Philosophy and Model Railways

I Blame BRM.. Read on

Now, i'm know intellectual by any means and if it wasn't for spell checker i probably couldn't spell it anyway.  So you are asking yourself, what has Philosophy got to do with Model Railways. Yawn. If you haven't already taken a big sigh and switched off by now, you won't know.  Well, i would have done the same, But a bell rang in my head (oh dear, seek professional help).

   It's raining outside, even the dog doesn't want to go out so i thought i would sit here and have a Sunday morning grumble." Apparently" i am at an age now where this is quite normal. Those of you who are under the age of say 30 have probably stopped reading by now but trust me, you will become this person.

Philosophy, History and Geography. 
    3 subjects that i didn't take much notice of at school. As we are probably aware they come into play quite a lot in the model railway world. But for this mornings lesson, lets focus on Philosophy. (stay awake at the back please) I won't tell you again. 

 The Oxford English Dictionary explains Philosophy as:   thinking, reasoning, thought, wisdom, knowledge.

"Thinking" yes we do a lot of that.
"Reasoning" Talking to the wife, I want to build a Model Railway, Where can i put it ?
"Thought" What and how am i going to build this thing.
"Wisdoms" I use to do that so i should be able to hone my skills to do this.
"Knowledge" I want to build this in this time period, I'll buy a book on the subject.

So why am i rambling this way. It all started with an article in this Months (September) BRM. I am probably not alowed to copy the whole text but i am going to take some snippets from it. If you have a copy, then it is courtesy of  "Water Street Sidings By Charles Oldroyed" a stunning O Gauge layout. My kind of layout, small and full of atmosphere. ( that was a song by Russ Abbot). did i just own up to knowing that, Help needed. 
   His Philosophy is: Regarding scale, Don't think about the space you have but what you enjoy doing most. If it's lots of detail then it's 0 Gauge. If you like rolling hills then try N Gauge. This is one thing that  often catches out newcomers. He says and i quote: I would advise you to think small regarding the scope of your projects, particularly with your first efforts. There is a danger of setting a target that is unachievable and running out of time money and enthusiasm.
   It just rang a bell with me when i built "Pine Road" It was my second attempt at building a Layout and wanted to get it right.
  So rather than rush out and buy your first Train Set, Perhaps you should rush out and buy your first wagon kit, Take it home and build it. Did  you enjoy doing that. Look i have built my first wagon. It could save you a fortune in the long run. Try and look what you are best at and enjoy doing. Railway Modelling has so many aspects to it. 

It's not one Hobby, It's lots of hobbies in One 

Perhaps i should have re-titled this post as a day of grumblings. It does annoy you tho when you have gone to the trouble of making all the buildings from scratch, making all the track and trees and a guy comes up to you and says: that bicycle is missing it's saddle. OK

There are 3 main phrases i have learned 
It's a Hobby
It runs on Electric
If it was easy, we'd all be doing it.

And on that note i shall leave you all alone to get on with your "hobbies"