# building your empire



## oldhobbie reborn (Jan 15, 2014)

Ok guys, a little levity. What is the task you dislike most, and why. For me its stringing telephone poles,im gettin old with fat thumbs and hard to see the insulators and knots that need to be tied. But more than that,the tedious task of ballast.. if I would do one track not so bad,but no I got do a section of all four mainlines for three to four feet at a time and then can't run My trains for two days. What's your inconvenience,lol


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

OK, I'll chime in......my least favorite is crawling under the layout to do some wiring. 
My layout is 34 1/2" off the floor. I'm 6'2" so I can't sit up very straight under there and after a few minutes the old back and neck starts to bark.
The other problem is my "new" (old) eyesight. I just had cataract surgery, which means I can see like an eagle for distance, but now must wear 2.0 "readers" for up close reading, etc., so working with those iddy-biddy wires in less than ideal lighting is a real challenge.
Then toss in the cold concrete floor. I now shuffle a little 2'X2' piece of carpet to sit on to ease the chill on the buns.
Everything other than that is a ton of fun!
Bob


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

I'm going to look like the cranky old cuss...but here goes.... My least favorite part is seeing where the hobby has gone in the last thirty years. DCC is great, the models are better than ever, etc...--but--there is a sterility to the hobby that wasn't there before. 

When I started in the early 70s, it was a hobby of craftsman who injected a bit of themselves into their work, as seen in the layouts of George Sellios and Rod Stewart with the personal touches, humor and quirks that only come from within the modeler. Balsa, cardstock, razor saws and glue were part of your arsenal, and knowing how your locomotive worked, as well as the basics of electricity and carpentry were part of your basic research before you dared lay a tie of track. Those modelers are way fewer and further between than the greats I grew up with...Westcott, Allen, McClellen, McClannahan, Towers, Robertson...

Now it is more a hobby of product acquisition, as seen in most layouts that grace the pages of MR magazine, with protoypically correct thisses and thats popping out of the box fresh from the hands of Chinese slave labor, all stacked in neat little piles as it appeared in Wheramie, Arizona, during the steam/diesel transition period in 1955. You can clearly pick out each product, and almost see the faint outline of the price tag, it's so fresh from the box. There's no groundbreaking, only the rehash of things long settled in the hobby, but now resolved with a product that anyone with the right sized wallet can squirt out onto a piece of plywood or plop on the rails straight from the box.

Look back thru a 40 year old hobby magazine and see what I mean. It's a trip thru the foundation of the hobby as I perceive and practice it today, having turned my back on the fru fru that sits on the shelf now long ago. 

End of rant... :thumbsup:


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Gotta agree with Bob. While my under table clearance is 38"
I still hate crawling around under there to fiddle with tiny little
wires. As a result, 2 of my completed buildings with lights
installed have yet to be connected.

Shay

When I first started reading the Model Magazines the
elite layouts were using 'outside' third rail, similar to
that used in Subways. It was very complex, there
were spaces to allow a switch track to pass thru,
at which point another rail was installed on the
opposite side of the track to provide uninterrupted
power. 

It appeared that all track was
hand laid, including the 3rd rail. The craftsmanship
displayed was astounding. Some time back I asked if
anyone remembered those historic layouts but don't
think there was any response. Do you remember?.

Don


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## doorman29 (Dec 15, 2013)

I miss my younger eyes but not the younger brain lol. The only part of the hobby I truly dis like is track cleaning. It's not the cleaning itself so much as the collateral damage done to scenery during the process.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

DonR said:


> Shay
> 
> When I first started reading the Model Magazines the
> elite layouts were using 'outside' third rail, similar to
> ...


Frank Ellison's Delta Lines was outside third rail, as well as John Armstrong's Canandaigua Southern...I well remember each one. Frank's was especially fascinating because all of his masonry work on his bridges and buildings was painted on, done so well people would not believe it until they touched it. He also had an odd way to tune up his equipment...if say the pilot truck on a steam loco was giving him problems, he'd just pull it off, as he was more into operations than appearance...awesome stuff.


