Chris

Yes, sure know what you are talking about!

Just wanted to say I'm glad you got past the mental overload and got going again. I read your post and from there went to your blog and really enjoyed seeing what you are doing. Excellent looking layout!

 Do what interests you at the time and enjoy the process as you go...........who cares if you never finish the layout? I enjoy jumping from one task to another as my moods shift. A few days or weeks of scenery take a break and weather some freight cars for a week then get interested in power poles for a couple of weeks then back to.................

Rinse and repeat.

As the owner of a large basement layout ...

Toma?

     I don't think it would matter much, it's more about the mind than the layout. A TOMA approach would just overwhelm one thinking about the number of sections remaining to be done. Building all the benchwork and track at least lets one have full operational capability in a short time frame. The real key to not being overwhelmed is to enjoy the hobby and approach each task like eating a different dessert. In practical terms if I don't feel like working on one aspect of the layout on a given day I'll look around till I see something I'd like to do. I might end up just putting couplers on a car or researching something online. The hobby should not be approached like a job where we have to work when we don't feel like it, when we finish or if we ever finish is should not be important if we are enjoying the journey.........DaveB 

Yes, sort of

I won't disagree that there's a bit of deliberate down-scoping going on with TOMA to help you out mentally. It's like the old proverb of how you eat an elephant: a bite at a time.

With TOMA, you deliberately to set boundaries to what you're building at any one time - instead of a room-filling multi-year or decade-plus project, you've now adjusted the focus down to just one module section at a time that's do-able in weeks or months. We like to call it "Start small. THINK BIG." (Or think as big as you like - a one module only ever TOMA layout is also quite valid.)

Nothing's perfect. If you want to angst out, then yes, you can angst out with TOMA, too. But the bite-at-a-time concept with TOMA helps the same way that the elephant proverb helps you see that you can attack any really big "problem" bite by bite if you can just redefine clearly and succinctly what each bite is. TOMA does that very neatly.

Feeling overwhelmed

Great post Chris!  Been there myself, and I'm glad to see that you got past it and continue pressing ahead.

In my case, it wasn't until I'd already completed all benchwork, track and wiring that I started feeling overwhelmed...with the idea of all the scenery that lay ahead.  It was a big unknown to me then, so it came with a fair amount of fear.  It actually made me consider tearing down half the layout just to keep things more manageable.

However, as with a lot of overwhelming things, the answer was simple, as Chris alluded to regarding the eating of the elephant:  Just do the next thing.  "Learn how to do scenery" was overwhelming, but "Practice applying static grass" was manageable.  As with a lot of things in this hobby, even the parts I initially dreaded, like wiring, brought a great deal of satisfaction once I dug into them.  The scenery I once avoided is now one of my favorite parts of the hobby.

I'm in that camp.  I don't think TOMA would be a fit for me, as I hate the ramp-up process of gathering all the right tools for a job.  Once I'm cranking away on something, I prefer to just keep going until it's completely done for the entire layout, then move on to the next thing.  When I get into a rhythm where I can do a task somewhat mindlessly while my mind is occupied with other nice things in life, that's my happy place.  That's even happened with things like hand-laying track and wiring.  Once I'm in the zone, the time flies by.

"I don't think TOMA would be

Yeah, that a big negative for me too. If the space is available and the final configuration is clear it seems a lot more efficient to at least build the benchwork, track ,and wiring  for the whole layout. Then after the track has been tested and trains are running, one can switch over to adding scenery and detailing to one module at a time if desired......DaveB

Thanks for such thoughtful replies

I'm really enjoying how this thread is evolving, and if you haven't had a chance to read the full post, in addition to the elephant (always a great metaphor) you'll see that I have links there to TOMA and Trevor Marshall's "Achievable Layouts" blog - two very important bits of information that I didn't know about two years ago.

The common thread appears to be that it is a mental thing as much as anything else - and as I discuss in the post - IMO "layout anxiety" isn't always (or perhaps not even often) related to layout size. You can "angst out" about something as small (size-wise) as building a resin freight car, or airbrushing, or...or... (ask me how I know).

But the lessons we learn - and what I was trying to wrap my head around during my "crisis" (admittedly, a first world problem :^) - are yet another wonderful aspect of this amazing hobby: we learn lessons for life. To oversimplify to make the point: learning new skills and grooving new neural pathways is difficult whether you're learning how to weather your first brand-new locomotive or taking on a new responsibility at work. Thankfully, as others have sometimes said, if you screw up your weathering job, you're just out your time (and usually little else, provided you know - or have a friend - who can undo what you did :^) Best to learn such lessons on the layout where it's safe and gain the experience there which you can apply to life in general.

That's all getting a little bit beyond the scope of this thread though. Keeping it to model railroading specifically, my main take away was really twofold: 1) eat the elephant one bite at a time, and 2) get some friends to help. I accomplished #1 by re-evaluating my other hobbies (e.g. I gave up bike racing and used the former training time for layout work - and saved additional broken bones in the process :^) and accomplished #2, well, I can't take a lot of credit for that... I'm blessed with some really amazing and generous friends. But I had to ask - and know enough about what I wanted to accomplish to be able to be specific and give good direction.

