[:)] I have always admired the ability of this hobby to separate us from the world. I know if I have had a bad day at work I can come home, go to my layout and forget all the days troubles in minutes. I totally engrose myself in something I’m building or just thinking about what to do next. Maybe we should start advertising this as a therapy instead of a hobby. Lord only knows how many times I’ve almost lost it on my wife. Instead I go down to my layout and lose myself, for awhile, Until I’m ready to deal with the issue. Guys we have a great pasifirer here and we should make it known. It’s a great hobby, but also a peace of mind.
I agree for the most part. In my case, I am retired, but work part-time as a lecturer at a university. It so happens that I am able to do the work online in a virtual classroom, which just happens to be 6’ away from my layout. So, I have been able to do a lot of work over the past several months…almost too much. Whereas some fellows would benefit hugely after a stessful day by spending a quality hour on their layout, it has oftentimes been the opposite for me. I look to outdoors diversions for relief.
But, you are quite right, the immense variety, the general quiet, the vision, the slow and deliberate use of hands and implements, the rendering, the altering, all seems to be part of a big, deep, cool pond.
Mines deffinately more therapy than operations. Lock the doors, crank up the tunes and leave me alone.[{(-_-)}]
I agree. I also read more and more about modelers wanting to tie in computers to their layouts. I go to my layout to get away from computers. Model RR’s sure are fun to build and operate.
I’ll agree with krs. Even though I use the computer for modelling-related things like making signs and decals, and of course wasting hours on train forums, the real satisfaction I get from my layout is building real things with my own hands. With no deadlines, I can take as much time as I want to do something right. I don’t have to worry about painting absolutely every part of a structure kit on the first round. If I miss a piece, so what? I can touch it up tomorrow, or the next day. If a rock wall casting cracks, I can glue it back together and even highlight the crack, or I can make a new casting.
In a world where we are constantly bombarded with demands to have things done by the end of the day, it’s really nice to know that if I miss my own end-of-the-decade deadline, it’s still no big deal.
Agreed!
I think that may be a small part of why we have so many veterans in our group.
On my layout it’s always a warm, sunny July 1956 afternoon in central Pennsylvania. The only sounds above the chirping of the birds are the sounds of trains, the commerce of a nation at (uneasy) peace. When I think about what life was like in that dirty, dusty, loud, violent, dying place called Iraq, I can retreat to my happy, peaceful slice of Pennsylvania in my spare bedroom. In a world spiraling out of control, there’s a place that I can control, right down to the time (the clock never advances in my world toward 11 September 2001).
That two such profoundly different places as rural Pennsylvania’s Juniata Valley and Baghdad, Iraq can exist on the same planet is bewildering. While I was there, those rare times I could take my mind off missing my wife and son, I could think about this hobby. I drew many a trackplan during a battle update brief. I bought lots of train stuff via eBay while there.
Model railroading is truly theraputic. Thanks, all of you who participate in the hobby and keep it going.
Mr. B put “my” words on the page for me! I agree 100%
Maybe the REAL reason that my pike is set in the late 50’s - early 60’s is because I see that timeframe as a simpler, slower paced cross section of my world.
I know there are times I have WAY too many demands…Being able to hide in the Trainroom is a God Send.
Dave,
Tisk, tisk! Doodling during an OPORD, eh? Never done it myself. [;)]
Yeah… You know how exciting they are![zzz]
Being “the weather guy,” my part’s done after Intel. I would listen for the '3 shop in case there were some big operations in the works, but otherwise it all sounded like white noise… Or like on Peanuts, when the adults talk and it sounds like “wah wah wah…” Unless there were important things like changes in the chow hours or “when the heck are we gonna get hot showers…?”[swg]
When my wife saw my plan and my wish list, her first observation was, “You’ll never finish this.” “I know, I don’t care,” I said. My objective is not to finish it, but to enjoy what I’m doing. That’s probably why I jump from one thing to another quite frequently - one day building a structure, next day upgrading some rolling stock, next day researching my railroad, etc, etc.
When one task gets a little monotonous, I just switch to something else. It is a great hobby to settle into and a real diversion from reality. I too am modeling mid-40’s to mid-50’s, a simpler time, at least in my mind.
I read one time an article somewhere about a marriage counselor who had two identical HO layouts in his office, not for him but rather his clients. As he worked with a couple who were having marrital problems he would have them take up operating sessions on the layouts. As they worked the trains together, they worked out their problems. This would continue until they could work together on one layout in harmony. There was more that went with it, but that’s what I remember most. I read the article quite a few years ago.
I can see where you are coming from because my layout is in a garage considered me and my dads play area, and it is pretty nice to get away and go out there and tinker with my layout. There is need to be careful though, if the anger or depression is too highly elevated, you might be inclined to take it out on your layout if something goes wrong and it pushes you over the edge… Just my [2c]
-beegle55
I’ve read some great replies here. I guess I’m not alone. It is Valetines Day and someone might need some attention tonight. I hope not to much. I don’t think I could take it to long. I love railroading as mentioned for alot of reasons. A Thanks to all who replied and help to further another part of this great hobby.