The Last Project on My Layout

[jonathan]

We all have to face the inevitable at some point...

For many boring reasons, it's time for my layout to come down:

DSC_1490 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_1489 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

DSC_1488 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Trains are packed; trees are packed; some scenery torn out, vehicles and figures packed; some structures are removed; and a little trackwork is gone.

I'll start on the electronics next. 

Very, very sad...

Jonathan

[Ken Huck]

OH NO ! ! !

What happened ?  Sad to see this.

Tell us more.

Ken

[infamouselijah]

Are you going to replace it with a different layout?

[Terry Toenges]

That is really a bummer. I'm so sorry you have to do that.

[J3a-614]

Beautiful road!!  Sorry to see it go?

Can you say what has happened, and what future plans may be?

[jonathan]

Thanks,guys.

Just reached a certain age. Within a year it will be time to downsize my life. Kids growing up and so on.

The layout will be the most time consuming to pack up.

I'll still have the MR club. I still plan to build another layout one day.

Man, I didn't realize how many trains I have. I could run my own booth at a train show.

Regards,

Jonathan

[WoundedBear]

That bites Jon. But nothing lasts forever, right?

You put a lot of effort into the layout. It's disheartening to start ripping things up, but life does have a way of going on regardless of our schedule.

I'm afraid of when that day comes for me. Stuff accumulates so quickly.

Good luck with everything, and don't be a stranger around here.

Sid

[Trainman203]

Jonathon will be here a lot.  Most of my forum activity is on days I'm away from the layout and bored.

Speaking of being bored, I'm getting kind of bored  with my layout too.  Operationally it's been the same for at least 5 years now, about the last time I added an industrial spur.  I'll be retired soon and maybe moving too.  My scenery is about 80% done and much could use upgrading like super trees, but that won't cure the dozens of issues I know now to avoid.

[bbmiroku]

These are (some of) the reasons why I don't build a permanent layout.  Those and because I'm in an apartment that can't afford to lose the space of even a 4x6 layout for more than a month or two.

Good luck, and maybe it's time to move to a different scale while you have a choice before you may be forced to age related difficulties (tiny wheels, tiny couplers, less patience, etc.)?

[Trainman203]

A 1x8 or 2x8 layout is a real possibility and not a big cash outlay .  I had a 1x8 that could keep me busy for a couple of hours.  It's amazing  how much fun you can have with one engine and 6 or 7 cars.  Plus, you don't need benchwork, you just put in on a table and go.  I used to store mine vertically against the wall, and take the structures off.

[bbmiroku]

Must've been nice to have extra wall space...  I have so many bookshelves filled with videos (VHS and DVD) and books that between them, the window, the closets, and the posters, there's not a lot of space.  It's a good thing I have some pieces of furniture that are very close in height.  And it's really 3 2'x4' plywood sections.  I'll use the other one for my Z-Gauge loop, hopefully.

[Terry Toenges]

I remember childhood days of long ago using different size books for temporary "up and overs" because I didn't have piers.

[Trainman203]

My 1x8 was stored in front of stuff.  We have a "stuff" problem.

[jonathan]

Here's a little progress on my deconstruction project.  The 3-day weekend gave me an opportunity to get a big chunk done, between bagging leaves...

Taking out all the structures and scenery elements:

DSC_1491 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Another angle:

DSC_1492 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Packed everything that can be reused, along with trains of course.  I saved as many structures as much wire as I could:

DSC_1493 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Since I decided not to salvage the track, I could be, um, a bit aggressive when pulling out the main layer:

DSC_1494 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

That's going to the dump next weekend.  The track has been reused enough times that it just wasn't worth the effort to save it.

Finally, I was too tuckered out to continue.  So this is where I left off:

DSC_1496 by Jon Vogel, on Flickr

Not bad for three days...

Regards,

Jonathan

[Trainman203]

Are you moving somewhere smaller?