'nuff said for now. I hope others will weigh in - and I really appreciate you guys that have taken the time to share your thoughts here.

Chris

 "I accomplished #1 by

I wouldn't encourage folks to give up healthful activities to spend more time working on a layout. It's best to balance our lives toward the more healthful side so I'd suggest spending time for exercise and preparing healthy food first and layout work second. There's always unhealthy things to be cut out while keeping the positive stuff.A lot of model railroaders die too young from things that could be prevented or postponed by a healthier lifestyle......DaveB

Couldn't agree more!

Balance is key - and I didn't give up riding totally (heh - I actually took up running, but that's another story). But I gave up competitive racing and the requisite 1-2hrs/day training. Not to mention the crashing and broken bones. "Healthy lifestyle" sometimes has unanticipated costs %^) and I can get as good a workout in 30 mins of running as I got in 2hrs of riding/training which left/leaves me with 90mins for layout-ing :^)

I guess the main point is to evaluate - ruthlessly if necessary - how you spend your time and whether the time you have for the layout matches what you need to accomplish your vision. I'm certainly no psychologist, but my sense is that "overwhelmedness" (aka anxiety) is at least sometimes the result of a dissonance between our abilities and our aspirations. It's ok - and a good thing - to strive, but if our reach is *always* exceeding our grasp we'll be frustrated and feeling overwhelmed at all there is to do given the limited resources we have.

Best to have as good a sense as possible where best to strike the balance between available resources (time/money/skills) and achievable aspirations (large vs. small layout, detailed vs. 3' rule, etc). I shared two things that helped me over the hump and look forward to hearing about others - for the inevitable next time I feel overwhelmed :^)

Chris

TOMA vs. Ops

What I don't like about the TOMA approach is that I am only interested in ops. I'd rather have the entire layout up and operating as planned with absolutely no scenery, than 1/4 of it up and fully scenicked. To me, scenery is the icing on the cake that will only happen after the cake is baked and had time to cool. Fully functioning track is baking the cake, and doing op sessions is letting it cool. Sometimes the cake is so good you just eat it without even bothering with icing. 

Randy

No icing?!

Good cake needs good icing. Sorry... couldn't help myself 

Excellent point - TOMA v. OPS

While I was focused in this post on sharing what I found helpful in getting over the "overwhelmed" hump, the primary thing that actually motivated a doubling of my layout size (heh - just the opposite of the downsizing I was contemplating), was wanting realistic prototypical operations - and (as a side benefit) more layout to share with the friends that were helping me.

I fully appreciate TOMA - and the LDE concept on which it's usually based - and know that you can have prototypical operations with even just one track and one turnout. But that won't keep you and a bunch of buddies busy. So if one of your "givens" is "have a bunch of buddies over to operate" you're gonna need some real estate. And - if you're smart/lucky - you'll be able to strike a deal with those buddies to have them help build what you need.

The other virtue of getting the full layout done (up through trackwork) first, is that you may have to modify things along the way. Sometime significantly (just check out my blog for a few pretty extreme examples). And it's much easier to do such modifications if you don't already have scenery done.

Finally - and kinda going back to the first point of proto ops: one of my givens was being able to replicate the prototype operations as closely as possible. I've achieved that with the Wethersfield to Middletown portion (almost every turnout and industry on that stretch is replicated, though compressed); whether I can achieve that in Old Saybrook (a TOMA/LDE in concept, if not design) with its 71 trains per day and limited staging remains to be seen %^)

#GonnaQuitThinkingAboutThatBeforeIGetOverwhelmedAgain

Plywood prairie needs a new name...

There seem to be enough hobbiests who focus on ops that there needs to be a respectful term for them and their layouts. You have to admire folks who are so focused on the intellectual aspects of the hobby. A few suggestions: 

• pure operationist
• functional 
• scenery optional 
• in the nude 
• semi-virtual 
• abstract 
• flat top 
• plain board
• raw
• no frills

Might make a reverse running topic.

pqe

Interesting...

 An invitation might read, "come operate on my layout in the nude". 

That could get interesting. 

Randy 

pure operationist layout 

You can mix and match TOMA too

Concentration

I will have to agree with Randy. As much as I like the TOMA approach...there is satisfaction in being able to run a full train, and doing switching or operations on a running layout. I have continuous running ( good or bad ) and running the first train completely around the layout is a big high. Friends can come over and see and run their locomotives, do switching, make up trains, and get a sense of doing something, with or without scenery. Only drawback, if you incorrectly make a decision up front, you are stuck with it forever, or until you decide to rip it ALL up and start over. With TOMA, mistakes are limited only to the module you are working on, and improvements can be made in the BASICS as you go along. That said, you have to verify everything you do up front, checking and re-checking trackwork and turnouts, wiring, and connections. I have been fortunate that only 1 turnout failed completely on me, and my trackwork has been reliable. Now that I am on to scenery, the accomplishment of getting some scenery down and taking form to cover the blank spaces, I get the warm fuzzies again.

