Throwing in the Towel...

[tom mann]

I know the feeling too.  I have a lot of freight cars in Z, N, and HO scale and I'm at the point that I'll never get a chance to weather all of them in my lifetime.  My "trainroom" (aka the Weathering Factory) is so cluttered that most of my hobby time is spent trying to straighten it up so I can move around in it.  My solution is to "go with the flow" and not try to force myself towards a predetermined end goal.  If the spirit moves me to weather an HO scale car tonight, so be it.  If not, maybe I'll sit here and read the great threads in Layout Engineering.  Or maybe finish one of the Z scale Town Builder kits. Or like I said, clean up the room. 

If I had one goal that I wanted to shoot for (your dream layout), any deviation from the path that would take me there would be frustrating at first and then overwhelming.

[wcfn100]

I fall into all of this as well except it's not the dream layout but the dream freight car roster.  The notion of having to scratch build 50-60 freight cars and paint as many more gets too daunting and I end up sitting at my computer watching You Tube videos of the Late Late Show instead.

In reaction to this thread, I decided to start a small cut-down door layout (to fit in the bed of my truck) based on my Waterloo modules (something that would still use most of the buildings).  This will allow me to focus on just the freight cars I need and not worry about the massive amount of work needed for my 'dream' roster.  I've already run more trains the last two days than the last 7 years. 

I'm hoping this will be my answer, and I hope you can find yours as well.

Jason

[Kisatchie]

As for the cat...  Does your potential layout room not have a door?  And, the cat shouldn't really be an issue during benchwork anyway.  I'm not a cat guy so I wouldn't know.  But as a devoted dog guy I couldn't imagine hinging my model railroad milestones on awaiting the death of a pet.  I would think you could get all the way to track laying before controlling cat access would be an issue.

We live in a small former Catholic church that was converted into a 2 bedroom home. My layout space is in the 29 x 15' living room, which also serves as my office. So, no door.

I hadn't thought everything through, but I definitely see the sense of doing as much as possible on the layout prior to installing scenery and buildings. Thanks for stating what should have been obvious to me. I'm kind of dense.


Hmm... Kiz flatters
himself...

[peteski]

Sometimes, I just want to sell it all and watch TV.

Daniel, you could always just scratchbuild and customize N scale model vehicles.  They take up much less space and it seems like an enjoyable hobby in itself.  You could also start installing working lights in them - especially in all those beautiful emergency vehicles you build.    Watchign TV is not very creative. 

[Dave V]

We live in a small former Catholic church that was converted into a 2 bedroom home. My layout space is in the 29 x 15' living room, which also serves as my office. So, no door.

I hadn't thought everything through, but I definitely see the sense of doing as much as possible on the layout prior to installing scenery and buildings. Thanks for stating what should have been obvious to me. I'm kind of dense.


Hmm... Layout Engineering
threads are the best part of
the Railwire...

Kiz,

I understand now.  It does sound like a great space, though!  It's tempting to stuff a big space with layout, but less can be more even when you have the room.  It's nice to have extra space to work during construction and for visitors.

So now we need to understand a little more about your design parameters.  I recall your era as 1973, correct?  And the locale is Louisiana?  That'll be fun!

[Cajonpassfan]

I hadn't thought everything through, but I definitely see the sense of doing as much as possible on the layout prior to installing scenery and buildings.

Hmm... Kiz flatters
himself...

...and while you're building the benchwork and laying track, perhaps your kitty can be taught that the layout surface is a "no cat zone" ? I'm still training mine....
Otto

[nkalanaga]

The cat really won't be a problem until the scenery stage, as long as equipment isn't left on the track between runs.  Most of our cats, over the last 40 years, haven't bothered my trains at all.  A couple liked to sit, or sleep, on the layouts, but still didn't do any damage.  As long as there was a cat-sized flat area for them, they left the rest alone.

We have an almost 12 year old cat now, and she jumps on everything.  I have to keep a "kid gate" closed across the trainroom door to keep her out.  Oddly, she won't jump over it, although a similar one doesn't keep her out of the bathroom.  The biggest problem with her and the current layout is that she can't seem top stay out of the overhead wires.  Besides the damage, they're tight enough, and the crossarms small enough, that I'm afraid she'll get cut on them.

Ther bathroom gate could probably be removed.  It was to keep another cat from eating the caulking around the bathtub.  She died late last year.