Layout Startup Costs - Ouch!

[fwright]

There are ways to keep hobby costs down. I've never had more than $50 per month to spend on the hobby. But I use a somewhat different philosophy.

Money can (depends on the person) be just as much a constraint on a layout as time and space available. If money is a constraint (as it is in my case), then plan for it - just like you considered time and space available when designing your layout. Most experienced modelers know not to build more than they have time for (including maintenance). I just add $$ into planning.

An old MR editorial discussed cost per hour. I realized that if I built kits and avoided RTR and handlaid my track, my cost per hour would go way down. Not because I expected kits and hand-laying track to be that much cheaper, but because the hours would go up. I then had a cost per hour where time and $$ available per month matched. For instance, if my hobby budget is $50 per month and I can spend 8 hrs per week (two 2 hour evenings and 4 hours on the weekend) that gives 32 hours per month, and just over $1.56 per hour. A Labelle car kit will take me about at least 15 hours to finish, including painting and weathering (yes I'm slow). Cost is about $30 when you figure in kit plus trucks, couplers, paint, etc. And I've learned a lot of new skills along the way. But I'm a little over budget. Nothing a little operating time on the layout won't cure.

Biggest hurdle to my system is benchwork costs. Benchwork is an upfront significant cost that cannot be easily slowed to fit a budget.

Keeping the layout size within your means, and being discplined enough to buy rolling stock that fits the layout, and you have room for on the layout, keep the hobby quite reasonable. And you can still have a 1st class layout, it's just not going to fill a 20 x40 basement.

my thoughts, your choices
Fred W

[devils]

I just spent £300 GB on trees for a new portable layout, It's been slowly taking shape for 8 years and that's the biggest single outlay, I recycle as much timber and track as I can and I buy a bit each month and studiously avoid adding it up or I'd never rip it out to improve it in the future! Spread the cost and enjoy operating it as you fini***he scenery.

[jockellis]

G;day, Y'all,
Inexpensive and hobby do not go together any better than safe and energy. We'll all spend whatever we need to do what we want. For the Atlas track plan 19 I'm nearly finished with I spent no more than about $30 a week for six months before beginning the table. Now the closer I am to being finished the more I see that I want to do with it because so much of it is so close to the edge. I figure I'll never finish. But that's OK since I enjoy working on it.
It would be nice to see if people with absorbing hobbies lived longer than those who just watch TV all night. Personally, I haven't watched but 1 show on network tv in five years and only have an in-attic antenna.