From the other forum
ITS OFFICALLY CANCELED. I DON’T HAVE THE TIME OR ENERGY OR EVEN WANT TO CLEAN UP THE RR.
I had a burst of energy but I am at the point of hating to do it. Sorry.
Pass the word.
An end of a short era. Although I didn’t make it there, I enjoyed the reports and pics on the fora.
That’s to bad really enjoyed the get together. Been a fun 12 years!
Don
All things change. Over the years, we have truly enjoyed Carrie and Marty’s event and I do enjoy the friendship we have created with Carrie and Marty.
This is a great hobby, but it does evolve.
Go Marty! Hang on, Carrie.
sad, he put so much into it and made it so much fun, for someone new to the hobby I learned more talking with all the people there than i could read about.
So many people who went were willing to share thier knowledge.
Tom huisenga
I know he’s having fun riding his larger scale trains now. I hope he doesn’t leave G scale totally. The many things he built, including his layout, were the inspiration for me to dive into G scale much deeper. He’s a genuine train guy and a it’s been a pleasure to learn from him. It seems he’s drifting away from G a little more with every year that passes now.
I can understand when the hobby seems like more of a job than the fun it should be. The reward to the work, is the enjoyment that follows. It seems he’s pouring a lot of effort into his new layout. I would too if I had the large yard.
Happy rails to you Marty!!!
I’ve been inspired by Marty’s work. Concrete roadbed and painting track are just two of the ideas I borrowed from Marty. Probably the most enjoyable thing he inspired me to was model railroad railfan photography. For me, this is a hobby within a hobby.
I probably would have never made it to one of his events - just too far for me, but I always enjoyed reading about them. It will be missed, but others will pick up the slack!
I’d like to see what he is doing with Ride-On. Is he posting that anywhere?
Jon, he had posted his Ride-on stuff on Mylargescale…
Andy; look out…a lot of lost souls will be looking for a place for roundy -roundies… and railroad yard sales…!!!..don’t get tempted…!!
The bigger the layout, the more work it is. And we aren’t getting younger. Just to cut down on maintenance, I’ve embargoed my second (inner) loop this year. The track is still down, but completely covered with spreading groundcovers. If needed, with some help, it can be brought back to operating condition.
But for now, just keeping the outer main line is enough work for me.
Even though I started my layout about about 10 years ago, there were many stories of a great and enthusiastic start and then the maintenance overwhelmed the fun. There were pictures of layouts gone to seed and people giving up.
When I started my layout, zero maintenance was the top priority.
So many people told me, oh stainless rail is overboard, you should use brass, you don’t need that heavy gauge wire, 14 is good enough… why are you going pneumatic switch motors, LGB ones are good enough, etc.
Well, 10 years later, my layout is low maintenance, the plants know who the boss is, etc. If I miss running for a month, I can get the layout up and running in a few minutes. I have methods to control weeds and overgrowth that don’t turn it into a career.
So, it’s too bad about Marty’s, but maybe some procedures can be improved, and some things changed to make things easier to maintain at some time in the future.
Greg
Andy Clarke said:
Jon, he had posted his Ride-on stuff on Mylargescale…
He post in the 1" guage facebook group daily, he addicted to 1"…
Thanks. By 1" Gauge I assume you/they mean 1:12 (about 4.5" for std. gauge) which is rather small, but common, for ride on. I’d much rather ride 7.5" - it suits my caboose better!
This is the FB Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/668885783137640/
Marty said:
This is where the old highline G used to be . Digging out 2.5 ft lower and making a wall and maybe a tunnel for both .
IOW moving right along.
Greg Elmassian said:
Even though I started my layout about about 10 years ago, there were many stories of a great and enthusiastic start and then the maintenance overwhelmed the fun. There were pictures of layouts gone to seed and people giving up.
When I started my layout, zero maintenance was the top priority.
So many people told me, oh stainless rail is overboard, you should use brass, you don’t need that heavy gauge wire, 14 is good enough… why are you going pneumatic switch motors, LGB ones are good enough, etc.
Well, 10 years later, my layout is low maintenance, the plants know who the boss is, etc. If I miss running for a month, I can get the layout up and running in a few minutes. I have methods to control weeds and overgrowth that don’t turn it into a career.
So, it’s too bad about Marty’s, but maybe some procedures can be improved, and some things changed to make things easier to maintain at some time in the future.
Greg
Greg, yea. When I started I knew I didn’t know what I was doing, but I also knew that outside was going to have some different challenges then my previous indoor layouts had. I also knew I didn’t want a monster, like the N scale behemoth I tore down years ago. So I went with small and as bulletproof as I could, with my limited knowledge. I have 5 foot rails with a feeder to each of them, off of a bus of the largest landscape wire I could find at the time. I think its #12 gauge. I don’t have any power problems on my railroad, and its small enough that I can maintain it without it becoming a chore.
I hate to hear it when we (large scalers) loose a member. Hopefully he will come back into the fold eventually.
Aww, too bad. I was seriously thinking about trying to get down there this year. Oh well, all things change and it couldnt go on forever. Thank you Stan for helping Marty do this “thing” the last few years.
I couldn’t do this hobby if I didn’t have a very low maintenance layout (and the aid of a mild, dry climate). I’m much too lazy/busy to bother with tending plants, weeding, etc, and I don’t see me developing any greater inclination to do those things as I get older. 
Ray, that’s why I started small and stayed small. I can handle the size of railroad I have. I could handle a bit bigger I suppose, but I have yet to negotiate the land rights for more right of way.
As I age, my railroad seems to get larger and the ground is hard to get down to.
Jerry, the getting down isn’t what bothers me. Its the getting back up again that can be a real…challenge.