>The rest is all stuff that can be repaired or replaced.
>Don Pleu
Mr. Don...Your comment above caught my eye and caused me to think about it
for a minute. A rare minute of my brain actually working. As I look at my
layout and fleet of rolling stock and structures, signals, etc., I
envisioned attempting to replace it if disaster should strike. My
conclusion is that very little of it is truly replaceable with any
reasonable degree of effort or money.
Now I wouldn't want to appear to be disagreeable, but most of the brass was
imported back in the '70s and '80s and is long gone except for rare
appearances on eBay. Some brass is more recent, for sure, but it is also
sold out from the original sources (River Raisin and SouthWind) and appears
on eBay only a bit more frequently than the older stuff. Either way,
replacing all this brass stuff would take more years and more dollars than I
would ever want to spend.
Structures are better since most of them are at least still available in kit
form. I have many Walther's Cornerstone Series HO structures converted to S
and replacing the raw materials is straightforward. But the time investment
to rebuild and kitbash all that stuff is overwhelming. Yep, my Plasticville
switch towers and signal bridges are still available and not very expensive.
But the time factor is daunting. Most all structures have lights, people,
added details, weathering, window glass, etc. not to mention telegraph key
sound modules in the switch towers. A lot of work to "replace" what I once
had. Some structures are scratchbuilt (as are most bridges) and there is no
way these could ever be rebuilt. The folks who built them have generally
stated it was a "one time" effort -- including the ones I built myself.
The rolling stock is a lot of Kinsman, converted AF, DMK, Northeastern,
Regal, Delaware Valley, Train Stuff, etc. kits that were common in the late
'60s thru the end of the '70s. Names that newbies to S have probably never
heard of or seen, but were the mainstream of S modeling in their day. No
such thing as RTR back then. S was a modelers scale for sure. How could I
possibly replace all of this? Never even shows up on eBay.
Plastic kits from AM are still available, although not necessarily in the
same paint schemes. Good old Pacific Rail Shops is no more and obtaining
kits (my preferred route) is now impossible. Yes, Des Plaines has RTR PRS
stuff, but not in the same road names and my desire for non-heavy equipment
renders the RTR approach unsatisfactory (for me) due to excessive weight
(not a criticism, just a personal preference). So how would all this
plastic stuff get replaced?
The electrical wiring for the layout has nearly 10,000 individual wires with
solder joints at both ends. Believe me when I say John Gibson has helped
with several thousand connections and Ken Reiter with another few thousand
in addition to the thousands I have done myself. Is this really
replaceable? Not in my lifetime, that's for sure.
Last but not least is the scenic backdrop painted by a professional artist
and train buddy in exchange for beer and pizza. We have already discussed
replacement and he has (politely) informed me to find someone else if a
repeat is needed for any reason. This is a magnificent piece of art, but he
does not have any interest in doing it all over again. I am truly stuck if
this bites the dust. Bob Werre's risk was water and wind. My risk is
termites and earthquakes. We each have a risk factor in our lives
somewhere.
Now Don, I understand the priorities in life as you suggest. Yes, the
wife, kids, and pets are more important than the trains. We agree on that
point for sure. But my S scale trains and layout are not replaceable.
Simply cannot be done. My wife and I have already discussed what would
happen if an earthquake demolished the layout room. My conclusion is that
I'd sell off whatever was not damaged and spend the rest of my life going
around to op sessions on a lot of really nice layouts that belong to someone
else. No attempt to repair or recreate it would be made by me. I don't
have that many years left and the motivation would be nil anyway.
The best I can do is collect on the train insurance (another reason to join
the NMRA) and spend the money on a trip to Hawaii with Judi. Maybe have a
Mai Tai too many and try to forget the whole thing.
I wonder what others would do in a similar circumstance?
Cheers...Ed L.
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