got herself into : )

I think it may freak girls out to see so much involvement with such a relatively obscure hobby. Luckily, my interested wained when I was "on the prowl". Now that I'm settled down (was never wild frankly), it's easier to get back into this hobby.

I think trains are super cool, but I'll take girls (now wife) over trains any day.

[davekelly]

QUOTE: Originally posted by grandpacoyote

QUOTE: Originally posted by grande man

QUOTE: Originally posted by AggroJones

[red]You guys with these supportive wives, WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM!!!!! I haven't met a girl in my age bracket that has been impressed with my BLI AC-5!

The trick is not to tell them you're a train nut until they're under contract.[:D]

Or become a train nut after they are signed on and convince them maybe they are train nust too [;)]

Make it a point of showing off what you've learned from Model Railroading. Fix a favorite earring? Be sure to say something like "wow, I'm glad I got this tiny pliers for my model railroading, it makes straightening this prong so much easier" and "I'm glad I learned to solder by working on my trains, makes it possible to remount that prong." (Of course ignore the small point that the prong has to be remounted because you snapped it off trying to straighten it!!). Made a little shelf so she can show off her favorite knicknack? "Wow, isn't it great that I got that band saw to help me make that benchwork? Couldn't have made this shelf without it." (This is also useful in obtaining new tools - hey couldn't help the son with his pinewood derby car without that drill press!). Here are some others. "Wow, isn't it great that these track nails are just the right size to hang that little picture on the wall?" "This glue, which I got to work on one of my train projects, is just the thing to repair that gorgeous (actually quite ugly) porcelean thingie that your aunt got you for your birthday." "Hard to believe that (best friend) Jennifer's husband ran off with that girl from the gym - glad I don't have that problem - too busy working on that roundhouse." This works in the hobby shop - "Hey, could you help me pick out a new building for the city area of the layout - you got a great eye for those sort of things" (of course build the thing immediately and give it a front and center position. Then . . . ."Wouldn't it be cool to name that cute (don't choke while saying the c word) store '[Wife/girlfriend's name] Corner?" Make it a point of showing the building to friends and when within earshot say "Didn't she pick out the perfect building for that!" Of course be aware that your friends may hate you as their wives/girlfriends will see them as uncaring insensative louts - hey gotta look out for yourself!

In actuality, my wife things it is cool that I have a hobby that makes me smile and takes me away from the stresses of everyday life. She has since gotten a hobby (doll houses) and some of our most fun activities is to hang together - me making a structure kit and her painting some miniature furniture.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AggroJones



Girls don't dig it. Like I don't have hard enough time trying to get a mate, I was born with a passion for trains! [banghead]. You guys with these supportive wives, WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM!!!!! I haven't met a girl in my age bracket that has been impressed with my BLI AC-5!

Complex structual kits. I have the hardest time building these things. If it ain't Plasticville I gonna have a hard time! [(-D] I spent weeks carefully building the 15" Walthers bridge that you may have seen in my pictures. AND IT STILL CAME OUT WITH IMPEREFECTIONS!!! Kits with too many peices always come out screwed up for me.

My [2c]

Benjamin Franklin (yes that Ben Franklin) wrote a nice long essay "In Praise Of Older Women". I think that was the title. You might want to check it out.

In my case I found her on Match.com.

I have been so envious of your great skills that is is good to know there is something that gives you problems. (it makes you more human)

[palallin]

I regret most the internecine warfare that pervades the hobby. Scale vs. scale. Toy vs. model. DC vs. DCC vs. DCS vs. TMCC vs. AC. Collector vs. operator. Brass vs. plastic. Kadee vs. anything else. Sectional track vs. flextrack vs. handlaid. Tubular vs. square. Ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

[loathar]

Nathanial-The smell of dullcoat- You must be using Testors.(that smell makes me sick!)
Try Krylon matte coat. Smells better and I think it looks better (duller). WAY cheaper.$3.50 for 11oz can. Haven't had any white hazeing problem with it.

[Anonymous]

first time posting (been reading for months.)
re: coupler springs - after stabbing them in the middle with a knife, touch one end to C A, then, touch spring to bump in coupler body and hold...... release knife slowly. PRESTO!! spring stays. you then attach the spring to other end of coupler. i had a box of these hateful couplers w/o springs , done them all in one nite.



DOC

[Anonymous]

To add my story about women and trains, I had been into model railroading since 6 years old up to about 15, then cars and girls took over, when I finally got out of the getting tickets for speeding/drag racing etc (when gas and a Mustang had a V8 that you could work on and afford), I got back in for a little while at 18, my now ex-wife didn't have a problem with my hobby. I got out for about 20 years and the new girlfriend wanted to know why I wasn't doing my train stuff anymore, I kept blowing it off that I couldn't afford to get into it again, she kept pushing, even set aside the room in the basement once the oldest of her son's moved out. To sweeten the pot, she loves power tools, so I bought her a power miter saw, and other power tools, which I was able to use to build the layout, thank God she doesn't know what I have spent, though I am sure she has an idea [:D]. So there are decent women that will see the value in a man that is into trains, I would bet many had fathers and brothers that were into model railroading, so you may be suprised AggroJones!!! Keep waiting, they say you find the one you should have when you are least expecting and looking. I know, I speak from experience...Hang in there...