I got to thinking about the layout world and it really seems as if our layouts are like our pets in many ways.
The more you feed your layout cars, and engines the more faster the layout grows with track and terrain (expansion)
If you ignore your layout alot and not spend quality time with it your layout becomes a bad friend when you go to give some time. It will not run right, and have problems all over
If you spend alot of quality time with your layout it will be your best friend and give you very little problems. It will stop when you say, Speed up on call, and not ‘lay down’ (derail) when you are playing.
If you train your layout well (work very hard on the construction) then it will be very obediant (strong and sturdy) for a long time and not become an old lazy dog that is fragile.
My two trains came for Christmas—It took me a few weeks to put them on a table to watch them move and listen to the sound of the trains on the rails; music! But they kept flying off the table–so I built a 4’ x 7’ platform in my bedroom and draped it with lace (I’m a girl). I have decorated this time with Bunnies stuffed and ceramics–cause I wanted to do something different—before I start ‘building’ their world around them–I found my one local hobby shop, too. However when I have seen the setups in the pictures from these members, I am in awe; they are breathtaking! I don’t know whether I even ‘should’ aim for building a mini-world for my mini-trains—I get breathless just thinking about it.