Yesterday, I came to the realization, that although my 4x8 (now 4.5 x 8 and soon to become 5x8) Rock Ridge and Train City layout is about 2 months from becoming 80% done, with tweeking and adding details, I have about a year before it’s complete.
The trouble is that within the next month, I will be building the benchwork for the first phase of my basement layout, the Redwood Empire, because of the remodeling we are doing. The benchwork is part of a DVD/VCR storage system in the entertainment room we are building.
The first phase of the basement layout will be a switching layout that will include the terminal point and service area for the California Western RR which is owned by the Union Lumber Company–who just happens to have their saw mill facility in the same location. Add the town of Fort Bragg and you have a lot of switching. I even have the area to punch through the wall for staging.
The cart before the horse.
I have to focus and get Rock Ridge and Train City done.
Or you could flip a coin to see which one gets work done. I cannot even dream of trying to work on 2 at a time. Good luck on both of them, sounds like you going to be burning the candle at both ends.
Chip’s dilemma is one of the very strange idiosyncrasies of model railroaders and the reason so very few high quality completed layouts are ever built. Model railroaders seem all but unique among all other hobbyists for leaving one promising project incomplete to ru***o start another…which will likely also never reach completion. Over the years I’d bet that I’ve seen 10 or even 20 never completed layouts for every one that has attained any state worthy of showing off. Perhaps this is why most of us are so impressed when we do see one that is finished!
Oh man, do I resemble that! But hey, that why it is called a hobby… Chip, you have accomplished more in the short time you have been in this hobby than many of us will do in a decade or more. I am constantly amazed at all the things you get done (and the fact that MR is only one of your hobbies)! Have fun with it!!! [:D]
Chip, if the questions is acceptable, how do your “domestic obligations” impose themselves on this scenario? Not long ago we were talking about stuff all over the place due to Mom-in-Law, and all the other things that kept your project work to a minimum. Has that been improved?
The building of the entertainment area is the first step in organizing the basement and clutter. I just started the framing of the walls in the one area. My wife keeps coming up with these great ideas for my layout–usually involves donating space. But in this case, since the benchwork/entertainment center/shelving is all inter-related, I have to get it done at one time.
Okay, the whole story. Originally, my wife and I decided to clean up the basement of the stuff, a combination of our stuff and my mother-in-laws, in order to reclaim some usefulness out of the basement. My ulterior motive, of course, was the basement layout, while my wife needs storage for her art works. What was decided was that we would create an entertainment room which would house a storage system for my wife’s art. As we were in the space and the walls were going up, we (she) decided that the paintings in racks above us would detract from wanting to be in the room to watch TV.
I suggested jokingly that I could build my N-scale switching layout in that spot which got scrapped in favor of the larger layout.) She suggested that we store her art in another part of the basement. After thinking about it, we decided that if I stick to my current pace, I would not be finished with the 4x8 and phase I of the basement for 2 1/2 to 3 years. In that time, I’d either build her a studio, or she would rent one in town. Either way, her art would be out before time to start phase II of the Redwood Empire.