2021 Year in Review

 

At the beginning of the year I set out some goal for 2021 and now it is time to look back and see how I did.  Here is the link to that if you would like to read it.  Lets jump in and review each category and see what I accomplished

Research

This is kind of an ephemeral category and is really hard to quantify.  Most of my site research was easy enough to do, I just drove down the street and looked around.  Most of my research efforts were focused on learning techniques and skills that I would need to move this project forward.  Mostly this involved hours of YouTube video tutorials on everything from scenery to DCC decoder installs.  Below are some of my favorites.  Some are only for eye candy inspirations and others have some real meet to them.

Boomer Dioramas - This is my favorite channel for model railroad content.  Boomer covers it all and his results speak for themselves.  Hours of great material!  I wish there were more hobbyists producing content at this level.

SoCal Scale Models - This is another inspirational channel.  Most of the content is now focused on operations sessions but there is some how-too material in the archive. I love his use of Google Street view photos of actual locations and building s to create his models and backdrops.  I love the vibe of this railroad.

John2618 - This channel was one of the first I discovered when I returned to the hobby and I was blown away by the quality of his work.  He has a small shelf layout in a small bedroom and the detail is amazing.  His truck models are particularly impressive.  Sadly, there has not been any updates for months but there is lots to view in the archive.

Soo the Milwaukee Road - I recently discovered this channel and I am really enjoying the content.  It has a nice mix of modeling, operations and history.  Lots of stuff let to view but good inspiration.

There are many more channels, but these are the ones that have been the most interesting to me so far.  I could do a whole post on YouTube hobbyists.

Planning

I had a very idealistic view of the planning phase at the beginning of the year.  I had visions of using track planning software and maybe even 1:1 printed templates to help plan my new layout.  Well, I found the planning software to be a big pain for the most part.  They have their uses I suppose but for me I just didn't feel like learning how to use it.  In the end I opted for the tried-and-true method of mental visualization and putting down track reality check.  So far, it's working.

Purchases

This is where my idealism and self-restraint went right out the window.  Things started out OK with mostly purchases of older Athearn and MDC kits from eBay.  I was able to get a reasonable collection going for OK prices.  The lack of any train shows until late in the year meant that most of what I bought I bought from eBay, and I paid too much for most of it.  The lack of a cohesive layout plan meant that I over bought most car types as I did not have a clear vision of what was needed.  Also, this shit is just cool and I wanted more and more.  Late in the year I switched from the older 'vintage' kits towards higher quality ready to run from Atlas, Walthers, Excatrail, Scaletrains, and Tangent.  These models are superior in almost every way, but they generally carry a hefty price tag.  I also over bought motive power.  I bought several 6-axle road engines even though I have plans only for a switching layout.  I bought wat too many DC locomotives even after I promised myself that I would only buy DCC/Sound equipped models.  I really should have directed more money towards track and scenery items.

Modeling and Painting

I built a ton of kits for various car types.  I still have many more to build.  I also upgraded most of my cars with wheels, couplers, and proper weight. Some of the cars requires modifications to get them to run properly.  I did several weathering projects as well.  The first half of the year I was very productive in the aspect of the hobby but gradually this tapered off.  I did try and track this activity on my blog but it turned out to be too much of a pain.  I started several Walthers structure kits to help visualize the layout plan but none were finished.  All in all, it was a great year for modeling. 

Summary

I did a crap job of using this blog to document the progress of the hobby this year.  I am much farther along with my shelf layout than is reflected here.  I probably overspent on the hobby this year and at the very least I misspend money - buying too much rolling stock and not spending enough of the infrastructure of the layout.  But I had and absolute blast this year.  It has been worth every minute and every penny!

Here is a video of the first train to run on the new layout.