I retired when I was 60 (I am now 76) and I had a large three deck layout, pretty much finished, in a space 30ft by 36ft. I still have it, work on it just about every day, enjoy it, wouldn’t give it up and my wife says I had better not give it up and be under her feet.
Bob
Larry:
I will never retire from this hobby for several reasons.
First, I enjoy it too much. Suffering the loss of enjoyment would be unthinkable.
Second, it helps me maintain my fine motor and mental skills. My hands used to shake most of the time, even when I was in my forties. Now they rarely do. I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of building something from scratch or kit bashing, even if I don’t get it right the first time. I think the old adage “use it or lose it” definately applies here.
Third, it relaxes me totally (except when I screw up [(-D]).
When I get to the point where I can’t do the fine detail stuff anymore I will still be able to enjoy running trains. As far as planning ahead, I just bought 14 Atlas rerailers. I’m sure they will come in handy.
Jay:
They won’t be able to pry my trains from my cold dead hands. That’s what crazy glue is for![(-D]
Mike:
Good luck with your spine. I’ve been there and done that. Thanks to a couple of pieces of surgical steel and some screws I am better than I have been for decades.
Bob:
I’ve done the achillies tendon thing too. Be patient, they take a long time to heal. Good luck!
Dave
I fully expect to retire from the hobby. I may have one more layout in me but I am already contemplating selling my cottage in northern Michigan and doing some serious traveling once I hit 70 - a mere 5 years away. Time marches on.
Interestingly I have now encountered two fellows who switched over to On30 (On 2 1/2) partly due to age and difficulty in seeing HO and smaller, and who welcome the nice array of RTR trains in that size. They are hugely happy, doing nice work, and exploring a new scale and what is possible and available in it.
By contrast today at Walthers showroom store I met an old buddy who retired from where I work almost 20 years ago and whose Parkinson’s Disease and recovery from back surgery has severely impaired him – he could hardly sign the credit card slip for his purchase – yet there he was buying rail joiners and examing some truck models with me. For sure there are many things he used to enjoy that he no longer can do. There would be no shame in it if he felt he had to or wanted to retire from the hobby. He does what he can, and obviously still loves it.
Retire from work? By all means. Retire from the hobby? If you want to, or have to, but there are so many alternatives available to us in this hobby that even if you cannot do things you used to do, you have to be pretty far down the road if there isn’t some aspect of the hobby that is not still within your grasp.
Dave Nelson
I am fortunate to have a one story home here in FL, as that takes the issue of stairs and access out of the equation for me. When I consider the idea of “retiring” from this hobby, it makes me recall that many seniors who have active participatory hobbies of any sort- or other interests- appear to enjoy themselves in their “dotage” much ,ore than those who just sit around waiting for the call to leave the stage. My dad’s aunt was baking cookies and pies up to 103 yrs old. When she could no longer do so due to wheelchair confinement, she lived only a year longer, to 104! Her nephew, my dad, made a hobby out of coming down to his old retail store that he still owned ( but was managed by my sister) and " supervising" the operation, as he called it. He managed to stay peppy until his last few months in a VA hospital, but made it to 91. At the local club quarterly swap meets here in FL, I see plenty of old timers walking around, enjoying the cameraderie of fellow modelers, buying stuff off the tables and enjoying themselves in full measure. Some of them are slower, to be sure, but their activeness is testimony to their “non-retirement” from the hobby. Why retire from a hobby that has medicinal value, in that it enables one to remain mentally alert, retain focus and enjoy those golden years. My plans to retire from regular work do not preclude me from considering something part time, just to keep physically active, and- as I will have more train time, how bad could that be. After all, another 3-4 decades (I’m 59 now) of playing with trains might be just what the doctor orders!!! Cedarwoodron
cedarwoodron,
Although others have touched on it, your point is an important one. We all need a reason to live. When you’re retired from most other things in life, a hobby is often the one thing that’s left to get the juices flowing. It’s sure not what you read in the paper, which only tends to get the blood pressure up.
I think one factor is that people sometimes want to abandon something because they’re no longer capable of achieving the same results as they previously were able to. Yet, it’s the doing that’s really important for the elderly. Just do it. Don’t sweat the small stuff, you can’t see it anymore anyway.[8D]
There is a reality out there where I may have to one day move to a small apartment or assisted living facility where space would truly be at a premium. I have started preparing for that possibility by collecting some kits that could be used to create an HO “micro layout” with an industrial theme, sector plate, and either a 45-tonner with side-rods or a little Alco HH660 (both of which are now stockpiled). If I can have one toolbox and just a bit of space, I can keep active with such a project for a long time.
