Bittersweet Times

[Adelie]

Well, after a pretty decent start the current Bunter Ridge is not long to this world. The wife and I signed a contract on a house in Asheville, NC. A lot can still happen to torpedo the deal, but it looks like we are really going to leave Northern Virginia. As a lifestyle change this is a good move for us. Let’s just say this area is a bit “tense.” Too crowded, traffic everywhere, my commute every day just plain stinks-I spend about 3 hours every day going to or coming home from work. Even though some of that is asleep (I take a bus), it is still tough.

The bittersweet is that I love our house, neighborhood and lot. The section of the basement that I currently have for the railroad is ideal. Of course, I love our new house, the neighborhood is new but I like what I know of it and the lot is decent. The best thing is the house is new and extremely well built. The builder manage to pick light fixtures, flooring, countertops and plumbing fixtures that my wife loves which means I won’t be spending my free time changing out those things.

The real downer is dismantling the start of the Bunter Ridge. I will lose railroad real estate in the move, and the space is not as ideal in terms of shape. It's not all bad because if it goes where the survey crew (me) initially planned, it is a finished room. I can probably make up for the loss of size by building two visible decks, although having 20’ long staging tracks (N scale, no less) was quite nice.

The current track is salvageable, as are the components of the benchwork. Obviously the DCC setup is making the move, as is the rolling stock. Still, I had high hopes and like my current track plan a lot. However, the Bunter Ridge Southwestern, “Brawn of the Southwest,” will rise again.

[Anonymous]

Mark - look at the bright side. Now you can start the Blue Ridge Mountain Railway. Keep your chin up and good luck on the new house. Asheville is absolutely gorgeous. A good friend of mine left NY to go to Asheveille and never looked back. Best of luck!

[trainfreek92]

Congrats on the move!! I wish you and your wife well in your new house. Also good luck with the layout!! Tim

[simon1966]

I know what you mean about intense in North VA, my old company was based in Sterling, so I spent a lot of time there. I'm sure in the last 5 years its has become worse. Has every field from DC to West Va been developed yet?

Good luck with the move. Have fun planning the new dream.

[Adelie]

Not yet Simon. I live in Purcellville now, but lived in Sterling until 2000. That whole area is now packed, and Rt. 28 is becoming a limited access road (finally).

Sort of funny, I lived in St. Louis for the first 27 years of my life.

I'm looking forward to the change. I'll be working from home instead of commuting 3 hours a day, that is, when I'm not traveling.

For a confession, I love planning layouts and the construction process of it. So the news is probably more good than not, by a lot.

[Walter Clot]

Mark, I wish you well. Moves can have their negative and their positive sides. I'm sure you will make the most of the move. One nice thing about moves is that you don't lose the "real" friends and you gain a lot of new ones!
Enjoy the RR challenge!
Walter

[selector]

I hope it all goes well for you, on all fronts. It would be nice to settle for a good while and get the most out of your next layout, I'm sure. And, if you have had any niggling second thoughts about the current plan, you can now make the changes.

-Crandell

-Crandell

[wjstix]

I can relate !! Tomorrow is the inspection on our new house, unless that uncovers some major problems (highly unlikely) I'll be moving next month. Time to get a "Saws-All" and cutting up the layout I've been working on since 2000 and dragging it in pieces out to the dumpster. Kind of a drag, but I'm lucky in that new house has very large unfinished basement with furnace and water heater in the middle of the area - probably double the space (or more) of what I've had here. Plus the house above the layout is nice, 30 years newer than current house and property taxes are $300 less. New area (Cottage Grove MN) is kinda like what my current town (Richfield MN) was like when I was a little kid - about 3-4 blocks from the new house are farms !!

I will miss having lived my whole life next to the same rail line - MN&S / Soo Line / CP Rail / Progressive Rail) but I'll only be a mile or so from the BNSF and CP mainlines (formerly the Burlington Route's and Milwaukee Road's Mpls/St.Paul - Chicago mainlines) and the CP line hosts Amtrak and the Empire Builder. In fact, almost entire drive to / from work in DT St.Paul will be along rail lines and yards.

[jeffers_mz]

Can't speak for Asheville, but 441 through Cherokee and the Smokies can stack traffic up a bit too. If you're into that sort of thing, head just a little south, the Slickrock Wilderness and Cherokee NF is like the Smokies, without the crowds, traffic, or all the jewjaw shops.

Congrats on moving to such a beautiful area, hope it all proceeds smoothly.

[ereimer]

hopefully the time saved on your commute (3 hours is really too much!) will go towards rebuilding your layout , and it won't take you long to get back to running

good luck on the new house [:)]

[Fergmiester]

Cutting back on the commute is reason enough. 20' of staging area!!!! This is a dream come true for the majority of us.

Get over it man and enjoy LIFE! This by the sounds of it is a good thing. All you suffering from is pre-move jitters.

Relax and enjoy this will be to your benifit! If not I had nothing to do with it[:-^]

Fergie

PS Good Luck! moving is one of the most stressful parts of our lifes but one of the most rewarding

Change is good!

[Walter Clot]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wjstix

I Time to get a "Saws-All" and cutting up the layout I've been working on since 2000 and dragging it in pieces out to the dumpster..[:(]

[:D]This is why I'm glad I do modules. When I moved 4 years ago, the only thing I lost was a broken ground throw switch! I have all my old work, which I can up date plus the newer stuff. [8D]

[Anonymous]

Don't feel too bad about moving from one basement with a house over it to another - here in Texas we don't have basements. So train rooms tend to be spare bedrooms or garages.