In my opinion, a healthy balance in life is important. I spend time with my wife and kids, enjoy going on vacations with my family, I go to the gym, we are active in our church, I help out with a local marching band (www.lockesaints.com).
Not to be critical, but I have observed that there are a noticeable number of over weight people in this hobby - less time on trains and more time taking a walk, working out, etc. is important. Think of it this way; live longer, more time for trains. Again, this all goes back to a healthy balance.
I got out of trains for a while; my wife said they were becoming the “other woman”. Talk about being off-balance! Then I got more into Scouting (BSA) with my son as an excuse to be so involved. Now I lead a “Builders Club” at our church. B.C., I admit, is an excuse to keep at model railroading while doing other things. I’m trying to keep balance, but sometimes it’s hard to do. Then in reply to “emeraldisle”, you make a fine point. For me though, more derailed, rather than station stop time I feel.
I’m with most of the others, in aggreement that it’s a wonderful hobby but shouldn’t be your only focus. It’s good to have some other interests. I’m lucky in that I have so many interests that I can set one down and enjoy another. Also trying to have some balance in life, like some time with God to recharge and refocus.
Perhaps you might consider having a small switch track layout that you could plug together with eztrack that would only take you an evening to construct yet you could operate it switching cars in a yard as a change of pace when your not wanting to always be modeling.
Sounds like exactly where I was at 15 years ago PLUS I was the fill in guy who worked for others on their days off so I had to change shifts every day or two. Worst job I ever had to the point where not wanting to end up in that situation ever again was my motivation to go back to school - and I hate school!
Anyway, I made use of my “free time” on the job by playing with a TI home computer I had rigged up in a small suitcase, R/C airplanes AND I was starting to get back into model railroading, too. You need something to keep the brain active, otherwise you’ll go nuts! Hang in there.
I don’t have a lot of time to work on my layout now. Between home renovations, my daughter & work (UGH) there’s no time left for me to work on it during normal hours. I usually have about 15-25 minutes during lunch ,I work really close to home [:D], to do what I can & it satisfies me.
When I did have time to work on it on a daily basis, I did find myself bored with it.
But that was 3 years ago.
Since then, as I said, during lunch I make time to work on it & have been able to at least complete the mainline & rip apart one yard 3 times now. At this rate, I should have it done by the time the Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup.
I know exactly what you are talking about. I go thru surges of enjoyment. Today I need to wire a loco for my uncle. I have had i for a few months but really just haven’t had the urge to. It comes and goes, but usually I’m doing something.
Yes, this happens with me. On some days I will work intensely on the layout but on other days I will do other things and not even touch the layout. This is good because it gives me space to think about other projects.
I agree with just about everyone else on this, and it kind of amazes me that it is so widespread, this feeling of burnout or boredom. For over 40 years I’ve been into photography, from my 35mm days on into medium format and now, of course, digital. I had a nice wedding photography business for a while and did some product photography as well. From that I learned not to mix hobby and business, not if you want to keep on liking the hobby. Oh some people can mix the two and do it successfully, but most can’t. I got to the point I wouldn’t take a camera out of the case unless I was getting paid for it, and I rarely shot anything just for the joy of it. I think anything can get that way and you should just walk away from it awhile, work on something you really like. Model rr is very very new to me and I’ve been putting myself through a crash course, trying to learn as much as I can in as short a time as I can. You can burn out doing that too… , especially when there is soooo much to learn it can get overwhelming.
Don’t let the boredom ruin it for you. Do something else for a while…
Jacon
Hawks05-ever been in a car accident? Whiplash will damage the nerves in the neck- numbers 4,5 and 6 discs. Had to give up baseball,fisfing and bowling. Quit the team carrying 192 average.
Phil
I worked on my layout for about a year & a half while I “was” retired.
Then I started getting bored. I was only doing the layout about 8 hrs. a day, 6 & 7 days a week. People were amazed at how much I had accomplished. My metal sculptures were getting set off to the side.
I got so bored that I went back to work. Big Mistake.
Now, the only time I can work on the layout is Fri. & sat., my days off.
Which was yesterday & today. The time I had off for retirement I built an 18 by 18 ft. layout. Since I’ve been back to work, I’ve added on another 18 by 18 ft., plus a 4ft. by 6ft. bumpout. I call this add-on Phase 2. Now, I never get bored. When I think I’m getting bored I go down to the other end of the table & change something or rework a section. Today I laid about 75 ft. of track for a new siding on the old part of the layout. Yesterday I had to tare out an old section that was a dead item on the layout. Today I filled it up w/the siding.
This layout will probably take me at least 5 years to complete as long as I don’t make any more big changes. I have a buddy that does all my wiring, which I hate to do. He’s good at soldering, which I’m not.
I love scenery, buildings, laying track, building mountains & running my trains. I spend about 2 hrs. a day on the puter on the diff. train forums. I also do all my own photography in digital & always photograph all projects before & after. I have about 5 photo albums for visitors to look at & everything else is on my PC.
I also collect Hot Wheels, & have a roster of 60 H.O. Scale semi’s
that I didn’t pay more than $3.00 each. LOL
That’s my outlook on being bored–Ain’t!!
