Southern Pacific Switching Layout

[Justinmiller171]

So I gather that none of the track had actually been "laid," but was actually just sitting loose on top of the plywood. :? :?

Yep :oops:

I'm not sure I quite understand why there would be a need to "disconnect" any of the already "laid" track to do electrical troubleshooting.

To be honest, I was being stupid and when I was trying to Isolate the short(At this time I believed that I had DCC-friendly track) and so I took apart all of the track and wired up just one small part to see what the problem was, It was only after I did all of that I realized that my track was NOT DCC-friendly and that taking apart the track was unnecessary.

There has long been a saying (since long before you or I were born) in our hobby that all model railroaders used to joke about and laugh amongst themselves, because in the overall scheme of things, the saying is depressingly true ... if your overall goal is to "finish" your layout. The saying is .... A model railroad is never "finished."

I agree, however I don't want to get started on a project that won't even get close to being "Finished". I have attempted to build to previous layouts, one was an Ho-scale 4x8, which had track laid and some basic scenery, but it still was nowhere near finished when it got scrapped. The second layout I tried to build was my Miami layout, which also just had track down when I quit on it. I don't want this layout to have the same story.

You see ... model railroading is a hobby. Hobbies are primarily a diversion ... a relaxing distraction from the stress and struggles of what happens during daily life. As a diversion, it is generally approached in a relaxed atmosphere because the purpose of a hobby is to relax one's self in some activity that is found enjoyable in some way. There is no rush, no hurry ... just dogged continued progress towards the goal of building a model railroad and eventually operating trains on it ... again, for the purposes of relaxing!

Building a layout is very relaxing, however what is relaxing to me most is running train on my "Almost finished" layout, I also like making scenery, putting together rolling stock, and detailing. The parts of layout building that frustrate me are: Track-laying, Wiring, and Scratch-Building.

But, tell me, Justin, ... just what will you do for relaxation, fun and the enjoyment of personal accomplishment once your layout is "finished?"

Run Trains!

Don't get me wrong I Strongly admire you guys that have the patience and skill to build amazing things from a sheet of plastic and build amazing layouts, but I don't have the Time, Patience, or Money to do so. Maybe in 10+ years when I am more skilled, more patient, and make more than $30 a week
but definitely not right now.