I’m building a new HO layout (have had lots of updates on this Forum) and its the first build I’ve done since the early '90s. Today, I’m 65, 5’10" and 225lbs, and recently got a touch - often more than a “touch” - or arthritis in the shoulders. Soooo, as I contort myself in and around the benchwork to wire in the plethora of track feeders to the power buss(s), I find that I’m only good for about 4 hook-ups or so before I have to get out and straighten up the ol bod.
Believe me, I know I have no right to really complain, for there are many others with much more going against them. But the thing I have the hardest time with is that my mind wants to keep going for hours, but the bod says nope, can’t go more than 1/2 hour at a time.
Making your body do things it’s not accustomed to can hurt a bit. On the other hand, those odd stretches and reaches are probably good for you. After all, isn’t that what all those yoga classes are doing? And you don’t have to feel silly saying “Ommmmm” while you do it, either.
In the 4 years since I returned to this hobby, I’ve found that my fingers now work better than they did before. (I’m 62, by the way.) Working with Jordan vehicles and decoder installations, in particular, have focused my fingers. I can now paint details much more accurately than I could, too.
Keep up the crawling and wiring. You may not be getting younger, but it really will slow down the aging process some.
Since, like you, I am heavier, stiffer and a lot less energetic than I was, I decided to engage the ol’ noggin into the process of wiring. As a result, ALL of my wiring runs right behind the fascia (except for the occasional cable that runs nonstop from one right-behind-this-fascia terminal block to a terminal block right behind the fascia on the opposite side of the peninsula) Rail drops and such are fished out with a straightened coathanger. The terminal blocks are stud-and-nut type, and every terminal is clearly labeled. I’ve also located all switchpoint-moving devices at the aisle edges of the layout, thus minimizing the need to limbo-dance under the L-girders for that purpose.
Being able to work on all those under-the-table things from a comfortable chair in the aisleway is good.
Being able to eliminate standing on my head with a soldering tool in one hand? - Priceless.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - seated in the aisleway)
I wouldn’t discount the benefits of a full stop every 10 to 15 minutes, either, if that provides some relief. I would also not be averse to a couple of Advil tablets over the course of maybe 8 hours on days when I know I might need their help. Otherwise, to keep your sensitivity to that medication, don’t take them.
There is also a great benefit in being thoroughly warmed up prior to doing such work. Going downstairs from a leisurely coffee and breakfast while you peruse the papers, and then expecting to be running on all cylinders while you crouch and stiffen in immobility in unfamiliar poses is sure to raise some protestation from an aging corpus. However, if you went out for some yard work first, gentle and taking your time, or a brisk walk, and then wanted to put in 30 minutes to an hour on the layout, you might find it a much more enjoyable and productive hobby time. Limbering up increases blood flow, including to the brain, and it makes you sharper and more efficient. This is well documented, and even anecdotally I can assure you that I am much better at things and at thinkings after an hour’s run.
I know what you mean and I ran the major wires within easy reach but there are still those impossible places - switch machines, track feeders just to name two. So I would plan my trips to the floor by hooking up as many as I could and using terminal blocks everywhere. But even with that I still found myself reaching for the Ben Gay from time to time. What really gets my bones to aching are those times of standing on the first step of a short ladder while reaching over and doing some job that has to be done. Fortunately these places a few and far between.
Going on a 1/2 century with 35 of those working on big trucks and heavy equipment I too feel the pains. It seems to be getting worse. The designers today can cram a lot of stuff into very small places. Things like fan drives are getting heavier and placed a lot closer to the radiators, Starters that weigh up to 65 pounds are stuffed between the frames and engine blocks. Try slyming your way to the back of an engine that’s half stuffed under the cab. All I can say is where are all the young kids that WANT to do this?
That is why I model railroad. Life is tough modeling is a hobby so enjoy it while you can.
In the begining I used a date stamp on my pictures. As I saw how long it was taking me to finish projects I stopped that practice so there is no longer any date to remind me.
I stopped laying track for a while and am devoting my time working on top and I divide that up on different projects. The plus is that I don’t get bored and I have time to think about what I’m trying to do. The negative is, however, that nothing has really been completed.
When I started this layout last January, I was very candid that it was “my last layout”. In that regard I am taking the time/effort/money to have it as good as I can make it. Filling up most of the room (11x15) and with two levels, and with benchwork 3 to 5 feet deep, I knew full well what I was getting into (no pun intended). I made sure there were adequate crawl spaces to reach the furthest corners, and the access is there. But, the ol bod just does not have the endurance it had in my earlier years.