Still, the question reminds me of my mother’s situation. My mother was a very accomplished seamstress and would craft marvelous things from cloth. The time came, however, when she hadn’t been able to sew for many months and decided that her quality sewing machine needed to go to my daughter-in-law. When I moved those sewing items out of her room at the facility, I knew that the speed of her decline would only increase.
And some day, someone will have to come and take away my X-Acto knife… but I’ll resist that day for as long as I can.
Bill
I’ll second this. Our hobby is so varied and inclusive, why would you stop? If things are tough, find some less intense aspect of MRRing to focus on. Retirement is not a dead stop, but rather a phase transition.
I want a fully functional Z scale layout stuffed in my coffin and buried with me!
Stu
I am 60, been retired for 7 years but just got to work on my layout last year, in basically better health than my whole life (except for a bit of arthritis last year but went away). Got back into the hobby at the wife’s encouragement as I was bored from retiring the first time at 29 (this is all just background info on me). Many years I got a good friend and we hit many train shows together but then the part that relates to this thread, he started to come down with an incurable lung disease, something genetic. He can’t move very fast anymore but is way younger than me. He decided to downsize but not get rid of everything. He usually gives me first peak at what he is getting rid of because he says they will have a good home, but it is very sad. He is now down now to about 100 engines (originally had over 500). This has convinced me to get rid of all the things I will never need, which I have been doing, Got rid of all my engines that don’t run flawlessly on my layout, replaced by one purchased from my friend for the most part. Now comes the hard part, rolling stock, I worked hard to get a deal on most every piece, so what to get rid of. First gone, most that are not super-detailed.
Retire from the Hobby!? OMG I hope not!
You might say that my current layout is product of “retirement age” thinking - with my old layout having duckunders, a friend of mine convinced me that I would be better off biting the bullet and rebuilding one that is easier to navigate while I still have normal physical agility. Otherwise, he said, I would learn to hate those duckunders until the End of Time.
Right now mrr is one of the very few things giving me enjoyment in life. I finally have what would have been considered a “deam layout” 30 years ago, even though its puny compared to what we see in the pages of MR nowadays.
well in my current layoutless state, I’d say any layout is better than no layout.
I don’t know how old you are. I am 65, got a bad case of the shakes & poor eye sight. But I wanted my own layout ever since I was a kid. I’m just now starting to build it. I’ve collected my locos & rolling stock. I love building kits & painting them. I paint all my own figures. I shake & periodically screw things up & it does get frustrating but I am having more fun with my trains now than anything I’ve ever done.
i know this is not a medical advice column but so many of you have mentioned failing eyesight as a factor so here goes. if your condition will respond to cataract surgery, by all means have the implants done. it is fast, painless and medicare will pay for it. if you want details, pm me and i will tell you firsthand of my experiences.
Charlie
I will be 66 later this week. I only returned to the hobby, after a 40 year absence, about 8 years ago. To me, it will be an important part of my retirement, much to my wife’s dismay.
As they say, an active, involved mind stays sharper, and model railroading certainly provides that for me. Vision may not get better, but using your eyes for more than just reading the labels on Geritol bottles has got to at least slow down the deterioration. I can honestly say that doing detail work, particularly painting and wiring, has made my hand steadier since I’ve been back modeling.
I’m still playing ice hockey with guys half my age, skiing expert slopes and starting to get excited about having more time to be a kid again. And my hobby is definitely going to be part of that future.
Mr. B,
Your comment on how working with one’s hands helps with the shakes isn’t the only one in this thread. There are lots of reasons for the shakes and lots of ways for the shakes to manifest themselves. I’ve got some shake due to my spine issue, plus a bad right shoulder and the leftovers from a couple of whiplashes. Then there is familial history of Parkinson’s on both sides.[:O][:-*]
Keeping those hands busy is what helps with fighting the tendency to shake. If you quit modeling because you’re shaky, the shakes will likely be worse. So you may not be quite satisfied with the results, but also remember the value of what you’re doing for your health by keeping busy with the hobby.
Being I’m in HOn3, I do have my work cut out for me in the future in some respects. Right now, if one day’s not good the next will likely be better. I’ve also come up with ways to brace myself, take a deep breath and hold it, etc for delicate work, which is the only thing affected for now. The more I build, the longer I’ll keep deterioration at bay.[Y][#oops][{(-_-)}]