Looking for a Kick in the Rear

[Hyperion]

So I need some help or something with motivation I guess.

A year ago now I built the below benchwork.  It's actually all complete (few pieces of upper fascia are in the garage still) minus some more lighting, but that's it.  It's modular, built out of identical 4ft components with a 4'x4' corner piece and with the idea there'd be a subroadbed of 1" of foam bringing it up to just about the height of the fascia.  The height is set for eye-level and it was intended to, perhaps one day, expand to include a lower-level beneath at chair-height with it even already painted light blue on the underside.  It's all supposed to be point-to-point, entirely one large industry (automotive plant) and would eventually someday be a part of a much larger double-deck layout.

I'd like to think it's pretty good benchwork, but every little thing bugged me that it wouldn't be "right" and just wouldn't suffice.  The noticeable gap in the hardboard backdrop between 2 of the pieces for example (honestly about the only real defect there is, remarkable considering my lack of woodworking skill and good tools, the top surfaces themselves are about perfectly flush).  But I'm afraid the whole "modular" thing just won't work and will only cause me problems (it's gotta be easily portable as I move frequently).  And some difficulties cutting the foam to fit well only turned me off even more.   The idea of hitting a crossbeam where I want a switch machine also makes me want to throw my hands up.

Probably not surprisingly by this point is my lack of ability to decide on a track plan as well.  I just know as soon as I put something down it'll suck and that'll only make me less likely to keep going.  Somewhere in the back of my mind is also a little niggling feeling that if I can't get everything I want in there (and who could in just a narrow 12x8) then it's not worth doing it at all.  Which is the one bad thing about getting to see all the really good modeling being done here -- one one hand I think, "Hey, I can do that", and on the other I think, "I can't do that, might as well throw in the towel now"

I guess I just need to hear that what I've got is a good start and that the problems aren't/won't be that big a deal.  Seems kinda stupid I know but I'm hoping it might help.  Or if it sucks, let me know that too.






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[Ed Kapuscinski]

One of the thinfs I've learned, and this has been driving my modeling progress.

None of this is carved in stone.

Just do it, you can always undo it (and redo it).

Don't let fear of imperfection, or failure, keep you from enjoying the hobby.

[wm3798]

Agreed.  You won't really know what's wrong with your plan until you have it running for a while.  Suddenly you see that sidings are too short, staging is pointed in the wrong direction, and all your crossovers are backward.

Just slap down some track and get on with it!

Lee

[TiVoPrince]

Lay
your mainline first.  Run some trains and add passing sidings.  Drop in industry tracks once you are happy.  Each stage will present challenges and heartache but you may well finish before me if you start now...

[MichaelWinicki]

For me it comes down to this...

I don't care if you're 20 or 70, there just isn't enough time left.

Either pizz-away another day of your life that you'll never, ever get back OR make something of it.

“A good plan, violently executed today, is better than a perfect plan next week.”- George S. Patton

[JoeD]

Good advice.  I also noticed that we tend to want to do too much in a small space.  Do a google search on track plans and they tend to be inspired by rats nests with hundreds of dollars of switches and short sections of track.  I've been noodling over a layout as well and think putting down a main line first so I can loop some trains is a great way to get started.  As you find subjects you want to model, cut into the line and add switches just like the real roads do some times.  My goal is to do with as few switches as possible, run trains and focus on structures and scenery...tell a story.  Others have taken the time saver idea and expanded it to good use for switching challenges.  Something to consider.  There's enough stuff out there where you don't need to feel you have to design this on your own...find a layout that inspires you and make it fit your needs.  Show your ideas here...trust me, there's no shortage of opinions on this forum  ;D

Joe
MTL

Lay
your mainline first.  Run some trains and add passing sidings.  Drop in industry tracks once you are happy.  Each stage will present challenges and heartache but you may well finish before me if you start now...

[Denver Road Doug]

Coming from someone that is facing the same dilemna, I say "move forward".   Don't sweat the gaps and other things that unnerve you.  Keep moving forward and get some trains running.  Of the fit and finish of benchwork/fascia/lighting that I've seen in my years I can definitely say--without sugarcoating--that your work so far is--at a minimum--above average.