I live in a “bedroom community” north of Houston, and I am the only person on my street (21 good sized homes) that regularly does their own yard (one of the bigger ones), painting, and auto mechanics. Exercise is no stranger to me, and never has been. But where I once could do the front and back yards and wash a car or two in one day, now takes two really good days. However, I count my blessings - for I CAN still do this stuff - and as I am now retired, I have (sort of) the extra time needed!
All that being said, I’m still having fun, making progress, and getting some serious satisfaction from learning about the mysteries of DCC.
In 102 trackplans, page 67, Andy Sperandeo did something new to me: Grids on girders.
A light weight L-girder table with a layout section on top. If I read Andy’s article well, i do not like to confess, Linn Westcott wrote about it ?50? years ago. And you can put it on its backdrop for easy soldering as well.
Must have missed it for 30 years, but those were the days I still was not thinking in shelf or sectional layouts.
Sometimes I forget how lucky I am, besides having some bad teeth’s, I can still do my job and play foot with the kids. When I grew older , loosing my hair, … when I am 64; is the case for 10 month’s now. And she is still giving me that bottle of wine.
Paul
BTW should part of it be better posted in Elliot’s diner?
I hear you… I’m not quite you age yet, but I’ve suffered enough injuries in my military carreer (broken neck, shoulder, hip, both wrists, lower back, 8" pin and 6 screws in right leg, artificial knee) to know what it’s like trying to get out of bed on a cold morning. My model railroad now is only 2ft wide at any point so I have easy access to everything without having to play contortionist. A dose of asprin in the AM takes much of the bite out of the day.
I hear you, and I share your pain. I’m 66 and I’ve got a few inches and more than a few pounds on you. To make matters worse, I’ve got a bad back (a lifetime of slouching in chairs no doubt) so getting up from the floor is a difficult and painful procedure for me. I built my layout in 2’ wide sections (or modules or “dominos”) and did much of the wiring with the sections clamped on their edge to my Workmate® and sat in a chair. But, there has been a lot of wiring to do after the sections are in place. I can’t sit on the floor and work overhead without supporting my back. I use my Workmate® to lean against but I"m looking for something like a mechanic’s creeper with a back rest. I once saw a beach chair in a store flyer that had no legs and was designed to be placed right on the sand. I continue to kick myself that I didn’t buy it. Haven’t seen one since. Oh well, short stints under the layout interspersed frequently with breaks at the workbench or the computer and the wiring will get done some day–if I don’t keep making modifications to the layout.
I inherited the ratty, but still serviceable, wooden chairs when our old breakfast table succumbed to move damage. One of them has had its legs shortened and rollers installed. It makes a good under-layout scooter for those occasions when I have to venture into the subterranean depths.
Don’t work harder, work smarter. I hate to solder so I came up with a way so I don’t have to solder under the layout and no barrier strips to fiddle with. What I use is a thing called a posi-tap to tap the buss lines and on the other end I can insert the lead wires and tighten, done. And if you make a mistake like I did while rewiring an old section, you unscrew it take out the wire and put it where it needs to go.
I thought about that. But I’m afraid that it would tip backwards when I lean back against it. I lean back against my Workmate® hard enough to sometimes move it. Maybe a diagonal brace out the back of the chair would work. I’ll have to keep my eyes out for a suitable chair at yard sales next summer. I still like that beach chair though!
Just remember 48" equals 4 feet. thats the minimum height you want to build your bench work to. Yes trains look a lot better when your looking more at that then looking down on them from above. It’s like looking through a widow as opposed to looking down from an airplane but all that aside. At 48" you will be able to SIT in a chair with wheels on it and roll from spot to spot and work on everything from wiring to switch machines under your bench work. Trust me when I tell you having a couple of compressed discs in my back and a pair of bad knees there would be no way I could build my railroad having it any lower.
I have touted this many times on the board, but don’t believe me believe your own body, try a simple task like soldering a bunch of wires while kneeling down over your head and then try it sitting in a chair working just above eye level. Your back will thank you.
I bought a five-roller medical examination stool that can be set as low as 14". I use it to roll through my duckunder and to work under the layout. I also went to the hardware store and got several large door handles, the U-shaped type [not a door knob], and screwed them to the fascia in several places. They are great for grabbing onto to pull myself to a standing position – or to lower myself to the stool. I also use IDC’s under the layout to avoid soldering over my head. I’m 75 and find that I have to change tasks frequently when doing under-layout work. I just rebuilt my old layout, which had benchwork 32" deep – the new layout is 24" deep [except for the center 36" peninsula] and much easier to work on. I’m sure it will be my last layout, so it is simpler – no more reversing loops and only minimum grades.
