Who has recently retired or will be retiring soon and what are your train plans?

get my garage back and set up the board.

everytime my wife wants to get rid of something she throws it in the garage.

im tossing everything and tuff if she wants it.

After 39.5 years of working nights and weekend (since July 1977), I gave it up January 1. I am 63.5 and will work the next 3 years Monday to Friday( in reality, cutting back to a 60 hr week....). Every weekend off will give me more time 2 ways.......more actual time and more energy because I won't be recovering from 36 hr shifts.

Really enjoying it so far!

Peter 

I retired last year and as fall came on my wife suggested that I get my trains out of the attic. 45 years of working day and night left little time for my trains. What joy it has been to re-discover this joyful hobby.

Little did she realize the results of her suggestion would be the loss of one of her rooms.  

I took my wife's advice and retired in 2014 when I turned 62.  We were tired of my always having to work in another state managing construction sites, although it gave us opportunity to see a lot of our country and visit the local sites of interest.  Also, I acquired many trains and items from diff areas, pieces I may not locate otherwise and at low, local prices (antique shops, estate sales, etc.).  After 44 years of employment, too many 12/14 hr, 7 days a week in refineries, chemical plants, etc., I was ready and feels great being home all the time.  Have not got to spend time on the layout as much as I wish, but have made progress and it is slowly coming along.  With the storms/cleanup and other property to do's, I stay busy and feel great about it.  But, as stated, do have more time for layout and trains, making use of info and products found here, repairing/upgrading various engines, getting past issues taken care of.  LOVE IT !!!!!

Jesse   TCA  12-68275

Retirement is about a year away for me (I hope.)

Right now the post-retirement plan is to begin to deal with all the projects I've started or intended to start.

I set a cut off date last June for pre-orders of big ticket items (greater than $400.00.)   I still have two pre-orders in orbit and the cash is set aside for them, but otherwise no new pre-orders.  I'll still set aside 20 bucks a week for train things, so I may still pick up a thing or two if the cash is available.

Rusty

I'll be retiring this year (maybe getting rehired part-time). 

Changes nothing at all for me.

Hello, I retired 15 years ago but when I was planning it, my wife and I started to plan a move to a more "elder" living place. We selected a condo in her home town close to a golf course (country club) which allowed her to be closer to family and old friends and allowed me to walk about 400 yards to the first tee. The condo was still under construction so we could pick options like a semi finished basement in which I could construct a reasonably sized layout. No more trains around the Christmas tree. Therefore, I have a 24 ft by 8 ft layout that has running trains and beautiful scenery (I got help with the scenery). Of course, a layout is never really finished because you always find something you want to improve, such as adding a lighthouse in a corner or add signal lights.

Unfortunately, with age, my golf handicap is increasing but I am still having fun with golf and model railroading.

I wish I was still working, laid off after 25 years at one spot, then 2 years later disabled do to the dam Cancer and the crap treatment and surgery's that go along with it. I have all the time in the world now and I am alive with my Trains! My wife lets me do as I please as long as I do house work also.

I have been retired 5 years after working for 48.  I knew it would be good, I had no idea it would be THIS good.  I have more time for trains, that's for sure and that is a good thing.  I've expanded my layout and go to 2 shows a year instead of 1!  I also thought I would have beer for lunch every day.  I've done that 4 times in 5 years.  Pluses, minuses, like everything in life.

I turned 57, yesterday, and am eligible for retirement after 33+ years on the job.  Alas, as my wife and I like to eat three times a day, I will probably put off retirement until I turn 62! 

Although we have lived in the same house for the last 24 years, this is not our retirement house and we had planned on moving after I retired.  Given the fact that it looks like they may start developing the 100 acres next to us in the next 2-3 years, we have decided to try and sell our house this coming Summer.

Unfortunately, for the trains, this means the end to my current 11'x17' layout and the 12'x15' "U" extension (bench work already built).  I have spent my free time for the last two weeks cataloging and packing up my trains.  This week will be spent taking up my Ross turnouts and Gargraves track (selling on the forum next week.)  The trains will all be going into climate controlled storage.  As we will likely rent a condo or townhouse until I retire, this means the shift to a carpet layout (Lionel Fastrack) from my current Ross/Gargraves layout.

