Fighting Boredom

Weather a few of the pieces of rolling stock and add a few vines and shades on a few buildings.  John

Yes, search for topics like realistic operations on a model railroad, trackplans for realistic operations or Frank Ellison's "The Art of Model Railroading" and spend some time reading through the results.  it is not impossible, with the space you have, to turn your looping trains into a true operational railroad, but you may have to be willing to adjust your trackplan and be willing to create an operating scheme.

Chuck

Invite some friends in to run trains. 

well you can always cut shingles with me , building 3 company houses

Paul,

This may be what many of us go through but you were brave enough to admit it. Though my space is a bit larger than yours, I could easily be on the same train as yourself. I'm finding that building kits, scenery, and other aesthetic aspects of the layout is what keeps me interested. For me, it makes running the trains much more enjoyable. When I run trains these days it's a treat due to all of the things I have been doing around them. Unfortunately, I probably don't run them as often as I should because of my enjoyment of doing other things on the layout. I know...blasphemy! Along with the other suggestions, maybe watch some YouTube videos and try your hand at some other aspects of the hobby to keep you motivated. There are some very interesting things I have seen done with smaller layouts. I'm sure if you do this you will find something to reinvigorate your excitement in a new way. Your temporary dilemma is probably more normal than not. You are a grown man and a train going in circles is no longer interesting as it would be for a child. Honestly, they get bored after a while too.

I might add, what ever you decide start simple. When you do and you achieve that it's motivation to keep going. Best Wishes and we're here if you need more suggestions.

Dave

And remember. A model railroad is as boring or interesting as you make it.

For what it is worth, the building, or attempts at creativity, is what keeps me in the hobby, even if it is just customizing a building, adding mortar to the bricks, adding figures, etc. The trains, no matter how detailed or how many bells and whistles they have, are rather boring by comparison...without interesting scenes for them to run through that is. With that said, it's hard to imagine a layout that is static in two dimensions...a model railroader has to keep building the way a shark has to keep swimming The great HO modeler Howard Zane said that...after his 2nd or 3rd addition to his basement

Try some switching and moving freight to different areas on your sidings.

I think it's also useful to recognize that for some of us the intensity of our interest in our trains increases and decreases depending on other things going on in our lives. It's OK to take a break and come back...  just remember to clean your track when you come back!

I ran into this on my first layout. I added some spurs and started running with purpose (dropping off and picking up cars) and I suddenly found myself enjoying operations but also growing much more motivated to do scenery and such. I would say try that and report back!

I learned a loop or two gets old fast, even a loop and figure 8, which what we had and at 8 or so my brother and I got boarded even with the layout down with Christmas tree in a mountain stand was up from Christmas eve to a week after New  Years.

Therefore I decided if I build one it will have lots of things to run and Play with.  I build a two oval layout, center oval had a homemade turn table and figure 8 and outer loop had two crossovers to the inner loop.  Also both loops were relayed to allow two trains to run on each loop.  I also had lots of operating accessories.  The layout was on the floor for only about two months from before Christmas.  So it was not a full time layout and model trains were not my only hobby.

The layout was expanded to an L with two track diagram control panels and has three LW transformers and has 31 switches and a Wye.  It also has 12 operating accessories including a operating gantry crane and turntable  and is not a boring layout.

Bottom line is expand and add more things to operate, run, switch, do, anything more than watch two trains loop around.  I have things to do like dump logs to a car and unload them at the saw mill which produces lumber.  I can dump coal from the coal mine into a car that can dump at the coaling station, but do not have a coaling station to dump coal into a coal tender yet.  I have my gantry crane to unload Mercury space capsules and it can unload lots several containers of various commodities.  

My layout is 44 years old and I enjoy improving and modifying it just as much as running it.  It is never finished and never will be.  Just last year I added the Wye after thinking for years I could not get a Wye to fit. The Wye also made train operation much more challenging and also allows moving a train from the inside loop of the main train board to the outside loop of main train board to the outside loop of the new train board and also changing the direction of the train from CW to CCW.  I also added a homemade municipal water tower for the city and naming the city Spencer, NC on the tower.  The year before I added extra ties between the three 027 metal ties for the whole layout.  I also am still building homemade cars and adding homemade accessories recently including converting a cheap Lionel log dumper to a remote operated log dumper.  Improving the layout keeps me and it fresh and keeps up interest.  Also share the layout with friends and acquaintances to keep interest up.

The layout is not all that big being  Main Board  11ft – 2 in  X  5ft - 9in,  New board, making the L at the bottom of picture, 7ft – 6 in X 4ft – 7 in

You can see how I built it in detail at the OGR link below, index at end of page one

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...ra-027-layout?page=1

Charlie

Tell you what...invite a neighborhood kid...and his/her mom and/or dad, of course...to come over to see/run your trains.

