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1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Sounds as though their relationship could be quite physically turbulent then Tony?

 

Dave 

A Freudian slip, 

 

Since corrected.

 

Thanks Dave. 

 

As an aside (and this is a bit naughty!), after he died, he was buried in the same plot. On top!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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Chap down the road regularly has a chat if I'm in the garage doing something with the bike.....

Always about railways and model railways.

Ex Royal Navy and a nice bloke all round......he would 'love a model railway'.

Lives in a 3 bedroom house, attached garage and NO kids ( late 60's) at home or grandkids etc.

He is NOT allowed to have one......not even in the garage....which is largely empty.

I buy a few mags which end up getting binned so....would he like some.

He would, but again he wouldn't be allowed.

He has that sort of 'resigned' look about him.

 

Without Mrs BR I wouldn't have a layout room......study/ modelling room and a fairly largeish stash of unbuilt or unfinished projects.

 

I thank my lucky stars......daily!

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1 hour ago, BlackRat said:

Chap down the road ......he would 'love a model railway'. He is NOT allowed to have one......not even in the garage....

 

I buy a few mags ....would he like some. He would, but again he wouldn't be allowed.

 

How do these guys get into this situation??

 

Is it physical or mental domination?

 

The whole scenario is totally beyond me!!

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

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On ‎21‎/‎06‎/‎2019 at 20:12, Tony Wright said:

 

 

Now a fully sound-equipped Deltic...............................................!!!!!!!! Who knows? 

 

Tony,

 

Given your comment above, I thought you might like to see a short video of my DCC sound equipped Deltic which I filmed on our club layout yesterday. The layout is still under construction and the fiddle yard has not yet been completed so I could only run the loco up and down the scenic section.

 

The sound chip is an ESU Loksound Version 4 with a sound file recorded from the real thing by Legomanbiffo. To get that distinctive Napier engine rumble I used an "Earthmover" speaker which, because of its size, required the chassis milled away to create a hollow in which it sits. I am grateful to my fellow club member Andrew Campbell who did that work for me.

 

The chip is programmed with numerous sounds ancillary to the engine noises but I have only included the start up and horns. 

 

Regards,

 

Archie

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Manxcat
Deletion of image added in error
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On 23/06/2019 at 01:31, Chamby said:

The guys at my local club have decided to have a ‘members only’ swap evening in a few weeks time.  It’s not something that I have ever seen a club do before, but we are encouraged to bring all those unwanted bits and pieces that modellers find useful, as well as the usual locomotives and rolling stock.  It will be interesting to see what actually turns up!   I’m anticipating something much more eclectic than the commercially motivated  swapmeets... and a welcome opportunity to rationalise my own ‘stuff’ accumulated over time, but still unused.

 

It’s all being done in the spirit of helping each other out, recognising that one mans junk will be someone else’s valued acquisition.  Going through my stuff, I have been surprised how much stuff I have that I have hung on to, simply because it must be worth something to someone, even though I will never realistically use it myself!  I’ll have a lot of ‘stuff’ to take on the day!


We did a similar thing a couple of years ago here in Victoria, BC.  Bring out your unwanted trash, and trade it for someone else's unwanted trash !  Actually, it worked out really well, with things trading at around 1/5th their actual value, but everyone felt that it went well.  I got a pair of etched kits to play with at some point, and some other stuff for layout building.  Someone else walked away with my tender drive Hornby Brit and 9F that had been replaced by the more current versions.

 

Yesterday's move was to give a RG4 that was given to the club to the member most likely to use said RG4.  (along with the EAMES Jubilee "kit" that it is supposed to have been for...).

 

James

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23 minutes ago, Manxcat said:

 

Tony,

 

Given your comment above, I thought you might like to see a short video of my DCC sound equipped Deltic which I filmed on our club layout yesterday. The layout is still under construction and the fiddle yard has not yet been completed so I could only run the loco up and down the scenic section.

