EDITOR’S SOAPBOX: The Doldrums Getting nothing much done hobby-wise ...
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ummer is widely regarded as a time for yard work, car washing, trips to the beach, family vacations to visit Aunt Martha, working on the house, or relaxing on the front porch with something ice cold to drink. What’s not included seems to be time to work on the layout, hang out at the local hobby shop, or run trains.
Charlie Comstock has been a regular columnist, author, and editor of Model Railroad Hobbyist
Magazine since its inception. To learn more about Charlie, click here.
Page 10 • Issue 11-06 • Jun 2011 • Editor’s Soapbox - Editorial
Sure there’s less time for the basement (or garage or bedroom or wherever your layout is located), but let’s not get a you-can’t-have-anything-todo-with-trains-in-the-summer tradition started, a bad precedent!
Riding Along Summer is a great time for field trips. When was the last time you rode behind a steam engine? Take it from me, railroading high in the Rockies on 3’ narrow gauge is a lot more pleasant in the summer than in the winter (plus those super-scenic narrow gauge lines don’t run in the winter)! Take your pick of the Cumbres & Toltec or Durango & Silverton (Google “colorado tourist railroads” for more options). Be careful, though. A friend of mine was driving over a pass in Colorado and darned
near got stuck in the snow when a blizzard hit – in May!
Express”). I’ll confess, you’ll need more than a few dinero for this trip...
The East Broad Top is a great venue for riding in south central Pennsylvania.
Conventions
I hear the scenery along the White Pass & Yukon in Alaska is incredible, and no doubt more hospitable in the summertime. Narrow gauge doesn’t stoke your boiler? There are a number of standard gauge venues around, too. Don’t like tourist railroads? Instead of flying to visit Aunt Martha, go there on Amtrak. You’ll see more of the country from the windows of a Superdome than you would from a 737 at 35,000’.
Foreign Matter If you have some extra dinero set aside have you ever considered a railfan trip in Europe? Or perhaps China or India? The German railway system is amazing. Trains arrive or depart from Munich in a nearly continuous stream at times and they’re not sluggish when it comes to getting someplace – 180 kph and up. Or take a trip through the Chunnel or whoosh through the Alps on the TGV. Perhaps you’d care to ride the famous Orient Express – hopefully not when there’s a murder (unless your name happens to be Hercule Poirot, hero of Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient
Or hit a convention or two. There’s still time to register for the X-2011 West National Convention in Sacramento coming up in early July. Meet old friends or make new ones, visit layouts in person you’ve seen in the press or on the internet, and attend your pick of the plethora of clinics provided. A national convention is too intense for you? How about one of the many regional conventions or other meets that are constantly going on? Model Railroading is a social hobby (at least it is for me), and I consider time spent rubbing elbows with other train loonies as time well spent.
Last Resort As a last resort find an extra hour or two to head over to a train buddy’s house, a local hobby shop, or even to the train room. If your trains are in the basement like mine, it’s probably cooler down there anyway. Plus an hour here and an hour there and you might be surprised at what you can accomplish, even during the summer doldrums.
Tell a friend ...
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