Here lately I’ve gotten to where I no longer enjoy spending money on train related items… The last time I got like this I put everything away and didn’t touch it again for about ten years or so. Every time I see a loco or rolling stock that looks interesting, an alarm goes off in my head and brings me back to reality. I guess there’s so many other things I want and need to take care of that I can’t relax and enjoy myself until everything else has been tended to.
Tracklayer, I know that this is heresy but my first love in life is not trains - it is History; I eat History - I sleep History - I drink History; a lot of my love of trains came from my indulging in railroad History.
In my buying/spending habits I tend to run between miser and spendthrift - and there are times when I loose complete interest period quote and a report as ole’ Johnny Dollar use to say. I have never vacated the hobby for ten years as you indicate you have done - a couple of months will usually result in a rekindling of my interest - but I can sure get a lot of History read in that couple of months.
It may not be particularly easy but neither is it particularly difficult to burn out on this hobby; I have seen a lot of good modelers go off to other pursuits. I don’t think that is going to happen to me but I have found it necessary to keep an escape route open. You need to do that; find another interest to occupy your time when boredom or anxiety sets in; get away from it and allow things to settle down a bit.
That happens to me sometimes. In those instances I stop buying things and settle down to work on the layout, using the things I bought previously. About the time I start running out of ideas for the layout (1 to 3 months) I start buying things again, especially scenery items and maybe a few pieces of rolling stock. I’ve already got enough locos for now.
I very much appreciate your advice R. T. POTEET, and I actually do have other hobbies and interests. It’s just that there’s so many other things I’ve been putting off the last few years that I now feel really guilty when I spend money on model railroad items rathe
Tracklayer…I dont see any problem whatsoever…Any hobby is funded by disposable income…to do otherwise in my personal openion is foolishness, as to put a hobby before other necissitys in life to the point of it (the hobby) controlling all aspects in one’s life, to me is a few bricks short of a full load. Life is a matter of prioritys, I personaly enjoy putting God and family first and all the rest seems to flow therafter…To enjoy all aspects of life is the true JOY. Take Care…John
Just as others said, my interest will drop off from time to time.
Many years ago when the kids were young, I was just starting my constuction business and work was hit or miss, “Money” was a great issue. I didn’t have to hide those impulse purchases, just had some self control. Involved projects of repairing used/ broken equipment and reworking and super detailing of the few Athearn BB locos was my main interest. Basically that’s all I could afford at the time.
There’s so much more to the hobby that it’s not alway nec. to have to spend big $$ (It does help though). Lately $$$ isn’t an issue. I don’t go out and spend thousands on every latest release, but I can comfortably buy what I desire within reason. Even now, i will find my interest will still take the rollercoaster ride.
The past few months have been an exception, though. I lost my wife on March 29th, I haven’t touched any trains and the latest projects are still in the same spot on the workbench. I do the scenery at my club. I hope to get that desire to finish those spots waiting for scenery. Your heart needs to be into it for that spectacular work. Can’t see myself just slopping it together. I look at scenery as an artform. So much of the hobby is is creativity, a personal touch. What works for one may not apply to you.
The same has happened to 8500HPGASTURBINE when he lost his son 2 1/2 months ago. He was so distraught was going to throw out or give all the train away. Help from many of us here has helped him reconsider. Michael, my prayers are still with you and Kim.
So if you need to take a break, do so. Maybe do research, railfan or just stop altogether until the interest sparks your motivation again. It will never go away. Maybe only a touch of burnout.
Tracklayer,I don’t know how to put this in nice polite words…So,here goes.
As Clint Eastwood said as “Dirty Harry” in Magnum Force…“A man has to know his limitations”.This is especially true for hobbies…Some modelers has NO CONTROL and buy things they have no need for and it ends up on his work bench shelf a long with tons of kits that will never get built while others must be the first kid on the block to own the latest locomotives,cars,buildings,DCC throttle,newest power pack with DC sound control buttons etc.
Why is it thus? To be honest I never could figure why a modeler will rush out and buy a(say) Big Boy when he models CR on a 4x8 foot layout and isn’t a member of a club.Many modelers rationalize it as a investment for the his/her basement size “dream” layout that may never come to past.
The question I ask myself is I may want a certain model but,do I need it? 90% of the time the answer is NO because, to be frank,I have no need for that model other then “candy” to please me since a given engine or car may not fit my C&HV,HR or NS collection.I could stop buying models today and have enough to last till my dying day.I suspect that is true with all modelers including you.
Now…The way I see it you may be suffering burn out from buying stuff you can’t use and may not have a need for.Maybe you look closer at all the unbuilt kits and unfinished projects and feel overwhem…I don’t know.
