I don’t understand this. Maybe its the normal winter blues I get. I have lots of spare time this winter and have little interest in the layout. I would say 2/3 of the work is done for the main line. I’m kindof stuck on this one lift out bridge in front of a window. The main 4’9"x about 9’6" table is covered with tools supplies and misc so no continuous track is complete yet. I’ll probably go to a train show at Century College in White Bear Lake saturday and recently bought another Lionel 8203 engine. I buy a car maybe every two months as $$$ are limited. The design of the main route is genious though. Maybe I should draw it and post it here.
Maybe your just burnt-out, try and walk away from it for a while, and see if your intrest comes back.
Paul
Do what you can to get a train running somewhere, even a circle in the middle. Nothing gets the blood flowing like running trains. Failing that, rent some videos of trains running.
I usually have enough of my layout by spring. then I switch to my '69 road runner for the summertime. by Fall, I’m ready for more trains. I have more then enough trains to run, so when I get to a show, I scrounge for junkers for rebuild projects.keeps evrything interesting for me.
I find that making visible, tangible process helps me, and I can work in small increments to get it. Spending a few minutes a day helps because I can usually make myself do that much, and then that progress will usually shake me out of a blah period.
Whenever I get “stuck” I clean up my layout and workspace. Getting rid of the clutter gets me feeling better about the layout. Makes me focus on what needs to be done. Also chipping away at small projects, one by one gets the ball rolling and my interest returns.
Sometimes changing my focus from the layout to maybe building a structure or detailing one particular scene gets my creativity going. Or just doing something, cleaning and lubing an engine, making a long overdue repair or some small project renews my interest.
I had an old American Flyer engine that was taken apart sitting on my workbench since last spring. Fiddled around with it for a couple evenings and got it running. Got me interested in the trains again. Its a hobby, so work on stuff as you wish. But sometimes just jumping in and doing something will get you going again.
Boyd,
Look at your first stumbling block, the lift out bridge. I’m willing to bet that the bridge is what’s holding you up. My advice is to work through it - get the bridge in and working. That should inspire you and “juice up” your ambition.
I know from experience. I’ve had some bridges to cross, too…but I won’t say how long it took me to start!!
chicochip
Sounds perfectly normal to me. Whatever time you decide to spend on your layout is, by definition, just the right amount. I know I go through periods when I’m perfectly content to be just a collector for a few months, rather than an operator. I think there is a little bit of peer pressure on the forum to pretend we want to run our trains every day, and I’m sure some folks do. But, I’d be willing to bet that the reality for most of us is exactly the situation you are describing.