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Active Member 37 posts Andy Rinella arinella Active Member 37 posts
Andy Rinella arinella

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It's been almost five years since I've posted on this site, nearly all of which was spent separated from my layout,  and most of which was entirely without model railroading. I'm not at all bothered by spending my mid-20's gallivanting around instead of playing with trains. But between the current state of both the world (melting down under a global pandemic) and my life (settled in a long-term rental house with my girlfriend, and rapidly becoming a crotchety old grandpa at heart), I figure I'll be hunkered down for most of the winter and will have probably the money, time, energy, and desire to really pick up the hobby again.

In the coming months, I'm hoping to complete as much as I can of the following list, and I'll be posting about it on this blog as I go.

  • Building nice(ish) wooden storage shelves to function as permanent yet portable benchwork
  • Rebuilding the single-track staging leg and adding a bolt-on extension
  • Adding a fascia to the permanent portions of the layout
  • Upgrading the track wiring
  • Organizing and arranging my workbench
  • Scratchbuilding the six-lane Interstate 33 overpass and overhead guide signs
  • Adding additional walls and a rebuilt rooftop tower to the Demeter Milling Co. grain elevator
  • Completing the five-story "East Ohio Street" structure on 22nd Way
  • Making miscellaneous repairs and additions to other structures
  • Planning for removable foreground structures and details
  • Taking a first dive into exterior lighting

Some of these things are actually already done, and some may not be done for years, because I'm a liar. But we'll see what we end up with.

 

 

 
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Goose in The Caboose Productions Regular poster 313 posts
Goose in The Caboose Productions

One thing...

Niiice! Left out on thing though, BACKDROP!!

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Goose in The Caboose Productions  -  Railroad and Model train fanatic, superhero fan, and lover of historically accurate and well-executed sword fights.

Long live railroading and big steam!! And above all, stay train-crazy!!!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTkT-p0JdEuaMcMD10a72bg

 
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Axel-T New member 22 posts
Axel-T

Never too late to restart this hobby

Hey - doesn't matter what age group you are to restart this hobby. Even in such a little corner somewhere in the house you can build up a little and well detailed layout that provides a lot of fun...

The hobby and technology developed a lot so with all the modeling related topics you have an advantage starting now and not a few years ago. I only mention 3D printing - millions of possibilities for a reasonable price - plus gaining knowledge in modern technology...

Beside the backdrop I would invest in a good looking shelf as a foundation for your future steps - this is maybe an important acceptance factor for the railroad...

If you are not sure how to build such things like a shelf, drawers and stuff like this with the possibility of a "normal" house hold, have a look at John Heisz https://ibuildit.ca/and Matthias Wandel https://woodgears.ca/- both provide a huge amount of tips and trick for home improvement on the websites and youtube channels.

And this hobby allows to work with the entire family on a project - so your girlfriend might want to work with you...

BR,
Axel
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Ferg53 New member 19 posts
Ferg53

Best laid plans..

Looking forward to following this, looks like a great getting-back-into-it project 

Ferg

Ferg532

Very amateur model enthusiast

Edinburgh, Scotland
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Andy Rinella arinella Active Member 37 posts
Andy Rinella arinella

Backdrop

As Goose and Axel have correctly pointed out, yeah, I'm missing a backdrop too. I'm really dragging my feet on that one. The back edge of the layout is not straight at all - the measurements on the structures and roads were apparently a bit lax, and the backdrop is going to need to strike a balance between freestanding rigidity and horizontal flexibility to conform to the layout features, without looking wavy. We'll get there.
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