Our retirement house will have some type of permanent layout.  As I don't know where we might live, this could be a bedroom, family room, or hopefully, another basement. 

Jim

I retired in 2012 and had a nice layout that I put more time into but most importantly started traveling in Europe for two months a year and riding some of the premier trains that are available and my wife tolerates it as long as we go to places that she wants to see.

Mikey

Been retired for a year now. 66 years old next week; it's WONDERFUL! Drove big truck for Wally World, various work schedules over the years but gone from the house for days on end. Always seemed rushed to finish a project on the layout; needed  to show some progress. There were weeks that went by that I never even went into the train room, that was usually in the warmer months when I had outside activities to do; enjoying my 3 acres in the TN Smoky MTNS. Even contemplated getting rid of the trains. But now it's a real joy to be able to go down to the train room and play at my leisure.

Worked 46 years as an aerospace engineer/professor. Retired almost three years ago and began building a 10'-by-5' 3-rail scale layout opposite a 12'-by-8' layout completed in 2004. Have recently been posting photos on OGR Forum. New layout is built in two 5'-by-5' sections with light-weight modular construction to be transportable if we move. Grandkids love to visit and run the trains. Probably another year or so to complete new layout. Still buying some trains - MTH Premier and Atlas O, but no expensive steam engines or Lionel. I have a huge collection already. Hope to keep active in the hobby.

MELGAR

     I will be 62 this spring and plan on working for at least 3 more years hopefully, The Air Force retired me at 60 after 33 years (12 active and 21 reserve) they said i was too old but they did give me a civillian job so I can stay a few more years. I have slowed down on the scenery of the present layout but I do get to run my trains. The wife and I are planning on moving out of Ct. when I retire and looking possibly down Kentucky or Tenn.  The new house either buy or build has 2 very important requirements 1 everything on one floor for the wife ( bed, bath utility etc.) and 2  a very large open  basement for the trains and if no basement I have a 25' X 48' garage sitting on a pallet that I could use for the trains.

I closed my store and retired this year. I am rearranging the basement and getting the train room put together in one end. So far my office and work areas are mostly in and trains stored/displayed. Next is to take apart my old gun-room/dark-room/train storage room which is going to supply some of the material for the layout which is going to sit upon some shelf units that I salvaged from the store.

I retired in March 2016. I'm 67 years old. My current layout in the basement is a couple of sheets of plywood painted green with 031 tubular track. I've accumulated a lot of newer equipment which requires 072. My plan is for a new layout, but not sure if it will be in the basement or a spare bedroom. The hard part is tearing down what I have and cleaning up to make more room for what I want. The really hard part is that since I retired I am now staring at all the little projects around the house that were never done or never completed and I haven't had the time to spend on the layout. 

I retired 13 years ago and wasn't happy about it at the time.  I had wanted to work at least until I was 70, but circumstances dictated that it be at 62 instead.  I loved my job and was able to balance working with my hobbies.  It took me the best part of three years to accept it and get on with my life.  I know it's not possible, but I seem busier now that when I was working.  Way too many things to do and not nearly enough time to do them.  I have been blessed with good health, enough income to live comfortably, and a lot of varied interests.

Off to the movies to see a film recommended to my wife, then home to work on the layout.  My son is coming tomorrow so we should get a lot done then.

Best of luck in your retirement, it can be the best time of your life.

Art

Retired some years back and wife has 3 years to go to max out at her job her dream is to sell house and buy 1 in Florida which to my understanding has very few basements.

I want to make her dream come true in the move to Florida as we are both tired of Illinois winters and would also like space for a bigger than 4x8 layout  But i 'm thinking i need a basement .

It will definitely be a home in Florida and i think a spare bedroom would be to small .