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## briangcc (Oct 11, 2012)

Shay,

Unfortunately these days people want instant gratification. The unfortunate part is that it gets boring really quickly going from layout to layout seeing the exact same locomotive running around with the same details and the same Chinese applied weathering.

Gone are the days of the Athearn blue box kits, Roundhouse kits, etc. No one wants to spend the time to actually build something. They'd rather just open the box, shake it, and viola...tis good enough.

Of course there are still a few of us around who actually know how to model a particular engine. That's why I have an Athearn DD35B unit in my stable - I made it out of (2) DD40 (Athearn mislabeled their engines) and (2) GP35's. You can read the article on it along with an A unit and the DD40AX in past issues of RMC 

I've got a few projects in line for myself - couple diecast parts searchlight cars (basically the flat car only) that'll get turned into depressed center flat cars with new floors once I get done with them. And I have a shelf full of Varney cast F3's - A and B's that need Athearn chassis's under them along with paint - I have a set in Santa Fe Red & Silver warbonnet that I completed already.

But right now I dread all the masking for the custom paint work. It's easy enough to do, I just happen to have a set of 20month old hands that likes to help out and when it gets too boring, then Thomas the Tank gets involved and my time is spent there with my son. When he's old enough though, I'm getting him involved in modeling with his own projects so he can say he made it


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## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

Not smart (or stupid) enough yet to chime in here. :laugh:


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## oldhobbie reborn (Jan 15, 2014)

I think this got misunderstood,,,,not what do you hate about the new things in the hobby, but what TASK as a model railroader,do you LEAST look forward to doing on YOUR empire,,,,,I am old enough (read that 54) to rememmber building My rolling stock from roundhouse ,athearn and a few others,but I see nuthing wrong with store bought and customizing to fit My needs and likes


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

Wow, maybe I should find another hobby. On the other hand, perhaps the ability to understand and apply computer technology is the new sort of special detail to the hobby. For those who appeal to the late 60s type of model railroading as the era of real self injected into the hobby, that was the shake box era compared to several decades earlier when modelers would wind the armatures of their own hand built motors and cut their own drive gear for their live steam toys. Makes the razar saw and card board building kits look kinda lame when ya compare to different eras of skill. 
It's all a hobby that is broad enough that each person can find their own niche of enjoyment and do it to their hearts content. Some like logging railroads while others prefer the wide open deserts with long freight trains. Some prefer 1870s type steam locos while others fall in love with the new GenSets. Sound or no sound, plaster scenery or just plywood, flex track or sectional, code whatever. Who am I to deliver a note that someone else isn't up to the hobby because they can't do what I do? The underlying theme we should all impart is the support to newcomers to the hobby in one way or another. The encouragement to other modelers for their efforts and uniqueness in their skills and interests.
You're right Shay, you did look light a crank, but that's ok. You said what you wanted to say.


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

oldhobbie reborn said:


> I think this got misunderstood,,,,not what do you hate about the new things in the hobby, but what TASK as a model railroader,do you LEAST look forward to doing on YOUR empire,,,,,I am old enough (read that 54) to rememmber building My rolling stock from roundhouse ,athearn and a few others,but I see nuthing wrong with store bought and customizing to fit My needs and likes


oldhobbie.....
yep, this thread got off the track.
What do we like the least in our RR hobby was the question.
I've just come in from the garage after doing some more wiring under the table. 
Now my lovely bride of 37 years is about to give me a neck and back rub to ease the pain. 
That new billboard looks great! :appl: I feel like somebody gave me a karate chop! 
Gotta love that layout! 
Bob


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## dablaze (Apr 17, 2012)

Trying too see small parts. 