 

The sound chip is an ESU Loksound Version 4 with a sound file recorded from the real thing by Legomanbiffo. To get that distinctive Napier engine rumble I used an "Earthmover" speaker which, because of its size, required the chassis milled away to create a hollow in which it sits. I am grateful to my fellow club member Andrew Campbell who did that work for me.

 

The chip is programmed with numerous sounds ancillary to the engine noises but I have only included the start up and horns. 

 

Regards,

 

Archie

 

 

 

 

 

 

well the earth moved for me...

 

apart from the farting cat horn sound, but that's prototypical I suppose.

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1 hour ago, Atso said:

 

I can truly relate to this regarding my (thankfully) ex-wife. Once we got married, she absolutely hated anything to do with my hobbies and interests - but especially railways in any form. It really was like somebody had flicked a switch.

 

However, the initial sign wasn't to do with railways at all, but my childhood collection of Lego that I had stored in the loft. One day, I went up there to find some bits and noticed that it was missing. When I asked her where it was, I found that she had decided that it was taking up space and had taken it down to a car boot sale and sold the lot for £5. There must have been coming close to 200 sets there (no boxes but all with instructions) and represented many happy childhood memories creating things. I also found that most of my remaining OO gauge stuff had also been taken and sold; although this time for £10 (five locomotives and around 25 items of rolling stock). I did however notice that her collection of Dolls had not been touched and were all still safely stored in the loft.

 

(snip)

 

Thankfully, that is seven years in the past but I still struggle to accept that there is nothing bad about modelling. Luckily, I am most fortunate in my new (if five years together can be considered new) girlfriend, Kate, who is so understanding and supportive of my hobbies and interests.

 

So, when I started dating my wife, this is what she walked into:

L1

Which caused quite some merryment.  There is the box for my 3.5" Britannia, the little shunting layout is the pink styrofoam, and about 75k pieces of lego in the photo !.  

 

Key to it, I have found, is that both of us need our own space.  You have to be able to live with your spouse's choices of hobbies, and be active and encourage them.  That doesn't mean doing them for them, but be supportive.  My wife, Andrea, loves horses.  Guess who built the barn, fenced the fields, and got occasionally used to load hay?  Guess who occasionally has to help me move lego for shows?  (not the OO, I can manage all that still without help...)

 

When we moved back to Victoria from St Johns, Newfoundland, the deal we came to was a simple one- I got a basement, she got enough land to have a horse and a fireplace.  Both of us were happy with it, and it made house hunting much easier.  

 

She has some idea of the value of what I have, but then I've never tried to keep it secret from her.  Why would I ? I know that the collections are worth pennies on the dollar if resold anyway, so while it should be possible to sell the Lego collection off, she isn't going to get the $ which I have spent on it out without a huge amount of work.   I'm supposed to only have as many live steam engines as she has animals, we're past that now, but I haven't bought any new ones.  My dad just keeps building and sending them to me, really ! I'm up by 3 from where I was, with the monster outside awaiting attention:

 

BG1

 

 

I would not stand a spouse who cannot understand my hobbies.  I can understand them not taking part, but hobbies are a huge part of what makes us as people, I think.  It would boggle me that anyone would try to hide their hobbies, or that a spouse who was not at least supportive of having them.  That would go as far as those of my mates who play sports of various forms, or follow sports teams.  I may not understand their choice of leisure time pursuit, but I can understand the principal of it.   One of our Lego Club members ended up with an (ex) spouse who tried similar.  Which went over about like you describe.  They aren't together any longer, because the Lego didn't demand that he get rid of the spouse, whereas the spouse demanded he get rid of the lego.  His collection is a similar size to mine, and had been amassed over a slightly larger period of time.  She had been a much more recent part of his life, and departed much easier than the lego.

 

James

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2 hours ago, Manxcat said:

 

Tony,

 

Given your comment above, I thought you might like to see a short video of my DCC sound equipped Deltic which I filmed on our club layout yesterday. The layout is still under construction and the fiddle yard has not yet been completed so I could only run the loco up and down the scenic section.