If the modular design isn't perfect, that's ok...worst case you will see where to improve it next time and most likely you can get it back together with a little tracklaying and scenery touch up.  Like Ed said....nothing is set in stone.

Nobody is perfect in every aspect of the hobby.  The work showcased here is by a talented bunch but there's probably dust under every one of 'ems rugs if you look hard enough.  

[Denver Road Doug]

“A good plan, violently executed today, is better than a perfect plan next week.”- George S. Patton

Love it, I'm thinking about adopting that as my motto.

[seusscaboose]

Good advice.  I also noticed that we tend to want to do too much in a small space.  

Lay
your mainline first.  Run some trains and add passing sidings.  Drop in industry tracks once you are happy.  Each stage will present challenges and heartache but you may well finish before me if you start now...

i gotta agree here....  over the past 6 months i have come to appreciate open space and a wandering single track main... unfortunatley for me, i have a double track main around the perimeter of my basement...  i suppose it comes from my preference for watching trains and not "operating" the various industries.  One of the things i have noticed is that it is much harder to model open spaces than a busy city scene in my opinion.  with a busy scene you can gloss over some fine details and come back to them.  in an open space, it is harder to hide things.

I also am not a firm beleiver of track plans, i am more of a "have fun and see if ya like it" guy...  i will gladly make mistakes and learn something.  then again, my modelling experience is @ 10 years, well below this forum average i am sure... which is why it is such a good resource.  Most questions have already been answered sometime along the way.  

regarding your track plan, why not start with unitrack and then graduate to your preference when you finally "find out" what you want.  It is easier to pull up and put down, and has a decent resale value if ya keep it nice.

my 2 cents

[delamaize]

Your benchwork looks good to me, now this is what I would do. go get yourself a sh*t load of Kato Unitrack, get a little bit of everything, some diffrent radi curves, straits of all diffrent leignths, switchs of diffrent angles, etc. and start playing with it! the beauty of the Unitrack is you can assemble and reassemble as much as you want. then when you are happy with what you got, you can either attach the unitrack, or buy a mess of flex track and replace the Unitrack 3' at a time. this is my plan on my next layout, and when you are done with the unitrack, you can put it away somewhere untill you are ready to do the next deck, then do it all over again. Another Benifit to the Unitrack is within an afternoon you can be running trains, and changing things don't put your railroad down for days and days like laying flex will if you want to change.

Most important. have fun.

[wcfn100]

Don't let fear of imperfection, or failure, keep you from enjoying the hobby.

Fear only benchwork. 


Jaosn

[AlkemScaleModels]

One of the thinfs I've learned, and this has been driving my modeling progress.

None of this is carved in stone.

Just do it, you can always undo it (and redo it).

Don't let fear of imperfection, or failure, keep you from enjoying the hobby.

Agree completely. I had a turnout that was trouble on my first Bawlmyr switching layout. I had fiddled with it several times to get it to work better. Then one day Paul Dolkos visited. He said, "You'll spend more time worrying about it than it takes to change it." He was absolutely right. I swapped it out and all the trouble went away.

Since then I have never had a trouble ripping out things that didn't suit me. I may take this too far as I have ripped out several layouts, but evolution to improve is part of what this hobby is about.

[Hyperion]

I appreciate the encouraging words and advice everyone.

I do have a great deal of flextrack, switches, roadbed (both cork and California Roadbed), and quite literally everything that one would need to build a little railroad empire.  If there's one thing I'm not hesitant about, it's buying what I need to do what I want -- it's the doing it part that's the problem.  But I do like the Unitrak idea as a means of simply putting something down and experimenting with different track layouts, the one downside is the necessary track/switches to do what I want would be at least several hundred bucks, which is more than a little cash; though hopefully it could be largely recouped on resale; and compared to doing nothing and getting no utility of the many thousands of dollars of stuff I've got, the 'investment' in Unitrak would be favorable.

At the very least, getting some track down right on the plywood without worrying about the foam is a good idea.  I can just tack it down lightly and work from there.  Yeah, I think I'm gonna do just that and see where we go from there. 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Don't forget about getting second hand unitrack, you're not the first person to use it for planning.

[up1950s]

It's the journey , not the destination . Cherish the step that you are doing at the moment . The steps can be a bit out of order to fore-fill a desire to have fun .