Believe it!...odds are you'll be happily worn out demonstrating everything, answering all their questions, letting them control the throttle, blow the whistle/horn, activate some accessories, finding out what their favorite things on the layout are, etc., etc., etc..

A few things will occur:

• You'll start smiling again
• The boredom will disappear if for only an afternoon/evening
• You'll enjoy seeing your young friend smile, become enthusiastic...and maybe his/her mom/dad, too!
• You'll find a lot of things that don't seem to be working/running just quite right during your long absence...and you'll spend the next few days/weeks getting them all copacetic again, because...
• You'll enthusiastically accept his/her request to come back...soon...to see the trains running again
• ...And look forward to it...
• Thereby forgetting how bored you were last week.

See?  Easy!

BTW, a few chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven and a cold glass of milk will add to the enthusiasm and smiles!

Your railroad has an interesting name, FrogvilleJunctionRailway, mine is Leapin Larrys Looney Lines Railroad, “The Quad L System”. I take it that your running trains in conventional, no problem there, however have you considered Command Control?
I actually got out of the hobby from 1988 through 1996, (Family issues/Job loss). I had a great post war collection but had to liquidate it in 1988. Poof. A good friend told me about Lionel TMCC command control, an all new way of operating our trains. As my life began to get on track so to speak, I remarried in 1994. My wife knew my love of model trains and helped me start all over in the hobby again with Century Club 1, TMCC command control trains. So, I started all over at age 50, now 77, and I’ve loved toy trains since 1954, a long time. Most of my friends in the hobby are into command, there layouts are full of realistic villages, mountains, bridges, rivers, valleys, and lots of scenery. Now, the layout doesn’t have to be big, simply running trains in command, slow, realistically is lots of fun. The sounds the engines make are amazing, uncoupling at the touch of a button, it’s a great hobby. You might live near folks that share the hobby and they might be able to show you the new command systems. I love the Lionel legacy system. You might go to YouTube and look at some of Eric’s train videos. Good luck, thank you for opening up about your losing interest and hopefully the fire will come back. Model trains to me are a great escape from the worlds infinite issues, and we can simply have fun in our model train fantasy. Happy Railroading Everyone

It’s all exceptional information and insights here. Redesigning can be just as daunting as designing; maybe more so. Take the time to study what you have and contemplate what you would like. My suggestion would be to download a program like AnyRail, Scarm, etc. Or, get some drafting paper and draw to scale the dimensions of your available space. Include any pertinent items such as windows, pipes, etc. Make copies of that at Staples. Then use one of the copies to draw out your current bench work dimensions. Make numerous copies of that. Using a pencil, and a good eraser, just draw free hand and see where it goes. Always put a date on your drawing because there will be a lot of them. The evolutionary process will have begun. Keep in mind that there isn’t any due date for this endeavor.

@frogvillejunctionrailroad posted:

I have an 8x10 postwar Lionel layout, two loops, 4 sidings, lots of accesories and buildings and scenery, lots of trains.

Lately, I have been reluctant or possibly unmotivated to operate the trains because I feel I may be bored with seeing the trains going around in circles and not enjoying them as much as I believe I should.  I am not sure how to be able to regain my sense of enjoyment.  I usually run two trains at once on the two separate loops and rarely back them up onto sidings, uncouple, and reconfigure the consists.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get back on "track?"

Yes. With poster board and/or foam board add a scenic divider 3ft high cutting across the table so you dont see the other side!

Take a break from the boredom and read a good book!

I recently read about Ron Hollander in this Forum: https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...ion-of-ron-hollander   Subsequently, I bought Mr. Hollander's book used.  I read the book and was very impressed with the story of Mr. Cowen.  The book is very well written, has some wonderful photos and reveals a heartwarming story about Mr. Hollander at the beginning.  Highly recommended!

Dismantle what you have and start all over again, incorporating what you thought were the previous deficiencies. Mark

That’s good advice from Richard. The importance of reading can’t be emphasized enough. There is so much good information out.

Just for fun you could take a section of your layout and make some modifications. Also, look at your layout from angle from which it is not typically viewed. Changes your perspective on things.

I get bored seeing them go in circles too. So I sold off my scale stuff and kept most of my space and military trains. I'm waiting for my nieces to o get old enough and then we're going to build buildings out of my old girder and panel sets. Then we will start  blowing them up with rocket and cannon cars. We may even build a roller coaster like I did with my brother with his old Lionel Santa Fe alco. This endless loop thing kinda bores me. My trains do things they weren't meant to do and that's how I stay interested.     

Bob