 

The sound chip is an ESU Loksound Version 4 with a sound file recorded from the real thing by Legomanbiffo. To get that distinctive Napier engine rumble I used an "Earthmover" speaker which, because of its size, required the chassis milled away to create a hollow in which it sits. I am grateful to my fellow club member Andrew Campbell who did that work for me.

 

The chip is programmed with numerous sounds ancillary to the engine noises but I have only included the start up and horns. 

 

Regards,

 

Archie

 

 

 

 

 

That's very impressive Archie,

 

Thanks for showing us.

 

Other than comment on the impressive sound, may I make a couple of observations, please?

 

Firstly, I assume (at least I hope) those ghastly couplings on the Deltic are not long for this world?

 

Secondly, why are the platforms so high on the layout? This is something I see far too often - platforms which are far too high on models. When I worked out the height of the platforms on LB, they came out (at the highest) horizontally half-way across the buffer of an A4 passing through them. It could be any other loco or item of stock (yes, I know they did vary in height), but at no point was any platform (in all my research) higher than just above half-way across a buffer. Look at the layout platforms in the clip. They're way above the height of a buffer. In fact, they're higher than a carriage solebar, so any doors (if they did) could not be opened without clouting the platform edge. 

 

Some proprietary platforms are too high, hence the issue. One layout built to show beginners 'how to do things' also had this situation, and the platform edge would have presented any passengers with the problem of stepping DOWN to board a train - just like in the clip. It's nonsense. 

 

Other than that, the layout appears to be coming along well.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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56 minutes ago, Atso said:

 

For me it was a combination of desperately trying to make things work despite always being told you're not good enough, etc. You love somebody and you'll try and do anything to make life better - I took the vows and did everything I could think of to honour them. Eventually you loose track of what's really going on and who you really are. Before you know it, you're accepting that you are the person always in the wrong and that your opinion/needs are somehow lesser than your partner's. That creates a situation where you can be taken advantage of and you'll accept it; for a time at least.

 

I suppose it is all about self-esteem - something that I can relate to.

 

Our marriage has always been one of complete openess, to the point of having a joint bank account. No chance of hiding (or needing to hide) hobby expenditure, and we are both supportive of each other's hobbies.

 

However, I do understand the damage done by constant criticism and belittling - though from the perspective of work; we both suffered from that. There is no doubt that it can totally destroy self-esteem and motivation.

 

As has been said, what we choose to do in our leisure time is an intrinsic part of who we are, and any attempt to suppress this can be devastating.

 

To those who endure hostility to their interests from their partners I say - think long and hard about the value you place on placating them. If the outcome is to be detrimental to your mental state, find the courage to challenge your current situation; it will be for the best in the long run.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

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5 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

How do these guys get into this situation??

 

Is it physical or mental domination?

 

The whole scenario is totally beyond me!!

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Obviously not you and me, John,

 

However, I recall, years ago, a colleague of mine shacking up with a real harpy. He'd left his wife (who was lovely) and bit by bit this 'creature' was destroying his life.

 

Out of our kind hearts, another colleague and I decided it was our duty to tell him to leave her, citing the siren squeal all the time, the constant nagging, the impositions made on his (not much) free time and the fact that she'd probably have turned observers to stone had they not been equipped with reflective shields. 'I know, I know' he said. 'You're both right, I know'. 

 

'Why not then?' we demanded. His eyes glazed, a far-away look came upon his face and, in a most-resigned voice he answered 'It's the sex!'

 

We 'advised' him no more after that.................

