Fun topic - model railroading while on vacation

[Trainman203]

While on vacation, what do you do, if anything, model railroad wise?  When we go to Florida in the summer I often bring plastic structure kits to paint with spray cans in a shed on the property we lease .  I've brought freight car kits to build , too.

There are railroad  atlases you can buy that show present and and abandoned routes.  These are invaluable to determine what line used to be on the abandoned grade along the highway you are driving.  Small towns often have local museums with a railroad component, such as the one we went in Harrison, AR two days ago.

Of course there are major destinations like Strasburg or Durango too.  Much depends on how much your family will tolerate 😂.

Right now we are in North Arkansas in the heart of Missouri Pacific White River Division country.  There's enough of the prototype remaining to study.   I largely study the ambience of the scenery and surrounding countryside too.

What do you do on vacation when separation anxiety from your layout sets in?

[Terry Toenges]

I bought a book a few years ago that is guide to all the tourist railroads and museums. I take that with me when I travel somewhere. I don't do anything model related, but I do visit the sites that might be close to where I'm going. Sometimes, I go specifically to an area to visit the railroad stuff.

[Piyer]

I usually spend too much money and end up with a baggage handling issue. Seriously. When I was in my teens, we took a trip to Utica, NY. I left about $50 at Village Hobbies. My mother thought we'd be safe once we got to Union Station for our train home... nope! The newsstand had train magazines and back issues. I bought 25+ magazines with only a flimsy plastic shopping bag to hold them. Suffice it to say that I was carrying them in my arms, sans shopping bag, by the time I got home.

Flash forward a few decades, in 2016 I took my mom on a three-day trip to Philadelphia to see friends and to surprise her with tickets to see Harvey (as in the invisible rabbit) on stage. We traveled light: a small backpack and a carry-on for each of us. On the coldest day of the year, I ventured out of the hotel to visit a hobby shop... $350 +/- dollars later, I've more than doubled our baggage and am desperately searching nearby stores for boxes to neatly pack it in (nope - biggest box I could find was a 6x6x6 inch one.). Thankfully we had a helpful Red Cap who got us a seat by a baggage area and we didn't have to pay for excess baggage on the train home.

As a result of these and other such adventures, the only cards I allow myself anywhere near a train show, hobby shop, or renaissance festival (no, they didn't have trains there, but they did have Game of Thrones replica swords...) is my debit card. Toys or food, I get to take my pick. ;-)

[Trainman203]

I ordered some Bachmann passenger cars today!  They will probably be at the house when we get back home.

Surfing the model railroad net.  That's one way to stay sane among all the extended family "visiting."

[Piyer]

Surfing the model railroad net.  That's one way to stay sane among all the extended family "visiting."

In the Broadway musical "Into The Woods" Cinderella's Father has an O! so fitting comment regarding the time he spent at the Prince's Ball with his wife and two step-daughters: The closer to the family, the closer to the wine. That line always pops into my head when folks comment about their sanity while around family. 

[Trainman203]

We start home tomorrow.  We will pass through Little Rock.  There's a purely model railroad LHS in North Little Rock.  I get an hour there.  😱😂

[jward]

I used to have a timesaver layout I built to take with me. It was on a 1x6 plank 6 feet lone, and I packed it, a half dozen cars and a locomotive. I could set it up on a table anywhere in a matter of minutes.

Mostly, though, my road trips involve the real thing. We often used to camp out along the tracks.

This past summer, I got married, and one of the things we did on the honeymoon is ride the northeast corridor to Baltimore, then the light rail to the inner harbor. It helps when your wife likes trains too.