The Summer Doldrums

Hello, dear readership.

What has come of the Marmion Valley lately?

I find myself in the dreaded summer doldrums, in relation to the railroad. This is common, I think, with most that indulge in our craft; summer brings hot weather, vacation plans, and increased family commitments.

For me, this summer has been intensely busy not only with the family, but also with work. As a professional musician, my schedule ramps up intensely during periods of time where "normal folks" are off on vacations and weekends. I won't lie, I'm a bit burnt out; but it has been a lot of fun too. My band got the chance to tour to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to take part in an event that happened in conjunction with the giant EAA Airventure airshow.

This event really rekindled my love of aviation, and inspired me to re-start flight training that I began in 2008.

Hey! That's not a train!

The band has also been performing regularly at local venues, and recently toured to Las Vegas to be a part of the Toastmasters' International conference, onstage at Caesar's Palace.

Couple all of this activity with the weeks-long, record setting local heat wave has increased the temperatures in my garage work space to plus-100 degrees, and you can see why I haven't been out working on the railroad lately.

Quite frankly, though, this might be one of the beautiful things about our hobby. Who hasn't been in this situation at one point or another? When the time and mood is right, we can walk right back into our workshop and start in again. Taking a sabbatical like this might also help re-kindle the creative juices, or unearth a new focus or interest.

I find that my involvement in the hobby as it stands at this moment has been reading and digesting information from fellow bloggers and like-minded individuals in online communities like Facebook. There is a great Facebook group that is focused on HOn30 and 009 modeling, where many of the discussions help lead ideas about how to promote this niche scale that we work in. 

I'm also attracted to the crafstman-like approaches of modeler/bloggers like Mike Cougill, Lance Mindheim, Trevor Marshall, Chris Mears, and Dave Frary (to name a few). These writers and modelers elevate the idea and concept of our hobby into a "craft," as Cougill puts it; viewing it through the lens of an art form in terms of composition and application, and using it as a vehicle for personal growth and progress, especially in the sense of holding yourself to a high standard of quality and attention to detail. 

I know the coming fall and winter months will bring some time to get back to work and enjoy some time with the trains once again; I'm excited to share things with you all here as things get rolling once more. Stay tuned!