I retire when I'm 65 in two months. My biggest train endeavor is major downsizing. I waited all my working life to retire so I could enjoy my acquisitions of a lifetime (not only trains) only to realize I've entered the sudden death heart attack zone. Dah, never thought of that! Sorry to be Danny Downer, but I know (knew) a significant number of guys in their 60's that have passed. Not fair to leave everything (very large collection) for my wife to worry about, at the same time it will be very depressing to "let go" of my toys. Time to learn how the Bay works and/or the best way to handle such an endeavor. Buying stuff is over, and the "hunt" was the second most thrilling aspect with running trains being first. So my "big" train plans in my retirement is to drastically thin the herd- gracefully!

Rich 

Rich:    Perhaps make estate arrangements with one of the brass re-sellers, like Bill Davis or BrassTrains.com, to handle the disposal of your collection. Since they are pros, might net more money then piece-mealing it off on ebay. And gigantically less frustrating for your wife. In the mean time, keep enjoying ALL of your trains !    

Dieseler posted:

Retired some years back and wife has 3 years to go to max out at her job her dream is to sell house and buy 1 in Florida which to my understanding has very few basements.

I want to make her dream come true in the move to Florida as we are both tired of Illinois winters and would also like space for a bigger than 4x8 layout  But i 'm thinking i need a basement .

It will definitely be a home in Florida and i think a spare bedroom would be to small .

 

Same here Dieseler - I retired a year ago and the wife wants to, at minimum, downsize here in PA, or move to South or South West. That means my basement size layout will have to come down and I will have "real estate" shock on what space I can carve out of a condo somewhere. 

I have no plans to retire as long as the Good Lord keeps me healthy enough to work. I enjoy working (especially the type of work I am lucky enough to be doing) and want to stay active. I have seen far too many younger-than-I retirees bite the dust a relatively short time after retiring. And I definitely plan to stay active in the hobby, which has significantly helped to keep me healthy up to now. I am looking to "upsize by downsizing" in the very near future. By that I mean selling the condo and getting a small single-family home with more space for storage, a decent-size yard, no association fees, and a significantly lower mortgage. Still looking forward to building another garden railroad (Large Scale). I have everything I need for that except the fenced back yard.

I will be 65 in August and have been retired 8 years at the end of this month. I spent 36 years with Caterpillar, Aurora IL in many different jobs.  As soon as I retired I started building the layout. Our retirement home has a full basement and that was the plan. Our old house was on a river bank and had no place for a layout with it full of kids and us. So it has been a great thing to keep the brain moving and keep me out of trouble.  It is the first layout I have had since 1983 a small one for my son that only lasted about a year before the space was needed for a sister.

Now the wife is now retired to so she is coming up with things to do as well.

https://www.youtube.com/channe...SOO7z0ybJlnUlwIp7JrA

Unsuccessfully tried to retire four times, but people kept offering to pay for my life experience.  Finally stuck on the fifth try.  Anticipating the next stages after retirement (downsizing and pushing up daisies), adopted webmastering and ecommerce as new hobbies to dispose of trains acquired over many decades in an orderly manner.  All the fun of working but on a flexible schedule and embracing various aspects of the model railroading hobby. 

I retired 2012 because with my pensions and social security i would have lost money to keep working. My train plans didn't change a bit.

great enjoy your hobby life is to short !

Retired 3-1/2 years ago.  MTH bugged me for a year to come and work there, so I had a weak moment 2-1/2 years ago and go in two days a week and do warranty repairs.  

This June I'll be retiring after 39 years with Delta Air Lines. I'll miss flying the 747 to Japan and the Pacific, but I've got two airplanes of my own to stay in the air. At least I won't have to be screened by TSA to fly my own. I started this hobby 40 years ago in 2 rail O Scale. Built a 2 rail layout in our home when we first moved to Florida 24 years ago. Then all the fantastic 3 rail products stated to appear in the mid to late 90's and my wife was kind enough to surrender the garage where I built a 3 rail layout. So I have two layouts that are  pretty much benchwork and track complete and running well, but without much scenery. All these years I think starting the scenery has intimidated me.  After retirement I plan to dive in head first and start making mountains, streams, canyons, and towns. I actually have most of the materials I'll need that have been ordered through the years, just not the courage to get it started. I'm actually looking forward to starting scenery.

texastrain posted:

I took my wife's advice and retired in 2014 when I turned 62.  We were tired of my always having to work in another state managing construction sites, although it gave us opportunity to see a lot of our country and visit the local sites of interest.  Also, I acquired many trains and items from diff areas, pieces I may not locate otherwise and at low, local prices (antique shops, estate sales, etc.).  After 44 years of employment, too many 12/14 hr, 7 days a week in refineries, chemical plants, etc., I was ready and feels great being home all the time.  Have not got to spend time on the layout as much as I wish, but have made progress and it is slowly coming along.  With the storms/cleanup and other property to do's, I stay busy and feel great about it.  But, as stated, do have more time for layout and trains, making use of info and products found here, repairing/upgrading various engines, getting past issues taken care of.  LOVE IT !!!!!

Jesse   TCA  12-68275

 

I can appreciate your working (moving) to many locations to work on Construction Sites. I retired from Fluor Corp in 2011 after 40 years and I did have a train or 2 before placing the "steel toes" on a shelf.

Brent

Well, I'm turning 80 this summer. I sold all my trains in 2015 and am living in a small apartment. I really don't even have room for a 4 x 8 layout but I am thinking about a 4 X 8 on 2" thick foam that I can put on kitchen table when I want to play trains and store it up along a wall.

Here's 3 pics of my last 2 layouts.

i'v been retired almost 2 years now,i enjoy my time more now,because I can do it when I want and spend however long I want,its great and I'm a lucky guy

I retired at 58 and my last day of work was April 1, 2016. Couldn't be anymore happier after spending 30.5 years combined with Kraft Foods and Nabisco as a sales rep. The company sure took good care of me while working for them and retiring from Nabisco who split up from Kraft in October 2012. With the pension and retiree medical, things are good around here. The wife works part-time and my stores that I called on really want to hire part-time. Just not ready to go back to work. I did that full time for 36 years.

Keeping very active as I have my own layout here, my club moved to another location last September (see our topic under the announcements section here) with much to do there, and daughter and son-in-law bought a 3 bedroom townhouse that needed updating.

Plenty to do and keeping active and working out daily at my local gym.

I retired in 2010, and I love every minute of it.  For the first time, I can keep a regular exercise schedule.  And I have two smallish layouts in the basement, one for O scale equipment, the other for Marx/Lionel tinplate.  I spent 25 years in the data-processing field, and don't miss it at all.

Basically retired as I work from home; but still can't seem to get much done on the layout. I started a year ago with planning. New England winters are time consuming with snow removal and burning firewood.

I retired in December of 2006 at 58. I been playing with trains and goofing off ever since.

And still loving it.��

Larry, still having fun.��

I guess it depends on your definition of "retired."  

I "retired" from running the 765 last September 25. Here's the video of my final station stop on the CVSR in Akron, Ohio, with my two grandsons aboard.

I will "retire" from OGR when we sell the company later this year.

However, I'm still flying for several clients, including a new client who owns a King Air 350 and owns a home in Key West. I plan to fly for a couple more years, as long as I'm healthy. In between flights, it's into the motor home to travel the country in style.

I retired ten years ago. We stayed in the same place for five more years and I worked a lot of the layout to try to finish it. Almost made it. Moving to Maui was a huge deal. Taking down the layout, packing everything we owned in a Matson container, shipping the car and on and on. I have to admit I worked on the old layout more than I do here. The new layout is twice the size of the old one and I tackled the hardest part first. With taking up diving again, kayaking and Aloha Friday parties almost every week, there isn't enough time. There really no a winter season here so your outside all the time. With the thousands of whales coming now I won't work on the layout much at all. Normally I found I go in stages. I'll work for a couple weeks and then lay off for a few weeks. That seems to be the best way for me. I love the trains and filming underwater. With this place only three blocks away it's hard to work on the layout.  Don 

I have been dairy farming since 1969 when I finished Cornell. I started taking winters off in 2014 and put a layout in a 20' by 30' addition. I go back to planting corn and running the forage harvester from April to November. Might go to trains full time after this year. I told my boss to let me know when I create more problems than I solve.

John, the perfect attitude for retirement. Don