So,IMHO its best to set limitations by sitting your layout in a given era and buying only the items needed to reach that goal including era specific locomotives and cars and by pass the models you don’t need…
Tracklayer, you sound normal to me. I’ve been in the hobby around 3 years now and I have 13 locomotives. Now what in the heck do I need with 13 locomotives! That 13th one is coming in Monday, a Spectrum 2-8-0, and it’s going to be the last one I purchase this year. It’s time I got on to working on scenery and let everyone else buy the engines for a while. Oh, and it is easy to get burned out every now and then on the hobby as a whole. When I feel that coming on I lock the trainroom door for a few days and do something else.
Everthing else comes first and then Model Railroad…Some times a couple of months go by without buying anything but like most of us I have a lot of thing put away to work on…Cox 47
Oh Gawd Yes! I’ve been going through this the last several months and yes it is disheartening as i realize the money time and effort that has gone into this venture is too much to give up on.
I’ve made wo kits this month in hopes to respark some interest…
Maybe a “Niagara” might be the jolt I need! Hah just joking. Maybe it’s the fact the layout is so frought with mistakes I know I should start over again but that would put me back several years.
True. To get the juices flowing again you should try other aspects of the hobby such as a new theme, era, prototype, freelance, setting, etc. - or even a different scale or gauge. I used to do On30 but eventually got so burnt out and frustrated with it that I didn’t work on it or purchase anything related to it for months. I finially tried Large Scale narrow gauge and the juices started flowing like a volcano. Since I now model in LS indoors, my enthusiasm for model railroading has risen over 100% and my frustration level has sunk to a new low. I still purchase very few train related items because there’s plenty to do with what I have and the beauty of LS is that you can utilize many common household items or items from arts and craft stores for your modeling.
Why do some people feel they have to be spending money or have the latest loco, DCC system, etc. to enjoy the hobby? Unless you have a layout with an infinite amount of area, how many locos, kits, structures, etc do you need? I find there is plenty of stuff to keep me busy without the need to buy any more items than I already have - and there’s always scratch building or improvements you can make for a minimal cost.
I agree with John…it really isn’t a problem. It is part of living. Our minds ruminate and dwell on things, sometimes too intensely and too long. It would seem natural that we take a big sigh and say, “Ah, to hell with it…I’m going to repair my road bike and get reacquainted with it.”
I haven’t run trains in nearly a week because of the demands imposed on me in the real world. We have had an ailing Mother-in-Law with us since mid-May, and she won’t be leaving until the end of this month. She needs care and attention, so one of us has to be indoors. This is not what my wife and I had in mind since my retirement three summers ago. I got into trains in a big way, but now I feel the pull of sobering truths. One of them is that I can’t go on spending more than I make. I’d love to have a second articulated…the Walthers P2K 2-8-8-2 is due soon, and I can get one for a very reasonable price. I won’t do it on plastic, though, so,…I have to let it go. My pension is very modest, but I have spent nearly $20 on home repairs, helping two adult daughters get back on their feet when their relationships blew up, and in getting a dental implant for a broken tooth. Add to that $2k in income tax and $4k in property assessment,…you get the idea.
Tracklayer, listen to your inner voice…why fight it…it’s being honest with you. Take a break, focus on something else for a bit (probably something you’ve been avoiding or putting off), and then the spark will come back…about the time the kids return to school sounds right.
I can’t honestly say I have ever “enjoyed” spending money to support my addiction to miniferroequinology. After all, did E.Scrooge “enjoy” spending money to eat?[:-^]
Actual expenditures have run up and down like a yo-yo, depending on such things as family priorities, pay scale, combat (not many hobby shops in combat zones)… These days, with an empty nest, a reasonable retirement income and no other financial burdens I can afford to buy what I want - only to discover that most of what I want has already found its way onto my roster or into my store of layout-building supplies.[:)]
Would you believe that, for the last few months, my major hobby spending has purchased screws - and (in some cases) their matching nuts and washers?[(-D]
When I go inside a hobby shop or buy online, I have already taken care of ALL of the other necessary item on our monthly budget, including allocating money to savings, allowance and making decisions with the spouse on major planned expenses for the month ahead.
The hobby shop is the very last and bottom budget item in our home for the year.
If you know that all things financial is going to be Taken care of… there should be no issues spending a few dollars on trains… as long you stay away from those hungry credit cards and thier assoicated interest rates.
If I happen to have the 350 dollars on hand free and clear to go onto that new engine, let’s enjoy the experience. If I only have 10 dollars to spend on a single Blue Box… I enjoy that experience too.
Therefore I say your un-happiness must have root causes elsewhere.