Saturday, 22 August 2020
Stalled!
The garden railway project has stalled. Buildings begun, track traced on the ground and people half painted. Not to mention the rail cars in their packages awaiting making. I am not sure why this is. On mulling it over I feel I have read too much, done too little, am weary from these strange days,have been put off by the weather and have come up with no overarching backstory. Half completed buildings and people rebuke me from the shed. Loads of books and magazines remind me of what I have not done. I am not sure where to go next. A great drive during forward in September or mothballing till the Spring ( real and metaphorical) comes. Any thoughts?
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I felt a sense of ennui in June. Mainly about work. It wasn’t as if I had stopped work, my job continued throughout lockdown except I was working from home. Due to the nature of my role and the structure of the department I work for, it made no other difference to my day or the way I worked The country was opening up by June so social possibilities were opening up. Every reason for being positive. There was no particular reason for the lethargy I felt. But I was going through the motions at work.
ReplyDeleteIt passed soon enough. I don’t know why. Nothing had changed at work but I no longer had that lack of drive. I had a day off one day and went somewhere I hadn’t been for a long time. Maybe that helped. Or it was late June when I started my diet and that gave me another purpose outside work.
Who knows. Maybe if you could not feel guilty about the railway, it’s meant to be a hobby after all, and just accept it the way it is, you might come back to it with a fresh burst of energy naturally.
Just lay track, just lay it around the plants you can see look for the gaps, in spring you will lay tracks on hidden plants. Finally don’t read anything just improvise! If necessary pretend your stuck in the middle of nowhere With just some track to lay.
ReplyDeleteI sometime think that just pushing on whether I feel like it or not, often then gets me going, funnily enough.. it's like pushing aside a mental barrier and soon you're off an running again... me? I want to see the train running.. ;o)
ReplyDeleteTradgardmastare,
ReplyDeleteThis sort of things hits us all once in a while. It’s almost as if the preparation and anticipation don’t seem to gel with the reality of getting to project done. This can happen for all sorts of reasons, and during the current pandemic and the resultant disruption of our lives, it seems more prevalent. I’ve experienced this feeling earlier in the year, and my current heavy cold has left me with little enthusiasm for doing much more than sleeping, reading (if I can stay awake!), and watching rubbish TV.
It will pass, and it will pass quicker if you put it to one side and do something else for a while. The break will allow you to regain the enthusiasm you need to get your project underway again ... and if that isn’t until next year, then so be it.
All the best,
Bob
PS. I’ve always wanted to own a model railway, and over the years I’ve acquired all sorts of bits and pieces ... but the space I need would impact on my wargaming room, so its very much a project in waiting.
Its a hobby, its supposed to be fun not a chore.
ReplyDeleteSometimes forcing your way forward does reignite the flame but sometimes it extinguishes it and/or results in shoddy work. I prefer to put things aside. If the desire is real, it'll come back, often stronger for the break.
Not much to add to what Bob and Ross said. I've had my share of such feelings, maybe more so this year for obvious reasons. Pushing on and backing off both have their points. Either way I think the main thing is to not feel bad about it.
ReplyDeleteA. Definitely do not do any more to your garden railway. Publicly post this. Officially on the back burner. Post about another official toy soldier, academic or major house repair project or something else that you will definitely definitely do. Make the do and the do not both a New Gaming Year August Resolution.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Once it's no longer public and definite, you can do whatever you want. You might find that you are then sneaking off to the model shed for a crafty fag of a railway tinkering project.
B. It's that railway modelling perfection that could be off-putting. Some of these projects are just dead embalmed static with moving trains ...
C. Autumn Winter is a bit of a bad time for physically putting in garden Railways infrastructure anyway. By next Spring your enthusiasm may have returned ...
Best to take a step back, get your track plan clear and ensure you have enough operational interest in the layout before you get to engineering works and track laying. Big projects can be a bit daunting - perhaps build and test your rolling stock first ??...
ReplyDeleteHi Alan- I'd be tempted to leave the Project in resting mode- until such time that you feel is right to start up again. Cheers. KEV.
ReplyDelete