Craig


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## Dr Bob (Dec 31, 2013)

As a returning model railroader fron 25 years ago, I am in the planning stage and have not into things enough to comment on as to what is my least favorite. However, with my aging body, I am sure somethings will surface.  I recall from my layout 25 years ago which was in my garage, the cold concrete floor while wiring brings back some bad memories. My new, shelf layout will be in a spare bedroom with heat and carpeted floors. However, I am expecting a little frustration in seeing tiny stuff as my eyes are not what they were. 

As far as the old days, the majority of my railroad stuff is from those days. I plan on using as much of this as I can. However, I am in favor of progress and improvements in the hobby. I look forward to using things like sheet foam and the variety of new structural kits. 

Dr Bob


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## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

Replacing Kadee knuckle springs with my chubby fingers and antique eyes! Usually takes me 5 lost springs and a cuss jar full of quarters to get one done. #2 is crawling under and playing with those tiny wires, but I find using an auto-store creeper keeps my butt off the concrete and has a nice padded place to rest my noggin.


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

With a doubt wiring under the layout. I just finished, well almost finished, rewiring the whole layout and paid a price. I haven't started ballasting yet but at least you're standing up. 

I've got magnifying glasses all over the layout, the strongest I can get. :smilie_daumenpos: Actually got them all over the house and cars as well. 

Magic


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## apoc444 (Jan 28, 2013)

without a doubt the hobby is a lot different than thirty years ago when I left and like thirty years ago I still dont like the under table wiring,,but it is very satisfyin to light up a new building that I have built from scratch,,the little coupler springs flyin all over arent alot fun either but differently than thirty years ago is the ability to come on here and get help to solve alot of the issues that plague us all during planning and construction of these mini-empires


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## trains galore (Jul 22, 2013)

Track laying when I started laying track a few years back I had no idea about sharp curves that would cause derailments, or that I might need insulated rail joiners and it took ages just sorting out track problems to get a single train running
I have a somewhat better idea of what to do now which is why I'm building another level on my layout for the longer passenger cars (because I'm too lazy to fix the first one)

But really, it is all avoidable, I just didn't bother researching and didn't really plan:laugh:
On the positive side, I enjoy the wiring and soldering, I like to plan out my electrical circuits


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## Area57 (Nov 8, 2015)

I agree with the phone lines. I have a likes of them that need to be reinstalled and a tangled mass a string for wires that doesn't look fun. 

Otherwise the worst part is glueing things that break. Tiny thing do not like to be glued. 

My favorite part is the little people and deciding where they should go. Or hogs or animals of any kind.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*The "joy" of wiring*



raleets said:


> OK, I'll chime in......my least favorite is crawling under the layout to do some wiring.
> My layout is 34 1/2" off the floor. I'm 6'2" so I can't sit up very straight under there and after a few minutes the old back and neck starts to bark.
> The other problem is my "new" (old) eyesight. I just had cataract surgery, which means I can see like an eagle for distance, but now must wear 2.0 "readers" for up close reading, etc., so working with those iddy-biddy wires in less than ideal lighting is a real challenge.
> Then toss in the cold concrete floor. I now shuffle a little 2'X2' piece of carpet to sit on to ease the chill on the buns.
> ...


raleets;

"I feel your pain!" Now I feel a lot less physical pain, by using a smart idea from Model Railroader magazine. I have moved most wiring,
and all turnout motors, frog polarity switches, Etc. to the front of the layout. Just behind the fascia is a long box area containing all the 
machinery needed to operate. The only things under the layout are simple, reliable push pull rods, and as little wiring as I can get away with.
Age and disability issues have made it totally impractical for me to get under the layout anymore. I'm very glad to have copied another 
idea from MR. sectional benchwork. Now I can take one section at a time to my workbench; and, if needed, just turn it upside down and work on it.
In your case I'm assuming you don't want to start over from scratch. May I suggest a mechanic's "creeper" dolly equipped with strong, battery-operated
lights that can be aimed up at the area where you have to work? Check on www.harborfreighttools.com They should have what you need. 
Mental pain, inherent in all wiring, is a different matter. I don't have any answer for that! That's why I have it a lot!

Traction Fan


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