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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I usually find the retreat into the controllable world of railway modelling is quite a relief from the problems of the real world. I'm not sure whether that's a scientifically "good thing" or not for my mental well-being, but it has certainly seemed very handy at times, even when I was on anti-depressants for some time, and I'm not now about to let anybody else start telling me that I can't do railway modelling any more! I view it as a form of good old-fashioned occupational therapy. Oddly enough, I've had a dip in modelling motivation lately, although it is explained by circumstances: The current project was beginning to make me think that I had come close to biting off more than I could chew. I was tired, getting very critical of my own results and not making progress at anything like the desired rate. The real-life "to do" list was also glaring at me, reminding me of lots of other overdue tasks, with other ones joining the queue relentlessly. The only practical option was to let the modelling work wait for a while, to deal with some of the other stuff and to try to calm down a bit. I haven't cleared the decks yet, by any stretch of the imagination, but a recent fresh appraisal of my "rested" project has made me think that some of the previously perceived faults are not so serious and the task of completing it may be less daunting than I had thought.

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I have found this a very different sub-thread at the moment. I spent my whole working life in Railway Signalling Engineering until retirement eighteen months ago. I was also a member of a small gathering of like minded modellers for several years.

The common factor between the two was the high percentage of divorced men involved in both activities. In the case of the modelling group it was 75% divorced!

I must have done something right as I’ve been married for 31 years (though how much longer remains to be seen now that I have to spend so much time with ‘er indoors :biggrin_mini2: )

Tim T

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9 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Like Tony I have a wife who allows me to undertake my hobby. In fact when we were looking to leave Essex the "railway shed" was as important as the stables. One property she liked, well the stables, didn't have a "railway shed" so I told her that I would camp in garage until such time we got around to building one. She viewed the stables and bungalow on her own. I had a telephone call "The garage is no bigger than you already have, would you like the living room?" 20 feet by 15 feet room, near the kitchen, warm in the winter, and cool (north facing) in the summer, it would have been rude to say no.

 

Don't worry we do have a living room which had been called the family room by the estate agent, it over looks the stables and horses.

 

How lucky am I?

 

If you had been really lucky, you'd have got the stables! Sure the horse can camp out in the living room...

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I can only say that I have been very lucky.   The day I met her Beth came to my home and was greeted by the sight of my bicycle leaning on the kitchen wall with two baseboards of my never completed Woodlesford layout beyond.   In the sitting room my modelling bench was custom built under the stairs and the front windowsill was full of completed models.   Thus she could never say that she was unaware of my interests.  On our honeymoon there seemed to be a railway line in front of every motel we stayed in and things went downhill from there.   We got engaged during  few days in the Lake District after an evening with one of the drivers from the Ratty.

 

When we decided  to move to France, we spent several hours, during two car journeys coming up with a 'spec' for what we wanted.   Both of us agreed on room for our respective hobbies.   For me that meant enough room for a shed to house Lancaster Green Ayre. Beth wanted space for a 6m diameter pool and a room where she could do craft  and music.   By sheer chance we  found a house that fitted this spec, without even visiting an estate agent.  The shed is big enough for the layout and there was plenty of space for the pool (Which has been built) and we share the office in the shed that has windows.

 

She hates trains due to bad experiences commuting as a teenager, but has tolerated and supported my hobby.   She has lost a lot of street cred with the kids by, not only taking loco numbers for me in the US when I was driving, but by videoing the Big Boy as it headed home into Cheyenne.  

 

One thing that I have realised is that I must write a detailed "To do in the event of my demise" list.  A good friend died suddenly a couple of weeks ago and his widow has absolutely no idea of what to do with his models.   There are many model railway items plus a part completed HMS Victory being uilt from a part work.   I had met Mel 2 days before he died and then went to see his daughter and widow.  Obviously they were in no state to discuss the disposal of his models and I spent most of my time sorting out pension stuff as his widow had no idea about what income she could expect.  In the crcumstances this was the best thing to do.   I did say to her that if and when she wanted to start sorting things out, that she should get in touch so that I can advise her.

 

Jamie

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5 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

If you had been really lucky, you'd have got the stables! Sure the horse can camp out in the living room...

 

Many a true word..... Where I lived in Reims, there had been a family who kept a horse in a 1st floor flat.

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2 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

Many a true word..... Where I lived in Reims, there had been a family who kept a horse in a 1st floor flat.

Do anything wrong and you'd be in for the high jump!

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