It’s that magical time of year again the Great weather in the Northeast has gone by, and as we settle in for the up-coming winter, i look forward to being able to spend more time on the Layout . days are shorter not a hetic. Maybe this is the season i will finally modify my layout as i have talked about all year. the hardest part is to make that first cut, after that the Enjoyment of rebuilding again takes over. Love the Hobby and this time of year
I agree that model railroading has seasons. I was on the forums here (and others) during the summer, and boy it was slooooooow. Nobody was around. Now, it’s getting really busy, all kinds of newbies wanting to start new layouts. And of course the great veterans with there awesome layouts.
Now, if it was just start snowing here in Denver, still waiting, it been unusually warm for this time of year.
People have more options during the warmer months and so abandon the “dungeon of the basement”
I tend to play more with the trains during the winter as we set up an under-the-table-top-tree layout to “play with” that goes up TG and doesn’t come down til after Orthodox Christmas, so it is available a good 2 months. So I have two layouts to play with. Unfortunately, the cat also likes to play with the table top layout too.
The only thing I don’t like about MRRing in the winter is that even as little as I do use it I can’t use my testors airbrush cuz I have to do it outside and can’t in the winter. I have to hand paint with a brush if I paint anything in the winter.
It does seem that late fall and winter are the seasons that model railroading takes off again. I wonder that on some level, we are going back to our childhood when we received our train sets for Christmas. I have been inactive for the last 5 months with respect to model railroading. My father-in-law passed away this past July. He was the “brains” behind the electrical components of the railroad. Even though, at the age of 86 years, he was physically unable to do any work on the layout, he never the less could help me figure out some of the electrical problems that I was unable to solve. I would bring him over to my house 3-4 times per month. He would be eager to see what progress I had made on the layout. That kept my energy level high, knowing that I needed to move forward on the layout and knowing that his health was going downhill. Never expected him to die from a fall getting the mail from the mailbox. He broke his neck and died 2 days later. Four days prior, we had worked out the “bugs” in the Kadee electromagnets and the control panel. We have been taking care of my mother-in-law who lives with us part time and our daughter who has a rare disease. Things are getting better and model railroading is one way to get away from it all for a little bit.
This is the start of the “peak” season for model railroading.
To me there are two seasons in the year, lawn tractor season and mrr season. I just put the lawn tractor in hibernation. Mrr is the best season…[:)][Y][B]
Yes as the long days of summer begin to dwindle, you know that MR season is around the corner. Actually I try to stay active in the hobby year round but I’m not always successful during the summer. There always seems to be something else that needs my time in the summer. The fall and winter are definitely my busier times of the year as far as MRing goes.
Now that the daytime temperature has dropped into the temperate range, layout extension will be taking more of my time and operation will have to take a back seat for a while. Maybe I’ll actually get some of the visible world started before the pendulum swings back and daytime temperatures soar.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - slowly)
Funny thing there, I always thought Model Railroad “season” ran from January 1st until December 31st…
It’s not a hobby, it’s a “disease”…
Mark
I try to do modelling all year `round but during the summer it sometimes takes a backseat to stuff like fishing, yardwork, and working on cars
What’s a season?
I model railroad all year around and railfan from April through November.
Time for all things after all nothing on TV is worth watching.
My MRR season is year around - all those summer chores only get the the way…
I model just about year round, but in the winter, with the days being shorter, I do it with far less guilt. Something natural about being at the workbench in the winter with the weather being bad. During the summer, I’m down there but usually blowing off something (like mowing the lawn) that I should be doing.
As another New Englander, my model railroading year is the reverse of others. I’m also a skier, so we spend a lot of winter weekends away from home up at Sunday River in Maine. I still get a bit done during the week, but I actually model more in the summer. I don’t care for hot weather, and the train room has AC, so I’m comfortable working then while the rest of the world swelters.
Welcome to MRR’ers Anonymous…“HI Mark! Weclome!” “Tell us your story…”
Down in the desert Southwest the world is topsy-turvy; winter is the time to go out and watch the snowbirds swing golf clubs . . . . . and make right turns from the left lane without signalling!
Come down and enjoy our 110° temperatures sometime!
Thank you Mr Willis Haviland Carrier . . . . . he’s the guy that invented the first practical air conditioner.
For me, model railroading knows no season. My layout runs all year round and I work on models when I feel like it.
I would have to attribute this time of year this far south as MRR season not because of the weather, but the home layout tours in our area. A lot of the modelers in the southeast Texas area get busy with the layouts because from October thru the first week in December our local club puts on the home layout tour in which most modelers fall over themselves trying to get their layouts ready for all the visitors that can show up.
Furthermore, we get to mow the grass from March to early December around these parts so the weather isn’t much of a factor like it is up north when it comes to MRR season…chuck
Ok one to throw all the northern hemisphere lot off a bit.
Yip Christmas is coming - and that be a nice blue Christmas (unless it rains [banghead] ) with sun, heat, sunburn and endless days of doing nothing much.
While the north goes into winter, the southern hemisphere goes into summer so arguably the MRR season kicks into a higher gear then our bleak winters.
So for me after the wettest winter in ages (Auckland, New Zealand) and hibernation it is time to crank out some much needed work on the train-set and get phase one operating by end of Summer [8D] (and keep reminding myself to update my blog)
Hmm I read in an earlier post that it is peak season in the north as well - bugger - going to be seeing a few sold out signs at Walthers and Atlas again - ah well.
As a side note - someone is bound to ask why the heck I am working on the train-set in summer when I can be outdoors. It is called the Ministry of Health and Peak Sun. A.k.a you do your summer chores from 6am-11am then the BBQ after 4-10pm - any time in the middle of the day is a free trip to sunburn and skin cancer lodge - so good time to hit the railroad if not out of family trips or the mid day snooze.
So then to the garage I go and see what I can finish up this New Zealand MRR Season
Maybe when I retire I can work on the layout year round but between working and upkeep on the house I don’t have much time in the summer months.