Sunday, June 16, 2019

"For the times they (may be) changing"........

I've been "retired" for just over a month now and some things are becoming obvious to me......with no commitment to "the daily grind of a job" (mine was never really a "grind"!) the days seem a lot longer!
We're in the process of having a new home built in Charleston and completion is scheduled for Nov. In the interim we are living as "guests" in my daughter and son-in-laws home here. Happily for us and them it's fairly large and we have our own section of the home so we are able to hide away and give them the time and space they need to survive our extended visit.........
So far it's been a lot of fun playing with my grandson every morning before day care and in the evenings before "tubby time" and bed time.
We've had some time to get out and explore our new digs and have been pleasantly surprised with the convenience of accessing downtown Charleston and living about 20 mins away in the Charleston suburbs.
So far, so good........

Of course, paramount in my mind has been the future plans for my modeling efforts. There's a lot to think about because the increased free time means there will be more options open to explore.

In the past 40 years of model railroading I've always built layouts that could be "operated" by small groups of guys who were really into the hobby and shared interests similar to mine.  I've modeled in HO, On3, On30 and lately have been researching the Irish 3' narrow gauge lines using 45mm. track (G gauge) and a scale of 1:20.3. While I haven't made any decisions yet, I can see some measure of large scale either outdoor or indoor.

More time to spend researching as well as seeing what a garage space of 20x20' can accommodate in On30 Maine narrow gauge.......


Lot's of fun converting an old Bachmann "Big Hauler" ten wheeler to an Irish 3' passenger loco.







Monday, June 3, 2019

Big Move.......Retirement!

Things have moved pretty quickly for me......I retired and put the house on the market.....it sold quickly (maybe too quickly!?!) and we were asked to move out in 30 days.  The offer was too much to refuse so we rented a POD packed up everything and headed to Charleston SC to be closer to grandkids.....
Having a home built so planning will begin on the next layout. Lot's to think about in the next 8 months while the house in being built.....we'll see what can be done.  Stay tuned.....tom