So to each his own. Neither is right or wrong. Set goals, tackle them one at a time...and if you get bored...go on to another facet. Hills today, craftsman kit tomorrow, roads the next, and on and on. I admire many on this forum that have the stick to it-ness to make sooo much progress in such a short time. Me....I like to do some stuff, and then run trains. Do some more stuff...and run trains. I guess I wander around too much !

Michael

" mix and match TOMA" 

That the approach I've decide to take for my S scale CCT  layout. When finished it will have 5 buss divisions so I've decided to build the benchwork, wiring, and track for two of the buss divisions then add more when I've got these two to operating condition.Buss section one will be a staging yard representing the ATSF Mormon yard that requires 7 turnouts and buss section two will be a CCT shops scene requiring 10 turnouts , so 2/5th of the layout should keep me busy for quite some time( @ pqe,it's close enough that I guess I could call this the halfast approach? ).....DaveB

 "I'm certainly no

Hi Chris, Sounds like you have a healthy well round approach to the hobby and life.  

Our advertiser oriented consumer society doesn't help the stress by it's focus on trying to get people to buy stuff to increase their sales instead of looking at what we really need and can realistically afford. New hobbyists need to know that more stuff won't make them enjoy the hobby more if they can't enjoy it with less stuff. As I've gotten older I've sold more stuff than I buy and enjoy the benefit of less to store and keep track of ( if it all fits on the tracks it'll be easier to keep track of !) ......DaveB

That is the dilema I face...

I aspire to have a very large (i.e. long mainline) layout.  Why?  Because, contrary to what Joe F. and others may assert, I find that quantity of run is just as important as quality of run, especially if you are attempting to simulate a particular type of run, in my case a Timetable and Train Order operation.  Having significant DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TOWNS is important, it assits in creating the allusion that you are traveling 100-200 miles.  And I have operated on layouts with trains that are 10' long and 25'+ long, both based on locations that are in the Appalachian mountains, and for me, I could tell the difference between the length of the trains.  SO, to obtain the results I wish to have, I will need a fairly large layout to accomplish that goal. My "limited resource" is energy.  That is being well enough for long enough periods of time (vs being stuck in bed sick for weeks at a time like what happened this past summer for me) to be able to construct the layout (and not to mention prepare and sell my inventory which pays for the hobby!) .  I really have to weigh is it worth the effort.  Any notions of downsizing my final plans would result in something I would not find enjoyable at all. 

So unless I win the Lottery (which is not likely) and I can afford to pay a group of people to construct the layout, I find myself in bit of a quandary at the moment.  Fortunately (or maybe not) I am too busy preparing for the up coming train shows to worry about what I am going to do with the Interim P&A and will I ever build the Ultimate P&A plan?  The answer for the time being is "who knows?" Sigh.

Ken L

OPS-TOMA

What about what I call "OPS-TOMA"?

The concept is to build the complete layout benchwork upon which bare-bones module frames with trackage are applied over the entire layout (exceptions, of course, permitted given time and other constraints).  Each such module would be temporarily removable allowing structures, signals, scenery, additional trackage, etc. to be worked, 360 degrees, at a more convenient workstation.

Electrical power, boosters, DCC, LCC,etc. could undergo troubleshooting in isolation and then placed back into the OPS-TOMA modules matrix of the whole layout.  Electrical connectors and mechanical connectors would be used to allow electrical connectivity and to fix each module into its respective alignment.  Troubleshooting apparati could be utilized/devised to assist such efforts and allow locomotives to be run on just one module undergoing testing/tweaking at the workstation.

The OPS-TOMA concept would allow operations when desired and the practical applications of other aspects at a convenient workstation, when a muse strikes at one's motivation/desire.  Any debris/mess would be confined to the workstation area allowing easier cleanup.

An OPS-TOMA layout would allow operations at times and would allow detailed scenery, etc. at other times.

Obviously, the OPS-TOMA is merely what TOMA is about -- it is just a way of thinking about it....

TOMA is good start, use that focus.

When I get overwhelmed with my layout, I try to focus on smaller, more manageable scenes or areas. I have found that trying to write about a section of my layout being built, (i.e. NMRA Author AP certificate) it helps me complete one section, then move on. I still feel I will be building my layout in 15 minutes. That's 15 minutes a day.

If it is too daunting to enter the layout room, maybe focus on cleaning, car maintenance, or weathering one piece of rolling stock until the urge to push forward comes back. Great topic, this deserves much discussion.

Project results

As you begin to finish some of your projects and start to see results............you won`t feel so overwhelmed.

I'm with Randy and Constructor on this

@Randy